Radio in the digital age

MANILA, Philippines - In this day and age, you can find absolutely everything on the Internet, making the world a lot smaller. Known to all as the eminent black hole of accessibility, it has rendered so many things obsolete. Directory listings, encyclopedias and movie rentals now seem like farfetched ideas from the past but there’s always the other side of the coin. Looking back at just the last decade, the net gave birth to emerging technologies we suddenly can’t live without — Internet radio shaping up to be one of them.

What started in Seattle in the ‘90s has since grown to epic proportions; the number of online radio stations is growing by the day and in the Philippines, the trend has long since caught on. Today, the majority of traditional stations that broadcast on the airwaves are available via live online streaming as well. Considering that the audience is evolving, this is a wise choice. People come with various preferences and with the advent of media becoming more accessible online, net radio essentially gives listeners more control.

Just last year, RJ Underground Radio UR 105.9 said goodbye to FM and re-launched online as UR Faceradio. “Going online is just a way of changing with the times. You have to go where your audience is, and your audience is on the Internet,” says Kris Isaac or DJ Memphis, who used to work at UR 105.9. What came as surprising news at the time was just a matter of evolution.

Goofing off at Dig Radio.

Vin Dancel, director for content and creatives of Pinoytuner.com, mentions that stations are turning to broadcast via the net because “it’s the new frontier. Thirty percent of Filipinos spend a lot of time online. That’s about 33 million Pinoys.” Pinoytuner is known as the forerunner in the online sphere of local Internet radio, responsible for launching DigRadio.ph. It was set up by a bunch of former NU 107 jocks at an opportune time when listeners weren’t ready to let go of the Home of New Rock and has quite a solid following. Dig maintains as a purely rock and alternative station but assures it will keep its playlists 60 percent local.

A distinctive pro when launching a station online is having all sorts of related media at your fingertips. Dig doesn’t just stream music programs; the format has made it possible for them to produce videos as well. Kim Marvilla’s Gig at the Dig is an online show that features local acts performing live at the Dig Radio studios. Most online stations also utilize social media tools like blogs, Twitter or Facebook to get direct contact with the audience. Gone are the days of waiting on hold, just to request a song. It takes a lot less effort to tweet the DJ.

Apart from Dig Radio, PinoyTuner has a couple of other stations up its sleeve. There’s Planet Jazz for the jazz fans, Rice Radio, which is essentially a pop station, and lastly, Yo Radio, a place where local hip-hop can flourish. In the future, Pinoytuner aims to be an online hub for all things worth highlighting in local popular culture — a radio portal, television station and magazine rolled into one.

With the Internet as home base, an attractive perk is that webcast is available all over the world. “The Internet provides radio stations with a much wider reach. We get a lot of Filipinos abroad who are looking for something to feel connected with home,” says DJ Alven of Monster Radio RX 93.1. Not only that, foreigners who stumble upon Filipino stations get to listen in and appreciate the scene here. Coming from a large FM station that also transmits online, DJ Alven likes to stress that Internet broadcast is there to complement listening on the airwaves, not replace it.

Back in the old days, “DJs had to use record players and all their information about the bands came from the bands themselves. They had to read up and go to gigs if they wanted to know anything about the music or the bands,” says Kris Isaac, recalling with fondness conversations with veteran DJs. “Before the Internet, you could get to know the DJ by the songs that they liked to play, or the mood they liked to convey on air.” While accessibility is attractive, a downside is that it takes away traditional radio’s mystique. Today, fewer DJs are regarded as authorities on music and only a handful are affected by the sentimentality of old school radio. With so many stations to choose from online, the listener is now king.

In 2010, The Limousines released a song called Internet Killed the Video Star, paying homage to The Buggles’ late ‘70s release, Video Killed the Radio Star. Both songs echo the same sentiment, mostly about how technology is changing the course of the music scene entirely. The digital revolution affects everything. Maybe one day, all radio stations will migrate to the net. Some buses already have full access to Wi-Fi onboard; private cars may follow suit. Who knows? It’s a brave new — digital — world for radio.