Why the Trend of Listening to Internet Radio is on the Rise
One of the biggest benefits of the Internet is the freedom it provides users. Want to stream a movie? Select from hundreds of libraries. No TV selects what you should watch for you. As a result, millions of people prefer watching videos and entertainment content online.
Before online television became a thing in the mid-2000s, someone brought radio to the Internet (Not you Russ Hanneman). That guy was Carl Malamud, an author, and technologist. Today, people are increasingly streaming radio content online for numerous reasons. Below are some of them.
Ease of Access
Online radio stations can be accessed on any device anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection. Whether you are taking the train to work or on a holiday location, you can access music apps. If your broadband connection is strong, there are no limitations on what you can listen to.
A majority of online radio users access the stations through their mobile devices. Up to 42% of Americans stream their music online, mostly using tablet gadgets. The music stations are downloadable on play stores, which makes it even easier to access them.
Social Media Influence
Online radio stations are highly popular on social media. In fact, social networks like Facebook and Snapchat can be credited for the growth of some these stations. Listeners select songs to listen to on apps like Shazam. The app then compares your selection to that of your Facebook friends. In the process, you discover more songs that are popular with your friends.
About 27% of online radio users linked up their accounts with those of their friends to discover their listening habits. It’s not unusual for some people streamers to stream themselves listen to music apps on Facebook. Others include their favorite tunes on their profiles to attract followers who listen to the same type of music as they do.
Better of Discovering New Artists
Besides sharing their favorite songs on social media, music fans love discovering new music. Few terrestrial radio stations offer the convenience of discovering new music as online radios do. A simple test proves this. Pick any major music streaming app. Scroll through their menu and chances there is a category for new artists.
Unlike traditional radio, online radio stations don’t decide which songs you should listen to. They list all available songs and allow you to pick your favorite tracks, Research shows that 42% of music fans come back to look for new hits while 53% of the people also come to listen to songs they already know.
Exhaustive Variety
The top online radio apps offer more music than you could ever have time for. In a similar way to traditional radios, music apps allow artists to submit their songs. But unlike terrestrial radios, the bar on what kind of music can be published online is low.
Anyone with a voice and a recording device can record themselves sing and submit the songs to music apps. Of course, you’ll need a little bit of effort to impress listeners but that is not to mean you will be the only one doing it.
The wide variety of songs and exhaustive list of categories are seeing more people ditch traditional radios for their online counterparts. With the Internet, it doesn’t matter how unique your music taste is. Somewhere on an online radio station, someone is playing it. Whether you love classic R&B or alternative rock, thetop10sites: online music stations have music and artists you are bound to love.
Impact on Moods and Happiness
An unsurprising reason people can’t seem to get off Internet radios is the impact music has on their lives. Research by the Daily Mail shows that people who listen to radio find music uplift their happiness levels 100%. Music also has an impact on people’s energy levels, improving it by up to 300%.
So, why online radio? It all goes down to the freedom the Internet offers. People don’t have their moods lightened up by just about any music. As you’ve probably experienced, you feel happier listening to songs you love.
The best music streaming apps let you choose the songs and artists you want to listen to. From there, you can listen to songs online as a way to find relaxation. Since people who use music to relax spend a lot of time on their radio, they tend to choose the ever available online radio stations. Radio users also enjoy the ability to listen to music online without interruptions from advertising or newscasts.
Affordability
Except for very rare cases, most FM stations don’t charge listeners. Online radios are fast catching up, with most new stations offering people the freedom to listen to music free. With that in mind, music fans can’t complain about being charged to listen to radios anymore. Sure, some, like Apple Music app are still premium services- -but online radios are mostly free.
The only concern online radio users have pertains to data consumption. Some music apps are known to be data-guzzling. To get around that, fans rely on the wide variety of free apps to sample and compare data consumption for using the different services.
Convenience
Online radios and podcast offer unlimited convenience to modern listeners. In the busy world we live, people want to consume lots of content at the same time. They may want to listen to their favorite podcasts as during meal breaks at work. They want to save new songs and listen to them afterward.
Nothing offers better convenience for consuming radio content the way online radios do. Whether podcasts or music apps, controlling what to consume and when to do it can be achieved at the click of an icon. Switching between songs and saving favorites to listen to them afterward is easier than ever before.
To Conclude
Radio on the Internet popularity has been growing steadily albeit slower than TV. Still, the numbers are rising at significant numbers, especially among young listeners. The exhaustive lists of music to listen to, affordability and ease of access are the main reasons driving people towards streaming apps.
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