audio

We're really happy to let you know that you can now hear complete audio from our recent RAIN Summit West conference in Las Vegas earlier this month. If you weren't able to make it out to Vegas for the show (or you were, and you'd like to review), audio of every panel, speech, and presentation is now available.

First, we've uploaded every element from the Summit as separate audio files to SoundCloud, which you can find here. Listen to each on-demand, in any order you want, when you're ready.

You can also listen to the Summit, front-to-back, as a stream from RAIN Summits streaming partner TuneIn (which carried audio live along with technology partner Backbone Networks). RAIN Summit West on TuneIn is here (if you have any problems connecting, please try both the AAC and MP3 streams -- you'll see links in the lower-right on TuneIn under "AVAILABLE STREAMS"). You can also listen via TuneIn's mobile app -- just look under "Talk" and "Technology," or search for "RAIN Summit."

Make sure you visit RAIN Summits' Facebook page as well for snapshots from the event (including the RAIN Reader Cocktail Party).

Registration is now open for the May 23 RAIN Summit Europe at the Hotel BLOOM! in Brussels. Please visit the RAIN Summit Europe page for agenda details and to register.

While streaming video content is a hot topic, its reach among all adult age groups in the U.S. is dwarfed by streaming audio and radio content.

As you can see from the chart, 40% of 18-24s listen to streaming audio or radio weekly. That reach falls as subjects age, but is still a strong 1 in 4 35-54s.

Obviously, streaming audio is technically easier (with a lower bandwidth requirement). It's easier to enjoy audio on mobile platforms and while driving. And as MediaPost points out, "Radio and any other kind of streaming can be done on the computer while working on the same device -- whether for the purpose of providing background music, sports commentary or other forms of talk-based content."

Consultant Mark Ramsey commented, "For anyone who continues to chirp that 'Pandora is not radio,' I suggest you tell that to the advertiser who sees up to 40% reach on an ad-supported audio platform."

The study was conducted by USA TouchPoints. Read more in MediaPost here and Mark Ramsey here.

Stitcher, which aggregates podcasts and non-music radio and audio content, has announced the finalists for its first annual Stitcher Awards (first covered in RAIN here).

News organizations dominate the nominations. NPR received the most nods, with other top finalists including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, KCRW, BBC Radio and The Wall Street Journal.

Stitcher picked six finalists for each of 20 different categories, based on the more than 55-thousand listener votes. Through November 5th, listeners can vote for their favorites from among the finalists. Stitcher will name the winners in December at the first annual Stitcher Awards ceremony, to be held in San Francisco.

You can see a list of all the finalists here (note, you'll need to "Like" Stitcher on Facebook to see the nominees and vote).

While we were waiting for Arbitron to finally unveil their long-awaited unified on-air/online radio measurement (see RAIN here), they've announced a deal with comScore and ESPN to measure audio, video, and display across radio, tv, the web, and mobile.

The goal here is to create audience measurement using common metrics on a national and continuous basis, so content providers and marketers can gauge the reach, engagement, and cross-platform duplication of audience.

"The unprecedented size and scope of the project is being driven by the multiplatform measurement requirements of ESPN, which delivers video, audio and display content via television (both in-home and out-of-home), online and mobile video, PC web, mobile web, apps, tablets, digital audio and terrestrial radio" (see yesterday's top story in RAIN here), the companies' announcement read.

The initiative (characterized as "five-platform" as it separates "smartphones" adn "tablets") will integrate "the census and panel-based PC, mobile and TV set-top box measurement capabilities of comScore along with enhanced, single-source, multiplatform measurement capabilities of the Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPM) technology," according to the statement.

Though no roll-out date has been announced, ESPN, comScore and Arbitron will unveil more details October 1-3 at the upcoming Advertising Week convention in New York.

Read the press release here.

If you're not familiar, think of TuneIn as a directory of online radio streams from all over the world -- a single app which gives you more than 70-thousand choices of broadcast and online-only streams. (They're probably most similar to Clear Channel's iHeartRadio service, but not broadcaster-owned.)

Now CEO John Donham reveals in a paidContent interview his service will run "pre-roll" audio ads before launching a listener's chosen stream. To this point, TuneIn has only added display ads (like "banners"), never audio or video.

"We’re going to do audio adverts before the stream and have a companion display ad associated with them," he said. But only if that broadcaster or webcaster themselves isn't scheduling pre-rolls. "We don’t touch any broadcaster streams. If a broadcaster has a pre-roll in front of the stream, we won’t stomp over that. It would be a double-negative to user experience if you got multiple pre-rolls before the content."

Donham believes the "free, ad-supported" approach has far more potential for revenue than subscription/premium models. Though the TuneIn app has both a free and a premium paid version of its app (with built-in recording capability), Donham told the publication, "The number one way we monetise is advertising on the free app. We would rather you listen to the free app than the paid. We would urge you to switch.

"One of the cool things about radio is, it’s free. There are literally billions of people who consume radio every month. What a gigantic opportunity – we’re not going to get them all to subscribe to something – we’re going to get them to listen for free and monetise that."

TuneIn raised $16 million in funding this summer. Donham says the money will go to hiring experts to better develop "discovery" for listeners, such as presenting new listening options based on the listener's history. He also wants to establish his brand in the minds of consumers as the "Netflix/iTunes/Amazon" for radio.

Read more in paidContent here.

TuneIn VP/Sales & Business Development Carl Rohling will participate in "The Connected Dashboard," a panel discussion about establishing Internet audio as a simple yet powerful in-car entertainment medium at RAIN Summit Europe, October 4th in Berlin.

Katz360 exec Dean Mandel takes to the blog today to suggest that the tried-and-true "GRP" (gross ratings point, or 1% of a market's population) is still very useful as a "common currency" in a multiplatform video and audio world.

Online display and search are purely "online" media (and thus it makes sense to use the more recently-developed digital metrics for them). But audio and video consumers can watch TV, listen to radio, watch on a tablet, or listen on a PC or mobile device, Mandel explains. Advertisers can reach a listener or a viewer on many different devices -- thus a common metric is helpful.

Mandel argues to use the newer digital-based metrics "to add value to the GRPs for the digital portion of a video or audio buy." A seller can "add any digital engagement metrics, completion rates, click through rates etc...to add value to their platform's GRP. Now the buyer can take that information and decide that these digital GRPs indeed have additional value because of these metrics."

Read Mandel's blog post here.