Radio is a dying media. To what extent do you agree?
Radio is the longest existing form of broadcasting media which is gradually dying out and losing its mass audiences as well as popularity. I agree to a great extent with the statement 'Radio is a dying media.'
The first reason for my agreement is the decline in listeners. This is supported by the shocking statistic of listeners for BBC Radio One which decreased from 22% to a little under 6%. Radio has also experienced a decline in the amount of time people listen to radio daily from 87 to 77 minutes. The significant differences suggest that the industry of radio has some form of competition which is taking away from its success. Music apps such as Spotify have seen a colossal increase in users since it offers on demand music at any hour of the day for a small price of £9.99. 83 millions people use Spotify globally therefore, suggesting that on demand music is extremely popular due to the freedom it provides for the listener. Whereas, radios based in the UK, such as BBC Radio One might not be convenient for people living outside of the UK because of time differences. Furthermore, due to the affordability of music nowadays, radio isn't required to listen to music for a low price. Hence why, the existence of radio is slowly failing its purpose due to the introduction of newer, more efficient technology which provides an infinite number of choice.
In addition to this, psycho-metrics and reception theory play a vital role in how radio is perceived by people. Recently, society has seen an increase in 'aspirer' An aspirer is someone who seeks status and therefore, doesn't mind investing large amounts of money into expensive brands to keep up with the latest trends. This provides them with a high status. Hence why, they would want to be seen with the newest things. In terms of music, this includes on-demand music apps such as Spotify and Apple Music. Spotify alone has 217 million active users and Apple Music has 56 million paid subscribers. However, these numbers are very high compared to the number of listeners for radio which is only 27 million. In the past, radio would have had a dominant reading but due to a decline in listeners and lack of freedom in song choice, this is likely to turn into an oppositional reading as newer technologies take over.
Despite this, I do not agree that radio has completely died out because it is still largely involved in the arrangement of big events, including music festivals. A prime example is BBC Music's Biggest Weekend which sells 175,000 tickets to the public each year. Also, BBC Radio 6 holds several music festivals each year where live indie music is played. Although the listeners of raido have declined, 27 million are still present. They make up a mass audience in terms of demographics and age groups howevver, a niche audience in terms of numbers when compared to on-demand music app users which have over 300 million users.
In conclusion, I agree with the statement 'Radio is a dying media' to a small extent. Many reasons support this such as the decline in listeners, oppositional readings and smaller range of audiences. However, people do still tune into the radio as 600 licensed radio stations remain active in the UK but due to an increase in on-demand music sources, people have left radio.