[tsurantino]

The whole problem with radio is that it completely misses how music is consumed nowadays.

It's no longer driven by the ivory tower of the music industry.

The whole idea of playlists created by others is that it exposes me as a listener to the long tail of music, mostly composed of everything I want to listen and more. I discover new sounds based on the fact that I am now able to find that other person on the other side of the world who shares my taste. I can skip through the songs and get right to the content I want.

I drive my listening experience, versus the radio station.

[arfliw]

>It's no longer driven by the ivory tower of the music industry.

Jimmy Iovine is running this thing. He is the ivory tower. It appears he is trying to recapture the industry.

[gress]

I guess you paid no attention to the actual product, which is all and increasing the long tail even to unsigned artists.

[TheOtherHobbes]

How much airplay will unsigned artists get on the 24/7?

This isn't snark, it's a serious question - inspired by the influence 70s and 80s DJs like John Peel had.

They literally made entire careers by playing non-mainstream music no one else would touch. Some of it got a first airing as a demo cassette. Hundreds of bands recorded special sessions for those shows. Some of those sessions became legendary recordings in their own right.

Will this Apple product do anything like that? Or will it be the usual suspects playing the Official Industry Approved Top Downloads list, with no risks of any kind?

[tjl]

Bands like Arcade Fire got big because of radio DJs. Zane Lowe at least tries to discover new artists. I'm sure the other DJs will be similar.

[TheOtherHobbes]

I don't think Zane Lowe's discovery list - which includes a short list of middle-of-the-roaders like Adele and Ed Sheeran - is in quite the same league as John Peel's.

[BruceM]

I still miss John Peel, both for his shows on Radio 1 and, I must admit, Home Truths on Radio 4.