Fairly well we'd say in terms of both where the industry is now and where it looks likely to be heading as technological change moves apace. In terms of the latter, we are seeing considerable development of mobile devices to combine functions so that the phone may now also be a camera- still or movie- audio and video storage and playback device, simple text device, and Internet linked.

At the same time other technology has moved on with more and more developments in wireless broadband so that portable computers - not forgetting that mobile phones are actually fairly powerful computers in some cases - can be used with Internet wireless in many more locations and may yet be Internet capable throughout larger cities.

That capability puts pressure on all players as voice over Internet capability means the computer can be a cheap or free way of making phone calls - local or International - putting pressure on the mobile telecommunications companies, the phone can be used to receive audio or the Internet, putting pressures on broadcasters and music companies, and digital broadcast capability in some countries can already provide TV and audio to mobile devices.

Add to that the relative cheapness of digital storage nowadays and it has become practicable to make years of print and broadcast media available on demand … if a means can be found to make this pay for itself.

Looking ahead we think the market will change dramatically with a mix of paid-for and free on-demand services - think of the various podcasts now on offer with vodcasts growing and with a similar mix of broadcast services funded by subscription, licence fees and commercials.

The equipment that can receive these will also develop - it really can't be that difficult to make a device that can handle satellite radio, various forms of digital radio and TV, services from the Internet and receive these via traditional broadcasts, satellite broadcast, and wireless - or networked - Internet sources.

Some major players are already developing their offerings on a variety of platforms and we see this trend growing but our crystal ball is still rather fuzzy on how the smaller, local players can cope. It may well be that if they really serve their communities well they can survive principally on the basis of current broadcasts but we think they would be foolish to bet on that.
In our view even the smaller players will have to think in terms of multiple-platform offerings - and advertising if that is the way they are funded - but we also expect companies to grow up to offer these services simply and competitively for stations that don't have the size to justify becoming technologically savvy: After all that's what happens with hosting sites for all but the big companies and in many other areas of business where various elements of operation are outsourced to specialist companies.

Our concern is that the virtues of some of the smaller operators could get lost in the formats mass produced by such larger service suppliers since it is obviously more economic for them to offer a similar service for all but even then technological development should make it easier to provide a modular mix-and-match service.

Overall we rather think the chances are there for more variety for the audience and that the fears of existing players are misplaced if they are smart enough to use the new technology.

Certainly some of them are at more risk than others - where might Sirius be for example if Howard Stern moved to selling podcasts and a streamed service (OK, Sirius is going to do this anyway but the opportunities are now there for individuals to strike out on their own in a way that was not possible in the past)?

In the end though, as we've noted before, the existing players have the knowledge, people and infrastructure already in place. It's up to them to use the advantage to attract the audience: There may be temptations to try the recording industry approach of trying to stem the tide but in the long run it makes much more sense to ride the wave.