This Is Really NOT a Post About HD Radio. I Promise

I promised myself when I started writing this blog I was not going to write about HD Radio. So much has already been written. Then, I wrote about HD Radio. It was like a child attracted to a flame. I couldn't help myself.

This morning I started my day reading about HD radio--the trades, the blogs, the opponents, the supporters, and the appeasers. You name it, seems like everyone is writing about it. Ugh!

I wish as much time and energy was put forth writing about how this general manager in city X just hired this new programmer who is playing this and that and is making some noise. But no, that might be productive. Maybe that story would have to be made up because there's really nothing like that happening at this moment in time. Too bad.

I'm not going to call anyone out on this blog for the fandango that HD Radio has become.

Instead, I'm going to try to forget about HD Radio for a while and finish this post with a recommendation to check out a relatively new social networking/music site called iLike.com. As you can see on this chart from Alexa.com a few people have latched on to it over the last year.


It's a very simple concept:
1. Connect your music from iTunes or Windows Media Player
2. Add friends, get music
3. Compare tastes
4. Free MP3s by new artists

So far, according to a story I saw on CNBC, this site has amassed 15 million users in about a year and a half. Not bad. When you go to the site you can easily check out whats hot and get this radio friends--"most added."

Add this site to all the others doing similar things and at the very least one has to realize that any radio station that is in the business of playing CHR, Active Rock, Alternative, Hip Hop, or any other genre of music that appeals to under 35's these sites are:

1. Great resources to better understand what's hot and what's not.

2. They are our competitors when it comes to music discovery--an area that radio has traditionally been the leader (and still was based on research conducted 2 years ago).

iLike is also doing a couple of other things that radio has always done well: concert listings for the US and Canada and the iLike challenge--a game where you have to name the artist and song.

Here you can check out their own description of what they do and the people (you will see some familiar names) behind the company http://ilike.com/about.

Now, I am off to discover a new song or two.