Record industry group settles suit against iMesh P2P

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Another blow fer da RIAA monsters!!!: The iPod has become a radio station-in-a-pocket that pumps out thousands of songs, at random, from your very own personal hit parade.

No bad songs. No DJ chatter. No commercials.

And that's meant plenty of harm to radio stations already suffering from a stagnant ad market, dismal stock prices, bored listeners, and online competition.

The ability to go to iTunes.com, pay 99 cents for a song, and put it in your iPod ? something that 3 million people have already done a total of 100 million times ? can't be good for radio, which has already seen listening levels drop nearly 10 percent in the last five years.

Five years ago, 15.7 percent of all 18 to 24-year-olds were tuned into radio, on average, at any given moment. Last winter, it was down to 13.5 percent, according to Arbitron ratings data.

"By leaving the 'computer' behind, Apple's new devices bring your MP3 files out of the personal, private sphere of a headphone environment and into the space where radio currently lives," said Tom Webster of Edison Media Research.

"A high-capacity MP3 player set to randomly shuffle through gigantic playlists can provide the sense of surprise and discovery that was previously the exclusive domain of radio," Webster added.

But two prominent radio programmers told The Post they've got what computers don't ? and never will.

"If they want to listen to nothing but music, they'll go to iPod," said Power 105.1's Michael Saunders. "People are entertained by the radio . . . that's why you have huge morning personalities."

Added Hot 97's Tracy Cloherty, "They've got a great ad campaign, and kudos to their marketing people, but radio still remains the most portable, the most local and the most personable."

Although radio boosters also say that, unlike iPods, their medium exposes listeners to new songs, singers, bands and trends, Edison's Sean Ross said that's changing as well.

"It seems more people are now getting to music faster than radio gets it to them," Ross said, citing clubs, portals, user groups, MTV, BET and the consumer press ? not to mention iTunes browsing.; Posted by: cybershoplifter Posted on: 07/21/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use