From USA Today: "U.S. television networks draw a younger, wealthier and better educated audience when they run their shows over the Internet, according to a new study released Wednesday.

"The study by Nielsen Analytics and Scarborough Research comes as networks have increasingly made hit TV shows — including ABC's Grey's Anatomy and NBC's Heroes— available for viewing through computers.

"Concerns that allowing consumers to view those popular programs and others over the Internet would cut into the number of people watching them on television are unfounded, the study found.

"'Video on PCs and iPods actually is expanding the audience for broadcast and cable programs,' the study said,...

"The report by Nielsen Analytics,... found that Internet broadband 'expands the market for programming by offering the potential for watching shows at the office, and in non-traditional locations, such as coffee shops equipped with WiFi connections.'

"Moreover, the audience watching shows over broadband is highly attractive for advertisers, who spend about $70 billion a year on TV commercials.

"'The broadband consumer is really the sweet spot for TV — younger, more affluent, better educated and tech savvy,' Larry Gerbrandt, general manager and senior vice president of Nielsen Analytics, said in an interview. 'If you're an advertiser, this is who you want to reach,' he added."

Read the entire article at USA Today.

BY DANIEL MCSWAIN
According to a news bulletin from Inside Radio yesterday, an analysis from J.P. Morgan estimates that Internet radio revenue hit $500 million in 2006.

John Blackledge, the analyst in charge of the report, claims that between $100-150 million of the total revenue is from terrestrial radio advertisements that are also heard on stations' Internet streams.

...	... More on this story tomorrow in RAIN. -- KH ...

From Ars Technica: "Independent labels, tired of being treated like second-class citizens at the bargaining table, have banded together to become a 'virtual fifth major' label, and they've already started signing deals...

"The new licensing authority is called Merlin, and it was announced four days ago at this year's Midem music conference in Cannes. The group is headed by Charles Caldas, the former head of Australia's largest independent music distributor. Labels from the US, UK, France, Norway, Japan, Brazil, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, and other countries have already signed on to use their collective size as a bargaining asset.

"Caldas has already inked a deal with SNOCAP (the company that Shawn Fanning founded after leaving Napster) that will provide an easy way for independent artists to sell their music on MySpace or to construct their own stores elsewhere. Under the deal, SNOCAP will provide all the backend distribution and payment processing systems and will serve files as unprotected MP3s...

"IMPALA, a European consortium of indie labels that has joined the new group, claims that independent music accounts for 29 % of worldwide music sales and 80 % of all new releases. These numbers would make Merlin the largest single label in the world, ahead of the 'Big Four' of EMI, Warner, Universal, and Sony BMG."

Read the entire article at Ars Technica.