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RADIO- FM vs. Internet

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+48V

hi-fi or die
T’was a coin toss as to whether this topic deserved posting in the Digital Formats & Music Server Forums….but I’ll shoot it here nonetheless. For the record, I’ve been operating a small independent internet radio station since 2002.— with many proof-worthy battle scars mind you ;)

While it’s been bubbling about for quite some time, recent events (with no shortage on the horizon) are bearing out what I sheepishly thought/foretold yet boldly fought for 13 years ago and forward. Music industry woes past and present aside, I knew then that Internet Radio was going to play a significant role.

Back then, for the “connected few” it was a breath of fresh air to the corporatized & stagnating cheddar that was/is available over the air. To me, it was a no-brainer that on-demand music would be ever present. What I did not envision is how algorithmic jukeboxes would claim the “radio” moniker. meh…so be it…thanks Pandora. ;)

Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s much to be said for Pandora and present ilk…I just don’t consider it real radio. :smirk: Anyway, here’s a piece that gets to the gist of my question/poll to you Akers.

Edison Research: Streaming hits the MainStream

So…where do you fall? Have your “radio” listening habits shifted mainly to the internet? Or do you still rely on your FM dial (home/car) to scratch the bulk of your musical entertainment itch?

NOTE: iPods, et. al. and your personal collection don’t factor in this study. This is “radio” only. –however bastardized that term has become of late ala MOG, rdio, spotify, and yes….Pandora along with the brand spanking new iTunes “radio”.

That noted, I err more on point:

--Do you prefer genuinely human playlist curation along with an occasional poignant peppering from a real live DJ? You know…the way radio used to be…but without all the commercials and stale song rotation.

--Or are you quite satisfied (just as happy) with an automated selection based upon check box algorithms matched to your interests ---ala iTunes Radio, Pandora, spotify, etc.?

Regardless of everyone's druthers, My modest epilog:

--Are we paying too little, too much, or just enough for "radio" today?
 
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You forgot HD Radio ...

Then again, so has most of the rest of the world. <G>

I like it ... free and more stations. It's like digital TV where they'll simulcast the standard broadcast and then tag on sub-channels. Also like digital TV, excellent reception until you hit the magic circle and then pfhtttt, it's gone.

I'm lucky enough to have a fairly active market in the area - bit of a crapshoot elsewhere.
 
Both, although for local classical, jazz and alternative college the SF/Bay Area is rich with stations, and a good tuner can make good music sound, well, great. So whether it's my Fisher R-200 tube tuner, or my Yamaha or Sansui ss tuners, it's fun and to pick up the local stuff through my rooftop antenna. On the other hand, there is so much great programming available world wide it would be silly to limit oneself to just the local stuff. So I use my Squeezebox Touch to stream all the other stuff.
 
I care little or nothing for the various streaming "radio" services via the internet. I wonder if you've stayed under the radar of the ever increasing fees charged for internet "broadcasting". A good FM station is becoming a rarity but still worth the effort vs the low bit rate tripe streamed over the internet.

I'm just not into all the "cool" stuff on the internet - give me the ether.
 
I agree since owning my Squeezebox over 2 years now I sold all my tuners blame it on the Squeezebox and you can get some local stations as well and the best part besides sounding excellent it's free to use.
 
El Lay FM stations sound good, one or two rather compressed sounding but generally very enjoyable.
Internet stations sound okay but have starts and fits when listening and using the computer for other tasks.
 
Listening to the local college radio station right now (KEPC). Don't even know who they are playing at the moment. But that's OK.

Of course if you don't live in Colorado Springs you could still stream it over the net.
 
Interesting Question

I'm an avid radio listener, but one that's moved over to the internet/digital side quite a bit. In high school/college, I loved listening to our local college radio station - about 1 mile from my house. I discovered some great tunes and even got to go over there and visit one night.

I will still listen to some jazz on our local station at times via my marantz 2270, but overall, I've found internet radio to be easier (just a click away), the clarity is excellent, and the variety can't be beat. One click and I'm listening to any genre/station around the world in crystal clear clarity.

I was into worldband radio for the longest time, but the sw stations seem harder to find. I do love the role of the radio host, but the commercials that seem to go on forever are too annoying for me to exclusively listen to our local stations. I use itunes radio and squeezebox for my internet listening.
 
I recently just started using Spotify, it's ok. I prefer real-time FM radio. I've been getting quite a bit of my new music from several college stations.
 
I started listening to FM radio stations in the early 1960s and have been in the FM radio camp ever since.

But with programing changes and a change in location, I am in a fairly rural area now, with the closest decent FM station about 65 miles away and a low power station at that, I have migrated to the internet.

For some reason I seem to be less connected to the music when it is supplied by the internet. This may seem to be rather irrational, but it is what it is for me.

With that said, I am thankful for the music available via the internet.
 
MOG has become my major source for music, but I continue to use tuners several hours/wk, too. Enjoy both. Cds remain my best source.
 
I have troubles with extra-sensory input when I'm trying to read. It's almost impossible to do both well. So internet music is out. And the FM I can pull in is either a synchronized-with-other-stations barrage of analog hi-fi commercials, or another selection from the top 98% of most played songs from my already-got-that-list. And being that, between commercial blocks, the radio and I will be drawing from the same selection pool, I might as well make the play list.
 
Being an "Old Fart" I was a radio junkie and listened to many local (Washington, DC) AM and FM stations. When iToons came about, with the "Radio" option where you could find many "Air Broadcast" stations and web streamers. The biggest annoyance is the 'Air Stations' streaming from the back side of their signal processors so we have to hear the compression, breathing, and noise along with the programming. Some 'stream only' stations are running too much in the way of signal processing and they don't need to. I have a giant playlist of stations from all over, and from many types of music on one iToons "RADIO" playlist. If they have issues where sometimes they want you to log in to listen, I dump them off the playlist. Same for part time streams.

Currently I listen to SOMA-FM's streams, BBC3, Classics & Jazz (France) and lots of jazz, classical, western swing, oldies, big band, bebop, talk, Local NPR, and comedy. Unlike cable, where you can have 1400 channels and nothing on, I can always find something cool to listen to.

TODAY: Try SOMA-FM's "Secret Agent" stream.
 
well i have been trying to decide on a way to recieve my internet music and have came to the conclusion of getting a refurbed laptop so i can stream radio ,,utube and other forms of internet music the radio situation here in oklahoma is dismal to say the least ,,that is why i recently purchased a integrated amp instead of a reciever..and like television radio is bloated with advertising and commercials,,some of thew internet stuff is starting to go that route too.i will run a dac from the laptop into the amp i sould get pretty decent sound.now the east and west coast still has a good selection of fm stations.but i can remember back in the 70's in denver there was a jazz station that would play full albums from midnight till 6 am no commercials(boy did i make a lot of cassettes)i dont think fm will ever retrieve it's former glory,.but who know's record's are making a pretty goo resurgence.
 
Richness of local FM has much to do with it. I live in the Bay Area and am delighted to have, and financially support, four different public stations, KDFC, KCSM, KALW, and KQED. Of course I can stream them too, but I live in the East Bay hills wth line-of-sight to the Sutro Tower so FM works really well. I'm also a subscriber to MOG but I killed my Pandora subscription (and they were prompt and efficient in making a pro-rata refund).

We're lucky to have choices.
 
johnfalc said:
Richness of local FM has much to do with it. I live in the Bay Area and am delighted to have, and financially support, four different public stations, KDFC, KCSM, KALW, and KQED. Of course I can stream them too, but I live in the East Bay hills wth line-of-sight to the Sutro Tower so FM works really well. I'm also a subscriber to MOG but I killed my Pandora subscription (and they were prompt and efficient in making a pro-rata refund).

We're lucky to have choices.
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Yeah we really have it good out here huh? If you're able to, check out KPOO, tiny community radio in SF. They have some fantastic vintage r'n'b and jazz shows in addition to a lot of community forum types of shows. Surprisingly I can get it in clearly from where I am in Oakland on the San Leandro border.

http://kpoo.com/programs.html
 
i have 1 good jazz station but it only plays music part of the day. also a good classical station. i try to listen to fm when the jazz programming is on and have a bunch of fun tuners.

i definitely prefer having a dj and human programming.

much of the day i listen to radio stations via itunes but try to stay w/ 320 kps stations, not enough of them alas.

i love wfmu, which is free-form and kcsm for jazz but both stream in lower fidelity.
 
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