Infinite Dial 2014 identified YouTube as radio’s quiet competitor (https://rbr.com/infinite-dial-radios-quiet-competitor-is-youtube/), but the reality is that YouTube is radio’s future “best friend forever.” 1980’s era MTV with video after video of new music is actually a significant path forward for the online future of radio stations and our industry’s ability to attract a younger generation. Radio station websites in major markets across the United States are already presenting music videos from Vevo and YouTube to their online audiences using the playlist from their on-air automation system in real-time, so the song audiences hear over the air is likely to also be the video they’re seeing on the radio station website, but it gets better.
