We've announced our first set of speakers for this year's annual RAIN Las Vegas Summit. New additions to the list include Director of AOL Radio Lisa Namerow, Westwood One's Gary Krantz, and BRS Media's George Bundy. REGISTER TODAY! Visit our Summit page for details (and a PayPal link to make your reservation) about the all-day event, to be held Monday, April 16 at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel.

As we continue to add new speakers and panelists to this year's event, we would like to remind you that registration for the 2007 RAIN Las Vegas Summit is now open, and easy to do online.

Registration is $99 before April 12, and $150 thereafter and at the door. We strongly recommend reserving your seat in advance, as we expect a high volume of particpants eager to discuss the royalty crisis that the webcast industry currently faces.

The easiest and quickest way to register and reserve your spot:

• Simply CLICK THE PAYPAL BUTTON BELOW. You don't need to have a PayPal account, just a credit card. Paying by PayPal will automatically reserve your place at the Summit; there's no need to call us.

• If you are paying for more than one attendee, please e-mail us the names of everyone for whom you are paying admission (rainsummit@gmail.com or paul@kurthanson.com).

CLICK HERE TO PAY VIA PAYPAL:

The all-day Summit is scheduled for Monday, April 16th, (with our traditional RAIN Reader Cocktail Party following), just steps from the Las Vegas Convention Center at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel.

Below, you'll find a list of confirmed panelists and speakers. Visit the Summit page for a tentative schedule for the day's events, including our traditional cocktail party following the Summit. Dinner reservations will be available in the hotel restaurant at the end of the cocktail party.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Jeff Bachmeier, Club 977;
• John Blackledge, JP Morgan;
• George Bundy, BRS Media;
• Gary Dobek, Digitially Imported & Sky.fm;
• David Goldberg, co-founder of Yahoo! LAUNCHcast;
• Kurt Hanson, RAIN & AccuRadio.com;
• Rusty Hodge, SOMA.fm;
• Paul Jacobs, Jacobs Media;
• Martin Kay, Finetune.com;
• Jim Kearns, SelectRadio;
• Joe Kennedy and/or Tim Westergren, Pandora.com;
• Gary Krantz, Westwood One;
• Jennifer Lane, Net Radio Sales;
• Bob Maccini, AndoMedia;
• Paul Maloney, RAIN & AccuRadio.com;
• Bryan Jay Miller, WOXY.com;
• Lisa Namerow, Director of AOL Radio;
• David Oxenford, Davis Wright & Tremaine LLP;
• Jonathan Potter, DiMA;
• Ari Shohat, Digitially Imported & Sky.fm;
• Val Starr, GotRadio.com;
• Dave Van Dyke, Bridge Ratings

BY DANIEL MCSWAIN
Growing numbers of online music listeners are discovering new music and artists on the Web, and in turn, a majority of them are purchasing the music they are introduced to, according to the latest study from Bridge Ratings.

The study, focused on audiences the report calls "streamies", says that 71% of online music listeners "discovered new music that they later purchased."

The high percentage of music-buying listeners would seem to support the argument made by numerous webcasters that streaming music augments musicians' overall sales through the promotion and retail of their music online.

A majority of "streamies" also reported buying music that they were initially exposed to online, with 59% of audiences making purchases, up from 45% at the time of the last Bridge Ratings study in 2003.

Streaming usage is cutting into time spent with other media. The report also notes that, "... the more often one spends streaming video and audio on the Internet, the less time is spent with traditional media — radio specifically." [The chart below represents listeners who report consuming streaming media on a weekly and monthly basis, as well as those who reported any level of consumption.]



The study also found that 33% of online music listeners tuned into a terrestrial station's stream, an increase from 23% just one year ago.

Read the entire Bridge Ratings report here.

"The two stations, which now simulcast WBEZ full time, will target a diverse audience centered around a highly interactive Web site with a mix of news, talk and public affairs largely dictated by users...

Also from the Chicago Sun Times: "In other news at Chicago Public Radio, they've confirmed a name for the new interactive radio and online service set to debut in late May on WBEW-FM (89.5) in Chesterton, Ind.

"It's going to be called Vocalo.org — a combination of the words 'vocal' (for voices) and 'zocalo' (a Spanish word meaning public square)."

Read the entire articles at the Chicago Sun Times here and here.