Jon: Before the advent of MP3, collecting old time radio shows could be quite cumbersome and expensive. With the rising popularity of the Internet, collectors have been able to make contact with each other and trade in greater quantities. This greater collaboration helps the shows reach a greater audience and allows better sound quality recordings surface.
Transcription disks, cassette tapes and conventional audio cds can only hold about 30-60 minutes of shows. Even open reels are limited in capacity (and convenience) compared to MP3 technology, which allows up to 50 hours of old time radio programming to fit on a single disk.
Corey: What do you think is missing from Radio today?
Jon: Radio has been replaced by television and film; the large-budget funding needed to create well-produced radio dramas, which was common in the golden age of radio, is no longer widely available.
Imagine how popular radio shows would be if popular actors such as Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio or comedian Mike Myers or Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie performed regularly on the shows. Today's radio dramas are rare and it often lacks the huge budgets, audience and popular film stars that were once commonplace on the air during the golden age of radio.
Corey: What makes Old Time Radio shows relevant to today's listeners?
Jon: Old Time Radio shows are great for nostalgia of the golden age of radio but are also very entertaining for modern audiences. The old time radio shows are great for long car rides or commutes. Because the radio shows tend to be between 30-60 minutes long, they are great for short trips around town. My wife and I have often found ourselves sitting in the driveway listening to the end of a great radio show such as Suspense, Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, or Inner Sanctum.
The comedy and drama translates well today and continues to entertain audiences. Groucho Marx stars in You Bet Your Life, an old time radio quiz show that allowed Groucho to use his one-liners to rib game show contestants. The quick wit of Fred Allen also translates well to modern audiences.
While the radio shows have great entertainment value still today, many people also use them as an education tool: Many parents have been interested in old time radio shows to give their children and teens clean and wholesome programming like Cinnamon Bear, Minnesota School of the Air, and Wormwood Forest. Some teachers use the shows to supplement their lessons about the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
Listen to Old Time Radio at www.otrcat.com.
