BY PAUL MALONEY
XM Satellite Radio is counting on having 350,000 subscribers by the end of the year. That projection was made by XM President/CEO Hugh Panero, in a conference call yesterday. (MORE BELOW)

Which vendors are still active in the Internet radio space? Our special "RAIN Vendor Guide" issue -- coming Monday -- will reveal the companies that have at least a limited marketing budget and want your business in 2002!

These firms are "IN!" (more coming...)
Ad insertion
Audio processing
Automation systems
Banner ad mgmt.
Conferences
Consultants
Content providers
Custom music       channels
Custom talk channels
Design firms
Domain registration
E-commerce partners
E-mail management
Full service providers
Internet radio devices
Law firms
Loyalty programs
Networks/portals
NTR opportunities
PR firms
Production elements
Promotion (music)
Publications
Rep firms
Research & ratings
Spot sales
Streaming formats
Streaming software
Streaming providers
Streaming quality
Website design
Website features

...

... It's probably only fair to apply the same audience-size analysis to XM that we've applied here in the past to webcasts. According to patterns in Arbitron books, the average American seems to spend about seven hours per week listening to radio in their car (about 1/3 of their total radio listening time). Would it be fair to assume that XM subscribers will listen twice as long in their cars as the average American does? Might we assume each subscription will be shared by, on average, two individuals (age 12+), either in the car together or separately? Shall we also generously assume that XM will get 100% of the in-car radio listening of XM subscribers? If you use the assumptions described above on XM's projected base of 350,000 subscriptions, you get a projected AQH (Mon-Sun 6A-12Mid) by year-end for XM of ... XM projected subscriber base (Dec. '02) 350,000 Hours/week of XM in-car listening x 14 Listeners per XM subscription x 2 Pctg. of time spent with XM x 100% Hours per broadcast week (6A-12Mid) div by 126   --------- Projected XM AQH (Dec '02; in-car) 77,777 This audience size compares favorably with major New York City or Los Angeles radio stations, which typically have AQHs of 50,000 to 90,000 listeners -- although each XM channel, of course, would only receive a small portion of that total listening. (Note that the above analysis only refers to XM listening in cars. If consumers are also listening to XM in their homes or offices, the estimate would be significantly larger.) -- KH

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BY PAUL MALONEY
According to a company press release, Loudeye Technologies has been awarded a patent for its customized digital broadcast system.

Loudeye's system creates "mass customized broadcasts for remote devices to generate individual playlists and target advertisements." The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded Loudeye U.S. Patent No. 6338044 for the system.

The system can be used by set top boxes, digital recording components, game systems, car stereos utilizing hard drives, and commercial music appliances.

In the press release, CTO Joel McConaughy said, “We anticipate the proliferation of the Internet enabled device market will pave the way for new methods of content distribution that require back end management, delivery, security and tracking. This patent reflects our focus on customized broadcast distribution across a number of remote appliance configurations.”

From SatireWire: "The toughest decision: Should my loved one be placed in an assisted computing facility?

"For family members, it is often the most difficult and painful decision they will face: to accept that a loved one -- a parent, a spouse, perhaps a sibling -- is technologically impaired and should no longer be allowed to live independently, or come near a computer or electronic device without direct supervision.

"The time has come to place that loved one into the care of an Assisted Computing Facility. But you have questions. So many questions. We at Silicon Pines want to help..."

Read the entire piece at SatireWire.com by clicking here. And thanks to sales and marketing "pro on the loose" Tom O'Connor, who has too much time these days to spend on humor sites, for the tip. Contact Tom at "streamdude@yahoo.com" or 253-209-0318.