 |
From yesterday's New York Times: "In its annual forecast,
Veronis Suhler,
the investment banking firm, predicted that the  popularity
of the Internet as an advertising and information medium will
continue to increase rapidly in the short term, though
not to the exclusion of more
traditional media like magazines and newspapers.
"Veronis Suhler's 14th annual communications industry
forecast...found that total advertiser spending grew 9.1%, to $165
billion, last year. It expects spending to grow 8.6% annually, climbing
to $249.1 billion in 2004.
"According to the report, this growth 'will be driven
largely by Internet advertising, which exploded 140.6%, to $4.6
billion in 1999 and is forecast to increase at a 39.5% compound
annual growth rate, more than quadrupling to $24.4 billion by 2004.'
| HEY,
WAIT A MINUTE! Internet advertising makes up only $20 billion
out of the total $84 billion increase in ad spending. This is
hyperbole! Ad spending growth is NOT being "driven
largely" by Internet advertising -- at least as I understand
that phrase -- since it comprises less than a quarter of the
growth! -- KH |
"Should
Veronis Suhler's predictions pan out, by 2004, Internet advertising
will exceed consumer magazine advertising, which is projected to
reach $16.4 billion; network television advertising, estimated at
$19.4 billion; and cable television advertising, a projected $21
billion. It should then be close to radio
advertising, projected to climb to
$26.6 billion. Daily newspapers are still expected to
generate the highest advertising income, an estimated $63.2 billion
in 2004."
| Note
that in the preceeding paragraph, network and local TV is
split into separate categories and the local TV number isn't
mentioned. That's why radio looks bigger than TV. |
Read the
entire New York Times story here
and the Veronis Suhler report here.
From MP3Newswire.net: "Recently, I was at a major record
chain checking out the latest CD offerings, which are visibly positioned
at the front of the store. Interspersed within are several CD's
on sale for $11.99 or $12.99, all recent releases,
all looking to do volume. Remember those prices, we will come back
to them later...
"To bring a CD to market there are quite a few hard
costs. First there is the CD itself and the cost to print  millions
of them. Add to that the cost to print the inside booklet and cover
art, the cost of the jewel case, and the cost to assemble all these
pieces together and shrink-wrap them. Now come the distribution
costs as we truck them all over the US to local record stores and
to the warehouses of online merchants like Amazon...
"To distribute a digital music file is as simple as
placing a simple link on a web page. You don't have to make multiple
copies, you don't have to deliver it to the buyer they come to you.
Yes, there are the IT network costs for an e-commerce site, but
traditional distribution too has to pay for a network of teamster
drivers, local sales reps, and regional managers...
 "Sony
only sells singles right now on the Net, hawking them for $3.49
for a single, and when they
say 'single' they mean one song, not an A and B side as found
on 45 and cassette... EMI charges the same plus you can purchase
albums for the very
high price of $16.99.
 "Hey,
where are the savings? They are charging me $3 to $4 more than
what I pay for these songs on sale at the store. They are charging
$3 to $4 more AFTER cutting out the middleman.
They are charging $3 to $4 more and I don't get the CD, the cover
art, or the booklet..."
Read the entire essay by Robert Menta at MP3newswire.net
here.
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Yesterday,
a RAIN reader asked, "As far as I know, Magnitude streamed
primarily in Microsoft while Global Media streams exclusively in
Real. Does this mean that all of Magnitude’s clients are going to
have to switch to Real?"
 |
"Does
this mean that all of Magnitude's clients are going to have
to switch to Real?
Yes "
|
 Yes,
it does. And yes, they do have a separate player that uses Flash
to operate, so each user has to be RealPlayer-, Flash-, and Global
Media player- enabled to access any of
their client's audio streaming. And you have to change some settings
on RealPlayer to make the Global Media player work...and you have
to go to their FAQ (argh!) section to find that out.
I decided that I'd rather live without the Global Media content
than risk changing the settings and possibly having to reconfigure
each time I accessed a Global Media client.
They sure seem to be going to great lengths to make streaming
audio very cumbersome to access. In fact, if this trend keeps up
then it may render the "to stream or not to stream" question moot.
It's getting so complicated (how many players are there now? RealAudio,
Windows Media, Global Media, Hiwire, Spinner, CableMusic, QuickTime...the
list goes on, plus firewalls, changing URL's, etc) that the programming
can't get a fair test in the marketplace.
And
one of the other competitors in this field writes in...
|
"Stations
need to start to pay or stop streaming..."
|
Neither
Global or Magnitiude or OnRadio has or had a revenue model that
works/worked. The
deal with Magnitude is no different than OnRadio. They issue stock
(in Canadian dollars) to pick up contracts worth nothing. Amazing.
They ought to be gone soon enough.
The stations are in the hot seat -- they have to choose a
good provider and be willing to give something back for it. Since
 both
OnRadio and Magnitude didn't charge the stations for streaming,
those stations need to start to pay or stop streaming,
and it is highly unlikely they will want to pay or stop.
What to do? Barter... Up 'til now both of these companies
have been giving it away, and now they are both out of business.
(Another streaming deal is free too, they will be gone soon, maybe
Global will buy them as well!!!! Ha Ha.)
The real question is, of the streaming companies to choose
from, only one (Warp) is run by broadcasters, gives you unlimited
streams, fees covered, umatched 24/7 quality tech control and support,
and has a real revenue model that works. Barter too, no out of pocket
cash. Warp will be around long after the others are gone.
Add your comments
via e-mail here
or via our feedback form below.
From USA
Today: "It had to happen: Talk-show psychology has come
to the Internet. Carole Lieberman, a  celebrity
psychiatrist, hopes to give Dr. Laura a run for her money with her
online multimedia show, "WOW
on the Couch"...
"While a show on the Net is still far from radio and
TV call-in programs with millions of audience members, Lieberman
says there are advantages to being on the Net. For one, 'you don't
have to take commercial breaks,' she says. For another, people reluctant
to call a radio show might appreciate the relative anonymity of
e-mail...
"This is far from the first site to offer psychological
services over the Net. While good therapy  can
be done online, people should be wary of quick fixes, says UCLA
psychology professor Gerald Goodman. '
"Quick-fix psychologists -- and journalists, may I add
-- exploiting the Net are screwing it up for a real group
of psychologists who are preparing legitimate sites that might be
so effective they'll change the course of mental health service
delivery in America,' he says. He says UCLA is working on a site,
talkdoc.com."
Read the full USA Today story here.
 Thanks
to RAIN interns David Don and Qianqian Zheng (top row, center,
in photo), you can now search through RAIN's News Archives
more quickly and efficiently than ever before!
To get started, simply enter a search term in the box below
and click "Search." (Our engine supports wildcards ("*")
and "+" and "-" inclusion/exclusion commands.)
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