The fidelity of radio broadcasting evolved as a result of FM broadcasting. Radio engineers had long sought ways to combat the interference problems persistent in AM broadcasts. The solution came in the 1930s when Edwin Armstrong invented FM radio signals. The quality of the FM broadcast was such that it would be decades before radio receivers caught up.
The quality may have been better, but the range was far shorter (for reasons too technical to delve into here). This meant that in areas where the population was more sparse and spread out, AM remained the band of choice for radio listeners. In cities, meanwhile, the FM band would come to rule. It could be argued that the technological diktats underpinning radio broadcasting would serve to create new formats. Now, the sounds people enjoyed on their cassettes or vinyl could be heard on-air with at least as much fidelity. This was good news for recording artists like Jimi Hendrix who tried to make the most of the aural spectrum, for it meant that their vision could be delivered to a listening public in its fully-realised form. (Although it should be noted that Hendrix was such a stickler that he and his renowned sound engineer Eddie Kramer strove to create complex sounds and mix them in such a way that a person equipped with a modest AM radio receiver could still delight in what they had wrought.)
That said, the rise of formats like classic rock and contemporary country can arguably be traced to the development of FM radio technology.
The quality may have been better, but the range was far shorter (for reasons too technical to delve into here). This meant that in areas where the population was more sparse and spread out, AM remained the band of choice for radio listeners. In cities, meanwhile, the FM band would come to rule. It could be argued that the technological diktats underpinning radio broadcasting would serve to create new formats. Now, the sounds people enjoyed on their cassettes or vinyl could be heard on-air with at least as much fidelity. This was good news for recording artists like Jimi Hendrix who tried to make the most of the aural spectrum, for it meant that their vision could be delivered to a listening public in its fully-realised form. (Although it should be noted that Hendrix was such a stickler that he and his renowned sound engineer Eddie Kramer strove to create complex sounds and mix them in such a way that a person equipped with a modest AM radio receiver could still delight in what they had wrought.)
That said, the rise of formats like classic rock and contemporary country can arguably be traced to the development of FM radio technology.