Messiah College

College-Age Students and Terrestrial Radio:

Where is the Future Headed?

Mikaela Mummert

Communications Senior Seminar – COMM 493

Dr. Dixon

12 December 2017
 Literature Review

In today’s age there are various outlooks on radio depending on the individual asked.

Some believe radio is continuing to thrive despite the development of the internet and digital

mediums. Others believe it is strongly on the decline with the introduction of other mediums of

accessing music or other content like streaming services that provide on demand listening. But it

is no secret that younger audiences are slowly tuning out of terrestrial radio. While the older

generations may continue to listen in to radio, it is the newer generations that need to be focused

on as they will set the precedent for how radio will develop in the near future.

New Alternatives to Radio

With the decline of terrestrial radio listening, listeners are turning to other mediums like

streaming services or podcasts to get their fill of music or talk content. When thinking of

streaming services, the main ones that come to mind include Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and

more. While they have huge differences from terrestrial radio, they’ve modeled themselves after

traditional radio aiming to be a source to discover new music (Belanger 367). Because of this,

experts have agreed that streaming services should be taken seriously as a strong competitor to

terrestrial radio (Belanger 368).

These services market themselves as radio but more personalized. This is what draws the

listener in. Many of these services use the word “you” to draw a personal connection between to

the medium. Using labels for stations and playlists like “Suggestions for You” or “New Releases

For You”, these services intrigue the listener as there are listening options available specifically

tailored to them (Glantz 40). This way of listening to music also offers music for specific

situations. These companies develop playlists that are made for “a candlelit dinner” or “high
intensity workouts”. These playlists can be access easily, requiring no effort from the user.

Platforms like Spotify also create a community of listeners. Users can put together their own

playlists, share their music, and see what their friends are listening to. This sense of community

draws in an individual as there is a drive to be a part of something and keep up with the music

their friends are currently loving (Glantz 43).

Podcasting is another platform that has stemmed from radio that is currently garnering

more and more attention. This more talk-based medium draws from terrestrial radio but has

more freedom. Podcasts can be structured different as they are not based on broadcast time

frames. They can also use profanity and talk about subjects that the FCC may not permit (Berry

9). The uninterrupted structure of podcast allows for listeners to become more engaged with the

topics discussed. Podcasting serves as a way to get a foothold into the radio industry without

specifically having a job in the field.

Current Outlook for Radio

While there are alternatives to radio that may intrigue individuals in today’s society, radio

is still fighting to hold the newer generation’s attention. In 2012, AM/FM radio still proved to be

the main resource for music listening for ages greater than eighteen years old. YouTube beat

radio for the number one spot of ages under seventeen (Belanger 364). According to a study

done by Nielsen in 2015, 90% of adults listened to radio per week. The only medium that beat

out radio was television which only surpassed in the fifty and older age range (The Nielsen

Company par. 1).

Even with the introduction of new mediums of getting music, radio has distinguishing

factors that other technologies cannot compete with. Radio specializes in being localized and
having a personal connection with their communities. This is what draws in individuals and

creates listener loyalty. Listeners tune in to hear about how their local high school football team

did in the game last night or to get insight into what their local political figures are currently up

to (Belanger 369). Terrestrial radio is also broadcasted so it does not need any sort of internet

connection and does not crash when there is a large influx of people using the medium. In times

of power outages and natural disasters, one cannot depend on anything that requires internet

access. Radio provides information in these times of distress in an efficient and accessible way

(Belanger 369). With the internet not interfering with broadcast radio, it is also not susceptible

to online hackers. Sites like Spotify and Pandora that are internet based always have a chance of

being compromised not matter the security measures taken (Belanger 369). Another downside of

streaming services being based online is that an internet connection is necessary but internet isn’t

free. Many of these services also have paid options to get more premium services that remove

ads or allow for more on demand listening (Belanger 370).

Interact with Radio – What Can the Industry Do Better?

With other ways of accessing music and talk-oriented programs on the rise, the radio

industry needs to find creative ways to interact and draw in future generations. NPR has

constructed their own way to reach a multigenerational audience with NPR Music. While NPR

Music highlights different genres, they tend to favor rock-based popular music in independent

and public media (Cywnar 687). They’ve integrated other mediums to help draw in audiences to

interact with their broadcasts. On YouTube, they’ve released their “Tiny Desk” concert series

that always does extremely well with engagement over social media platforms (Cywnar 692).

This is what radio stations have to do to grab the attention of younger generations – use other

mediums to draw them in.

 Interaction with radio can be explained through the lens of the Uses and Gratifications

theory. This theory explains why individuals interact with various forms of media. Influences of

media use come from social circles, as people usually tend to use various forms of media that

their family, friends, or acquaintances utilize (Lauricella et al. 358). Media platforms also

compete for the attention of individuals which is very prevalent in the radio industry. Streaming

services and podcasts are constantly trying to win over radio listeners.

In the development of the Uses and Gratifications Theory, three approaches were

outlined as to why individuals engage with a certain type of media. Drawing from research,

these approaches explained that engagement was prompted by action/motivation,

structural/cultural, or functional reasons. Action/Motivation involvement is guided by

satisfaction from media from the individual, making use sporadic. Structural/Cultural

involvement bases engagement from the context in which an individual is in, motivated by those

around them or the culture that they are living in, making use a little more predictable as it is

expect of those for contextual and cultural reasons. Functional use is explained by reasons to

which an in individual needs to be engaged with media. Use is directly related to the specific

needs of a person (Katz & Blumer 298).

Research Gap and Questions

Newer generations are beginning to gain more control of today’s society as they are

growing in population. Engaging this generation is key to the future success of radio but how do

we engage them if we do not know their listening habits? There are many different avenues that

have branched off from radio that listeners are turning to instead of listening to traditional radio.

Streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora offer on demand listening and a
variety that traditional radio simply cannot compete with at that large of a scale. In the same

way, traditional radio offers personalized content to a specific area and personality that streaming

services cannot offer. It is a balance to see what this generation of listeners want and how radio

can adapt to keep listeners engaged with traditional radio. Through this study, a greater

understanding of how the younger generations are interacting with radio was gained. If they are

not, the radio industry needs to be one step ahead so they can brainstorm different ways to bring

back listeners to the terrestrial medium. The industry has to engage listeners and highlight why

radio is unique.

RQ1: How often do the newer generations interact with radio and if so how?

RQ2: If they do not interact with radio – why not?

Methodology

In order to discuss and better understand how college students interact with radio,

qualitative methods were explored. Qualitative research allows for participants to elaborate and

explain the reasoning behind their answers which will be play an important role in this study. To

achieve this level of understanding behind students and their views towards radio, focus groups

were implemented. The method of Grounded Theory facilitated these groups via the Uses and

Gratifications Theory. Grounded Theory takes a participant’s experiences and applies them

while using a lens of a theory to take a more systematic approach (Davis et. al 330). Using this

methodology, the current state of radio was explored in a much more detailed manner. Utilizing

focus groups allowed for an open discussion between the participants, prompting a better and

more candid response. Two focus groups were held in order to gain enough information to

develop an understanding of the views of college students towards the radio industry.
 Sampling

In this study, a purposive sample was taken. While grounded theory usually utilizes

theoretical sampling, radio is so prevalent that almost everyone has had some kind of interaction

with it. To achieve this sample, a mass email was sent with information asking for volunteers.

Word-of-mouth was also used to recruit participants. Two different sessions were held on

separate dates to survey students on their level of involvement with radio and to see what

alternatives they were turning to. The groups consisted of five Messiah College students from

various classes ranging from first years to seniors. Gender did not play a role in this study but

male and female students were represented. Each focus group lasted from 25-30 minutes and

consisted of nine main interview questions focusing on radio engagement, music listening habits,

streaming service involvement, and interaction with podcasts.

Participants in these focus groups were asked to discuss their current interaction

with terrestrial radio. The definition of “terrestrial radio” was explained as to only include

AM/FM radio that can be accessed via different mediums (ex. through apps, website, traditional

radio, etc.) at the beginning of the session. Their answers were likely to range greatly as there

are many other ways of accessing music on the go. If they did not use radio on a regular basis,

they were asked for their reasoning as to why. If they did use radio on a regular basis, they were

asked to what keeps them intrigued with this medium. In order to gauge the competition of radio

to more recently developed streaming services, a survey was taken as to how many use (and pay)

for this access to music. In addition to those topics, the medium of podcasting was explored as

to gauge how these participants view this as an “alternative” to radio. To wrap up the discussion,

participants were asked what would make their engagement with radio more active.
 In order to keep track and organize information, a few different codes were used.

Participants were divided into those who listen to radio and those who normally do not listen to

radio. In dividing up participants into these categories, it was easy to understand their points of

discussion and level of interaction. This expanded into a more in depth discussion about their

radio listening habits (if any) and what sets radio apart for them. Another code was used to track

any streaming service habits to see if that has an effect on the way they interact with radio or if it

serves as a substitution. Participants were split into those who use streaming services, those who

do not, and those who use a paid version of a streaming service.

In order to look at engagement of radio by college students from a more theoretical

standpoint, information from research using the Uses and Gratifications Theory was taken into

consideration. As research was conducted using this theory, three approaches were compiled to

help understand why individuals interact with media. These three approaches state that users

engage with media because of action/motivation, structural/cultural reasons, or functional

reasons (Katz and Blumler 298). Talking through engagement with the participants and trying to

place them in one of these categories gave insight to understand where radio can start

implementing techniques to draw in future generations. All this data compiled together formed a

workable understanding of how college students engage with radio and how the industry can

better prepare for the years to come.

All materials for this study were approved by the Institutional Review Board before focus

groups took place.

 Results

After reviewing and making some initial conclusions, the response to traditional

radio was surprisingly positive. Almost all of the participants listened or engaged with radio on

a regular basis in some way even if that for a relatively short amount of time. All participants in

the study also engaged with some sort of streaming service on a regular basis. This generally

occurred and was favored over radio but was not necessarily considered a substitute. While each

question prompted some different responses from the various individuals, there was a lot of

agreement on radio as a useful medium but using streaming services for more of the convenience

and versatility.

Music Listening and Engagement

When asked how they access music, a majority of participants favored streaming

services over traditional radio. Two of the ten participants leaned more towards radio citing it as

an easy source to get music as it is already built into your car. These two individuals listened to

radio more than the rest of the groups but were in different sessions so they did not interact

together to discuss this further. Spotify was cited as the main source of music listening as the

users commented on its versatility and ability to play songs on demand. YouTube was also

discussed to be a source to listen to music with one other participant attributing most of his time

spent listening to music through Apple Music. While Pandora doesn’t offer the on-demand

listening that Spotify does, two participants liked to use this service to listen and discover music.

Traditional Radio Engagement

Even though all participants favored streaming services over traditional radio, a

majority still used radio on a daily or weekly basis. A big theme in using radio was the
accessibility in the car. A majority of participants cited that much of their radio use usually took

place in the car. Some commuter students commented that they usually listen to the radio in the

mornings on the drive to school because the drive is short.

While accessibility was stated to be a pro to traditional radio, participants also indicated

that they used Spotify, another streaming service, or their own music library to listen to music in

the car through an aux cord or Bluetooth. One participant praised how easy Bluetooth was to use

as her phone automatically connects when she gets into her vehicle. While this was her main

source of music listening, she said that she did listen to traditional radio pretty often as well to

see the popular music trends. On longer drives, a majority of participants agreed that streaming

services were their go-to. Streaming services allowed for them to play the music they wanted or

to listen to specific songs that couldn’t be heard on the radio. Participants agreed that streaming

(mostly Spotify) was a road trip essential, as it allows for various genres of music and has the

ability to fit a mood.

One participant did not listen to traditional radio regularly at all and used only Spotify

and CDs. The only time she did listen to the radio was exclusively during the Christmas season.

She said that she loved the variety of Christmas songs that stations around the area played. Other

participants agreed in this specific focus group that Christmas was a time that they listened to

terrestrial radio more often. This also came up in the other focus group as well but these

participants also listened to traditional radio at some other points during the year; their listening

was just heightened during Christmastime.

While it was a minority in the focus groups, some participants said that they listen to the

radio in their homes or at work. One participant said that the radio was always on the in
background at work and sometimes at home. Another individual in the other session also said

that the radio is on at her home a lot in the background. One other participant commented on

how her grandparents always had NPR on in the background, which she was fond of.

Radio is a useful medium as it also provides news, weather, traffic, and other localized

content but participants in this study didn’t engage with most of these features as often as older

generations. When asked if they thought that weather and traffic are useful during a broadcast,

almost all participants agreed that using radio for traffic and weather was something that they’ve

never utilized or would not try to use in the future. Even more surprising, the participants also

agreed that when weather or traffic came on, they usually switched the station to find more

music or other content. Instead of getting this information from the radio, they turned to their

phones for immediate information. Even though they did not use radio for this purpose, one

focus group agreed that they could see how it could be useful. The other focus group held to

their idea that the phone was a quicker option.

Traditional Radio Accessibility

While this study focused on traditional radio, radio has had to evolve to compete with

streaming services, offering streams of their own broadcast. When asked if they have ever

accessed terrestrial radio stations online or through an app, eight out of ten participants indicated

they have done this but most did not do it on a regular basis. Some of the popular apps or

websites included NPR, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn.

One participant said she was guided to visit a radio station’s website and through

listening in the car because that station was advertising a special playlist that was going to be

played during a specific time. Another participant who was really into sports streamed a radio
station often that had talk content about his favorite football team. One other participant who

identified himself as big radio listener utilized radio streams very often. He used TuneIn and

some other services to access streams to explore different stations of genres he liked. Trying to

look for even more diverse content, he also listened to some streams from around the world.

Influences on Radio Listening

While influences differed, all participants in the focus group agreed that their

radio listening habits did change with who they were with. It was not just the older generations

that had influence on traditional radio listening on those who participated in these focus groups.

Friends contributed to streaming service and traditional radio listening as well. A majority of

participants expressed that they did listen to the radio more with their parents or grandparents.

They indicated that many of their parents listen to the radio most of the time or have the radio on

in their house. When taking grandparents into consideration, they said that they either listened to

the radio or nothing at all when with them. Most of the participants agreed that when with their

friends they utilized Spotify or another streaming service, especially during long distances. Two

participants did say that their friends did influence them to listen to traditional radio more, as

their friends liked popular music.

Preferability to Streaming Services

Since streaming services were preferred to terrestrial radio by participants in these

focus groups, they were asked as to why this was. The most common answer was that streaming

services provided on-demand listened to specific songs as well as they had less ad content. All

participants agreed that traditional radio can get slightly repetitive every now and then. While

that isn’t always a negative thing, Spotify allowed these participants to make playlists and listen
to songs when they wanted to. A few participants also touched on the fact that there are only so

many genres on the radio and only a select amount of songs in that genre that play. As an

example, one participant talked about how she had a whole playlist on Spotify dedicated to songs

in foreign languages. Another participant knew that if she wanted to listen to Celtic music, she

wouldn’t be able to listen to the radio because she wouldn’t be able to find a station that would

fit that genre.

Even though participants attributed their dislike of advertisements to why they preferred

streaming services over radio, four out of ten individuals did not pay for premium versions of

these streaming services to eliminate ads. Those who did pay for streaming services such as

Spotify took advantage of their student discount. It was expressed that paying for Spotify would

be re-evaluated once the student discount would not be valid anymore. When asked why they

are okay with ads on Spotify but not on traditional radio, participants explained that Spotify ads

were shorter. A majority of participants agreed that radio advertisements seemed like they lasted

a long time.

Podcast Engagement

Looking at podcasting as a sort of alternative to radio, a majority of participants

listened to one or more podcasts. Six out of the ten participants discussed their like for

podcasting as it is so diverse and the aspect of how specific themes and subjects can be.

Participants did not see podcasting as an alternative to radio because of the two mediums’

differences. The podcasts that participants listened to varied from person to person but were

rooted in their hobbies or interests. Two of the participants that did not listen to podcasts cited

the vast ideas and types as a deterrent from listening as they were overwhelming with picking a
specific topic. One of the participants she said turns to YouTube instead and finds YouTubers

that are knowledgeable in specific topics instead of podcasts. Those who did not listen to

podcasts said that they could see the benefits and enjoyment that engaging with podcasts brings.

Music Discovery

Radio can serve as a way for individuals to find new artists and for listeners to see what

is currently popular. Most participants admitted that they do not try to seek out music but find it

by accidentally stumbling upon it whether that be from listening to the radio, advice from

friends, or other sources. Four participants agreed that they had found new music listening to the

radio and would use that as a source to find something different. Other participants cited

streaming services like Pandora and Spotify as a way to discover music. Since Pandora offers a

“radio” feel, it opens up the listener to songs that they may not have heard of but go with the

artist, song, genre, or mood they have selected. One participant brought up Spotify’s Discover

Weekly playlists that she used to actively seek out music. Another participant used both radio

and streaming together to discover new music. She said that when usually listening to country

radio, she would hear songs she didn’t know and would add them to Spotify playlist to continue

listening to them.

Discussion

Through the discussions and interactions from both focus groups in this study, it is shown

that college age students are still interacting with radio but are using streaming services slightly

more. The findings proved to still be mostly positive as most participants still accessed radio

often even if it was just for short amount of time. This finding is incredibly important as this still
provides time for the radio industry to draw in listeners before they start turning to other

substitutes such as streaming services.

When looking at alternatives to radio that college-age individuals are turning to,

streaming services (most popular being Spotify), are taking a good portion of listening away

from terrestrial radio. They are not interacting with radio because of the advertisements and lack

of variety. While these are two aspects that cannot be easily changed in the radio industry, it

should be taken into consideration, helping brainstorm ways to engage listeners with these

perceived downsides to radio. Drawing in listeners during peak radio listening times could be a

potential strategy to implement. Participants all agreed that their radio listening significantly

increased during the Christmas season. If stations use this time to promote their station and the

other events or special listening opportunities, listening loyalty can be built and continue on

throughout the year.

It was encouraging to see a majority of participants engage with podcasts as that shows

that audio engagement is still very active through this age of students. After the discussion took

place, it could be concluded that these participants did not particularly see podcasting as an

alternative to radio because of the specialized content and the fact that podcasts do not provide a

source of music like radio does. This is another story though when concerning talk radio. All

participants indicated that the podcasts they listened to had to do with specific interests that

could intersect with news and sports talk radio.

Concerning the Uses and Gratifications theory, participants in this study mostly

interacted with this form of media purely out of action/motivation. This is why their engagement

behavior was pretty sporadic. They were not turning to radio for a need, it was being used for
entertainment purposes. Even though radio offers need gratification through broadcasting traffic,

weather, and other helpful resources, these participants did not utilize those outlets and rather

turned to their phones out of convenience. Using a phone also offers almost instant answers

instead of waiting for weather or traffic reports. These participants did not take the use of radio

in the midst of a natural disaster or other dangerous event into consideration. Cultural/structural

reasons also had a slight impact on radio listening with the participants. Depending on who they

were with, their listening habits changed slightly. If the participants were with their grandparents

or parents, traditional radio was listened to more. However, a few participants indicated that

their friends of the same age encouraged them to listen to radio while they were with them. This

is an important factor as listening can be influenced on those an individual interacts with and

should be taken into consideration when thinking about the future of radio.

When looking into the future regarding this study, I have mixed feelings about going into

this field professionally. It was concerning seeing so many students only listen to radio for short

periods of time out of convenience. To them, streaming services provided things that radio could

not ; the biggest things being on-demand listening and variety. At the same time, the challenge

of bringing in younger audiences and drawing them into radio again excites me. Radio is

evolving and has to change to support new technology with streaming their broadcasts,

implementing that in their advertising and marketing. Constantly using social media to excite

listeners and keep them engaged with new content, music, and more is one way to continue to

keep radio in the lives of the newer generations.

Going forward from this study, it would be helpful to continue to do a larger study

sampling more people but taking from these common themes of streaming service use and how

that affects terrestrial radio engagement. Since this study was constricted in size, time, and
resources, making this study or a study taking from these results could help gain more insight

into interaction and how to gain listeners for radio. Another useful topic to dive deeper into

would be involvement in streaming services and see how willing users are to pay for more

premium factors. Some listeners in this study complained about advertisements on traditional

radio regarding length but refused to pay for services like Spotify to remove them. Taking from

the themes arising from this research, the radio industry needs to continue to evolve and compete

with on-demand and diverse listening that streaming services offer, staying new and fresh.

Developing that connection and loyalty with listeners that these services do not offer is

incredibly important and should remain a high priority for stations continuing to struggle in the

changing radio landscape. While this study did show that radio listening is slightly decreasing,

people are still listening. Radio needs to take advantage of this time now and use multiple

platforms like social media, video content, and more to draw in listeners before they turn to

streaming services as a substitute.

Limitations

While this study featured a variety of college students, it has its own limitations.

In this study, only a small number of students were focused on. A bigger representative sample

would need to be taken to make stronger conclusions about where the future of radio is headed.

This study serves as insight to begin to hypothesis bigger conclusions and start larger research

about traditional radio or streaming services as a substitute. In order to gain a better

understanding of generations to come and their engagement with radio, a more diverse sample

would have to be taken to feature larger age ranges as well.

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