 RAIN 8/12: KPIG says their subscription-only, commercial-free streaming is profitable ·Aug 12, 12:18 PM SUBSCRIPTION FEES BRINGING IN MORE REVENUE THAN ADSIn March, Freedom, CA-based KPIG, among the country’s first broadcasters to simulcast online (in 1995), announced it would abandon the ad-supported model and make its stream available only to those willing to pay a $5/month subscription fee (RAIN coverage here). The move was roundly derided, given the plethora of free radio listening options available online.
Now owner Mapleton Communications’ CEO Adam Nathanson says the move is working. “You can’t even compare what we were generating on the ad model to what we’re getting on the subscriber model,” he told Inside Radio. “We went from not making money to being profitable in 60 days — and the revenue continues to grow month-to-month.” Nathanson didn’t reveal the total number of KPIG subscribers, but said they exceed their expectations by managing to covert 15% of listeners to paying customers. Mapleton is reportedly considering the paid streaming model for other company stations. NEW DELL COMBO SMARTPHONE/TABLET RUNS ANDROID APPS The new Dell “Streak” is in stores today. It’s designed as a combination smartphone and tablet computer with a touch screen display, camera, Internet capabilities that can run thousands of Android apps.
The Streak costs about $300 if you take the first-time, two-year AT&T contract. It’s $550 without. Read more in the Austin Business Journal online here. RADIO VET ZUCHOWSKI TO HEAD GOOM RADIO U.S. PROGRAMMINGGOOM Radio has named Jeff Zuchowski VP/Programming for GOOM in the U.S. Zuchowski’s past radio experience includes PD stints at CBS’s KZZO/Sacramento and Clear Channel’s WKTU/New York.
A company press statement says GOOM Radio currently has several “partnership stations” with Coca-Cola, Converse, and Crush Management. GOOM Radio streams content on dozens of Internet sites such as AllHipHop.com, PopStarOnline.com and MasterBeat.com. share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
