From "Ask Matt" in USA Today's Money section: "Q: It seems like Internet radio is becoming more popular. Are there ways to invest in the emerging technology?

"A: While all the attention is going to satellite radio providers, many have overlooked something that may be just as, if not even more, exciting: Internet radio. Thanks to the low costs of transmitting streaming audio over the Internet, dozens of 'Internet radio' stations have cropped up. They deliver high-quality and professional music and talk streams over the Internet to any consumer with audio software...

"Consider www.woxy.com, an excellent broadcaster of new rock. The station, originally known as the famous 97X in Cincinnati, now broadcasts its high-quality music online.

"Internet radio can be heard on any device that connects to the Internet. That includes everything from PDAs connected to the T-Mobile network in Starbucks coffee houses to home stereos with Internet capability. There are also services that help consumers find Internet radio stations, such as Shoutcast and Live365.com. There are thousands of Internet radio stations that cater to lovers of everything from rap to speed metal or hip hop.

"But for investors, the possibilities are more limited. Currently, none of the Internet radio stations are publicly traded. Woxy.com and the rest are privately held. Really, the only way to invest in the industry is through the large software companies that make the tools that make Internet radio happen. Microsoft, for instance, embeds powerful Internet radio tools in its Windows Media Player 10. Likewise Real Networks and Apple Computer provide tools allowing broadcasters to stream Internet radio and for consumers to listen.

"Stay tuned, though, since this emerging industry will certainly generate some interesting investment possibilities."

Read this column in USA Today, online here.

From Elites TV: "Can an Internet radio station with a non-existent budget, run out of a 'bunker' (aka: the computer room in someone's house), programmed by a few ex-radio station staffers, change the face of modern rock radio in Philadelphia? The Committee for Radio Revolution (the small crew that runs Y100rocks.com) thinks 'YES!'

"On February 24 at 11:57 PM, the last chords of Pearl Jam's 'Alive' rang out and Y100/100.3 FM, a profitable, nationally respected modern rock radio station evaporated. Bands such as Modest Mouse, Weezer, Coldplay, Sublime, Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World, and White Stripes no longer had a home on the Philadelphia radio dial. Philadelphia had just become the only big city in America without a modern rock station.

"Y100rocks.com, a website and radio station, instantly sprang up and became the voice and musical outlet for the 500,000 homeless Y100 listeners in the Philadelphia area... Y100rocks.com, the website, has received over 1 million page views and over 500,000 unique visits. Within four days Y100rocks.com, the radio station, was one of the most listened to Internet radio stations at Live365.com. After three weeks in existence listenership continues to climb... Organizers of the site are committed to having live DJs on the station seven days a week.

"At the time of its demise Y100 was the most profitable of Radio One's three Philadelphia stations. The station's commercial allotment was full. The format change was not due to failure. Radio One higher-ups told the staff that 'Y100 no longer fit into the corporation's vision'...

"Y100's profitability and viability have carried over to Y100rocks.com. In three weeks of existence, advertisers have spent $5,000 on banner ads on the site... Local and national advertisers have continued to approach site organizers about placing banner ads. The Y100rocks.com merchandise page... has seen $8,300 worth of sales...

"'Hopefully, one of the two or three corporations that has approached me about putting modern rock back on the dial will actually do it,' says ex-Y100 program director, Jim McGuinn... 'I've learned about the power of community, the power of viral marketing. If I get the chance to do this again, we're going to create a radio station that... creates a new vision for modern rock radio. Hopefully we'll create a station that will save modern rock radio."

Read this entire article online here.

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... We've long included, among the benefits of Internet radio, exposure of music and artists that broadcasters ignore. We never thought that would mean Modern Rock in a top-ten market! Could Radio One have missed an opportunity here? Instead of completely abandoning a format with heritage and a built-in passionate audience, couldn't the company have immediately migrated their most-profitable property to an Internet side-channel? Or does success in the digital medium "not fit into the corporation's vision?" -- PM ...

From the Wall Street Journal: "The venerable television commercial has been scoffed at by legions of marketers who can point to alluring new ways to get a message across in a more-targeted fashion. One of the most-popular of these new methods, it turns out, is ... the TV commercial...

"TV commercials recently are taking on a new form: the 'call to action,' as it is known. The new genre is intended to light a fire under couch potatoes and motivate them to get up and go some place else -- some place where they will see or hear or read a promotional message for the brand.

"An eye-catching example of the new species is a spot that seems like a public-warning message... It alerts viewers about the threat from peddlers of counterfeit cars. But for those who care enough to follow the instructions, a miniature adventure awaits...

"The message is a commercial for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's Mini Cooper. The spot... urgently warns viewers not to be tricked into buying a fake...

"Then comes the call to action: The spot invites viewers to buy a DVD for $19.99 that tells all about the counterfeit Mini crisis in a 10-minute 'program.' And it directs viewers to a Web site where they can learn more about the organization and even submit photos of fake Minis they have created...

"The new ads -- advertising types are calling them 'invitational' ads -- aim to immerse consumers in a brand even when they aren't actively reading a magazine or watching TV...

"An emerging goal among ad agencies is 'creating a message that people are willing to actually seek out and spend time with -- however this can be done,' says John Osborn, president and chief executive of the New York office of Omnicom Group's BBDO Worldwide...

"When asking consumers to respond to ads, 'you know perfectly well that most people won't bother,' says Tim Mellors, president and chief creative officer of WPP Group's Grey Worldwide North America. 'But when you get it right, it's another stage of involvement that's never been there in the past.'..

"For Cadillac, General Motors Corp. and ad agency Chemistri, a unit of Publicis Groupe, have been running ads that last for just five seconds. Using snatches of Led Zeppelin, the spots emphasize how the car goes from zero to 60 in less than that time. Blink and you might miss the spot, but one thing that will probably stick is the name of the Web site, www.Cadillacunder5.com, where consumers can get more information...

"A major force driving the new form is marketers' desire to know who and how many people it is reaching with a particular spot... visitors who make the phone call to request a DVD or visit the Web site can be traced to the ad that invited them to do so."

Wall Street Journal subscribers can read this entire article online here.