In the past decade, the chunky portable CD player of the '90s has become nearly extinct, replaced by sleek and lightweight digital music players. This has changed the way consumers buy and listen to music, but the revolution is far from over.
IDC, a global market intelligence firm, estimates that by 2008 the compressed audio player market will bring in $58 million in worldwide annual revenue.
Podcasting, named by shortening the phrase "iPod broadcasting," has been dubbed the next new thing in digital music. Essentially, podcasts are radio shows that are distributed through the Internet and then uploaded onto someone's iPod, or other mp3 player. They can then listen to the podcast at their own convenience.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently conducted a survey of people who own mp3 players and found that almost a third of them had tried downloading a podcast. Though this particular survey has been criticized as having too small a sample size, it is true that in the past year podcasting has gone from being obscure techno-babble to a mainstream concept.
Since anyone with a microphone and a computer can make their own podcast, the idea has been compared to blogging, which is changing the face of print media.
From the start, podcasts have been a useful tool for those trying to promote independent music labels. While copyright laws seem out of date in situations like podcasting, most podcasters agree that it is illegal to use any copyrighted material without permission. This means that it is easiest, and cheapest, for podcasters to broadcast independent and emerging artists who are eager to get airtime for their music, and open to new technologies.
However, just as NBC has said that it may launch blogs for its top news anchors, radio stations are seeing their calling in podcasting.
In January, New York City's public radio station, WNYC, began producing podcast versions of its news show "On the Media," which focuses on media issues. When discussing their decision to do this, they cited the fact that New Yorkers often have such long commutes, and are not always in a car.
With a podcast, someone can download a show before they leave for work in the morning, and then listen to the news during their commute or when walking down the street.
Others stations are now launching podcasts as well. For the science minded, NASA has created a podcast called "Current Stories" which explains current NASA research.
Former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards has made podcasts on political issues and podcasts from the other end of the political spectrum are available on the Web site of the Republican National Convention.
Last week, Infinity Broadcasting, part of the Viacom media conglomerate, announced plans to convert an AM radio station in San Francisco to an entirely podcasting format. KYCY-AM will be promoted under the name KYOURADIO, and will play podcasts submitted by listeners.
This week, Sirius Satellite Radio unveiled plans for a four hour weekday show which will have a variety of podcasts. The show will be hosted by Adam Curry, a former MTV veeJay who is considered the father of podcasting.
Adam Curry's Web site, http://www.ipodder.org, features a directory of podcasts as well as a program which will automatically upload podcasts that you are subscribed to onto your iPod when you plug it in.
For those who want to listen to podcasts, an mp3 player is all that you need. For anyone who wants to create a podcast, the technology is slightly more complicated. However, there are programs that make it simple. The most popular one right now is called Propaganda and will record, import, store, and let you edit audio clips with ease.
Whether you are am Indie music enthusiast, a physics major who likes getting your science news on the walk to Bloomberg every morning, or a fan of political talk shows, podcasting has something for everyone.
