WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED "TEN SCOOPS IN TEN DAYS" And we've got even more COMING SOON! (Thanks to all of RAIN's crack team of interns for helping us successfully live up to this promise.)

As part of a "class project" to build new skills -- and develop a better understand of the field they're covering -- RAIN's crack team of Summer interns is currently in the process of building its own Internet-only radio station...and we'll share the fruits of what they're learning here for the next couple of weeks in RAIN.

Step #1: Selecting a format
Although a preliminary, unsolicited vote among the interns was pretty much evenly split between launching an all-Phish format and an electronica/trance format, top RAIN management vetoed both options -- the former because it would violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the latter because top RAIN management felt that (A) there are dozens, if not hundreds, of electronica/trance stations already available on the Internet, and (2) that format did not seem to be particularly appropriate for RAIN's target audience of successful adult radio and Internet industry professionals. (We were concerned that many RAIN readers are reading RAIN in the morning, possibly before having enough coffee to resist the allure of trance music).

Top RAIN management suggested several alternatives, including a station that would focus on the classic California-influenced album rock of the late '70s (e.g., the Eagles, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Steely Dan, and Carly Simon, fashioned after a "California Rock Weekend" that aired on WDAI/Chicago in June 1977) and a very-tightly-programmed CHR format. (It appears that a ten-song playlist, repeated every 40 minutes, would, in fact, be legal per the song- and artist-separation rules of the DMCA.)

Eventually, on a day in which one of the interns was making reservations to see the Tony Bennett/Diana Krall double-bill at the Ravinia outdoor music festival, we settled on a format that would feature contemporary version of pop standards made famous by such singers as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Tony Bennett and more recently recorded by such artists as Harry Connick, Jr., and Diana Krall.

To some extent, this format choice was inspired by James Darren's role as 1960s-era Vegas lounge singer Vic Fontaine during the final two seasons of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," which helped introduce such great songs as "Come Fly With Me," "The Best Is Yet to Come," "I've Got You Under My Skin," and "The Way You Look Tonight" to a new generation.

This format choice seems to makes sense for several reasons: (1)

It's essentially not available on the FM band in any major market. (2) It's not the format choice of any stand-alone Internet-only station that we're currently aware of. (The closest we can think of is the excellent WABY.com, for which such titles comprise less than half of their playlist.) (3) It seems like an appropriate format for at-work listening, which seems to the location where most Internet radio listening is currently occurring.

And, finally and perhaps most importantly, (4)

Do you have any advice or questions or comments for RAIN's crack team of Summer interns? Simply click the headline at left to bring up a convenient pop-up form!

BY PAUL MALONEY
The online presence of what has become an impressively-successful multifaceted entertainment company for hip-hop music and culture, TheSource is an amazing collection of content and resources for that lifestyle.

Bringing what has become the best-selling music magazine in America to the Internet would presumably be a daunting task. Make no mistake, there's nothing on the Internet (yet) that'll put printers out of business. But The Source Enterprises (which aside from its eponymous mag, boasts a roster of "The Source Sports" magazine, "The Source Entertainment" television production company, a radio network, a retail CD library, and "The Source Youth Foundation" charitable initiative), while not replicating the depth of the print magazine, have assembled a site for their target demo that's engaging and useful.

Exploring the entire site could be an adventure of hours. There's so much info -- and so much that goes beyond just the music. Clothes, watches, shoes, electronics, movies, celebrities, video games, sports, and news -- all aimed at the (mostly) Black, (mostly) male hip-hop nation.

But lots of destinations have a lifestyle section, often little more than a catalog page of clothes or gadgets. TheSource.com has original articles on cutting edge fashion, and interviews with the style-makers. The Sports section has a handful of original pieces, and streaming video of Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson during the photo shoot for the magazine's cover.

And all this nice, in-depth content is presented beautifully with a high-tech, yet easy-to-navigate interface. (Navigating straight from the player or the bar at the top of pages is a little tough, however, if you don't understand the icons.) Yes, if you have a 28kbps modem, make a sandwich. But if you have the capability, the animations and transitions -- not to mention the video and audio -- are fabulous.

"True 92" is what TheSource calls their online radio. They use RealAudio technology for their custom-interface player, which as mentioned, can be used to navigate the site. Nice stream rate (we were listening at 41.4kbps) and good sound. And, not having a large personal collection of contemporary hip-hop myself, I even got to hear the "joints" as they were recorded (read: obscenities intact).

TheSource sets a pretty high standard for music/lifestyle sites, both in presentation, and more importantly, content. This site is terrific even before the music goes in.

We'll send you RAIN's e-mail news updates on a regular basis, plus bulletins when important news breaks. (In addition, we'll appreciate knowing that you're enjoying our efforts.) First name: Last name: Station & market (or company or school): E-mail address: Note: Fields above are set up as "required." You should be receiving a confirmation e-mail from us shortly. Thanks!

These RAIN readers are responding to last Thursday's article (here) on the advent of successful targeted audio ad insertion (on Salem's Christian Pirate Radio)...

"Ad agencies are laughing at us as they get sweetheart deals..."

I have to respectfully disagree with your analysis that targeted advertisement delivery is the crucial element to successful webcasting business models. What evidence is there that people who consume Web media want to be intimately known to the company serving up their advertising? Do you think your Web content is so compelling that they will offer up the demo data needed to make such a concept work on a mass market basis? Look how much damage came about in the supposedly-accidental goof-up around privacy with the RealJukebox.

The mere numbers that would be necessary in terms of listeners and impressions -- even with premium rates -- would mean that only the largest webcast entities could expect to survive in the long haul. That reeks of the current stench of radio group ownership. Webcasting is an industry that will thrive because it isn't well understood by the stodgy old boys of big radio.

For almost five years, I have been involved in this industry and one thing is clear to me from all of the experience our company has tucked under its belt: people want to hear unique, compelling content. And they want to hear it the way they are used to consuming radio, even though it comes out of the computer speakers. The opportunity to make a business in this industry successful must first be based upon delivering something that other broadcast media isn't doing. Then, by having a unique marketplace, you can offer advertisers the opportunity to access a strong psychographic, which is ultimately going to be far easier to do than having demos based on region, age, sex and other marketing preferences.

Stellar Networks' flagship GAYBC Radio Network (www.gaybc.com) has spent less than $50,000 in the past year on promotion. Yet, we are one of the top-2 Talk/Personality Internet-only radio channels according to Arbitron's most recent ranking. Gays and Lesbians are a very appealing vertical psychographic. But, there are hundreds of other niches that will ultimately be winning keys to advertising success.

Don't lose sight of the fact that you already have a tremendous demo -- regardless of sex or geography: your listeners own $1,000 to $5,000 radios, and spend an average of $200/year to tune in (ISP fees). If you just duplicate what radio is already doing, or a CD jukebox is capable of, why waste your time and your investors money?

Ad agencies are laughing at us as they get sweetheart deals to reach our lucrative online audiences because we're letting them run us in circles. Broadcasters and print media outlets have never had to offer the kind of consumer results that we do. Targeted ad delivery is a prison wall we are erecting around ourselves because, like most Web businesses, most in our industry have not learned how to be . . . patient.

Our opportunity is to be to radio what cable was to broadcast television. The spot delivery model doesn't need improvement, and it's just an excuse used by agencies who still don't have a clue as to how valuable streamies are in general. Time will change that.

"We have a major evolutionary step forward in advertising..."

"New $5,000 Multimedia Computer System Downloads Real-Time TV Programs, Displays Them On Monitor" Read the news story from The Onion's archives here, or visit The Onion's current home page here. (There are actually interesting and valid parallels between the facts described in this story and Internet radio.)

September 12-14	Digital Coast 2000, Los Angeles, featuring a panel on Internet radio moderated by RAIN's Kurt Hanson
September 20-22	Gavin.com: Music on the Net, San Francisco
September 20-23	NAB Radio Show, San Francisco
Sept. 29-Oct. 1	MOBE/Internet & Technology, Chicago
October 5-7	Billboard/Airplay Monitor Seminar, New York
October 9-12	QuickTime Live! Conference, Beverly Hills
October 10-12	Streaming Media Europe 2000, London (NEW!)
November 5-7	NAB European Radio Conference, Berlin
November 12-14	Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) "Broadcasting 2000: On-air / On-line," Calgary (NEW!)
Nov. 28-Dec. 1	Radio Ink Internet Conference, Santa Clara, CA, featuring a brand-new national study on Internet radio usage presented by Eric Rhoads & Kurt Hanson

xxx

Try it out! Explore the wide world of Internet audio by clicking the screenshot above.

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