World Radio Day: between FM, streaming and podcasts, radio changes but does not age
[ad_1]
There is no day that is not celebrated as World Day of something, you know. Today it’s up to the Radio, and World Radio Day is worth remembering for several reasons. First, because radio is a means of communication that has existed for over a century and which, despite digital technology, the web and smartphones, continues to be of fundamental importance for millions of people around the world. Secondly because, unlike many other more or less relevant anniversaries, this one was proclaimed in 2011 by UNESCO and adopted in 2012 by the United Nations General Assembly. And again, because this year’s theme is peace, and peace is never needed more than now.
Research
Work, streaming and social media: Italians spend over 30 years of their lives online
by Emanuele Capone
History
Like all inventions, the radio does not come from the mind of a single person, but seems to be the inevitable consequence of a series of discoveries and intuitions, due to more or less well-known scientists and inventors, such as Maxwell, Hertz, Popov, Tesla, Fessenden and many others. But above all to the Italian Guglielmo Marconi, who on 5 March 1896 presented the first provisional request for a patent, with the number 5028 and the title “Improvements in telegraphy and related devices”. He was also able to understand the commercial potential of his idea of him: in 1904 he was already offering a paid service to transmit the day’s news to ships crossing the Atlantic. The first voice radio program dates back to 1919; in Italy the first official transmission was on 6 October 1924.
After decades of valves and transistors, today radio is digital, and DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) is an increasingly widespread transmission standard, both at home and on the move. Radio, in all its forms, is experiencing not only a successful season but also one of great innovation: above all thanks to the web, which has freed it from its physical dimension. The most common means of listening to the radio is in fact the smartphone, with each radio having its own app or which can be listened to through applications that collect signals from broadcasters around the world. But a smart speaker is also a radio, like a smart display, a TV, a smartwatch and many other gadgets.
With the digital radio has lost its local dimension, and has become global: the web has allowed the birth of millions of new stations that use software to transmit without antennas and signals. Something similar had happened in the mid-seventies with the advent of FM stations, but this time the scope of the revolution is even more radical, given that a computer and an internet connection are enough to open a station; anyone can be a deejay or broadcast the news, and listening to any station isn’t much harder than putting on your own.
If technology changes radically, however, the influence of a century of traditional radio life remains intact, with its forms and formats.
Innovation Almanac – April 19, 2000
Gianluca Nicoletti brings Radio Rai to the Internet: “A Risorgimento in reverse”
by Riccardo Luna
A deejay saved my life
A program has a host, someone who chooses the music and themes to broadcast and uses his voice and personality to establish a relationship with the listener. Even the figure of the radio deejay has changed a lot over the years. Today the conductors are mostly entertainers, who discuss the most varied topics in an amusing, curious way, and often with the specific intention of stimulating audience participation: thirty years ago by telephone, a few years ago through social networks . Thus the radio builds a community of listeners, which perhaps lasts even just the time of the broadcast, and then dissolves again. And the radio can also be seen, because on the social media accounts of the broadcaster or broadcast it is almost always possible to follow live video what is happening in the studio. But radio is not TV, it still retains a structure and a language that are peculiar.
The era of playlists
So much so that even Apple Music 1, for example, can still be called a radio station: it offers music, entertainment, information and insights, and broadcasts 24 hours a day all over the world, with real deejays. Accuradio, on the other hand, has more than a thousand channels with every possible musical genre or theme from all over the world, but these are long musical selections curated by experts. Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services offer hundreds of playlists made for every moment and occasion, from studying to romantic evenings, from sports to work in the office. The same can be said for Sonos radio stations, which often boast prominent musicians as curators.
And then there are the algorithms, increasingly widespread in the radio world, with their strengths and weaknesses: the platforms use them to personalize the listening experience of each individual user, based on their tastes and habits to refine the proposals based on the listening time and music already known and appreciated. Just choose a song, and ask to generate a radio station from that. The problem is that in this way we risk limiting our consumption of music to songs and genres we already know, because the algorithm evidently works by affinity with our tastes, and doesn’t investigate what instead might surprise us and broaden our horizons.
Interview
Spotify: The future of online advertising is in podcasts
by Bruno Ruffilli
Podcasts
The podcast was born at the beginning of the third millennium: at first it was mostly recordings of conferences or radio programs broadcast via the internet, but it soon became a means of creating original and personalized content. It is in fact a radio broadcast, with the difference that it can be heard on demand, and therefore the listener is not tied to the broadcaster’s schedule: exactly like a film or a TV series on Netflix. Over the years, the market has grown exponentially and is now worth billions of dollars; there are hundreds of thousands of podcasts around the world covering a huge range of topics, from entertainment to education to technology to politics.
As podcasts grow in popularity, companies are also starting to invest more and more into their development and production. Many producers have partnered with big brands for sponsorship of their shows and advertising, others have turned to celebrities like Barack and Michelle Obama or Meghan Markle to ensure big ratings, often with success. The idea that the podcast is popular especially among those who travel, perhaps for work, has led to fears of heavy relapses due to the lockdowns imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, but this was not the case: the market has remained stable and is now starting to grow again , so much so that the two major protagonists, Apple Music and Spotify, battle each other with investments, special offers and exclusive productions.
Advertising investments in Italy grow only for digital
by Pier Luca Santoro
Advertising
Web and app radio offers something that analogue radio could not offer: digital listener data. Highly accurate information about user demographics and listening behavior, which can be used by companies to personalize and better target their advertising. For example, to establish the time of day when a specific audience is more likely to listen to the radio or podcasts, allowing companies to plan a commercial by tailoring the advertising message to take into account the potential audience.
The social function
Despite the spread of digital technologies and the internet, radio remains the most accessible and low-cost medium for many communities, especially in remote and rural areas where other means of communication are not readily available. In many cases, radio is the only source of information for people living in these regions, providing them with news, weather forecasts, health advice and educational content.
In addition to its role as a source of information, radio also plays an important role as a platform for cultural expression and exchange. In many countries, radio stations provide a space for marginalized communities to share their stories and perspectives, and for local musicians to showcase their talents. Radio also promotes social and cultural cohesion, connecting people across geographic and cultural divides. Thus it is not surprising that UNESCO recognizes radio as a powerful tool for promoting international peace, understanding and cooperation: “In contexts of distant or immediate tension, in-depth programs and independent newscasts provide the basis for a sustainable democracy and good governance”, reads the message celebrating World Radio Day. “That is why support for independent radio stations must be considered an integral part of peace and stability”.
Freedom of word
Internet Freedom, Italy sixth in the standings. The worst is (obviously) China
by Emanuele Capone
[ad_2]
Source link
