“BEST OF EVERYTHING” IS NET RADIO DESIGNED FOR UPPER DEMOS: The images of Saturday Night Fever and Sinatra albums revolving through the Best of Everything webcast site should give one a good idea of who creator Bob Bruno is targeting. The player itself is minimalistic—perhaps designed for those who aren’t exactly computer savvy—with no customization, subchannels, or song skipping available. Without even the proper album art (only a small scrolling ticker declaring the current track), the Best of Everything models a terrestrial radio station rather than an internet stream, in that users cannot personalize the stream. But with no commercials or DJs, perhaps some listeners will enjoy it more than traditional radio and find it easier to use than more advanced streams like last.fm or Pandora. Rather than technological ingenuity, the site relies on what Bruno feels is an “unapologetically eclectic” collection of tunes — and indeed the player jumps from to showtunes like “With One Look” from the Broadway musical Sunset Boulevard, to oldies such as Latin singer/songwriter Julio Iglesias’ “Moonlight Lady,” even touching on classic rock with “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys — creating a blend of pop music that he hopes the “mature” demographic will recognize and love.

WARNER PULLS MUSIC FROM LAST.FM’S ON-DEMAND SERVICE: Last.fm began removing Warner Music Group’s music from their on-demand service last week at the record label’s request due to a compensation rate dispute. Warner reportedly called last.fm’s compensation system “completely out of whack” compared to other online music services, also expressing frustration that last.fm had not launched a music subscription service yet. While Warner music can still be heard through last.fm’s streaming radio, users can no longer listen to Warner artists on-demand. Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group and other labels still provide on-demand music to last.fm. For more on the story read Radio and Records’ coverage here.

RECORD SALES INCREASE FROM RADIO PLAY SAYS NEW STUDY: The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has circulated a new study from Nielsen and Pollstar throughout Capitol Hill that displays a growth in record sales due to radio airplay. Citing examples of 17 diverse artists such as U2 and Josh Groban, the study shows that “when music airs on the radio, record sales go up.” The study states, “It is this promotion – free advertising – that drives record sales and represents just one of the many ways local radio provides value to artists and contributes to their financial and commercial success.” The NAB hopes the study will take a bite out of the proposed performance royalty fee being pushed on terrestrial radio broadcasters by the record industry (RAIN coverage here). A Congressional hearing on the fee is set to take place on June 11. For more on the story read Media Week’s coverage here. Meanwhile, the recording industry has made public its list of artist witnesses for the hearing, which will include Nancy Sinatra, Sugarhill Gang, and Whodini among others. To read more on the witness list, read Yahoo’s coverage here.

NOKIA TO LAUNCH IN-CAR NET RADIO SOLUTION IN N. AFRICA, MID EAST: The newly announced Nokia N78 mobile phone has all the powerful web, photo, and mp3 tools common in new cellular devices, but included in this package is both internet radio and a FM transmitter. The N78 can access web radio through Nokia’s network and transmit it to a car’s terrestrial radio receiver. While only available in the Middle East and Northern Africa, the N78 is a clever way to bypass the lack of universal hi-speed internet. For more about the device head to PC Magazine here.

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