BY SCOTT STAFFORD
FOR RAIN: RADIO AND INTERNET NEWSLETTER
The site that brings us the hilarious VH-1 spoof "Behind
The Music That Sucks" also pumps out some of the
freshest jams on the Internet in the form of
Heavy
Radio. There are five channels: Hip Hop, Alternative,
Electronic, Hardcore, and General, which is an eclectic representation
of all the previously mentioned channels with even more goodies
thrown in the mix.
The rest of the Heavy.com site is more of the same. Possibly
the most visually appealing web site on the Internet, Heavy seems
to be the reason Macromedia invented Shockwave. Witty animations,
inventive games, and kitsch 70's graphics make this site something
to really behold.
The Alternative channel is truly alternative. Chicks On
Speed, Silver Scooter, Steve Fisk, and the New Pornographers aren't
exactly household names, but these artists create a wonderful
listening experience compared to what some call the mindless pabulum
that currently rules the airwaves, not to mention the bandwidth
"airwaves."
The Hardcore channel is a little hard to follow (perhaps
my definition of hardcore is different.) There is definitely some
heavy stuff on this channel, though.
If you're looking for Metallica, you'll have to play the
Heavy.com game "Bitch Slap a Rock Star". That's
where you'll find Lars Ulrich adorned in a "Napster Kills Puppies"
T-shirt with ample opportunity to beat the Metallica drummer into
submission. Gavin Rossdale of Bush and Ricky Martin, among others,
also take a beating in this Heavy.com video game. But if you're
more into beats, and less into beatings, perhaps Heavy Radio's
Hip Hop channel is for you.
Some of the best wordsmiths and beat manipulators in the
biz can be found in the Hip Hop channel. Artists like Ugly Duckling,
Dilated Peoples, Mr. Len, and the aforementioned DJ Qbert make
the channel an absolute pleasure to hear.
The Electronic offering from Heavy is just as exciting.
Listening to electronic music as a jukebox,
instead
of mixed by a DJ, is somewhat unsettling at first, but this is
not typical electronic music. Hearing this channel begs the question,
"what exactly is electronic music?" Alex Gopher, Ursula 1000,
Gorillaz, Jega, and Thievery Corporation are just a few of the
artists that are bending the genre.
The only grumble I have about Heavy Radio is the frequency
of the same artists in the rotation. Artist's songs are often
bunched together and are suspiciously in a rough, alphabetical
order from each other. It's typical to hear an artist played three
times in a row before the next artist is played. And then the
next artist may be played three times in a row after that. With
such a vast array of great music, it's a shame that Heavy Radio
doesn't find the time to separate the artists to give the listeners
a better radio experience.
Heavy.com caters to the cynical, pop culture critic. Even
though it's known more for its animations than radio programming,
Heavy Radio should satisfy the cynical music critic in anyone.
This is in response to Scott Stafford's piece on possible major
label online subscription models here.
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"There
is truly no reason to 'reinvent the wheel...'"
|
Scott Stafford's piece on "tag teams" was --
to steal on of your words -- scintillating. Cooperation is definitely
the key. Far fetched as it might be, especially when you consider
the
giant infants in this new frontier, cooperation will be the driving
force behind all major interactive success, and ultimately, the
rate at which any success is achieved.
There would be little to discuss...or monetize, if certain
services didn't 'steal' from labels and artists for the free dissemination
of music. This alleged heist would be more appropriately dubbed
a 'major promotional effort' by all those who now stand to benefit.
If you get right down to it, Napster and its knockoffs have essentially
wet the entire worlds' feet to the power of digitally accessed
and controlled entertainment; a daunting task by any giant label's
or independent webcaster's standards.
There is truly no reason "to go and reinvent the wheel"
for 90 million users (to steal Mr. Stafford's stolen words), but
the mutual lack of awareness for the various yet crucial elements
of this industry never ceases to amaze me.
This is in response to RAIN Reader Feedback from
KOIT/San Francisco's Bill Conway (here)
on BRS Media's study on the number of online broadcasters (reported
in RAIN here).
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"The
most accurate numbers available..."
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As mentioned in the Press Release the 5000 number
does NOT include the current list of stations not streaming,
the total list is over 500 stations. Before the AFTRA drop the
total was closer to 5500.
BRS Media has been tracking radio and the Internet for
over 5 years. Since 1995 we have maintained data and databases
of radio stations on the net.
Data extracted from these databases are use to generate
the number used within the press release used last week. Contrary
to assumptions made from Mr. Conway we have never counted AM/FM,
FM/FM or AM/AM simulcasting stations as anything more then 1 streaming
station in any data numbers released.
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George T. Bundy, Chairman & CEO
BRS Media
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This is in response to RAIN's coverage of the new XACT
Radio Network here.
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"XACT
allows radio to reinvent itself..."
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With the advent of the Web, a radio station's
competitors are no longer just other stations in their market,
but hundreds of online Internet options and the soon-to-come Satellite
radio that will be available to their listeners.
If radio does not provide its listeners with a service
that matches their comprehensive music tastes, they will find
it in other places. Sites like AOL's Spinner.com, MSN's Music
Radio, Launch.com, MTV's SonicNet, NetRadio.com , LIVE 365.com,
VH-1 Online and many others offer listener-directed control over
dozens of music genres. Radio has the brands that consumers are
familiar with -- and it is up to the stations to act now to retain
(or perhaps recapture) that loyalty.
XACT Radio Network allows radio to reinvent itself in order
to compete effectively online. And with continual station imaging
and streamed promotions on the service, the station’s brand
remains intact -- it is not damaged.
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"Can
a company really sustain itself with banner advertising?..."
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The XACT player is another clever gadget operating
under the same flawed business model as so many before
it. Can any company really expect to sustain itself with banner
advertising in the player?
The problem here is not the technology or the idea, they
are both great, it's in the fact that yet another company is out
touting something that we will all get so worked up about, such
as Kerbango or GetMedia, that won't be around unless someone has
very, very deep pockets.
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From Business 2.0: "
Microsoft
caused a buzz in recent days with the news that its forthcoming
version of Windows Media Player will depend on some of the technology
of its Windows XP
operating system, which should hit PCs this fall.
"The news immediately made many people think of the
Netscape browser war, a central chapter in Microsoft's antitrust
saga. But for Microsoft's biggest rival in the media player arena,
RealNetworks,
this newest Microsoft jab is not a killer...
"RealNetworks' joint-venture music platform,
MusicNet,
has acquired licenses to the catalogues of its three partners,
AOL Time Warner's Warner Music Group, Bertelsmann's BMG
Entertainment, and EMI Group. That's three of the five major record
labels. The subscription-based services built on the MusicNet
platform, planned for debut in late summer, will be distributed
through RealNetworks and AOL, to start.
"Plus, there's an interesting MusicNet subplot. MusicNet
is initially going to use RealNetworks' audio codec technology,
not the Windows Media Audio equivalent. 'This means that anyone
using the new Windows media player with XP won't be able to listen
to any music from MusicNet, unless Microsoft bites the bullet
and either a) strikes their own distribution deals with EMI, Warner
and BMG or b) pays RealNetworks to license their codec,' says
Gartner Group senior analyst Paul-Jon McNealy. 'Score one for
RealNetworks.'"
Read the entire article
here.
