Steve Jobs Goes Crazy With Radio

 Hey…has he gone crazy? Steve Jobs recently announced the development of the newly designed Apple Nano complete with a built-in FM tuner. He must be crazy to build an old technology like radio into a new technology like the Nano.  I think he is crazy like a fox.  

The new Nano has some cool new features, like Live Pause that allows you to pause your radio, and fast forward as well.  But more importantly, there is a feature called Tagging that lets users tag, preview, and purchase songs they like when they sync their Nano with iTunes.  So the obvious becomes transparent.  Radio exposes consumers to the music, and the Nano Tagging feature drives listeners directly to Steve Jobs iTunes, which happens to be the number one music retailer in the world.  Radio sells the music, and Apple collects the checks. Bingo.

But I think there is more to it than that.  Take a look at the chart below of “Daily Media Hours by Media Source”:  

Source: 2008 TVB Media Comparison Study

Are you surprised to see that radio accounts for around 23 percent of the average media time spent by Adults 25-54? That exceeds the average time spent on the Internet!!  With the addition of a radio tuner on Nano, Mr. Jobs has the ability to further tap into people’s daily media habits…and make a ton of money from it.  The radio industry isn’t too upset about it either.  Nano FM Tuner = Bigger Radio Audiences.  Radio has always been a portable medium, and it is not surprising to find that it has once again morphed into the latest portable technology.

New personal media devices and mobile telephones become even more personalized when people can localize the content, listen to local radio stations, and local announcers, local traffic and weather, local and national sports, local news information, and even local advertisers.  Yes, people want to hear about sales, discounts, and ways they can save money…locally.

Plus radio is free. Free works. Free is an outstanding media model.  And free will continue to keep radio alive and well for many many years to come.  Radio has moved from AM transistors, to stereo FM, to Internet radio, to Apple Nano’s, and onto mobile telephones. Radio provides free local content that is available in the car, in the office, on your Nano, and on your mobile telephone.  The old media has become new again.  And radio continues to be an important part of daily life even in a media abundant society.  Thank you Mr. Jobs.