Radio and Records Closes

The news of Radio and Records, or R&R as it has come to be known, was not surprising but not expected either. Radio and Records opened it's doors in 1973. It became an industry beacon over the years and each issue was anticipated with great interest and excitement. I've read some managers had to lock the current issue up until they had read it before lending it out to other staff. However, the proliferation of radio industry websites in recent years has made it more competitive to get news and information out. Consolidation of the radio industry also has removed much of the healthy competition not only for listener market share, but also for the businesses that served the radio industry. Broadcast equipment companies, jingle production companies, etc have fewer customers to sell to. Yes, the number of radio stations to service are still there, but the number of (potential) clients has dropped. This affects the revenue to the related industries. As revenue drops, many companies suffering cut their ad budgets. This really is the last thing a company should cut, and radio sales executives face that challenge everyday. When these budgets are cut, the industry trade publications that offer you great resources of information also lose revenue. And so decisions need to be made. The economy hasn't helped either. With a bittersweet sentiment, the internet has made it more and more difficult for print publications to survive. But Radio and Records is indicative of how the radio industry is slow to adapt to change, and slow to embrace a progressive business model that caters to an internet/digital media audience. If the radio industry continues to be ignorant of this it will suffer the same fate as radio's customers (the advertisers) are becoming part of the internet/digital media audience (the listeners).

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