From a Seattle Times editorial: "The transformative effect of the Internet on the music industry has opened up new avenues for musicians and listeners. Independent musicians and labels can now reach audiences in their own way. Fans can use the Internet to discover new acts not found on corporate radio, and interact with bands as never before.

"All this musical freedom has put the entrenched entities of the music industry — conglomerate record labels, corporate radio and network providers — on the offensive. Their fight against the Internet now incorporates a conquest of control.

"The attack is multifaceted. Internet radio is in danger because of a proposed new royalty scheme that would wipe out the budgets of many Internet stations. The elimination of Internet radio would allow for the big record labels and corporate radio to continue their cozy relationship without any competition...

"Internet radio has become an issue for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island. Inslee is sponsoring a bill to help Internet radio with royalties.

"Cantwell is on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee [RAIN coverage here]. A Wednesday hearing on the future of radio gave the committee a chance to hear from independent record owners and musicians about how important an open Internet is to communities...

"Tim Westergren of Pandora Media explained the reach of Internet radio. Nielson/NetRatings, he said, have shown 'that Pandora listeners are three to five times more likely to have purchased music in the last 90 days than the average American. Similarly, Pandora is one of the top referral sites for music purchasing from both Amazon.com and the iTunes Music Store.'

"He went on to explain that his station would suffer under the new proposed royalty rates.

"'Our royalty in 2007 is now likely to reach over $6 million, almost 50% of our total revenue. And per-listener, per-track royalty rates for Internet radio are scheduled to climb an additional 27% in 2008, and 29% more in 2009.'

"Ouch.

"The demise of Internet radio would be a loss felt not just by musicians and their fans. The choking of the Internet by a few large companies will stall American innovation and creativity."

Read this entire Seattle Times editorial online here.

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BY DANIEL MCSWAIN
Paragon Media Strategies recently released a new study on radio listening among "Millennials", listeners aged 14-24. The press summary is a quick read. And if you're in the terrestrial radio business, probably a painful one, too.

According to the report, nearly three quarters (73%) of the kids say a majority of their TSL is spent with media other than radio (CDs, MP3s, Internet radio, iPods, satellite radio, etc.).

Portable music players are doing the most damage. Of the respondents, 78% have iPods, and nearly half of those listeners are subsequently spending less time listening to the radio. The study also notes that 68% of iPod owners make personalized playlists.

The study indicates that, "Radio can attract more radio listening from the younger listeners if they would play music they and their friends like that radio doesn't play."

Somewhat vaguely, Paragon also notes that, "Listening to audio over the Internet is also an important reason among those who say they're listening to radio less."

Why the minced words? One guess could be that streaming songs from a band's MySpace page, an embedded iMeem player on a blog (see image left), or some similar activity doesn't register in Millennials' minds as a "radio" experience.

Or it could be that the social, community-based listening experience that radio once represented has been upstaged and outdone online. That doesn't mean terrestrial radio can't catch up. Personalization may prove harder to contend with, but radio operators have no shortage of examples of customizable online radio to learn from.

A statement from Paragon Media Strategies President and COO John Stevens
just about sums it up: "Unless enough local radio operators recommit to target young listeners and re-shape their content and distribution methods to appeal to their unique needs, then the disturbing trends we see in this research are likely to get worse."

From Digital Music News: "Virgin Mobile USA is now offering a phone that supports streaming music, a first for the pre-paid carrier. 

"The Kyocera device, called the 'Wild Card,' also features a full QWERTY keyboard and a full range of entertainment and communication capabilities... The dual-screen flip phone balances a more conventional voice display with a second screen to manage music, emailing, IMing, and other tasks.

"Like most of its multimedia peers, the Wild Card offers a broad range of features, including a camera phone, Bluetooth capabilities, and internet surfing.  On the music end, Virgin is spinning a subscription feature called 'Headliner' for $2.49.  That offering includes regular tour updates, music news, artist information, music charts and access to a streaming music catalog. 

"Consumers are required to pay 25-cents per each song streamed...The Wild Card is currently available across major US-based retail outlets, and carries a price tag of $99."

Read the entire article at Digital Music News.

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