Mobile technology and Canadian commercial radio: Friends or foes?

Abstract

A defining aspect of our era is the continuous migration of media consumers toward alternative distribution platforms. These are used to access content formerly available only in traditional media's original format. The intensification of wireless networks and the increasing portability of content, music content in particular, has resulted in radio listeners reverting to wireless delivery technologies to access, discover, listen to, share and store music. This empirical research project explores the consequences of mobile technology on commercial radio by looking at the ways in which mobility is altering the relationship between commercial radio and music fans. The specific research objectives of this study are threefold: (1) to better understand the increasing role of the mobile industry and of wireless delivery technologies as purveyors of music; (2) to explore their repercussions on the viability of commercial radio; and (3) to identify the appearance of effects on the habits and expectations of radio listeners.