Apple is shipping their new Mac OS 10.4 operating system on April 29. There's over 200 new features in the next major update. They are also taking preorders now. I just picked up my copy. Can't wait!

There is no doubt that with the success of portable mp3 players like the Apple iPod that radio stations all over the USA are now trying to promote their station as if it were an iPod.

Already I have been hearing radio stations imaging themselves with “Now on Shuffle” and other comparative statements.

Why? Good question.

For years radio stations have tried to stand behind the slogans of “More Variety”, “More music less talk”, and “Commercial Free Ride Home”. The reason is simple, radio stations do a lot of research and this research has told them that this is what their listeners want. Simply, many listeners want a large variety of commercial free music with less talk. Of course they do.

Where do you think the business model behind Satellite radio comes from? They are trying to provide a large variety of mostly commercial free music with less talk, for a small fee.

Now here comes the portable mp3 player, and now anyone can have 3000 songs, on demand, without ANY talk and ZERO commercials. And, as a bonus, there is no monthly subscription fee, or cheesy dj, or ads for the latest version of Viagra Deluxe.

It would only be fare of me to mention that many listeners LOVE talk radio. In my opinion, it’s one of the only legs that terrestrial radio can stand on. Look at the ratings of many talk and news talk stations and you’ll see my point. No iPod, or Podcast will ever be able to do real talk radio, at least not with any live listener interaction.

So, the big question… What effect does a radio station have when referring to themselves as an iPod on Shuffle?

Here is your answer. This is from Bridge Ratings, these people do a lot of research for radio stations, especially on the latest impacts of digital media on terrestrial radio.


For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 14, 2005
With the momentum building across the U.S. for JACK-like radio formats, reference on these stations to iPods "on shuffle", etc seems to be pervasive. Is this a good idea? Or is radio simply promoting attrition to new technologies.
Bridge Ratings interviewed 2100 persons 18 - 34 years of age about their radio and digital media useage. We also asked them:
"Are you aware that your favorite radio station refers to iPods on the air, such as 'we're like your iPod on shuffle'?
"Does the mention of iPods on your favorite radio station cause you to listen to that radio station More, Less or the Same?"
Following are the results of this Quick Study:

Demo - 18-34

Awareness of iPod Mentions - Yes, 13%
Awareness - No, 87%

Listen More, 3%
Listen Same, 96%
Listen Less, 1%

How to read: 13% of the 18 - 34 year olds interviewed were aware that their favorite station was referring to iPods on the air. 1% indicated that the mention of iPods on their favorite radio station was causing them to listen less.

Summary
At this point in time the 18-34 year old is only slightly aware of some form of on-air association being made between their favorite radio station and the iPod. This, coupled with the finding that listening behavior is minimally affected, suggests that there is no negative in broadcasters imaging their stations alongside the perceived listening benefits of the iPod.

iPod Battery Tips Jennifer wrote a piece here a couple months ago about taking care of your iPod's battery to maximize the amount of time before you have to fork over big bucks to replace it. This month I have a few more links and tips related to iPod battery life and battery replacement. For $79, iPodResq will overnight you a shipping box which the courier service will overnight back to them,

For Christ's sake! First they're holding hearings on steroid use in Baseball and now there's a Congressional subcommittee hearing on Digital Music Interoperability and Availability. In essence, they're looking at whether to write legislation which will force interoperability onto online music stores and make Apple open up the iPod to other music stores' downloads. Let me see here... the

Last year Duke University gave all freshman an iPod (engraved with the school's crest, and "Class of 2008") hoping it would enhance students' learning by allowing them to record lectures, capture oral notes and play language-training recordings. This year though they've decided to scale back the project to include only students in select classes. Reported on cnn.com