 RAIN 8/22: News Corp.-backed Beyond Oblivion, BlackBerry maker RIM creating on-demand subscription music services ·Aug 22, 12:25 PM BOINC SERVICE TO COME LATER THIS YEAR, WHILE BBM MUSIC AS SOON AS THIS WEEKTwo major companies are rolling out on-demand music subscription services that may rival the likes of Spotify, Rhapsody, and Apple’s anticipated cloud music service.
Most likely, these services will also add to the online competition faced by broadcasters in the increasingly-rivalrous attention ecomony. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is part-owner of Beyond Oblivion, which this week will unveil its Boinc service. The company announced that its player software will be built in to products by (a still-unnamed) PC manufacturer and smartphone maker.
Larry Johnson at Paragon recently wrote about online on-demand music services. While broadcast radio boasts convenience, music discovery, and loyalty bred of a “parasocial link between listener and DJ/announcer,” it’s not like on-demand music services are totally lacking in these areas either. He remarks, “When you can design your own musical universe with relative ease, it’s no wonder that online, on-demand, Internet-only audio services like Pandora, LastFM, and Slacker have earned a place at the ad-buying community’s table.” Read more about Beyond Oblivion’s Boinc in The Guardian here and more about RIM’s BBM Music here. Read the Paragon blog here. RAIN INTERNET RADIO AWARDS FINALISTS: BEST OVERALL DIGITAL STRATEGY On September 13th, to conclude RAIN Summit Chicago, we will present the 2nd Annual RAIN Internet Radio Awards. We’ll award one winner in each of four categories; and beginning today, we’d like to announce the finalists in each category.
The Best Overall Digital Strategy award goes to the broadcast station, broadcast group, or online-only webcaster that has implemented the finest overall digital strategy, including mobile, streaming, websites, downloads, video and/or other features. The finalists in this category for 2011 include:
We encourage you to check out these webcasters for yourself, and see which you feel is most-deserving of the award. We’ll announce more finalists tomorrow in RAIN. REPORT PREDICTS U.S. SALES OF NEARLY 11 MILLION NET RADIO-EQUIPPED CARS IN 2018A new report predicts a worldwide surge in sales of cars equipped with Internet radio capability over the next eight years.
“Sales of cars with Internet radio integrated into their head unit will soar to 24 million units in 2018, up from 168,000 in 2010,” according to the IHS iSuppli Automotive Research Service. “The United States will lead the Internet radio market, with sales growing to more than 10.9 million units in 2018, from 149,000 in 2010.” The IHS report describes a “fundamental shift in the way car electronics systems are being designed… from fixed function head units to… apps-based head units“ — basically, computer-based platforms where functions are performed by applications (like a smartphone). Interestingly, “automotive OEMs have shown little interest in implementing [cloud music locker services, such as Apple’s iCloud, Google Music or Amazon’s Cloud Drive] in the car. Instead, the trend is toward popular entertainment apps such as Pandora, iHeartRadio, Slacker and more.” Read the IHS press release here. View the report abstract and purchase the report, “The Connected Car—In-Vehicle Apps for the Future,” here. KNOWDIGITAL OFFERS FREE WEBINAR PRESENTATION OF RECENT STUDY ON IN-CAR STREAMING RADIORelated to the story above, knowDigital today announced a free webinar presentation of its recent report, “Challenges and Opportunities for In-Car Streaming Radio” on Wednesday, August 31st. The webinar will replicate the original live presentation of the study delivered at RAIN Summit West last April. Register online here.
Sam Milkman, President of knowDigital, will present “6 Ways to Deepen Your Fan Connection on Facebook” on September 13 at RAIN Summit Chicago. 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 |
Meanwhile, Research In Motion has developed a music service for its BlackBerry handheld devices called 
