Internet Radio
By Bob Branco
Many of you have read my recent articles about internet radio and how it’s believed that it will take over the radio industry. As you also know, I pointed out why that’s not possible, because there is a lot of work that goes into attracting a large audience through the internet radio station.
Rather than go through all that again, I thought I would give another excruciating example of what happens with internet radio, aside from all the time, passion, energy, sweat and determination it takes to get such a station off the ground while an average of a handful of listeners tune in.
One day, I used my Alexa device to tune into an internet radio station in order to hear my podcast. After I told her what to play, Alexa said that Tune-In was not available right now. I called the station owner because he had the right to know what was going on. He explained that it was the streaming company’s fault. So now we have to deal with streaming problems as another addition to all the obstacles that internet radio station owners have to face. It’s bad enough that my podcast, which I regard as a random program on his radio schedule, only has two or three listeners in the entire world. Now we have the added complication of a streaming company not allowing access through the Amazon Echo devices. Even though smart phone users can still tune in, the point is that the problem, no matter how big or small, causes less listenership. Imagine telling a station owner that not only does he have three people in the entire world listening to a random time slot, but now the streaming company isn’t functioning.
My hat goes off to anyone who puts all their time into internet radio, not only because of their ability, but because of their patience.
