Eight years ago, I encouraged broadcasters to create a better streaming-radio platform. Two weeks ago, SiriusXM sent an e-mail blast attacking AM/FM radio. This morning, Spotify announced it was discontinuing its “Car Thing.” Here’s the connection:
In 2014-15, I gave a presentation to various groups of broadcasters called “Radio in an Audio World.” Radio’s fragmentation challenges — at that point mostly SiriusXM and Pandora in the U.S. — were just beginning. Bigger names in the entertainment and digital world were showing interest in being “radio,” even as broadcasters started to find that word limiting.
I had two chief pieces of advice for broadcasters. One was to fix radio’s spotload — we were already living in a world where 12 minutes of spots (or, er, more) was not an acceptable trade for music and entertainment. The other was to do a better job of organizing what Edison Research called “The Infinite Dial” of radio choice. Radio’s choices were a trickle at the local over-the-air level and a torrent in the streaming world. The future belonged who could offer the most choice in a manageable package, preferably as part of one-stop shopping that also included on-demand music.
In 2014, it was SiriusXM that did the best job of organizing choice. It offered subscribers more radio stations than they wanted to hear on a regular basis, or would get around to listening to, but enough that the listener appreciated having options. More important, the number of channels was just large enough that you felt like you were aware of all your options. It was a manageable user experience, as opposed to using a radio app to wade through multiple Jack- and Kiss-FMs whose differences weren’t discernible at the consumer level.
Broadcasters used to glaze over when I wrote about SiriusXM in Ross On Radio. Eventually, though, it became clear that SXM, despite its early 2000s publicity, was very much in the classic radio tradition, whether that meant Howard Stern to you, whether it meant Triple-A jocks on the Spectrum who advocated for the music, or whether it meant hearing veteran Top 40-style jocks who still hit the post. For subscribers, SiriusXM worked because it was the AM/FM dial supercharged and supersized.
Two weeks ago, SiriusXM sent one of its many recent e-mail blasts trying to get subscribers to use more satellite radio beyond its in-car stronghold. The headline was “why waste your time with AM/FM radio?” But AM/FM seemed like an odd target. Escaping broadcast radio’s spotloads has certainly driven the growth of SXM in the past. But I would think it’s the combination of ISPs and smart-speakers that now challenges SXM for a foothold at home, or perhaps makes people feel like they might not need both Spotify and SXM in the car.
The SiriusXM mailer was reminiscent of satellite radio’s early attacks on “terrestrial radio.” Eventually, the NAB responded with a statement emphasizing radio’s localism and that radio was free. Those are both valuable assets, although we’ve come to see over the years that neither by itself is a silver bullet. But if broadcasters really want to compete with satellite, the best way to do it is with a prepackaged suite of channels that is enough choice, but not too much, and happens to be free as well.
As an advocate of “radio” on all platforms. I wish that SiriusXM and broadcast radio did not regard each other as enemies. I see them as having similar functionality — certainly more than radio and any of its other digital competitors. I also like that SXM is a top-five podcaster and, as such, representing “radio” in a space where it sometimes seems absent to the outside world. Together SXM and broadcast highlight the value of “radio as we know it.” For many years, SXM made KIIS Los Angeles and Z100 New York into the national super-stations through over-the-air, not just streaming. I wish broadcast and satellites were friends. But they’re going in the other direction. And, hey, this time the other guy picked the fight.
Spotify also fired a shot across the bow with its broader rollout of its “Car Thing” dashboard accessory in April. In the same way that SXM was trying to position itself as a replacement for, not an augmentation of radio, the intent of “Car Thing” seemed to be psychological warfare: “We are the only audio people need in the car, and we will now prove it by making it easy for listeners to shut broadcast radio out.”
The quick retreat on “Car Thing” wasn’t a vote of no-confidence on Spotify, which simultaneously announced today that it had added six million new users. But I’m happy to have Spotify as one of many options on Apple CarPlay. I’m looking for both ease-of-use and choice. As it turns out, so were other users. Plus, ISPs have made only tentative forays into matching radio’s companionship function — Apple far more than Spotify. It’s good news for broadcast and satellite radio both that listeners recognize this.
The not-so-good news for broadcast radio is that it’s still running all those ads, replacing them clunkily for streaming despite 15 years of repeated pleas, and not where it needs to be in terms of organizing its many choices. In coming weeks, I’m going to write more about the user experience on my various audio options. But as broadcast, satellite, and ISPs jockey for position (with YouTube and TikTok against all), it’s a reminder that the battle for users is still fluid, and how radio might still take control of its own destiny.
