 RAIN 6/1: Aggregator aims to highlight ease of listening to Net radio ·Jun 1, 11:09 AM HEALTHY GROWTH FOR NET RADIO REVENUES, KAGAN REPORT SHOWS(Find our coverage of SNL Kagan’s Net radio analysis here).“BACKYARD PARTY” NETWORK OFFERS SIMPLE, ATTRACTIVE INTERFACEA new site called The Backyard Party Radio Network aims to be an easy-to-use Internet radio aggregator that brings “awareness to how easy Internet radio accessibility has become.” The site currently includes a simple interface with buttons which launch a compact web radio player. It’s easy to use and encourages users to sample new radio streams.
The Backyard Party Radio Network’s beta site will officially launch on the Fourth of July weekend, concluding with a three-hour fireworks soundtrack on Sunday, July 4. The site’s co-founder Barry Funkhouser said the service will resemble traditional AM/FM radios, which should make it easy for new-comers to Internet radio to enjoy the service. Find out more about The Backyard Party Radio Network here. LANE: BROADCASTERS WILL LOSE LISTENERS IF THEY DON’T OFFER ONLINE STREAMSJennifer Lane of Audio4Cast points out that as more car radios include the ability to listen to Internet radio streams, talk has turned to the question of “the survival of broadcast radio in the face of Internet radio” (just take the headline of this recent New York Times article, for example). But it’s really not a question of us versus them, Lane writes — broadcasters can and should take advantage of these opportunities by streaming online.
“The mistake broadcasters make is thinking that they have a choice when it comes to streaming, and proclaim streaming as too expensive,” she writes (here). “If a station’s listener wants to listen online, and that station is not offering its programming online, they will find another station online to listen to. Isn’t that a good enough reason to stream?” FREE NET RADIO APPS COULD HURT SIRIUS XM’S MOBILE PROSPECTS, SAYS MOTELY FOOL COLUMNISTLast week, Sirius XM launched an application for Android mobile devices (RAIN coverage here) after already providing apps for iPhones and Blackberrys. However, cautions Motley Fool columnist Rick Aristotle Munarriz, “This isn’t all good news for Sirius XM bulls.”
Munarriz points out that there are plenty of free alternatives for radio on smartphones and Sirius XM’s offerings are hurt by the lack of big names like Howard Stern. “Satellite radio has been a big seller at the automotive level, where users’ alternatives usually boil down to terrestrial radio or a CD player. Smartphone owners have far more options,” he writes (here). “This is little more than a niche offering until Sirius XM tells us otherwise.” 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 |
