Two stories you should be aware of this week that may cause you to worry about the future of radio on the internet.
The first was a claim that Apple were about to ban single station radio apps from their iTunes store. Apple clarified this by saying they expected radio apps to deliver more than just the station logo and a link to the audio stream. They compare simple apps like that to spam-like “fart” apps. Just what you want your radio station to be compared to, right ?
The second …

Apple announced this week the inclusion of an FM receiver in the new iPod Nano range. Of course Apple being Apple they’ve not just included a radio, they’ve enhanced it brilliantly, with “pause/rewind” and something called “tagging”.
Pause/Rewind speaks for itself and is such a simple useful concept.
Tagging is a system where FM broadcasters transmit Apple iTunes Catalogue IDs in spare RDS ODA (Data) groups identifying the song playing. This then displays the Artist/Title information on screen and when the listener hits “tag” the information is stored. When the Nano is …

Word out this week in the Financial Times that Apple are doing a deal with record companies where customers get free unlimited access to the iTunes library if they buy a premium “all you can eat” iPod or iPhone. The plan, some say, will kill radio.
Are we worried? Not in the slightest. iPod as cool as some might think it is (not us) is missing the immediacy, intimacy and community that radio provides. Radio is still the No.1 music discovery platfom for the vast majority of the population. …