It seems to me that radio is in a bit of paralysis by analysis when it comes to the “connected” auto dashboard. As we get lost in the details of what change is coming and how fast, we’re not focused nearly enough on what to do about it, given that such a large proportion of radio listening emanates from that very dashboard. We’re stuck in the theater of the moment. Consider the reality of the situation: The complexity of the new dashboard is overwhelming many consumers. What

You can climb down from the ceiling now, Mr. Broadcaster – it turns out new cars will feature FM/AM radios built-in for the foreseeable future (although certainly not forever). The logic of this should be obvious to us all, but particularly obvious for anyone who bothers to talk with consumers. And I did. Between March 9 and March 10 2013, I fielded a random, balanced, national online study of 1,000 consumers and asked how they feel about those radios in their cars – and how

In the race to exploit new digital opportunities, Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker describes three “consumer Internet ‘white spaces’ yet to be re-imagined.” Two of them are the “ear” and the car. And she describes the latter as “largely untapped.” “Untapped” no more. Consider today’s automotive news headlines: General Motors Co. is expected to announce today a partnership with AT&T that will bring embedded 4G LTE mobile Internet access into most 2015 GM vehicles sold in th

A huge proportion of radio listening happens on the mobile devices known as automobiles, especially during the aptly-titled “drive times.”  And there’s considerable concern regarding the impact technology and new listening options will have on that listening as those new choices steadily make their way into cars. It’s fair to say that nowhere in a car is there as much innovation today as there is in the dashboard.  And much of that innovation has to do with the entertainment

What will the dashboard look like in the car of the very near future? And what will radio look like there? Those are some of the questions addressed by Jake Sigal, founder and principal of Livio Radio, a company committed to getting music from the Internet into peoples’ ears, especially in the car. A personalized mobile device (and aren’t they all?) will personalize your dashboard, and it will allow you to control your content safely, by touch and by voice. Where does this le

There’s no doubt that technology is bringing new choices to an auto dashboard near you.  Nor is there any doubt that consumers will embrace and even demand those choices. It’s customary for broadcasters to freak out about this, as we stand by and watch radio’s hegemony over the dashboard under attack. The natural response is to fight technology with technology – to assume that your FM station must have all the doo-dads and whistles that Pandora has. What is the truth about ra