It’s easy to put an FM receiver in a cell phone.
They are installed and then disabled, or just left out, because FM radio is too useful and too good and too simple, from the consumer point of view. Promoters are pushing the much more complicated and expensive technologies because those make the promoters more money.
Internet radio is shitty and can’t compete with FM, so FM has to be eliminated from the scene.
In much of the U.S., at least, AM radio is now dominated by talk (particularly sports talk and conservative political shows), Christian stations, and Hispanic music.
I DJed in college (and had wanted to be a DJ since age 6 or so); radio has always has a fond place in my heart. But, I agree, terrestrial radio is at a crossroads right now, and I have no idea where it’s going to wind up.
Is it? Internet radio to a dullard such as myself is, like, Youtube. Which is just fine as long as you can access a tower or, better yet, a wifi signal. As far as that goes, it kicks radio’s ass because the content/advertisement ratio is yonks better. Honestly I’m a bit embarrassed about suggesting broadcast radio in the OP given the obvious drawbacks that detract from content.
Too bad there isn’t an over-the-top ROTFLMAO smilie to respond to this.
There have never been unionized DJs/announcers/news personnel to my knowledge or experience - it’s always been work at the pleasure/whim of the owner(s)/station manager.*
The death of radio has been confidently predicted for decades. I don’t expect that to happen any time remotely soon, since there are formats that apparently still make money. I would not invest substantial $$ in a conventional station playing an all or mostly music format unless I wanted to establish a loss for tax purposes.
*Turnover among radio station staff in my day was rapid to say the least. I worked at four stations in a five-year career, moving on whenever there was a chance at a higher salary/better position, which gave me a stable-appearing CV in contrast to many of my colleagues.
You don’t need wifi to listen to the radio, or a cell signal.
You don’t need an account to listen to the radio. Which means you don’t need to join a special club where the main feature of the club initiation is learning to hand over your ID to whoever asks, and the reason for handing over your ID is improved surveillance. I’m not any kind of conspiracy theorist, but I’m not happy that marketing is grabbing that kind of power and authority.
With radio, you just plug it in and turn it on. Anybody can have radio, anonymously and cheaply.
Mostly, but not entirely. AFTRA represented the on-air talent, but that was mostly for network-owned stations or in the very largest major markets. There never was a really effective way to unionize, for example, the three full-time and two part-time DJs at a small-town radio station.
At least as late as 2016, there were still at least a couple of radio stations in Kansas City and St. Louis where SAG-AFTRA still represented on-air talent.
I think maybe a YouTube channel would be good for what you’re proposing. Interview local bands, go to shows, do live performances.