June 19, 2008

Industry Trends: Radio Down, iTunes Up

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mojo-photo-itunesradio.jpgI know: Pope Catholic, sky blue. But it’s the numbers that are pretty surprising. Radio & Records Magazine reports that radio revenue fell even more than everybody expected in May, and the normally staid publication called the numbers “a horror show.” Local revenue was down 9% (aaaagh!), national revenue off 13% (eeeek!), people listening down a zillion % (noooo!) . Okay, I can’t prove that last one, but I wouldn’t bet against it.

On the other side of the industry, iTunes, in contrast, can’t be stopped: the online music retailer just sold its five billionth song, also announcing that they’re renting and selling over 50,000 movies a day, making iTunes the world’s biggest online movie store too. Crimeny, if they start selling groceries I’ll never have to leave the house.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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