-
Hertz Proves Transmission and Reception
Heinrich Hertz proved electromagnetic signals could be transmitted and received -
The First Public Display of a Radio
Nikola Tesla made the first pubic display of a radio transmission in St. Louis Missouri -
First Trans-Atlantic Transmission
Guglielmo Marconi successfully transmits a radio signal across the Atlantic. -
First Program Transmitted
Reginald Fessenden becomes the first to transmit a radio program featuring speech and music -
Westinghouse Starts Regular Broad casts
Westinghouse's station KDKA even read the Presidential Election result over the air. This helped solidify the medium of radio -
FRC created
The Federal Radio Commission was created to govern radio broadcasting -
FCC Replaces FRC
The broader sweeping Federal Communication Commission replaced the FRC -
FM Goes Public, What is AM Anyway?
After demonstrating FM radio's reliability it was assigned 42 to 50 MHz bandwidth by the FCC. Until now public radio was only transmitted using Amplitude Modulation of electromagnetic waves (pictured in red in the caption). AM method transmits the different sounds by alternating the amplitude of the electromagnetic wave. Never changing the wavelength. Resulting in a steady but longer wave. -
FM on the Scene (con't)
However, Frequency Modulation (FM) maintains the relative height of the electromagnetic wave while alternate the frequency or speed with which it produces the wave. This allows for a much clear and end product. As a result, music stations gravitated towards this FM new technology for a crisper sound. Meanwhile, talk radio congregated on AM. -
AM's rebuttal (FM vs AM the Final Say)
AM does still possess an upside. AM waves are longer and constant allowing them to travel further distances, especially at night when they bounce more readily off the earth’s lower layer of OZone. In short, the introduction of FM lead to a new subdivision of music and talk radio. Allowing for better clarity but at the sacrifice of transmission range. -
Explaining the Radio in 1943
-
XM Radio's creation
XM is a satellite sourced radio service. The first of its kind producing a wide range of crisp unique radio stations available to anyone with an XM receiver and a subscription. In its height it came as a pre-loaded receiver in certain car brands. -
Sirius Satellite Radio Founded
Sirius enters the scene in direct competition with incumbent XM the only other Satellite radio provider in the game. -
Pandora Internet Radio (Streaming Battle Part 1)
Pandora is an internet streaming radio’s. Allowing one to create custom stations based on a certain band or genre and then click thumbs up or down while listen. In turn, ever improving the selection of music according to one’s likes and dislikes. Even letting one skip a song or two if they don’t care to hear it but you can't select a specific song. Also, it struggles to be profitable. Drawbacks aside Pandora has an one of the best personalized radio algorithms and a faithful following. -
Spotify (Streaming Battle part 2)
Spotify is a Swedish based on demand Streaming service. A service that, unlike Pandora, allows one to listen to a specific song. It also offers the choice to listen to an uniquely crafted radio station. It does share two things with Pandora: boasting of millions of users; and struggling to produce a profit. Both have proven a consumer desire for specifies streaming. Along with the high cost of music royalties. -
-
Period: to
Streaming as Advertisement (Streaming battle part 3)
In the last five years the big players in music, online wholesale, and advertisement (respectively) have each invested major money into the music streaming service:
Google Play Music (2011)
Amazon Prime Music (2014)
Apple Music (2015)
Each recognizing the popularity of on demand streaming, saw the field as a means to gather data on and recruit customers. This has greatly effected the already profit poor likes of Spotify and Pandora. -
Prediction:
As long as there are cars and personalized transportation, there will always be a high demand for radios. There will always be a need for free, current, accessible, and locally relevant programming. 100 years from I am certain that there will be podcasts, internet streaming services like Pandora that intimately know you, and Satellite. AM and FM will slowly fade into Satellite and Podcast based radio. Sooner still, Pandora and Spotify must change or be forgotten. -
The Medium is the Message
Radio, no matter the form, will always entertain and inform through music and spoken word. It allows one to choose what level of attention they place in a given program. It can leave very lasting memories, as when my mother remembers hear of J.F. Kennedy’s assassination on the radio. Likewise, it can just be casual background noise. However, it cannot be played back and is more easily tuned out than the two system stimulating television.
