Teens Tune Out Radio Says Study
From RAIN and Vancouver’s The Province: “Mark Weir, 16, doesn’t listen to the radio as much as he used to. ‘There are too many commercials,’ he said. Instead, he listens to the computer. “‘With the computer, you can download whatever you want, and you don’t have to listen to what you don’t want.’
“He’s part of a national trend. Statistics Canada says the time teens spend listening to radio is plummeting. In 1999, teens listened to about 11.3 hours of radio a week. Last year, it dropped to 8.5 hours. That’s less than half of the 19.5 hours a week adults devote to radio, which hasn’t changed significantly in five years…
“Gisele Baxter, a University of B.C. professor who studies popular culture, said, ‘radio culture has become largely irrelevant to teens.’.. She compared the fragmentation of TV’s audience by cable to what is happening to radio when confronted with the huge choice the Internet offers… “She said listeners shouldn’t expect Internet radio such as Yahoo! Launch to be ad free. ‘It’s not really offering them anything more than conventional radio. It’s a glorified technical version of calling in a particular request.’
“It’s through Internet music magazines such as epitonic.com and betterpropaganda.com that the Internet will become the savvy consumer’s front line for finding and enjoying music, said Peter Gouzouasis, a UBC professor of music education.”
