Has streaming killed the radio?

When comparing streaming services that provide users with podcasts and music versus regular radio, many reports state that streaming services are experiencing massive growth.

While streaming services are gaining listeners worldwide, the belief that they have killed radio is a bit exaggerated. We’ll review why radio is still popular and not yet headed to the grave.

The Radio Is (Basically) Free

Admittedly, there are some caveats and options here. Radio isn’t technically free, as you paid the price at some point when purchasing your vehicle or home radio. Still, our point stands that once you buy the hardware needed to listen to the radio, the rest of the programming, which is the important part, doesn’t require payment. So, you can hop into your car and switch the radio on to the game or listen to whatever music or talk station is on without thinking about the cost of listening – unless you subscribe to a high-definition radio service, which is indeed available and sounds lovely.

All that said, the number of people listening to the radio on a daily basis is down, according to Rajar, but it is certainly not dead. In 2022, 89% of Brits reported listening to terrestrial radio at least once per week, and the number of listeners remains high in the United Kingdom in 2024. At the same time, the United States reported a drop from 89% to 83% after the pandemic, primarily fuelled by a temporary lack of commuting when businesses were shut down.

Find New Music

Apps like Spotify can help you find new music. Of course, in the case of Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora, and any other streaming service you could subscribe to, the maths within will first identify you based on the demographic info you’ve provided, then make some algorithmic assumptions about you and present some music. For some people, this process is great. For others who want to do a bit of exploring by themselves and not have software try to “figure out” what they like, the radio remains a solid option.

The radio is very good at providing the old tunes you once loved and can still remember the lyrics to and fresh music daily. This is mainly because radio stations are curated at least in part by a human who gets to make decisions, though we are sure that a little algorithm assists in many cases. Nevertheless, hearing music you find comfortable alongside a new artist’s songs is a great way to wade into finding something you’ve never heard instead of listening to only music you haven’t heard.

Consider your favourite DJ, someone who knows your genre and can filter out some of the stuff you don’t want to hear. You might even stumble upon old tunes you haven’t heard of, like Jerry Reed’s gambling tune “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” while playing dice games at the best online casino to visit while listening to the radio. Who knows – radio can make some magic happen!

Radio Is Easy

Listeners who have plodded through a streaming service like Spotify or YouTube Music to help guide them on what to listen to might find it distracting and a bit time-consuming. Moreover, this process of selecting music can be rather visual as it involves seeking out the correct song titles and searching using your eyes. The reality is that many people listen to the radio while driving in their car when they shouldn’t be doing any of the above actions.

We have to appreciate car apps like Android Auto and Android CarPlay, but the use of Google Assistant limits you from readily finding new music. It’s just another app and device to learn.

Meanwhile, a radio station with a specific genre is just more accessible. Radios are pretty passive devices that can be readily tuned to another station or just turned off or down with no impact on what the software end of a streaming service knows.

There is also the thrill of having your favourite song come on unexpectedly and cranking the volume right back up. Don’t you love that?

Listeners Don’t Have to Sign Up

How many different logins do people have just for entertainment purposes? The answer is more than a few. Radio listeners don’t need to sign up, receive marketing emails, or use two-factor authentication just to get in and listen. With regular radio, you do have the option to purchase whatever memorabilia your favourite radio DJ sells or to make a donation to public radio. But we certainly wouldn’t call a radio station demanding, and it won’t fill up your inbox unless you sign up and ask for it.

Conclusion

The rise of streaming services is real and ubiquitous, but radio is still around and kicking as an excellent way to attract passive listeners trying to make the most of their workday or commute. Terrestrial radio also provides a fantastic way for people to find new music while making the overall experience straightforward.