 RAIN 3/7: UK's all-in-one web radio platform to launch on March 31 ·Mar 7, 11:41 AM WILL INCLUDE OVER 150 STATIONS AT LAUNCH, NEARLY 300 SOON AFTERThe UK’s all-in-one online radio platform, Radioplayer, will launch on March 31. Dubbed the “iPlayer for radio,” the new service will host over 150 radio streams from the BBC and commercial stations at launch. Radioplayer expects to ramp that number up to nearly 300 streams within a few weeks.
Radioplayer will also reportedly offer access to on-demand programs and podcasts. Users will be able to search stations by currently-playing artists and songs, as well as by program and genre. Though Radioplayer will initially only be available on desktop computers, it will soon expand onto mobile devices. Radioplayer shouldn’t be confused with the BBC’s effort to spin its radio offerings out of iPlayer and into its own new platform (RAIN coverage here and here). Radioplayer’s backers include the BBC, Global Radio, GMG Radio, RadioCentre and Absolute Radio. It aims to be a one-stop destination for all online UK radio streams. “Any radio station, from community level to national, can join UK Radioplayer, as long as their content is digitally modified for the platform,” reports the Telegraph (here). You can find previous RAIN coverage about Radioplayer here and here. PANDORA, TOYOTA LAUNCH MULTI-YEAR AD PARTNERSHIPPandora has launched a massive, multi-year ad campaign with Toyota called “Legends & Icons.” The campaign pairs different Toyota models with specific genre channels on Pandora that are chosen based on market research.
Toyota kicked off the campaign on March 4 with promotions for the Highlander SUV on Pandora’s Top 40 genre station. “Legends & Icons” will run through 2013. MediaPost has more on the story here. WE7 LAUNCHES STREAMING RADIO ANDROID APP IN UK, WITH CACHINGMusic subscription service We7 has launched an Android app in the UK with customizable online radio streams. Plus, the app offers station caching, allowing users to listen to their streams while offline (similar to what Slacker offers on their mobile apps).
We7’s app is free and will eventually serve ads. Users can listen to music on-demand with the app if they subscribe to We7’s £9.99 per-month subscription service. We7 will reportedly release an iPhone app in April. TechRadar has more coverage here. DIGITAL MUSIC TO EARN $20b REVENUES BY 2015, SAYS ANALYSTResearch firm Ovum predicts revenues from digital music will reach $20 billion worldwide by 2015. Analyst Mark Little, who penned the report, expects the 60% growth over the next four years will be driven by online subscription services. Little also took a shot at free music platforms like Pandora, claiming they don’t maximize revenues for themselves or the music industry. Fast Company has more on the story here.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 |
