Losing the Signal

Many have have been lamenting the decline of FM radio into something bland for years now. Thanks to the major consolidation of the past few years, all radio stations in the land now share the same seven playlists, depending on which "format" the station caters too.

Past complaints have always been dismissed with the handy excuse "We're only giving people what they want. If they didn't want it, why are they still listening?" Of course, listening to it is not the same as liking it, except that there were no alternatives at the time. Of course, now that satellite radio is starting to take off, and enough people are now turning to their own alternatives, including Audio Books, iPods, or just plain old Compact Discs. It's finally starting to hit the bottom lines of Clear Channel Communications, and other large radio companies. I'm having a hard time feeling sympathetic for these companies after many years of taking abuse from their Boy Band proxies.

I remember a time not all that long ago when you could actually discover new music by listening to the radio. Some of my most beloved music was discovered on the radio, or on MTV back when they still played music. Nowadays, I can't listen to the radio for 5 minutes without being subjected to 15 minutes of ads that I couldn't care less about.

If I'm sounding grizzled for my 27 years, it's because I'm so passionate about discovering new music. Music is the stuff of life, and a good song can make life beautiful. The discovery makes for a special moment that cannot be captured on the bottom line of a balance sheet.

The Big Picture: Read it here first: Losing the Signal