 RAIN 5/10: Batanga Radio iPhone app offers customizable Latin music streams ·May 10, 11:24 AM A LOOK AT SOME NEW AND NOTABLE APPS: BATANGA, SPARK RADIO, XIIALIVENew streaming radio apps seemingly launch for iPhone, Android and webOS phones all the time. Here’s a look at some of the notable new options, starting with Batanga Radio — a free iPhone app that offers customizable Latin music radio. Batanga’s app offers many of the same features found on the service’s website (here), including the ability to search for artists and listen to customizable streams of similar groups. The app also taps into your current locations to display popular artists in your area (Joan Sebastian is apparently big in Chicago), while also offering mood- and genre-based channels. You can bookmark and rate tracks (using frowny and smiley faces). Find out more about Batanga Radio’s iPhone app here.
Also for the iPhone, Spark Radio launched earlier this year (RAIN coverage here) Finally, for Android devices, XiiaLive Radio ($3.99) also aggregates ShoutCast streams but wraps it all in a very attractive user interface. The app offers search and the ability to tag favorite songs, artists or stations. Find more here. Got a favorite unheralded Internet radio mobile app? Tell us about it by commenting on today’s issue, or posting a message to our Facebook wall or Twitter account. ACCURADIO’S GEHRON TO SPEAK AT BIA/KELSEY’S DIGITAL STRATEGIES CONFERENCEBIA/Kelsey’s Digital Strategies for Broadcasting 2010 is scheduled for May 17-19 at The Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson. A long list of CEOs and executives will speak at the conference, including President/CEO of Triton Media Neal Schore, McVay New Media President Daniel Anstandig, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan and Arbitron Executive VP Pierre Bouvard. AccuRadio COO John Gehron (pictured) will also appear at the conference to deliver a presentation entitled, “The New Frontier: Radio’s Fourth ‘Golden Age’ and Opportunities for Broadcasters.” Find out more about BIA/Kelsey’s conference here.
GROWING NUMBER OF AMATEUR CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOWS POPPING UP ONLINE, REPORTS L.A. TIMESA growing group of “aspiring Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys” are launching webcasts, the L.A. Times found. BlogTalkRadio’s statistics show the number of conservative talk-show hosts has grown 25% this year, compared to 14% growth on the other side of the political spectrum. And in the last 3 months, such shows have attracted over 1 million listeners. One show even hosted Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich as a guests. “The Internet is going to be the place that becomes the new farm team for traditional radio,” said Michael Harrison, founder of the trade journal Talkers Magazine. “These are people who are interested in emulating terrestrial radio, and they’re doing it from their kitchen table.” The L.A. Times has more here.
MEDIAPOST: SLOW RETURN TO AD SPENDING DUE, IN PART, TO INTERNET EFFICIENCYThe economy may be recovering from the recession, but advertising spending is projected (by ZenithOptimedia) to decline in 2010 and only grow by 1.8% growth in 2011. “A new dynamic is clearly at work in the advertising industry,” writes MediaPost (here), “with the rise of the Internet bringing greater efficiency, but not necessarily more overall spending.” Advertising on the Internet has grown quickly, both in dollars spent and in market share, “suggesting it is absorbing dollars from other media…it seems online growth has come at the expense of traditional media.”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 |
but MacWorld has just published an exhaustive review of the service. The $2 app aggregates Net radio streams, but also offers interesting features like the ability to see “who is using Spark Radio, where they are in the world, and what they’re listening to.” The app also offers recommended channels based on what you’re listening to, iTunes-like visualizers and detailed information on each station. “Spark Radio sits atop my very short list of favorite radio apps,” concludes MacWorld (
