BY PAUL MALONEY
A top story from The Industry Standard last week was called
"This Isn't Your Father's Radio." It consists of three
new
articles, six pieces culled from the past two years or so from Industry
Standard contributors, and links to five popular Internet radio
destinations. These pieces seemed to have some interest to
RAIN
readers, so here are a few of the highlights:
The lead story (
here)
is about Go.com- and Playboy.com-vet Kevin Mayer (pictured) and
his appointment as CEO of the newly
created
Clear Channel Internet Group.
The piece stresses that it's a little late in the game for a radio
company to just now be making their foray online, but a player like
Clear Channel has the advantages of a strong advertiser base and
ample opportunities to cross-promote across its various media arms.
As on the terrestrial side, Clear Channel may yet become the 600-pound
gorilla of Internet radio.
The series has a piece on the challenges facing Internet radio
too (
here).
Most sites are reaching
the end of their finance honeymoon (not to mention the fact that
the RIAA's licensing fees will have to be taken care of) and are
faced with the realities of paying the rent. As a result, many look
to additional revenue sources: converting to a B2B model, or introducing
inserted advertising. Recently,
Live365
notified the more than 21,000 enthusiasts who use the service to
webcast their own streaming stations that the company would soon
be forced to add audio ads to the streams. Webcasters have the option
of sharing revenues with Live365, or paying for their streaming
themselves. The Standard mentions
Netradio.com
(partnering with other brands like
ComedyCentral),
Avevo (formerly
OnRadio),
and
OnAir.com (formerly
WWW.com) as companies hoping
the B2B route will lead to profitability.
One success story (
here)
-- at least in terms of "cred" and the enthusiasm of its
listeners -- is
Dublab
(featured in
SPIN magazine's November article
on Internet radio, which also included a few words from
RAIN
publisher
Kurt Hanson. Dublab
was also
RAIN's "Internet Radio Site of the Week"
here). Started and run on a shoestring budget, the "live"
(real DJs spinning music as opposed to prerecorded shows or database
driven "jukebox" Internet radio) webcaster claims to have
pulled in 50,000 unique listeners in October. Moreover, co-founder
Jon Buck says his audience grows at a rate of 25 percent a month.
The Standard's final new piece (
here)
concerns a legal situation in Europe that should make US webcasters
(and artists) more than a little envious, and is making recording
copyright holders seethe. The recording industry's stance is that
antiquated German law is allowing webcasters there to play music
with little regard to the rights of the recording industry. Case
in point: Hamburg Internet radio
BeSonic,
who with no special agreements or concessions, has been streaming
top artists' entire albums, front to back (a practice that would
be "verboten" in the US or the UK).
Born of the post-WWII mentality of free, unfettered expression,
the laws there allow the broadcasting of music to the public (the
definition of which webcasting has so far fallen under) as long
as the artists are paid. Since, of course, the labels are aware
that their worldwide copyright protection will only be as strong
as the world's weakest laws allow, record companies and broadcasters
will meet with the EC to work on a compromise. Representing webcasters
in Europe is the
EDiMA, similar
to this country's
DiMA.
Read The Standard's "This Isn't Your Father's Radio"
here.
Tell your
colleagues about RAIN and...
You
could win one of three free
registrations we're giving away simply by telling
a couple of your colleagues about RAIN! Each of these
registrations is a $1295
value!
Radio Ink's Internet Conference is November 28th through
December 1 in Santa Clara,  California,
and this year's event promises to be more informative and
vital then ever. Featured speakers include former CNN-
and current Space.com CEO Lou Dobbs,
IBM's top Internet Strategist John
Patrick, MP3.com CEO Michael
Robertson, and the publisher of this newsletter,
Kurt Hanson.
All you have to do to be eligible to win is to send
an e-mail to some of your industry colleagues that you think
might enjoy RAIN, recommending RAIN to them.
(Plus you have to "cc:" paul@kurthanson.com on your
e-mail. Special note!! Please notice the "cc:" is
to "paul," not "kurt.")
If you send your recommendation e-mail to one
colleague, you'll get one entry in the drawing. Send the e-mail
to several people and you'll get two entries. And if
you send it to a lot of people from your address book
you'll get three entries. (Don't forget the cc:!)
We'll have a drawing on Monday at
5pm CST from all qualified entrants to pick our
winner. (Note: If you're already registered for the convention,
your prize will be a free registration for a friend
of your choice.)
Learn more about this valuable learning and networking
experience here.
Good luck! And thanks very much for helping spread
the word about RAIN to your colleagues.
|
Binary Broadcasting has announced the hiring of well-respected
radio programming veteran Denise Oliver.
Oliver (pictured) joins as Co-Founder and Executive Vice President,
Content.
Binary Broadcasting CEO Virginia Westphal explains the
new company's gameplan: "The concept is simple but very powerful.
We have created a tuner that resides on the station's website
and lets users create their own versions
of that station by easily adjusting categories of music
they like best. The listener gets a personalized version of the
station and continues to hear their favorite personalities...and
the station's advertisers. We're offering branded radio, rather
than random radio, via the Internet."
Oliver adds "For the first time, broadcasters will
be able to offer listeners a personalized 
narrowcast,
via the Internet, which will strengthen their brands and add revenue.
Binary Broadcasting will also help radio fight listener erosion
from new media."
The recently announced new service should be in
beta testing by the end of this year in select major markets.
Nationwide release is scheduled for 2001.
Read the press release here.
BY PAUL MALONEY
So I still want to listen to college radio. I've worked for
three public and/or educationally-affiliated 
broadcast
outlets; I've maintained a passion for college radio by residing
in three great college towns; and I currently live in Chicago;
home of at least six college stations.
The notion that most college stations rush in where traditional
broadcast radio fears to tread is mostly true. If not always realized,
the potential of college radio is thrilling. "Left of the
dial" has always been ripe territory for discovering cool
underground sounds, and peering through a window into the ideas
and passions that stir the local campus. (Note to those sneering
now: I did say "potential.")
Part of a broadband entertainment content site called Nibblebox
(which offers short films, comedy, and
animations created by college students -- including a section
about muffins!), NBX
Radio is a live blend of shows from the site's
stable of college radio affiliates. Refer to the schedule on the
site for when the college station of your choice will be featured.
There's a new one every hour. Or, click on the hyperlink of any
affiliate station to listen to them any time. There's even a very
handy map to search for stations by region. When I tuned in, I
caught WNUR from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL;
followed by Bowling Green State University's WBGU.
The benefit of webcasting for college broadcasters is especially
great. Almost by definition, the local student station is equipped
with out-of-date, out-of-repair, very low power equipment and
facilities. However, college students (and if I may make a "gut"
assumption, those who like hearing new/experimental music) themselves
are a very "wired," tech-savvy audience (especially
on campus). Through webcasting, college radio can now reach its
target audience with a listenable signal, right where the intended
listeners are (in front of their computers). Add to this Internet
radio's ability to reach interested listeners outside of the broadcast
radius (in
this case, more than a couple blocks away), and college radio
can really cash in on the technology's promise.
The NBX Radio stations stream with RealAudio
at a pretty good rate (32.1 kbps seemed pretty typical). All the
streams came through the NBX custom player. Unfortunately, I encountered
a lot of streaming problems. I don't know whether the source of
the trouble was the stations, the Internet, Real, or Nibblebox.
Nonetheless, it was somewhat disappointing to be able to only
sample about a third of the stations listed.
On the player was a link to the short NBX page dedicated
to the station. On this page is room for a nice big logo, basic
station info (request lines, broadcast frequency, location, mission
statement, and station schedule).
At last, not one...or six college stations, but lots of
them! Know of any good keg parties this weekend?
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Emmis Communications has named Deborah
Esayian as the company's VP/Integrated Sales, a newly
created
position.
Emmis President, Doyle Rose, in a company press release, indicated
that the new position was necessary to develop sales and to prepare
stations for integrated selling of a convergence of radio stations
and websites through the Local Media Internet Venture (LMIV).
Rose and Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan were among the presenters of LMIV
at the NAB in September. (See RAIN's initial rundown of
the LMIV here).
Most recently, Esayian headed up Emmis' New York/Tri-state
area minority job recruitment web site, jobcityusa.com.
Her experience also includes the GSM position at WJBR/Philadelphia,
and founding and directing radio marketing and sales firm Next
Generation Radio.
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Try
it out! Explore the wide world of
Internet audio by clicking the screenshot above.
