Do you think if the State of New York had to do it all over again, they would have gone with “I Heart New York” instead of “I Love New York”? Neither do I. So what always puzzled me was why Clear Channel launched their new streaming application and called it “iHeartRadio.” I mean the logo design for the App was cool, but to me it said “iLoveRadio,” because everyone knows the heart is the graphic symbol for love. Or maybe everyone didn’t know that.
I Love Radio. There, I said it. I’ve loved radio since my earliest days on planet Earth. And so having an App that says that I love radio would have been a pretty cool thing to have on my smart phone. But that’s not what happened. This makes one wonder if the techies who did the design weren’t all that cool.
So you can imagine my amazement when Clear Channel Media & Entertainment (which had already dropped the word “radio” from their name) changed their name less than two years after the last name change to iHeartMedia.
In the meantime, I note that pure play streaming companies are all putting “radio” into their name. Pandora Radio, TuneIn Radio, Spotify Radio and the streamer I’ve enjoyed Sky.FM recently just did a name change of their own. They now call their streaming service “Radio Tunes.”
I think it might be a case of “The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener” (cue Petula Clark to start singing). Those that ARE radio companies are trying to erase it from their name as fast as they can and those companies that don’t have an FCC broadcast license are adding to their name.
Maybe adding the small “i” to your name or taking “radio” out is the radio industry’s “mid life crisis.” It’s radio getting seduced by the new.
Instead of trying to be something you’re not, why not work harder at being the best at what you are. Radio has an incredible legacy. Radio was the #2 greatest invention of all time on The History Channel’s list of the world’s greatest inventions. (#1 was the smart phone, to which most people today listen to their favorite radio station or stream)
It’s time for us to say it loud and proud. I LOVE RADIO.
DickTaylorBlog 