From Radio Business Report: "FCC NOI for UWB could bring new wireless revolution -- A real possibility for high-quality Internet streaming in your car or on a cell phone in your future?

"In order to help speed the delivery of new technologies into the hands of consumers, the FCC is looking at a controversial new technology that could facilitate the next generation of wireless delivery -- 'Ultra Wideband' (UWB).

"Using the UWB transmission scheme, streaming audio/video/Internet, high-speed wireless networks and data transmission functionality could well surpass that of wireless services out there today with multiple hundreds of megabits streaming per second. The FCC’s NOI, Docket 98-153 should move to NPRM soon..."

More details in today's RBR here and in tomorrow's RAIN.



From today's New York Times: "PepsiCo's recent announcement that it would conduct a joint promotion of its products with Yahoo, one of the most popular sites on the Internet, is promising news for Web site operators that have struggled to persuade the richest advertisers to spend their money online.

"Even as the Internet achieved mass-market audience levels, consumer goods advertisers like Coca-Cola, Nabisco and -- until now -- Pepsi, have kept their wallets shut, spending mere pocket change on the Web. They have argued that the medium may be great for direct marketing, but it does little to advance their primary advertising goal: increasing brand awareness.

"Although that sentiment still dominates, industry executives say such advertisers have begun to experiment more with Internet advertising campaigns. 'Experiment,' in fact, is the operable word...

"Indeed, consumer goods advertisers have consistently derided banners, the rectangular ads that appear at the top of Web pages, which remain the workhorse of Internet advertising. The consumer goods companies, which are accustomed to high-impact television spots designed to elicit an emotional response, say banners are too small and too limited in what they can convey through sound and video..."

Read the full New York Times article here (registration required). Note that it completely ignores the option of Internet-deliverd audio ads -- and, for that matter, the radio industry too. (The article assumes that the issue is TV vs. banner ads.)



From Radio & Records: "Sirius I, as the first of three Lorel-built satellites is being called, is scheduled to lift off that day from Kazakhstan. Sirius will ship the satellite to the Russian operators by May 31. The rest of the Sirius trio will be launched in September and October, respectively, Sirius spokeswoman Mindy Kramer tells R&R Online.

"She says Sirius will debut its 100-channel service sometime in December, and radio receivers will be available to consumers in time for Christmas."

Read more in Radio & Records here (subscription required).




Today's find comes from Rochester, NY. It's an attractive and well-organized Internet-only radio station devoted to giving exposure to selected unsigned artists, apparently primarily in the AAA format and related genres.

"What do we do?" asks the site's home page. "Provide a musical broadcast featuring today's hottest unsigned artists anywhere, commercial free.

"For the Artist? We provide the most intense advertising, marketing promotion of your music. Our ever changing 24 hour, 7 days a week music mix will ensure that your fans will hear and see you.

"For the Listener? An easy to use format that provides you with a constant stream of great music. Also an artist section for you to check out your favorite bands and purchase their music!"

The site currently seems to be featuring about 80 artists, most of which seem to receive several spins per day. The "Top 20" page explains, "You can vote a song into the Top 20 or into the RealNet Radio.com playlist by first locating a song you want to vote on, then press the vote icon."

One feature I particularly like about the site is its comprehensive playlist feature (see screenshot below), showing all the music scheduled for the next 12 hours, with the exact time each song is scheduled for airplay. Note that the list can also be filtered by artist or genre.

(Giving advance notice of what's coming up seems to be a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but I'm unclear as to whether the Act's rules apply to unsigned artists -- or perhaps whether they can be waived by the artists involved.)

This is an interesting idea for a radio station, in my opinion -- although I suspect its primary appeal might to be to other unsigned musicians rather than the general public. Still, it's a nice execution of the concept. (And there are probably tens or even hundreds of thousands of people out there who consider themselves unsigned artists.)

Visit RealNetRadio.com here and contribute your opinions about it here.


Want to recommend a station as RAIN's next Internet Radio Site of the Day? Use the feedback form here.

As you may recall, the deal was this: "If RAIN gets 100 new subscribers this week [beginning Thursday 3/23/00], we'll give away the entire RAIN Viral Marketing Contest Prize Package to one lucky winner."

Although you'd think, as a professional researcher with an MBA, I'd know how to count to seven, I sent out an e-mail to subscribers last Thursday saying "Today's the final day of the contest!" Jeez, I'm an idiot.

So, to be perfectly fair, let's look at an eight-day week. As you'll see in the chart below, although we had several great days of subscriber acquisition, we missed the mark again. (This was due to a really lousy sign-up rate on the weekend. Perhaps I should have written stronger weekend editions.)

At any rate, that means that on Wednesday of this week, we'll begin the RAIN Viral Marketing Contest, Phase Three! In tomorrow's issue of RAIN, we'll announce an exciting new prize that will be added to the RAIN Viral Marketing Contest Prize Package, in addition to the Nextel cell phone and the Sony Music Clip digital music player.

And we'll make one change in the rules that I don't think anyone will object to: At the end of this week of the contest, we'll have a GUARANTEED winner. In other words, no matter how many new subscribers sign up, we'll give away the entire prize package next week. (By the way, if you've recommnded RAIN to your industry colleagues -- and cc:'d RAIN on your e-mail -- check the list here to make sure your name has been put in the hat.)

Of course, if you've got time today, it would be nice if you were to recommend RAIN to a few friends or colleagues (and let us know by copying kurt@kurthanson.com)). That'll put your name in the hat for the drawing -- or increase your karma if your name is already in it. (Sample e-mail verbiage for you to use in making a recommendation is here.)

It's the most exciting prize package in the history of Web-based newsletters about radio/Internet issues! Details tomorrow.

More coming soon! Contribute your suggestions here. (Suggestions already in the hopper include CableMusic.com, RadioWoodstock.com, Nerve Radio, Radio Gogaga, and HotCountryHits.)

Miss an issue?
Visit the RAIN News Archives here.

You can easily click through previous issues of RAIN by using the blue arrows next to the issue date at the top of the page. (This navigation element has been added retroactively to all of March's issues.)