Did people write reams of articles about the demise of the Compact Cassette? was the transition from a Vinyl Top 40 to a CD Top 40 a much hyped thing? Do radio folk fuss too much about the fall in listenership to radio?
Is it analogue versus digital, and digital is perceived to be better so it sweeps away the old and heralds a new format? A lot of questions, but what is the answer? (another question). Yes most research ends with a call for further research, but let me state the point I had in my head prior to writing this, and let you ponder not on my questions but the central point.
I believe radio anoraks do talk about the pending crisis in radio much the same as Anglers talk about the state of water quality (thinking Feargal Sharkey). This is because we care. I think there is a group that care even more than us and hide the fact that the old business model is broken and the mega media companies of the internet have sucked up so much advertising money the old model is broken while the older audiences remains loyal to radio, healthy numbers persist as long as we are not looking at the numbers across the city in the auditors office.
So why do we fret about the medium when we were more fickle about the departure of Cassette Tapes for example? Well, its simple, radio is more than a format to the radio lover. It is not just a technology, a mere platform, its not even the sum of the great content espoused from wireless sets, transistors, Walkmans, hi-fi systems, tuner amps, car radios or SDRs over the decades. It’s more, a lot more.
Radio is craft, a knack, a communication tool. Layered with affordances, radio from its evocative glass dial with glowing valves to Ghetto blasters, radio continues to be a friend, while a Compact Cassette is a format to carry content, now residing in shoes boxes in the attic.
The passion and love of a medium is not evidence that its just a medium. The ongoing loyalty beyond the business model to fund its endless creativity continues to make radio a thing that will not lie down and go away.
I predict that the generation that lived and loved the radio in its hey day when AM welcomed FM to the party, this generation, the anoraks among them, are plentiful. They will keep radio’s glass lit for years to come. Hobby AM pirates will become audio museums to a world of content that the radio generation still love. Digital only radio stations will continue to make radio like it used to be, while not actually making it like they used to, where voice tracking gives productivity to the hobby DJ, freeing up time to voice track on even more stations.
While Cassettes hold on to the memories of hey day radio, there are stations living that past 4, 5 or 6 decades later with tribute stations springing up everywhere. And why will it grow? As these retro pioneers retire, their memories, and record collections, all digital now, will have increased time and digital opportunity to live in the past.
Radio, a format, a technology, a communications tool will live on, fueled by the nostalgia for a way things used to be. Like Classic Cars and Motorbikes, restored, polished and well looked after by proud owners. After the suits are gone, radio lives on.
first published on substack Feb 2024 by Brian Greene.