Pandora for Old People. That’s how Fast Companycharacterized the announcement that AARP, an organization generally associated with retirement and Medicare insurance, was rolling out its own Internet radio service.
A spokesman for AARP speaking to the New York Times described the rationale for the service:
We've always been trying to reach this audience, because we know that boomers are so passionate about music. We also feel that because of changes in format and whatnot, a lot of them have gotten lost in terms of how to find their music.
The AARP may know a lot about retiring boomers, but the quote reveals a woefully simplistic and naive view of radio listening.
With so many radio people out of work, this may represent a great opportunity for a former program director to teach the AARP about “formats and whatnot.”
The free service offers 18 channels supported by advertisers that want to reach AARP’s 37 million members. AARP’s launch of their own streaming service also shows the ease with which Internet radio services can be launched.
And AARP offers something on their free service that even Pandora doesn’t offer--a skip button!
As a baby boomer and a voice over talent , I thought I'd drop you guys a line and see if we could maybe do some work together..
Posted by: CC McCartney Voice Imaging | July 15, 2011 at 11:00 AM