About ten years ago I abandoned FM radio. With the exception of two power outages that required me to use the battery-operated radio on top of my refrigerator to stay connected to the outside world, the majority of my listening originates from Internet radio. Practically every radio station in the country is available to listen via live streaming with a push of a button. If I like the music they play over a radio station at one of the Delaware Beaches, I simply google the station and click "listen now." A radio station in San Francisco that plays 1970s classic rock offers a better selection of songs than the local station here in Pennsylvania.
In the last few years I found myself listening to CDs so often that I failed to renew my Sirius/XM contract. I enjoyed commercial-free radio and did not mind paying for it. But the Internet offers the same with larger options. With these facts it will come as no surprise to you that the country of Norway, three months ago, did away with FM radio altogether. And according to a recent article in The Telegraph by Henry Bodkin, published April 13, the country of England may be the next to follow.
According to the article, Internet Radio use in the U.K. "is now at record levels, with 48 million adults listening to more than 1bn hours each week in the last three months of 2016, according to industry monitor Rajar. The Government has said that once that milestone is reached it will undertake a review which could result in the FM signal being switched off." Some who read this may laugh but let us be honest: we change with the times or the times change without us.
At a crab feast this past summer, at my Uncle's house, I overheard retro jazz music playing from the speakers. I asked my Uncle what station he was listening to. He said Pandora. That is the website where you can custom your playing list based on preferences. Type "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby and you will hear multiple songs similar in nature. A cool feature retail stores have picked up on.
At a friend's house last month I observed his 14-year-old daughter listening to music with her iPhone and headphones. I asked her what she was listening to. It was not music. It seems one of her classmates has a weekly radio program on Friday nights and then puts his program on the web as a podcast. She was catching up with a recent broadcast. I asked her if she knew how many listeners he had. She flipped a screen to his home page and showed me the public stats. Her fellow classmate had more than 6,000 unique listeners. Quite a following. I questioned whether she knew how to operate an FM radio because she was a Millennial, born in an era when all communication stems from the Internet.
Incidentally, the one trend I prefer to avoid is politics. Talk radio can be addictive and it is estimated more than half of the factoids expressed over Internet talk radio is inaccurate, giving Snopes.com a run for their money. No greater threat was evident than the recent Presidential election when more than half of the postings on Facebook regarding today's politics were inaccurate. "You don't listen to talk radio?" a friend asked me a few months ago. "Nope," was my response. "Because it's all talk." What I do listen to are comic book geeks discussing their favorite moments of the latest big screen adaptation, with commentary that is often thought-provoking. Walden Hughes has a program on Saturday night focusing on old-time radio. I listen as often as I can over YesterdayUSA.com. To add, last week I was pulling garden weeds while my iPhone was playing Seeds of Awakening, a collection of yoga-themed music someone posted on Soundcloud.
Which leads me to the thought of the week: statistically the digital revolution is embraced with open arms in growing numbers. But whether you want to listen to Roy Rogers serenade cowgirls, old-time radio programs or Broadway/movie soundtracks, consider exploring your Internet options now. In a few years the United States Government may consider switching off FM signals. A situation considered unthinkable a few years ago will eventually become a reality. Just give it a few years.
