Smetimes things happen for a weird reason, but the end results are better than many people would expect. It is hard to imagine, but the push to put FM radios into every cell phone is almost a direct result of sites like The Pirate Bay and Limewire.
Basically, there is a a push going on for radio stations to have to pay per use for music broadcast on their stations. The royalty fee is being pushed by the music industry types who are feeling the pinch of declining music sales as a result of rampant piracy that is going on these days. Some suggest this piracy has taken away 30-50% of the music retail market, and likely will take even more away in the coming years.
So how does this give us FM radios in our cell phones? The radio stations are willing to pay the royalty only if they get access to a government mandated new market, putting FM radios in the hands of the vast majority of the population, by making it a mandatory part of a cell phone. Now, it will be passed as a public security issue, but the reality is that it is just a bribe to give the radio stations new potential markets. While some are saying this will increase the costs of phones, the components to do this sort of thing are very inexpensive, and apparently many new Iphones are already able to do it (just that there is no software support for it). Other companies already have FM radios in their phones.
The funniest part of this story is reading comments from “generation take”, the tweens to 20 somethings that have been brought up with piracy as a normal way of life. They are basically saying “MP3s or commercials… gee, which one will I listen to?”. But in the end, almost everyone in the US listens to radio on a regular basis, so it is likely that the inclusion of this feature in phones won’t be a negative, and the costs won’t make a major difference in the game.
So when you wonder why your next phone has an FM radio in it, just blame your offspring downstairs downloading music off the torrents. Cause and effect is a wonderful thing!