Let’s Make Waves

If an industry isn’t growing, it’s dying. It’s an unfortunate maxim in business that is regularly applied to radio. At Super Hi-Fi, we believe those who herald the end of radio are wrong. That’s because all the naysayers' projections assume that the broadcast radio industry will essentially remain the same: the same technologies and tools, the same cost and operational structures, and the same products and consumer behaviors. It’s an understandable belief. There has been no step-change innovation for radio in decades. The way radio is created, distributed, and consumed has been mostly static. We’re working to change that..

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From our standpoint, radio has boundless potential beyond even its greatest days. It’s something we’ve written about before. That said, our unwavering belief in the possibilities doesn’t magically wave away the hard truth that radio is currently in decline. 

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Total radio revenue, including national and local spot, digital, off-air and network revenue, is expected to decline at a five-year total rate of almost 6%: from an estimated $15.15 billion in 2023 to $14.26 billion by the end of 2028, according to S&P Global. It’s a grim forecast that looks a bit like recent historical performance.

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We all understand the reason for decline at this point: the mass migration of listeners shifting to digital audio platforms. Led by Spotify, the streaming music and podcast sector continues to surge. Spotify just posted Q423 results showing 602M MAU and 236M subscribers with over $4B in quarterly revenue, a whopping YoY user growth rate of 23% user and 16% revenue growth. In just the past three years alone, Spotify has almost doubled its user base while increasing revenue by 50%! And that doesn’t even consider the massive audio platforms of Apple, Amazon, and others, which now collectively have more than 700M subscribers, according to Midia. It is no wonder that analysts are projecting losses for broadcast radio.  

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A Movement To Transform The Broadcast Radio Industry

A broad, industry-wide response is needed if broadcast radio is to stop the losses and start growing again. Without technology parity with the large digital platforms, broadcasters will never be able to compete. Super Hi-Fi is going full throttle with our key industry partners to build that path to not just parity, but to superiority. Our view is that broadcasters have the creative power, but not the operational efficiency or technical capability to effectuate the kinds of changes that are necessary to meet the moment. 

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But that’s where the opportunity is. The opportunity to radically re-orient radio operations to significantly improve margins. The opportunity to apply an entirely new stack of technologies designed from the ground-up to support the future of radio experiences. That’s where radio needs to be in order to thrive.

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In 2024, we are aggressively investing in game-changing products and technologies in order to help radio companies to meet these opportunities head-on. We are excited by the prospects of these new capabilities, but they are nothing without customers that are willing to take a risk and dream big and partners willing to join hands and build the next generation of radio… together. 

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Let’s Make Waves

Over the coming weeks and months, Super Hi-Fi will be rolling out a series of new technologies, new tools, and new programming capabilities that we believe will lay the foundation for broadcasters to streamline their operations and reduce overhead costs by 50% or more. The exponential savings will enable a deeper investment in better, more creative and dynamic content that will ultimately drive user and revenue growth for all involved. We are just one part of the radio ecosystem, so we will be working with some of the best in the industry to make it all work seamlessly. 

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Additionally, starting today on our website, we are publishing our Purpose. This is our rallying cry, our values system, our north star. We hope this inspires you, your organization, and the industry as a whole to make waves and transform radio!

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Stay tuned for a number of upcoming announcements from us for the radio industry, focused  on new technologies, new tools, and new programming features between now and NAB, designed to create our own surge, fight the naysayers, and share in the boon of digital music. 

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This industry isn’t dying, it’s getting ready for a comeback.