We should hear a big round of applause for Regent Communications president, Bill Stakelin for his comments regarding the last Wednesday evening’s Grammy show. Bill took offense to the comments on television saying, as they opened with, “It used to be we depended on radio for new music and the discovery of hits. Not anymore.” It went on to praise the Internet. Bill was upset enough to send out e-mails to Broadcast Trade publications saying, “Not only is this a slight to the great American radio industry, it is incorrect and shows blatant disregard for the facts.”  Bill goes on to say that research shows that Americans depend heavily on radio to hear the latest in new music and most of the Internet listening is done as streaming from local stations.

I agree with Bill. This is another example of how so many people across America think the Internet is the answer-all-end-all for all businesses. A while back, we thought the Internet was a fad. Not so. Personally, we don’t buy anything on the Internet if we can get the same item(s) from a local outlet if the price is comparable. There are many occasions that I pick up new music from a local Target outlet because they are quick with new music releases at a decent price. Or, I will go to an independent artist’s website to buy an album only because it isn’t available in local retail outlets. I would only go to Amazon (or a same type) site for an old or obsolete album.