FM More Professional Than Internet Radio?

[James]

With FM broadcasters reacing a wider audience and with more advanced technology.. which do you rate and why?

[James]

With FM broadcasters reacing a wider audience and with more advanced technology.. which do you rate and why?

[dj.plazma]

(I just made that word up)

 

I think that FM broadcasters have to be more professional that Internet. For one thing, they're held to a higher/corporate standard. They also reach a much larger audience. I tend to think of myself as a professional when I do my broadcasting, but I don't have a trained, experienced personality, so when I'm on the air you see more personality than experience. FM jocks needs to fit into the corporate radio mold...we Internet jocks do not.

[nitnitr]

I'm going to agree with DJ PlaZma. FM radio tends to be more professional due to the corporate structure of most stations. These stations are relying on advertising to keep afloat, so they are looking to grab as much market share as possible. This is not to say that there aren't some very professional Internet stations out there, because there is, but in general, FM broadcasters are more professional.

[boxovoices]

Rule of radio: COMMERCIAL does not translate to PROFESSIONAL.

[James]

community radio is definately less professional than commercial.. commercial has a feel to it

[mpmss1]

True commercial radio does have a feel to it and I agree with nitnitr that there several internet stations where the owners will not settle for anything less and they put their heart and soul into it to make sound just like a fm station. I guess it just really comes down to the dedication you want to put towards it as well as experience.

[Blazin 97]

I would say FM. Because most internet stations are owned by music fanatics whereas most FM stations are owned by huge radio companies.

[MixStream.net]

I think that [Legal] FM stations will be more professional. The Internet is a bit of a free-for-all and anyone can set up a radio station for less than £20.

 

This is all because compared to the Internet, FM bandwidth is very limited and can only support a relatively small number of broadcasts so the regulations need to be much stricter so that the stations on there benefit the community (i.e there has to be news, weather, traffic etc).

 

It's the same with TV, the terrestrial ones are more professional than shoddy little obscure sky channels - the more limited the medium is (and expensive), the more professional the broadcasters will be (generally).

 

Not that I'm saying that there aren't professional Internet only stations, some of them are ver dedicated to what they do.

[James]

And if your a legal commercial station, you have ratings and other ststions (as in their format) to compete with.

[NickolasM.]

Fm, Because there are less FM stations then Online... Any one can own a online one really, FM's you have to spend money so your more Professional About it.

[aaronsnet]

Internet radio stations can be just as professional, if not more than a FM (terrestrial) stations. Some terrestrial stations sound worse than FM/vice versa. It depends on the image that the station is wanting to have. Many station owners get the perception that sounding like a terrestrial station (with all of the swooshes, effects, etc.) are the only way to make a station sound "professional."

 

Professionalism can really be hard to define though. To each station owner, their station is probably the best and most professional that they could possibly make it. Is professionalism really defined by a station conforming to the stereotypical image of a particular format? Is a top 40 station really not professional if they don't use a sweeper with a high pitched voice with swishes and laser sfxs saying "Jammin 92.7"? I think professionalism in broadcasting is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Professionalism to me personally is when a station has stepped out to do something different. Why create a top 40 station and stick to songs that are just charted? This has already been done...MANY MANY times. Try and do something different...add songs that you wouldn't normally hear in that kind of format. Try to really mix things up and be original. To me, that is professionalism.

[Exozito]

FM as they are mainly operated by the big, major companies. However, my country's local radio stations also offer listeners to tune in via internet radio. FM+Internet radio by major company = Most professional of all imho. ;)

[James]

Yeah, most stations these days have a internet stream. Good to see though I get alot of ideas listening to a professional station in the us via stream.

[imin4fun]

I think that there are different realities driving the differences between FM and Internet Radio. First, FM, at least in the US, is bound to FCC "laws of decency". Second, as it has been pointed out, FM is bound to corporate standards (especially with the consolidation happening). Number 2 leads into point 3 which is that FM stations need to be profitable.

 

I look at Internet Radio today as the Wild West. Almost anything goes. People who are serious about it can develop a professional, profitable Internet Radio Station. There is, however the exact opposite out here as well.

 

A fear that I have is that countries are going to begin regulating and thus dictating Internet Content. As you may or may not know, countries are considering putting blocks on indecent material (China, Australia, Great Britain, soon the US). This may decrease the broad reach of Internet Stations and will cause fights over the definition of decency.

 

the effect might just be that as Internet Radio becomes more regulated, it will become more "professional".

[aaronsnet]

I think that there are different realities driving the differences between FM and Internet Radio. First, FM, at least in the US, is bound to FCC "laws of decency". Second, as it has been pointed out, FM is bound to corporate standards (especially with the consolidation happening). Number 2 leads into point 3 which is that FM stations need to be profitable.

 

I look at Internet Radio today as the Wild West. Almost anything goes. People who are serious about it can develop a professional, profitable Internet Radio Station. There is, however the exact opposite out here as well.

 

A fear that I have is that countries are going to begin regulating and thus dictating Internet Content. As you may or may not know, countries are considering putting blocks on indecent material (China, Australia, Great Britain, soon the US). This may decrease the broad reach of Internet Stations and will cause fights over the definition of decency.

 

the effect might just be that as Internet Radio becomes more regulated, it will become more "professional".

 

Soon the USA? Source?

[wildun]

I give it 5 years (probably sooner) and we will see regulation on content. I don't need a source, it's my opinion. Internet radio is expanding to cars in the US already which use the airwaves and makes it much more public. Free wireless is expanding across the nation as the FCC opened up certain frequencies. I expect a lot of change in the years coming.

[TwiZtah]

I\m a bit torn between FM and Internet. On one side FM you have to be professional and you also have a degree for the most part in Broadcasting along with an internship so on and so forth. On the other side Internet, I think it depends on the dedication as mpmss1 said. I think that if you have your heart and soul into it and you have some sort of talent or as I say a gift of Gab you COULD do just fine. I think there is so much that goes into it that it all just depends on the person like their voice and how it sounds on air, do they flow when they speak? or do they say ummm or uh or have long spaces of silence while they try and figure out what to say next. (I've been guilty of) lol I sometimes think also that maybe it's the style of music that the DJ plays. It at least for me helps me talk if I'm into the music and have a flow going. If you have a lot of listeners and they are interacting with you also helps. I think I might be wondering off topic so I'm closing this lol

[Jinglemaster]

One word makes all the difference here....

 

MONEY

 

 

If I had £1 MILLION budget per month, I would have the very bestest of the bestestestestest. The stations I have worked for over the years range from very small to the very biggest in Europe. The main difference was always the budget. Big money meant the best equipment, studio, assistants, producers, co-presnters, researchers, etc. 8 Girls in 8 cars permenantly promote my current station day in and day out. That is big budget, which is brought in by big advertisers, because we have big audiences, who spend lots with big companies, who become bigger advertisers, which give us more money, to reach a bigger audience, which..........

[Voxjunction]

I signed up for a Live 365 slot about 8 years ago. Back then it seemed to be Live 365 or independents, mainly just online jukeboxes. Within the space of what seemed to be about 4 years, suddenly Internet stations seemed to be catching up with their terrestial rivals. There will always be the net stations that only last a matter of weeks, but there's a hell of a lot of great online radio content out there, the best probably being from:

1) Ex Radio people who got disillusioned with current corporate radio, changed career but still have the radio bug so decide to start their own station and run it how THEY want. Or current radio people who feel the same way, but run an online station to do it their way (I know a few people in this category).

2) Music enthuisiasts who may not have a radio background but are keen enough to put effort into their little station to make it sound good. Would you rather hear an amateur jock chat knowledgably about the music, or a corporate head read a liner card ?

 

An interesting subject.

[producerpinnell]

It depends what part of the FM spectrum you're looking at. Stations owned by big groups such as Global Radio will of course be professional because of they way they are run, however, local community stations which are normally run by volunteers might not be as professional, even though they're broadcasting on an FM frequency. Although some of them do sound really good and professional, and these are volunteers, giving up their free time to give something back to the community.

 

Internet radio stations can also be very professional, I work for one who's imaging is top-notch, and could easily be used on an FM station... in some cases, it's even better! Plus there's events too

 

Anyway, I think they're both equal in some respects, and in some respects FM is more professional than Internet and vice-versa

[mickeyD]

to start a new FM radio station in the netherlands, prices are starting from 4.5milion euro a year for the use of a spot/frequency on the FM band :s

(IF one is comming free that is, they are are sold to overbidding commercial party's)

you do not get any more than the right of use of that frequency.

no equipment, no studio, no dj's and no fm transmitter!!!

so, you have to get many many advertisers/sponsor deals to come by the first year only..

so they have to be professional, or NO advertiser is going to fund it!

mickey'D

[ajruss]

I seen professional Fm and net only cant just pick one

[Snackbar]

It really boils down to who is running the station. My internet station/ podcasts are run very professional. Its the only way to make any money at it.

The fm I was working at is owned by a man who inherited the stations from his daddy. He doesnt care about anything other than what he wants. Its hard to run a station when the owner doesnt care about its listeners.

[Bizzacore]

Snackbar

 

I agree with you completely. The GM at the station I'm at currently only cares about the sales staff, and lining his own pockets with money. I've heard numerous stories about the programming department going from 1st priority to LAST priority over the years. It's disconcerting, because the station has been around for around 40 years.. it's a heritage station in my locale, and it's a staple in the society. You can't buy a bag of ice at 7-11 without the station logo being plastered on it. That's great and all, but when the dollars aren't coming in, the station is in complete disarray because people have been let go, and the people who do still have jobs are being way overworked, and expected to create the same results as for when they were fully staffed, morale drops so much, that no one really cares what happens.

 

I can honestly say, being fresh to the industry, and to that station, that it'd be a shame for it to go down the tubes now.. but I also can honestly say, that management did it to themselves if it happens.

 

 

As far as the original topic of this thread.. which is more professional, there are a lot of factors that go into that. I've listened to internet streams, that sound just as professional as FM stations.

 

I've come to learn that a lot of the radio business is smoke and mirrors. As long as you can put out a product that creates the image that there's a team of people working together to put out that image of a large budget, then you've effectively created that "professional" image for yourself, and you've fooled everyone. Nowadays, there are plenty of ways to do that, with little budget.

 

Take Air-Media's production for part a. of this example. His work is quality, and it doesn't come at a bank breaking price. With someone who's knowledgeable in production, you can put together production pieces that are just as effective as an FM station.

 

Now, for part b. of this example: Sound Solution. If you're running a shoutcast stream, using winamp, you can use this plugin to emulate $13,000 worth of outbord gear to get that beefy FM sound from your station. For anyone that's not familiar with this, the plugin is .. FREE. I use this for my internet show, and I've been asked where I host my show. People are blown away when they hear that I host it out of my room.. because we're creating the illusion that we're in some nice, decently expensive studio, using expensive processing. And it's all thanks to Sound Solution.

 

So, in closing, I'd just like to say that there are plenty of ways to create that FM sound for your station on the internet, which for me, makes this poll kinda split down the middle. It absolutely all depends on who is running the station, if they care enough to want that sound, and/or if they have any inkling of radio knowledge to use the resources available to them, and make it happen.