In a universe far away from where traditional AM/FM radio broadcasters live a massive radio station launch took place this week that is getting more national media attention than nearly every commercial radio launch this year combined.
Musician Frank Ocean launched “a radio station” in the most recent update to the video game Grand Theft Auto 5. Ocean’s “Blonded Los Santos 97.8 FM” is the nineteenth station in the game and features 28 songs stretching from Ocean himself, Jay-Z, Mervin Gaye, Migos, and Todd Rundgren. Like every station in the game, which are available as players are driving around on missions, the station features personalities (in this case Vegyn, Roof Access, and Federico Aliprandi who hosted Ocean’s Blonded Radio on Apple’s Beats 1 earlier this year), imaging that both pays tribute and mocks various radio stations and formats, and sharply produced commercials that in many cases could pass off as real.
Other stations in the game include DJ’s ranging from syndicated personality Big Boy and Don Cheto, to musicians like Kenny Loggins and Bootsy Collins, and actors Cara Delevingne and Pam Grier. Brief clips of each station can be heard here.
As of May 2017 the game had sold over 80 million copies worldwide since its launch in 2013. To compare that to other broadcasters, SiriusXM currently has 32 million subscribers and Spotify has 140 million active users. As more and more listeners are spread beyond the confines of AM/FM and the definition of what could be considered radio grows, this shows the opportunity that exists for broadcasters to create or partner on unique platforms to reach potential listeners that go beyond just the usual broadcast or on-demand podcast.
