Given the estimated 1,000 layoffs of iHeart programming people, and as radio has changed its name to audio, do you think radio is a dead medium?

Scott Kaplan

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No Fear of Failure: Scott Kaplan’s Journey from Old to New Media

From our Cali BBQ Media blog post about our Digital Hospitality podcast with Scott Kaplan:Is the radio business dead?&nbsp;The answer depends on who you ask.&nbsp;This week’s guest Scott Kaplan, a veteran of the broadcasting industry, would argue that audio storytelling is not dead, but very much alive and thriving thanks to technology and digital distribution.Scott Kaplan is all-in on whatever he does because “failure is not an option.”The digital revolution has impacted many industries, and change can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. For those people like&nbsp;Scott Kaplan&nbsp;with an open mind and a drive to always grow, the future is bright and only getting brighter.Don’t wait for change to happen, make change happen. A broken industry won’t fix itself.

Shawn P. Walchef

Just like DirecTV and cable providers are going down. Radio will always have a market but definetly will slowly and steadily lose listeners. I like Darren Smith but cant handle sitting through 3  minutes of commercials every 20 minutes. Dont even have AM antenata hooked up on my new stereo

Toby McDonald

It will never die. Just like tv. It’s impact and importance may dwindle but it will always be around

Alex Padilla

Because you need to make money to produce high quality content. Not everyone wants to pay a subscription for that. So advertiser supported radio, in some form, will survive.

Scott Duffy

Not dead yet but exists in a death spiral. Technology is disrupting how we get information and entertainment.

Stu Schreiber

I worked in radio years ago in Toledo OH from 1999-2005. My PD at the time thought one day the big companies would need just one person per time zone to run their stations. We’re coming closer to that reality! So glad I left radio!! Cheap business for sure. YouTube and streaming like Scott & BR is where it’s at.

Mike Krupinski

local radio speaks to the heart of its community...a generic fake voice will not do. It's not just music...it's personality, news, spontaneity, and a blend of culture that shapes that perfect blend to the listening audience.  selling out to blandness just for the sake of money and easy technology ain't selling me!!!!!

Dee mcginn

Many will die but radio isn’t dead yet and has its role... the radio that survives will have various platforms providing consumers multiple choices including video

Joe Rigby

Streaming has become to convenient for people. Radio is outdated and hasnt had a make over in 60+ years. No-a-days people are interested in a visual with their audio kinda like the same way the 80s had MTV but now its reality 'events' on visual.

Rick

Radio needs advertising to survive. Advertising drives most people to podcasts. Easy fix: turn the podcast model into the radio format. But of course most stations won’t do that.

As others (including Scott Kaplan) said, storytelling is not dead.  A great audio presentation will paint a picture in the mind of the listener.  Broadcasting was one which found the common denominator.  In 2020 it looks as if we're transitioning to a one-to-one world and yet the search continues for a common denominator.  The delivery system may change (and the broadcast companies seem to want to expedite that) but great radio-when it's found-will survive.

davemason

Not dead just evolving. However, that being said just like Kaplan has said and talked about the need for large studios, numerous employees to run everything is becoming a thing of the past. And all these years of of executive overpaying themselves and not preparing for the future is costing people their jobs which is unfortunate.Personally, I think Radio will still exist. However, instead it will be content from streams.

Derrick McQuinn

It will start a ripple effect through the industry, and through allied industries.

Mark Zegan

The production just isnt woth the cost anymore with how easy and cost effectively podcast can be produced. The model of large corporate stations just simply doesnt make sense in the long term

Christian Pedersen

As long as Satellite radio is a paid service and terrestrial radio “isn’t” and vehicles are outfitted with a radio there will always be a market for terrestrial radio. I think the medium will need to adapt by using multiple mediums so revenue. So I dont see terrestrial radio going away. Individual stations will have to adopt more mediums if they want to survive though

Bubba

Radio will be around, just like cable TV is alive -  despite the desire to "cut the cord".

Edwin Garcia

We used to have a radio show, then the station closed down. The funny thing is, a good deal of our listeners didnt even notice, so it does seem like radio is lost on the youth and will go the way of newspaper

Clearly, radio will have to reinvent itself to stay relevant. Podcasts, videos and free lancers are around to make a radio station bespoke. Content is king, vanilla sucks. Be real, be unique, be fresh, be creative and success will happen. That's exactly what Scott Kaplan is doing even though he may not have drawn it up the way it is going down.

Bob Rauch

Radio is only good for locally-owned stations doing local programming.

Lorenzo Z. Villalobos Jr.

Looking good my man! Love you being on sided!