Yesterday's report in Internet industry online news
source Inside.com on
Clear Channel Communications'
acquisition
of Enigma Digital
wasn't necessarily the first for some people.
News of an SEC filing by Clear Channel for the purpose
of acquiring the Internet media solutions company was actually
reported in RadioHorizon.com,
an online Internet radio news source published by former Clear
Channel Internet technology leader Brian Parsons (pictured), in
a November 29th story on his site.
According to Parsons' report, the acquisition will
be a stock transaction valued at 
$20
million. Furthermore, Parsons reported that Enigma President and
COO Michael Abrams is to become COO of the Clear Channel Internet
Group, reporting to CEO Kevin Mayer.
Enigma Digital owns and operates Internet radio stations
grooveradio.com, LuxuriaMusic.com, and KNAC.com.
The article states that Clear Channel was to have announced
the purchase "in the next few weeks." Now, however,
even after yesterday's Inside.com story, neither Clear Channel
nor Enigma have publicly commented.
Read Parsons' story here.
BY RALPH SLEDGE
The appeal of BeOSRadio
may not be immediately apparent. Except for a few tech-savvy
geeks (including
ones who have read some of my earlier articles), most are going
to think that a radio station that plays only music made on BeOS
with the purpose of providing "a stimulating and interesting
listening environment" for the BeOS community will probably
think that they're up to something naughty.
And they just might be. The Be Operating System (henceforth
BeOS), for those not in the know, is a modest yet extremely efficient
operating system made by former Apple Engineers, designed to run
on Power PC and x86 processors, and more recently, Internet Appliances.
BeOSRadio is a station devoted to playing music that is, as I've
said, created using the BeOS.
What is probably more interesting about the station, however,
is the technology used to put it on the air. Staying true to their
rebellious nature and their faith in Be, those who
run BeOS radio don't use a lick of non-BeOS technology to assemble
their stream. Pushing MP3s through Live365.com,
the radio show is put together using a system called "BRS,"
which it's authors are claiming "can do virtually anything
a commercial radio station automation system can do."
Really. And soon, they should be selling this system for
around $100. According to the website Benews.com, the system includes
"all the tools necessary to create daily, randomized music
playlists complete with true radio automation control information,
and the same BRS executable we use to run BeOSRADIO. Also included
will be complete instructions and hints on setting up a professional-sounding
radio station... you can do virtually anything a commercial radio
station automation system can do, other than to control external
playback equipment like reel-to-reel decks and cart machines."
Let's get the typical stuff out the way so I can talk
more about this system: The BeOSRadio site is nicely 
designed
and clean, and full of information about BeOS. The "What's
Playing" link could be higher up on the page and bigger,
but that seems to be the biggest flaw. The stream itself can be
played through anything that can play streaming MP3s, or through
the Live365.com player. You've got only one quality to choose
from -- the 32kbs/22khz rate that makes 56k modem users happy.
It's also worth noting that the station is actually playing
original music, in a very non-irritating way. Some of it sounds
a bit amateurish, but none of it is "Casio keyboard"
type stuff; while the station is obviously for BeOS enthusiasts,
it's not a bad place to go to check out new, original music. A
page on the site gives a list of all the musicians featured on
the site, with links to more information about them, when available.
And while there are some obvious limitation, the BRS system
is yet another technology to keep your eyes on. You can find out
more information at LeBuzz,
Benews.com, and at
the Be Web Site.
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From Radio Ink: "
KPIG,
the radio station that was catapulted into the mainstream after
receiving big
numbers
from Arbitron’s online reporting is now going to insert ads with
assistance from
Hiwire.
"During a panel discussion at the RAB convention in
Dallas, Bill Goldsmith, KPIG’s Web Director and Internet Consultant,
said Hiwire was chosen 'because they have the technology, the sales
force and the track record to get the job done.'"
Read the entire story
here.
"When we heard that KPIG needed help finding a new streaming
provider, we immediately connected them with our alliance partners,"
said Warren Schlichting, CEO of Hiwire. "Hiwire is looking forward
to working with New Wave Broadcasting's engineers to install our
ad targeting system and start delivering ads for KPIG. For us, the
bottom line is helping our partners reach their revenue goals."
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From the press release: "Enigma Digital, an integrated
media network, has announced it has signed a
programming syndication deal with
RadioWave.com,
the leading Internet Radio Network, to stream
KNAC.COM
and
GROOVERADIO.COM,
two of its music and lifestyle channels, to RadioWave.com network
affiliates. RadioWave's affiliates include such leading Web destinations
as MSN Chat, ARTISTdirect, RollingStone and RadioFreeCash.com...
"Under the terms of the deal, Enigma Digital's heavy
metal channel, KNAC.COM
and
electronic music channel, GROOVERADIO.COM will be streamed to RadioWave.com's
affiliates, who collectively generate approximately 2 million hours
of listening per month. In addition to streamed audio, RadioWave
will provide artist and album information, and will sell and traffic
iSpots, RadioWave's interactive audio advertising product."
Read the press release
here.
It was widely revealed yesterday that Clear Channel Communications
is acquiring Enigma Digital (see
RAIN story
here).
From the press release: "
MeasureCast,
Inc., the first company to provide Internet radio broadcasters,
advertisers
and other streaming media content providers with next-day audience
size and demographic reports, announced today that for the week
of Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2001 the total time spent listening (TTSL)
for the top 25 on-line stations in the company's weekly ranking
continued to increase, with a
10 percent
gain over last week (Jan. 22-28).
"In addition, four new stations entered the MeasureCast
Internet Radio Top 25 list with the biggest move coming from
The
Beat LA, a CyberAxis station that skyrocketed from to #14
from #45 last week. The other three newcomers include: Morfeo's
Onda Cero, and Global
Media's
WBLS-FM and
KBLX-FM...
"Internet Radio continues to provide an excellent medium
for advertisers to reach well-educated, affluent customers during
the work week. During the past week, 88% of all listening to MeasureCast
measured stations occurred Monday through Friday, with 83% of all
listening occurring during work hours (8AM EST to 5PM PST)."
Read this press release
here.
As always, to view the latest MeasureCast weekly Top 25,
or the company's latest monthly rankings, click the appropriate
link under MeasureCast, in the "Metrics" section of the
left-hand menu of
RAIN.
Beginning Monday February 5th, "
RAIN:
Radio And Internet Newsletter" will be working from the offices
of Strategic Media Research. We're currently in the process of moving
from the Lakeview location into downtown Chicago.
As a result of this change, the entire
RAIN staff
can now be reached at 312 726-8300. All e-mail addresses will remain
the same.
Naturally, there may be a bit of a lapse in communication
while we make this transition. We apologize for any inconvenience
you might experience in trying to track us down, and appreciate
your understanding.
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