Can Polaroid Make Radio Trendy Again?
Polaroid recently made a splash when they announced a step into music technology with a new range of products and services. The brand known and loved for its instant cameras is now selling speakers, and it's launched its own experimental music service and music app.
Polaroid's speaker range has launched with four Bluetooth speakers, called P1, P2, P3 and P4. They range from $59.99 USD to $289.99.
Alongside the speakers, Polaroid has launched a new radio service. In a statement, the company described the service as “an experimental take on internet radio”.
“In a world of algorithms, Polaroid puts radio back in the hands of real people: artists, DJs, and curators designed stations featuring up-and-coming tracks as well as old favourites,“ the statement read.
Users will be able to access Polaroid Radio via browser at radio.polaroid.com or via the Polaroid Music app. At the time of launching, the app is available in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, and Austria. The company has promised more territories are yet to come.
Polaroid is a company known for keeping vintage styles alive, so it’s fitting that the company is taking a page out of some more old-fashioned music industry tactics, by focusing on curation by humans, and keeping its streaming free from pause, skip and rewind options. Aesthetically speaking, the new speakers also provide a flash from the past, with some products even borrowing styles from retro boomboxes.
So could Polaroid make Radio trendy again? We'll just have to wait and see how one of photography's leading brands navigates a new, sonic environment.
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Last week, IFPI shared the Engaging with Music Report 2022, which features a collection of data sourced from 44,000 respondents, aged 16-64.