Podcasting-The New Radio Revolution

[liveoaktx]

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2005/tc2005033_0336_tc024.htm

***Traditional broadcast radio playing crap? Be your own radio

How fast is technology turning radio upside down? Ask Brian Ibbott. Last September, when the wannabe Denver deejay started playing music on the Internet, the term for what he was doing -- podcasting -- had been around for two weeks. These days the 35-year-old produces a half-hour show of popular songs called Coverville. Some 9,000 devotees download it three times a week to play on -- what else? -- their iPods. And if they tire of Coverville, they now have 3,500 other podcasts -- and counting -- to choose from
....
Maybe a few will come up with a way to make a living doing it. Maybe not. Regardless, a trend is afoot that could transform the $21 billion radio industry. Consider the basics: With no licenses, no frequencies, and no towers, ordinary people are busy creating audio programming for thousands of others. They're bypassing an entire industry.

The digital revolution took its time getting to radio. Now it's exploding -- and the big bang goes far beyond podcasting. As radio shows are turned into digital bits, they're being delivered many different ways, from Web to satellite to cell phones. Listeners no longer have to tune in at a certain time, and within range of a signal, to catch a show or a game. As the business goes digital, the barriers to entry -- including precious airwaves -- count for less and less.

.....

[CottonBear]

1. I'd never heard of podcasting until last week.

Apparently, there are already podcasting celebs. There's this husband and wife team from the US who have one of the most downloaded shows.

I feel so out of touch. I don't even have an i pod.

[liveoaktx]

2. No IPod necessary unless you want portability

as long as you have a MP3 player (like Windows Media Player or Jukebox, for example) you're in business to PLAY them. And a lot of the shows have made them RSS friendly so that you could download them at night and look at them the next day if they're really large files.

What's exciting to me about this is the non-radio part of this, but using the internet instead. Right now big business has a majority of lock on radio stations and can set the bar about what they play, how many commercials, etc. If you want to set up your own radio station, it's expensive. Imagine, instead, that on your computer, you create your own radio program and then list it out through one of the podcast directories (like this http://audio.weblogs.com/ ) so that other people can find it. You could do whatever you want, anyone can go get it and watch it (assuming they find it, for example). You could make your own list of shows you want to listen to every day and download them (to your Ipod or your computer)and thus be FREE to listen to what you want and how you want.

Here's an example of two guys who have made their own show. http://lance.heathville.com/danandcraig/ - they created an MP3 discussing social security.

This whole thing is like, instead of being led into a restaurant where your choices are baloney sandwiches and coke, you are at a smorgasboard table groaning with food choices.

[CottonBear]

4. Thanks for the information!

I may download some shows and listen to them this week. The article that I read was in the Atlanta Jouranl Constitution. The whole concept is very cool. I love the idea of a totally free media source where people can discuss the topics that are msot relevant to them.

[ochazuke]

3. Don't feel bad

I read that the term 'podcasting' was invented just last September.

And, you don't need an iPod. You can download the needed software and listen on your Mac or PC. I think ipodder.com is the right place to start.

[KharmaTrain]

5. This Has Been In The Works For A While...

I tried to explain this concept a year ago (I've been involved with digital and internet broadcasting since '97) and how it will soon be heard on your cellphone and PDA and people couldn't believe it.

With wireless systems sprouting up and the push for people to use these systems over hardwired ones, this opens the door to internet and digital radio/broadcasting (still outside the control of the FCC) on a massive scale. It's already happening in South Korea & Taiwan.

This is good news for prospective broadcasters and the new technology that's still on the way will change radio in a few years. Time to get in position now and ride the wave.