Mark Ramsey Media LLC - sync radio and digital media

Actually - to say it simpler - the future of Radio (or Media) includes the audience, one way or another, as part of the conversation. Nothing new there (well know trend on the web). Lot's of playlist choices - so the challenge is to make your station memorable in that sea of options. Your audience should be part of that equation - take advantage of your most important asset - your users/listeners!!

I actually agree with both RandyD and Scott. It's Mike from Jelli.
We are big believers that Radio (big "R") can create great music listening experiences: nicely "formatted" (in UX sense vs. radio sense of the word) for lean-back, passive consumption. In fact, esp. for listeners who like "hits" (which is a lot of people) the radio MD is very good at creating a really cool playlist to listen to. There are already tons of choices for "listening" to music playlists, radio being one.
And as Scott says - the alternatives are only growing for personalized consumption, whether it be your iPod with your whole music collection on a hard drive, or Pandora etc. with amazing tech to create personalized streams. All of these are coming to your car at scale - IP Delivery - over the next 5-10 years. Sharing playlist is a big deal, not a small deal, however (strangers or friends creating playlist that you can try out is a very cool thing that is happening on the web).
But let's not forget that radio is more that the music. The social aspect of a radio community is very powerful and different than a "playlist". Entertainment value is broader than a specific song which we know can be consumed in many ways. Radio uniquely is a place for audience to organize around, listen to new/old music, and sometimes laugh and have fun. Why not take advantage of this - the local, social, fun "Radio."
At Jelli - we like that. We want to create a highly social experience, where the audience is ALWAYS engaged, directly, immediately, realtime. The music may not map to what the MD would pick, or what Pandora would pick, or even what YOU would pick on your iPod. But it is fun and sometimes amazing to be part of something bigger when you all are picking the songs, and learning from each other. Spontaneous things happen. "Human" things happen. It's more that a playlist, and we believe can be part of "Radio"'s future. Don't discount the fun of a 1-many broadcast, or thrill when everyone else hears "your" song, and likes it!

I totally understand the value, and challenge, to find ways to involve the listeners into our content." My question about Jelli is "does interaction come at a price?" Many successful stations I talk to play a well researched, tight list that they know their listeners love. In some recent conversations it seems online testing is not near as accurate as an auditorium style test. So, trusting in online music selection may well mean the music portion of our overall product is compromised. Also the fact that my radio station is going to be influenced by people that have more time to listen and "play the game", may actual drive me away if I already love what I am hearing. If a station doesn't have that type of confidence in their product perhaps this would be a good option. For those who have greater confidence in their music choices, we will need to find other ways to interact and create content with our listeners.

You guys crack me up, because you're pathetic. Really, let's be just a little real for once, ok? Let's stop pussy footing around with all the bla, bla, bla and pounding our chest like King Kong Listeners, uh, (people) are already in charge of their own radio station! And they do a great job picking their own playlist. And the thing is that most of you don't get because you're stuck in denial and never will understand is that listeners don't you and they don't need your radio station either. They don't need AM or FM analog and christ who needs or wants HD!
Haven't you figured it out yet.. The Internet is to music what FM radio was in 1970. The era of listening to a strangers playlist, picked by so called professionals is over!

Which is why when I'm asked what my favorite radio station is, I say "None, I like music too much".
A bunch of professionals telling me what to listen to is usually safe and boring, not something I as a consumer always want.