With 241 million users radio kicks Facebook and Twitter ass
Twitter has 49 million users every month in the US. Facebook has 198 million. There are about 6 million US Spotify users. What about terrestrial broadcast radio, that old-school, supposedly dying analog medium? Radio has 241.8 million listeners per week, not just per month. Take that, Silicon Valley. Those numbers are according to Nielsen’s December […]
Patent trolls target HD Radio, Innovation Act targets trolls
First podcasts, and now HD Radio. Patent trolls are looking at new radio forms as potential cash cows to milk. Earlier this year we covered a company called Personal Audio that is suing independent podcasters like Adam Carolla along with big companies like CBS for allegedly violating its patent for a “disseminating a series of […]
UK digital radio transition effort holds lessons for AM revitalization
To say that public comments on the FCC’s AM revitalization proposals are barely trickling in could be charitably called an understatement. As of yesterday there were a total of three comments filed. Two of these are from amateur radio operator Nickolaus Leggett, which Matthew reviewed last week. In the absence of more commentary on the […]
Remembering WABC radio’s 1963 “Mona Lisa” contest
Much of what you read about radio station contests these days is depressing. At best, some operation botches a game by misrepresenting the rules or winnings and winds up paying the Federal Communications Commission a fine. At worst, a signal launches an ill-advised water drinking marathon that literally kills a contestant. To be fair to […]
Amazon’s $179 Cyber-Monday Kindle Fire HDX deal makes a great internet radio
For today, Cyber-Monday, Amazon has its high-end 7″ tablet, the Kindle Fire HDX, on sale for a very low $179. As portable, multi-function devices, tablets make great internet radios, as Matthew explained when he received his first generation Kindle fire. Tablets are well suited for both listening and producing podcasts, too. Amazon also happens to […]
Holiday Gift Guide for Radio-Lovin’ Fashion Mavens
Every year I love the challenge of tracking down unique radio-themed gifts. This time around, my first gift guide of the year has a fashion focus. Even if the people on your gift list aren’t radio diehards like you are, no doubt they’d appreciate the way that radio is incorporated into these stylish items. 1. […]
Dropping by Soundrop: Spotify’s chat room feature
I spent some of this weekend up to my nose in Soundrop, a Spotify chat room application. Soundrop has been available for about two years. I wouldn’t call the feature competition for plug.dj or its predecessor, Turntable.fm, but it is around and worth knowing about if you are a Spotify fan. To access Soundrop you […]
College Radio Survivor: College Radio News Round-Up and LPFM Update
This week I’ve been largely fixated on digging into the details of LPFM applicants from all over the country. As I mentioned last week, it looks like there could be around 100 college radio groups applying for new licenses, including a few in the San Francisco Bay Area. Upon further research, I found out that […]
Scanning the 2013 Thanksgiving Radio Dial for Alice’s Restaurant Broadcasts
Catch Alice’s Restaurant on the 2023 radio dial. See our latest listening guide. Although people have mixed feelings about the annual radio broadcasts of Arlo Guthrie’s 18-minute plus epic “Alice’s Restaurant” on Thanksgiving, it’s something that has become a tradition for many families and radio stations. This year is no exception, with stations all over […]
Pirate Radio Round-Up: FCC sniffs out FM, shortwave & CB stations; Chicago’s unsolved Max Headroom mystery
Every so often I like to do a round-up of events in unlicensed broadcasting. In this update we have a review of FCC actions against unlicensed broadcasters, including one on the shortwave band and another on the CB band, good buddy. Plus, there’s an investigation into one of the country’s most notorious TV pirates. Sniffing […]