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July 31, 2005

A couple of recent interesting articles...

Cool article over the weekend in the L.A. Times:

Does radio have a future?

This quote in particular caught my attention:

"There's a whole generation that has grown up without loving radio," Del Colliano said. "The next class of high school graduates doesn't know what radio is, doesn't care and doesn't want it. One student told me recently we play what we want — it's called an iPod."

Seems to bode well for the future of customized audio content (including spoken word content) eh?

This article was also interesting:

Online audio book leader faces a tough future

A couple of noteworthy items:

For example, XM and Audible next year plan to market a new handheld device that can play programs from the satellite radio service and Audible's audio versions of books and newspapers.

Amazon remains a partner, but it is preparing its own audio section with a wider selection and "one-click shopping," spokeswoman Patty Smith said.

I love that Amazon will be expanding its audio section. In my mind this a pie rapidly getting bigger and as more people start to consume information via audio I expect that growth to accelerate. Amazon's interest in the space helps to validate this. I'm very excited to see what they'll unveil.

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