MUMBAI: Whether on an exciting road trip or a less exciting commute to the office, the radio has kept us company for decades. With a turn of the knob or a tap of the screen, we instantly get access to a variety of news and music stations. Off the road, it can also be a useful companion at home when cooking or working away at our desks.

But as technology has evolved, traditional radio isn’t the only source of listening entertainment we’ve got anymore. Thanks to online radio, we’re no longer limited to the channels in our vicinity. We can tap into religious programming from Vatican City, authentic French jazz, or a London-based station that showcases underground music from genres like grime and electro—the list goes on. It’s almost a mirror of the evolution we see in other sectors, like how a world-class digital mobile games company continues to innovate to keep its fanbase engaged.

So, how did we get from toying with AM/FM frequencies and being limited to regional broadcasts to on-demand content and an incredible global reach?

How Online Radio Came to Be

It comes as no shock that the first seeds of online radio were planted in the 1990s when the internet started to become commonplace. All sorts of everyday people and technology fans experimented with the possibilities of audio streaming, testing the waters to see exactly what the internet was capable of. The problem was that audio was considered a large file until the MP3 format was developed to compress these files and transmit them over the internet a lot more seamlessly.

The concept of ‘internet radio’ began to form, distinguishing itself from traditional radio with its accessible nature and web-reliant qualities. No longer were listeners stuck between so many boundaries, including specific frequencies or locations. They no longer had to listen only to the most popular top 40s hits or the dire state of their city’s society on the news.

Just like many great inventions, online radio came out of much trial and error, and many software platforms ended up being a big part of it. Founded in 1999, Live365 was considered one of the pioneers of internet radio—not only did it offer AM and FM stations and radio stations curated around specific artists, but they even let everyday folk curate their own stations themselves. From then on, radio was democratised, and the possibilities seemed endless. The world opened up because of these developments, and we can now access diverse content and on-demand podcasts, as well as directly interact with our favourite hosts through live chat and social media.

Advancements in Online Radio Technology

As the evolution of online radio is so inherently influenced by technological developments, these changes have supported its growth. For example, we were previously limited by those noisy dial-up connections that would drop at the slightest disturbance and had trouble even loading basic web pages. Once we became accustomed to wireless internet and fibre-optic connections, fast internet speeds offered high-quality, uninterrupted streams. We also get to enjoy real-time transmission that doesn’t require us to download entire files before we listen to audio anymore, owing to new streaming technologies and formats.

And we’re not confined to listening to the radio only from a physical radio or a computer anymore, either. When smartphones became an integral part of everyday life, so did the ability to order food, make video calls to a friend, and listen to the radio on the go. We could now access our preferred radio stations 24/7 using apps like iHeartRadio and Spotify.

What’s the Status of Online Radio Today?

The changes in our listening habits are a lot like the changes in how we shop or watch TV and movies. We used to be constrained to specific time slots and had to tune in at a specific time to catch that one song or that one episode. That’s not something we have to worry about anymore, as media doesn’t have to follow a fixed schedule. If we wanted to listen to a specific song or episode of a podcast, we could simply do so at our own free will. Streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music can curate personalised playlists for us (or we can do so ourselves), and discovering new content is made much easier using these tools.

Most listeners didn’t enjoy the one-size-fits-all approach that classic radio relied on anymore, so online radio sought to cater to this new demand.

Does Online Radio Have a Future?

While people can now simply stream whatever audio they want, there’s still a market for online radio today and in the future. Content creators and DJs can create their own online radio shows, offering the public a collection of preselected tracks or audio content that exudes that classic radio feel. There’s a cool nostalgia and charm to the radio format that people still crave, as it removes the potential stress of decision fatigue—much like a playlist with a more personal, human touch.

A big draw to online radio is the live broadcasting component, which eliminates the one-sided nature of listening to music or traditional radio. Whether it’s real-time news, a live show, or a DJ who encourages call-ins for suggestions or conversation, there’s an appealing interactive nature that creates a sense of community among that station’s listeners.

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