WBEZ

Part Two: The Role of The Curator, Or Why Disk Jockeys Could Be More Relevant Than Ever

Continuing analysis of the SXSW panel called “The Future of Radio”. Panelists included moderator Kevin Smokler, Celia Hirschman of Downtown Marketing and KCRW, Roman Mars of WBEZ, Elise Nordling from SomaFM, and Tim Westergren of Pandora, bringing together lifelong radio listeners, public radio professionals, Internet radio stars, and purveyors of social networking applications. Part One is here.

New services (like, oh, Medialoper) are designed to help consumers sift through the mass of media being thrown their way. In the past, disk jockeys served as curators of music. In today’s world, the increased level of programming makes the curator process even more important. This means aligning consumers with trusted sources of information. A trust relationship develops between the two parties — without that trust — in taste, quality, integrity — the consumer goes away.

Part One: The Music Industry Doesn’t Have A Clue, And The Government Isn’t Helping Either

Remember when it was just video killing the radio star? Today, it’s the Internet and satellite and the iPod and, let’s be frank, general boredom with the medium. Does radio have a future in a digital world?

This was the topic of a SXSW panel called “The Future of Radio” (perhaps it’s a sign of the times that the podcast doesn’t seem to be online yet, but the video is — link below). Panelists included moderator Kevin Smokler, Celia Hirschman of Downtown Marketing and KCRW, Roman Mars of WBEZ, Elise Nordling host of Indie Pop Rocks from SomaFM, and Tim Westergren of Pandora, bringing together lifelong radio listeners, public radio professionals, Internet radio stars, and purveyors of social networking applications.

Before the session started, I eavesdropped on a conversation between two long-time radio professionals. At one point, the man said, “I’m very, very interested in podcasting.” And I’m thinking, “So you should be, so you should be.”Â

Radio Killed The Radio Star, Part Two

Radio Killed The Radio Star, Part One