A topic that has always interested me about radio and podcasting is how radio, despite many calling for its decline over the last couple of decades, still survives and is profitable today. According to: Substitutability and complementarity of broadcast radio and music streaming services: The millennial perspective, even 94% of millennials still listen to radio each week (Chan-Olmsted et al. 2), a number that was really shocking for me to learn. I will discuss how radio has enjoyed continued listenership through to today, how podcasting fits in to audio media consumption and the trends that both media are experiencing.
An article that I found useful when making comparisons between the two formats was: Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet. The article tells the story of radio, which has been stagnant in listenership over the last 10 years: “The audience for terrestrial radio remains steady and high: In 2018, 89% of Americans ages 12 or older listened to terrestrial radio in a given week” (Pew Research Center Editors). A number that is similar to what was noted in the article mentioned above. The article also tells the story of podcasting, a format that is showing a substantial increase in popularity over the last decade. “As of 2019, 51% of Americans ages 12 or older have ever listened to a podcast, according to Edison Research and Triton Digital survey data, and 32% have listened to a podcast in the past month, up from 26% in 2018 and just 9% in 2008” (Pew Research Center Editors). Although these numbers are smaller than that of radio, they have been growing at a rapid rate since podcasting’s inception not too long ago.
Substitutability and complementarity of broadcast radio and music streaming services: The millennial perspective discusses whether or not online streaming services will replace traditional broadcast radio or compliment it (Chan-Olmsted et al. 3) The article mentions how radio stations, in order to compete with the rising popularity of streaming services, are starting to create mobile apps to supplement their normal broadcasts. However the findings are that people still consider radio, and their associated apps, as separate from streaming services (Chan-Olmstead et al. 12,15) The article also finds that millennials consider radio and streaming to compliment each other rather than one substituting the other (Chan-Olmstead et al. 15).
From reading these two articles, I learned how successful radio still is. Previously, I thought radio would have been in a much steeper decline compared to what the facts show. As someone who consumes both radio and podcasts, I believe that they serve a purpose in their own way. In my own experience, similar to what was said in class, I tend to look to radio for general news that may concern the local population, and for podcasts I tend to seek out whatever niche interests I have. In this regard I hope that radio and streaming continue to grow, complement each other and improve going forward.
Works Cited
Chan-Olmsted, Sylvia, et al. “Substitutability and Complementarity of Broadcast Radio and Music Streaming Services: The Millennial Perspective.” Mobile Media & Communication, Sept. 2019, doi:10.1177/2050157919856647.
Pew Research Center Editors. “Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet” Pew Research Center Journalism and Media, July 9, 2019. https://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/audio-and-podcasting/
Sound Media 