Despite these problems, radio must go online and fight for ears on the internet, because the internet is coming to our neck of the woods, which is wireless. And as Michael King said, radio is doing more than holding its own online. Radio has been delivering content to listeners for a long time, and just because the delivery method may change, the skill of creating good content does not.

Radio simply has better branding, talent and content right now. This could change if radio is not careful. Most of the best talent that can establish a relationship with the listener on a day to day basis and build ratings is currently employed in radio. However, with syndication, voice-tracking and automation, we have done a horrible job of developing future talent, or even taking advantage of the people who are out there now.

As I pointed out in previous columns, the music programming that dominates the radio landscape can be copied by internet stations. In fact, they can even provide more specialized niches of music or whatever a listener’s taste requires. They can replicate anything stations do musically.

Internet stations cannot replicate on-air talent. Sure they can develop their own, but that takes time and money. They can copy any playlist we create, but they can’t replicate that heritage morning show that’s been destroying the competition in your market for years. Stations should know that, because if replicating the talent were possible, they would have done it themselves.

So, the difference between radio and internet audio will be the established brands and experience of radio along with its talent base. HD radio will not be the complete answer (although it’s a good idea), since even if it triples the amount of stations out there – there is no amount of multiplication that will exceed the infinite possibilities that internet audio provides.

The future of radio, both online and over the air, is to create unique content that cannot be copied. That can mean a hybrid of music and talent, but it does not mean more music and shorter (or no) talk breaks. This is what AllAccess’s Perry Michael Simon has been saying for quite awhile as well. This isn’t a call for 5-minute long rambling breaks, either. Just good content.

So, I thought this would wrap it up, but I wanted to touch on one more area next week. Having looked at the battle between internet audio and broadcast radio from a station perspective, it’s time to take a look at the future from the perspective of radio talent. They, including myself and just about every friend I have in the industry, have been getting the short end of the stick since the consolidation movement in the 90s – but things are about to change. Not necessarily for the better, but they will be different.

After that, I’ll drop the annoying prognostication for the next 48 weeks and return to the techy-geek stuff that bores my girlfriend to death.

As always, AllAccess has my “The Net Untangled Tip of the Day” each weekday and a column on Website Wednesdays. So check back and together we’ll get our websites focused on keeping radio strong in this world of increasing competition.

Do you agree with me? Or am I full of hot air? If you have comments or any questions about radio websites – either general questions relating to the industry or the web or even specific (HTML, PHP, .NET, Javascript, etc.) questions, send me an email through http://Preppermint.net/contact. I’ll answer your question quickly and maybe even use it for a future column.