Talk radio format supplants rock

The rock era isn’t over, but if tastes in radio listening are any guide, it sure is waning. Oldies aren’t necessarily goodies anymore. And Americans can’t get enough talk.

An Arbitron ratings report on what Americans listen to on the radio now and over the last decade reveals clear trends in listening. Black-oriented stations show the strongest gains, from 7.7% of total audience in 1999 to 10.5% this summer. Over that same time, rock’s share of the audience fell from 9.8% to 8.3%, and oldies dropped from 8.1% to 7.3%.

The powerhouse in radio these days is talk, which attracts 17.5% of listeners nationwide.