 RAIN 3/24: Net radio ad model should prove more robust than other music services' ·Mar 24, 01:27 PM WEBCASTERS NEEDN’T SUFFER THE SAME FATE AS SPIRAL FROGCNet reporter Greg Sandoval, following the demise of on-demand music service Spiral Frog, has written an article examining the business of supporting a music-based business by selling your audience’s attention to advertisers. Certainly, Spiral Frog and Ruckus (another recently-shuttered music service) represent a business different from that of Internet radio. So while webcasters face many of the same obstacles in trying to build music-based 21st Century online businesses, there’s reason to believe Net radio ad models set them apart from the likes of Spiral Frog.
The first problem ad-based music services face is, obviously, the sour economy. Ad buying is down as businesses cut costs, and ad-supported media suffers. Compounding that, as those following the Internet radio royalty debacle know well, content owners (record labels) Internet radio should be better positioned by selling ads that ad the element of in-stream audio, which is obviously much more engaging (and thus should As they do when justifying high Internet radio royalty rates, the major labels argue that free music play ad-supported music services offer doesn’t promote the sale of music, it replaces it. The music industry’s business is built on selling CDs and paid music downloads, and they see free services not as partners but as competition. Net radio has already caught on with listeners, and the number tuning in continues to grow. But ad-supported Internet radio, if it’s to avoid the fate of Spiral Frog, needs to convince ad buyers that its ad model that combines audio, visual, and interactive elements is worth a premium. Certainly an improved economy wouldn’t hurt. And most of all, Internet radio needs to be able to license musical content at a rate that will allow it to grow and benefit webcasters, labels, and artists alike. Read Sandoval’s article in CNet here. — PM CAREERBUILDER’S DO’S AND DON’TS FOR AT-WORK MUSIC: NET RADIO IS A “DO”We got a kick (and, admittedly, a bit of a chuckle) from a CareerBuilder article (repurposed at CNN.com) on the “Do’s and Don’ts” of listening to music in the workplace, and the enjoyment of an office cubicle awash in Internet radio. In fact, one PR exec gushed, “I would strongly recommend everyone listen to music at work, if possible… It really lightens up the day and makes the time go by a bit faster. And most importantly, you are entertained for a long stretch of time doing a job that may not be so entertaining.” And the evidence is more than ancedotal: Peter Quily, adult Attention Deficit Disorder coach, reveals that listening to music at work boosts the levels of neurotransmitter dopamine, a brain chemical that can help people focus. Bottom line: we love it when people love Internet radio. Read more here.
WIRED: MYINE MAKES NET RADIO FOR “STUPID OLD PEOPLE”Just so you don’t think we’re too snarky today, check out Wired’s Gadget Lab bit on the new Myine Ira desktop Internet radio — apparently the Jitterbug of net radio appliances. “Old people are stupid. At least, that’s what internet radio makers Myine tell us,” writes Wired. “In fact, so proud is Myine of this ‘fact’ that it touts it on the front page of its site: ‘Older folks like tech toys, too.’ To this end, Myine has made the Ira, an internet radio so simple that even an old, stupid idiot can use it. The Ira even has an old-person name.” Wired doesn’t actually review the product. Rather, it suggests that a device that requires a password-protected Wi-Fi router, power adapter, cables, and a remote may not actually be all that simple to set up and use. However, contrary to the article, there is an online manual available at the Myine Ira site (here) (though that may have been added after publication of the article). The Wired article is here.
SPORTS TALK AM HAS IPHONE USERS CALLING IN TO LISTENYou don’t need a downloaded app to listen to WTEM-AM (ESPN 980)/D.C. on your iPhone. Just call! Mobile listeners dial a specific phone number to tune in to programming. “Listening to radio on mobile phones needs to be as simple and reliable as turning on a radio, Or, more accurately, dialing a mobile phone — Ed. and that is what distinguishes our technology from the rest of the industry,” said Elan Blutinger of AudioNow, the technology company behind the service. For more, read Radio Ink’s coverage 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 |
want to price the use of music far higher than current ad rates can support. MP3tunes founder Michael Robertson says the ad market economics just don’t work because these services “just can’t deliver enough ads at a high-enough 
potentially snare a higher 
Yet while labels can argue that on-demand services cut into CD sales (why buy something you can hear for free when and as often as you like?), their argument doesn’t hold the same water when applied to Internet radio (which doesn’t allow for on-demand control by listeners).
