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From CNET News:
"Here's how the balance of power is shaping up at
this early stage: AOL chief executive Case has already moved away
from the  daily
operations of the company he founded, spending more time with such
things as speeches and political initiatives. Turner has done much
the same...And Time Warner chief Levin, CEO of the new company, is
approaching 60...That leaves Pittman, AOL's president and chief operating
officer, and Richard Parsons, Time Warner's president.
"Both will be co-chief operating officers of the new company,
but sources say Pittman, who made a name for himself as a senior executive
at MTV, is the one in line for ascension..." Read
the CNET News story here.
Pittman, of course, was a radio exec (including
gigs in Milwaukee, Chicago, and New York) in his younger days.
From Radio & Records: "Another radio analyst tells
R&R Online that pure radio companies are not affected by today's deal:
'I don't know that traditional radio would benefit from anything like
this...'" Click here
for R&R Online (subscription required).
Radio Business Report notes that "The only radio asset
owned by either is Time Warner’s CNN Radio,  which
is distributed by Westwood One (N:WON). The only broadcast license
held by either is Time Warner’s WTBS-TV (Ch. 17, Ind.) Atlanta, although
the company made an unsuccessful run at Paxson (A:PAX) and is believed
to have an ongoing interest in acquiring a TV network." (Of
course, AOL also owns the Internet-only multi-channel radio webcaster
Spinner, which it purchased last year for $400 million.) Click
here for RBR.com.
Reprinted from yesterday evening's
edition:
More industry commentary
"In the past we always thought that Internet companies needed
traditional assets to succeed, and it's becoming more evident
that it's the traditional media companies that need the help
because they can't figure it out," said Charlene Li, an analyst
at Forrester Research. From CNET here.
"The deal signifies beyond a shadow of a doubt that the
Internet has become a vital piece of the media puzzle, and it
is almost certain to spark a flurry of other breathtaking deals
between old-line media giants and newly minted Internet companies."
From the Wall Street Journal here
(subscription required).
 Time
Warner CEO Gerald Levin was especially bullish about the music
angle. "One of the most exciting things about this transaction
related to the music business," Levin said. "Through AOL and
through the Internet, you have a worldwide opportunity to promote.
The music business is built on signing new acts, and this new
society has a vast field of which to choose. Also, music lends
itself to the digital downloading and more efficient delivery
of music." From CNN.com here.
"It comes at a time when many big media companies are struggling
to figure out how to harness the power of the Internet, and
when Internet companies are increasingly looking to put entertainment
and other content on their Web sites to attract more customers."
From the Wall Street Journal here
(subscription required).
"My guess is that this deal will convince Yahoo!, Lycos
and the rest of the major Net portal players of the urgency
to look around for other big media conglomerates." From
ZDNet here.
Time Warner, a company with fantastic individual media properties,
poured millions of dollars into that mid-1990s effort but just
couldn't figure out how to transfer that amazing brand equity
from the world of print to the Internet. From ZDNet here.
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From the Wall Street Journal: "At the magazine industry's
annual conference last year, barnesandnoble.com Chief Executive Jonathan
Bulkeley asked how many publishers collected the e-mail addresses
of their print subscribers. Hardly any hands went up. 'I'm sorry,
but that's pathetic,' he told the publishers.
"The apathy, he said, showed that most magazine companies still
were neglecting how important the Internet could be in winning and
holding subscribers for their publications. Monday's stunning announcement
that America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc. plan a $156.14 billion
combination could sharply accelerate the [industry's] use of the Internet...
"
Click here to search the WSJ
website for story (subscription required).
One insight that magazine industry executives can derive from
AOL is to copy AOL's billing strategy. "The magazine industry
spends millions of dollars each year persuading customers to renew
their subscriptions; under the Internet model, customers are signed
up indefinitely, often through bank direct deposits or credit cards,
until they cancel..."
Publishers are acting a lot like radio group operators! The
article concludes, "But many companies have approached the new
route tentatively. Meredith solicits subscriptions from some of its
larger Web sites, but is only now formulating a comprehensive plan
for all its titles."
 BY
KURT HANSON
The software firm Voquette announced a beta release yesterday of news
software that will allow consumers to download streaming audio --
including radio programs -- into Rio 300 and 500 portable digital
audio players.
 Voquette's
software allows content such as news broadcasts, financial updates,
concert webcasts, Web radio shows and audiobooks can now be securely
downloaded onto Rio devices, including Real Audio and Windows Media
formats.
The software, called "Media Manager", will be made available
to the first 10,000 users for free and can be downloaded from Voquette's
Web site.
The firm's CEO said, "Voquette's mission is to enable Web audio content
to be played on any device a consumer wants -- whether it's a Rio
player, MiniDisc or a cassette tape player."
One feature of the software allows users to automatically record radio
programs for time-shifted listening, in the same manner as
TV viewers can use a VCR. The Voquette software will automatically
download and record the playlists onto the user's portable audio device.
Read the firm's press release here
or visit their website by clicking on the logo above.
Lots
has been going on in the past couple of days. Catch up by clicking
the links below, or here
for the complete RAIN news archives.
Friday
1/7/00
Sony to build home and portable receivers
for XM Radio?
LA's Groove Radio returning as Internet-only station
Motorola debuts prototype of Internet
car radio!
Wristwatch
MP3 player debuts at CES
Farrell joins eMusic.com
SpikeRadio introduces custom Internet player at Mac World
Monday
1/10/00
AOL
buys Time Warner in biggest deal ever
Lee Zapis's new venture to help newspapers add online stations
Report: Only 15% of surfers are using
audio players
Citadel
cuts promotional deal with Internet-only broadcaster? (Radio Moi)
Click on the
logos above to go to the corresponding site. More to come. Contribute
your suggestions for additional sites here.
Also...
Click here for some
screenshots of various audio players.
For a sample "RAIN Internet Audio Guide" page
on WWW.com, click here.
Want to read
even more? See menu at top left.
Any
thoughts or comments? Contribute them here!
Thanks for reading "RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter."
And if you like it, please tell your colleagues about it!
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