THE Internet’s tentacles seem to have no limit, reaching out and strangling CDs, bookstores, newspapers and magazines. Now it has its sights set on the car radio.
Many people are already accustomed to plugging an iPod into the car to listen to their library of Chet Baker or Arcade Fire tracks rather than CDs. But now there is a new movement that could really threaten traditional broadcast radio: Internet music services like Pandora, Slacker and Last.fm, already popular with computer and smartphone owners, are being tailored by software developers, consumer electronics companies and even automakers to work more seamlessly with car stereo systems. So, while video didn’t end up killing the radio star, this time the Internet might just succeed.
The devices responsible for this trend are smartphones like Apple’s iPhone, RIM’s line of BlackBerrys and phones using the Android software developed by Google. These handsets all have free applications that play customized music channels streamed over the Internet using the phone’s 3G wireless data connection. The services are generally free, although smartphone owners typically pay about $30 a month on top of regular voice service for unlimited data usage.
The attraction is that rather than being shackled to the same old hits from local radio stations, listeners can customize the music channel to suit their tastes. Pandora has about 750,000 songs and 40 million listeners. Put in the name of your favorite artist, say Chairlift, and Pandora creates a station that features Chairlift and similar groups, like Metric.
But using such a service on a phone in the car usually meant looking away from the road to switch channels or skip a song on the phone — a major distraction. So companies are marrying these services to existing in-car controls, essentially making it no different than switching between 1010 WINS and Q104.3.
Alpine, a car stereo maker, for example, offers the $400 Alpine iDA-X305S Digital Media Receiver with Pandora Link. Using a special iPhone-compatible cable, the in-dash receiver lets listeners skip through their customized stations and even give songs a thumbs up or thumbs down by pushing in and turning the receiver’s front dial. The downside is that drivers still have to look down at the stereo’s display to find what can be a needle in a haystack of endless channel choices.
Pioneer recently introduced a more elegant solution that adds voice control to its Pandora option. The AVIC X920BT costs $1,200 (not including the cost of a professional installation), but it throws a lot into one package: a 6.1-inch LCD touch screen, turn-by-turn navigation, AM/FM/CD and carbon-conscious features like an Eco Graph display that tells you how your driving habits are hurting (or helping) the planet. But connect an iPhone to the system using an optional $50 cable and the unit really shines.
Not only will the in-dash display list your iPhone music library, but it also will control an about-to-be-released Pandora app specifically designed to work with the Pioneer system.
During a test drive when I became irritated by a Beyonce song, I simply pushed a “voice” button on the side of the Pioneer display and told the system to “play the Doors.” Within a couple of seconds, the unit began to play songs from the “Soft Parade” album. The sound quality, while not equivalent to a CD, was as good as typical radio reception and better than some satellite radio stations. And when a call came in, the built-in Bluetooth hands-free system automatically muted the music.
I did discover some limitations, however. AT&T’s 3G wireless service is notoriously patchy in New York City, so there were occasional dead spots when the music dropped out as the cellphone searched for a signal. Furthermore, the software will not let you create or add new Pandora stations, a nod to concerns about distracted driving. And the Pioneer and Alpine stereos work only with Pandora on an iPhone. I did try a Bluetooth connected Motorola Droid phone with the Pioneer system, but because it lacked custom software controls, it meant that I had to go back to using the buttons on the phone, a definite distraction and potential hazard.
However, such limitations may soon disappear as automakers integrate streaming Internet services directly into their cars. Ford is one of the first to tether smartphones to its vehicles by allowing compatible apps to connect to its latest version of Sync. The 2011 Fiesta, for example, will allow some Android and BlackBerry applications to use the car’s voice recognition and steering wheel controls. Not surprisingly, one of the first apps is Pandora. In an early demonstration using a Motorola Droid phone, I was able to switch among Pandora stations using my voice, and I could skip songs using the forward button on the steering column. Ford has plans to let even more software developers connect apps to its cars, including programs that play podcasts and read Twitter feeds.
Of course, traditional radio broadcasters have heard the drumbeat of mobile apps. They have responded with their own apps, streaming live broadcasts from thousands of stations to handsets and through them, to cars.
“We’re not trying to dictate where people connect to us,” says Evan Harrison, an executive vice president of Clear Channel Radio. “We need to be everywhere.”
So the company has a popular app of its own called iheartradio. It’s a virtual tuner that allows listeners to choose streams from Clear Channel’s network of over 750 AM and FM stations nationwide. According to Mr. Harrison, the online streams have added 15 percent more listeners to the company’s total audience.
“We are only too well aware of the technology,” says Fred Jacobs, president of Jacobs Media, a 27-year-old radio consulting firm. In a little over a year and a half, Mr. Jacobs has seen a land rush in radio apps. His firm has responded by creating more than 130 iPhone apps for individual radio stations and programs across the country. The separate apps, which the company said have been downloaded by more than 2.5 million listeners, cover stations and shows including C-SPAN Radio, “Loveline With Dr. Drew” and KDRY Christian Radio. Mr. Jacobs says these free applications often include extra features, like photos, and could offer new forms of advertising on a phone or dashboard screen.
“It’s a way for radio to get its portable mojo back,” he says.
Software developers also sense the opportunity. Livio Radio is about to introduce a $4.99 iPhone app that turns the handset into a digital tuner capable of pulling in music from 42,000 AM/FM and Internet-only stations. The company has designed its software to make it easier for drivers to scan stations with a swipe of a finger, although I still had trouble squinting at the iPhone screen.
So is the death of traditional radio ineluctable?
Joe Kennedy, chief executive of Pandora, says he thinks there will be a gradual migration in the car to services like Pandora, but he also says he believes it will not become a mainstream service until all new cars feature systems that can tap into apps. On the other hand, one player in this game of digital musical chairs may soon end up without a seat: Sirius XM Radio. Its satellite radio service is based on a monthly subscription model that few music fans may feel compelled to pay for, given the wider variety of genres available free on the Internet.
Ultimately, the incursion of Internet-based music services and radio station streams may be less about annihilating yet another business model than it is about breaking down barriers. For the first time, small local stations will be able to reach an entire driving nation, so some broadcasters may see their audiences swell as more listeners find them on Internet-connected car radios. In the end, it may simply be a case of radio is dead, long live radio.
