This is not the first time I voiced my frustration with radio. Radio still has not dealt with the issue that it is 2020 and they still haven’t decided how to describe the music they play.
A large portion of owners of FM radio stations acquired station licenses in the 1960s. Lack of competition and rules to freeze out new competitors caused radio to stagnate. People who controlled their local radio station in the 1960s are now at least 80 years old. In a lot of cases, their children have no interest in inheriting Dad’s radio station and taking home a minimum wage salary.
I know this is hard to take, but the 1980s were 40 years ago. That music is as stale as Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey was in the 1960s when I was a teenager. My father loved that music, but it set the stage for the Beatles to arrive.
Many of the artists have long ago died, which makes it difficult to give concerts, which is where the real money is, at least before the virus fear pandemic.
Almost nobody under the age of 40 listens to radio, unless it is country music or K-Love or Mexican accordion music. We are in the twilight of radio as we knew of it. When Rush Limbaugh cannot do his show anymore, the final pillar will collapse.
I don’t even want to think about that. The day when Rush does his last show (if he hasn’t already) is getting ever nearer.
I still think there’s a place for traditional radio though. Outdoor internet connections aren’t as stable as we’d like. Some folks don’t have (or don’t want to pay for) unlimited data for streaming Pandora or whatever. Sure, folks have a lot of music stored on their phones, but there’s something to be said for being exposed to something new.