Radio Is Still A Top 3 Way Of Listening To Music

It’s good to know that when it comes to listening music radio is still a top three performer. Of course the number one way people listen to music these days is through streaming services, but that also includes the people who listen to radio on their phones.

A poll found radio is still one of America's top three favorite ways to hear music.  Streaming services are #1 now, with 38% of the vote.  Live concerts are next at 15%.  And radio is third at 14%.

The ever-changing landscape of how people listen to music is hard to keep track of. Gone are the days of just turning on your radio and having no other way of hearing new music. Now you can find new music everywhere online and streaming, but there’s nothing like hearing a song on the radio that you have never heard before. That is how we used to discover new music.

When a new song came on the radio you at first didn’t recognize it took you a few times hearing that song too familiar with it perhaps enjoy. After a few plays of this song, it becomes familiar and you can decide whether or not you want to keep hearing it. That’s how hit songs were made, DJs would get requests for a particular new song and it would begin to get more airtime. That also culminated with record sales

If a song was a hit on the radio, it was also a head of the record stores as well. Back in the day songs were sold as singles with an A-side and a B-side. Presumably, the a side was the hit, and the B-side was usually a filler song.

One of the major benefits of radio is you know when you turn in that you were going to hear nothing but the best music. All of the songs you hear on most music radio stations have been tested by listening panels that rank the songs based on how much they are liked. They’re also tested to see if you are tired of the songs as well. The idea is to play nothing but the best.

As the landscape and competition for getting people to listen continues, one thing is for sure, radio offers more than just music. Perhaps your favorite personalities that you have come to enjoy along being plugged into your local community. Radio is still number one for that.

Remember when you had to tune in to MTV all day and wait for your favorite artist’s music video to air? Today’s generation has it easy. They just need to visit YouTube, the artist’s website, or social media, and boom, they can watch the music video of their favorite song. But this wasn’t the case in the past, and music videos were a much bigger deal than they are now. However, this doesn’t mean music videos aren’t important anymore. In fact, there are several reasons why artists still need to release them.  

There are many different reasons why artists need to release music videos since they are an important part of an artist’spromotional strategy. Aside from that, music videos are also important for:  

1. Visual storytelling: Sometimes it’s difficult to decipher a song’s lyrics. Enter, a visual storytelling method in the form of a music video for fans to understand what the artist wanted to convey. It adds depth to the lyrics and tells the story in ways words alone can’t.  

2. Branding and identity: An artist’s music video is often a reflection of their personality, style, or a reference to their interests and other ventures. Take, for example, Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next.” Since Grande is also an actress, she references several movies (Legally Blonde, Bring It On, Mean Girls and 13 Going on 30) in the video. She even asked her Victorious co-stars, Matt Bennett and Elizabeth Gillies to make a cameo. Music videos are also an opportunity for artists to experiment with new looks or even a new genre.  

3. Promotion and engagement: People are visual beings. We are more entertained by visuals and in this age of social media, a viral music video can make an obscure song a hit the next day. Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok can promote and engage audiences to keep a song trending for weeks. A memorable music video can inspire memes and user-generated content that can help make a song and the artist famous.   

4. Expanding reach: An entertaining music video often attracts a broader audience. For example, someone might be scrolling through TikTok or Instagram but not a fan of a specific music genre. They might skip a song if they hear it'srock or country because they’re more into pop or R&B. But if the music video grabs their attention, they might give the song—and eventually, the genre—a try.  

Music videos are often a collaborative work between the artist, director, and a creative team coming together to come up with a concept that is aligned with the song’s message. So, how does the process work?  

1. The song’s message  

The song’s lyrics are usually the foundation for conceptualizing the music video. If the song is about a love story, then you can’t go wrong with Romeo and Juliet (minus, you know, the dying part) as Taylor Swift did in her aptly titled song, “Love Story.”   

2. The artist’s vision  

The artist might have envisioned a music video while writing the lyrics, or they may have sought the professional expertise of movie directors and producers. Other artists, whose songs are featured on movie soundtracks, often incorporate scenes from the film that align with the song's lyrics, such as Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” for Furious 7. Some music videos borrow inspiration from films, like Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste,” inspired by the 1992 movie Death Becomes Her.  

3. Budget and resources  

The budget also plays a crucial role in determining how extravagant or low-key the music video is. There are music videos that reportedly cost millions to make. Some are worth the hefty price since these videos helped propel the artist to stardom like the following which are considered to be the most expensive music videos ever made.  

The music video for “Scream” reportedly cost approximately $7 million to produce. It holds the Guinness World Records as the most expensive music video. If it was made in 2024, including inflation, the music video would cost a whopping $14.5 million to make.   

Was it worth it? Heck, yes. The video and the song are Jackson’s response to the backlash he received from the media in 1993 because of his publicized child abuse allegations. The music video featured several Japanese sci-fi anime including Zillion, Babel II, Vampire Hunter D, and Akira.  

If the music video were released today, it would still receive the attention it did in the past, since the lyrics, as well as the cinematography, are still relevant. Besides, the $7 million spent to create the video would be a bargain, considering the Jackson sibling's awesome choreography.  

Since the song is NSFW, just click here to watch the video.  

Madonna holds the second, third, and fourth positions for the most expensive music videos ever made. “Die Another Day” reportedly cost $6.1 million in 2002. If the video were made this year, it would cost around $10.7 million.

“Die Another Day” is the theme song for the 2002 James Bond movie of the same name starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry.    The music video did not feature any scenes from the movie, but it was still heavily influenced by the film. Madonna made some changes to the song after seeing the film’s initial version to adapt to the movie’s theme of destroying one’s ego. In the music video, Madonna was seen fighting with her doppelgänger.   

Was it worth it? Yes! Even if it’s not a theme song for a James Bond movie, it can stand alone as an entertaining mini-action flick.  

Madonna’s “Express Yourself” cost $5 million in 1989 and $12.7 million in 2024 after inflation.   The second single from Madonna’s fourth studio album, Like A Prayer, “Express Yourself,” is a song about female empowerment and urging women to never settle since they should know their worth and never be afraid to express themselves. We’d say, it’s a song lyric that’s still relevant to this date.   

Was it worth it? Meh. With US$5 million in 1989, the music video could have been more elaborate.  For all of that money, it doesn't feel as iconic as some of the other ones on this list. 

“Bedtime Story” cost $5 million ($10.3 million in 2024) to produce. The reason? It has “elaborate visual effects.”   Many fans consider “Bedtime Story” to be Madonna’s most underrated song. If you listen to it in 2024 and watch the video today, you wouldn’t think it was a song from 1995. Perhaps that’s why it’s underrated—it was way ahead of its time.  Mark Romanek, the director (he also directed Michael and Janet Jackson’s “Scream” music video) drew inspiration from female surrealist painters like Frida Kahlo and Leonora Carrington. 

Was it worth it? Yes! The visual effects are still on par with the advancements in today’s video editing. 

“Estranged” is a Guns N’ Roses ballad from their 1991 album Use Your Illusion II. The music video reportedly cost $5 million to produce—$10.9 million in 2024, after inflation.   According to the director, Andy Morahan via Genius, “By the time we got to ‘Estranged’, Axl had split up with Stephanie Seymour, and he said, ‘I never want a girl in a video again. I’d rather go out with a dolphin.’ Which is why I put dolphins all over the video.”  

Was it worth it? YES! For the dolphins, the helicopter scene, and Axl Rose jumping from a ship. The quality of the video holds up to today’s standards.