BY KURT HANSON
After three consecutive years of crises, it is delightfully refreshing to be in a year in which prospects for Internet radio seem to be on the upswing.

Back in the year 2000, you'll recall, the nascent Internet radio industry suffered major setbacks as the "dotcom boom" crashed — eventually bringing down half or more of the major players in the field at the time. (Remember iCast? WWW.com? eYada?)

Then, in 2001, we had the "AFTRA crisis," in which advertising agencies demanded that Internet radio stations quit playing spots voiced by union talent — driving hundreds, if not thousands, of terrestrial radio simulcasts off of the web (some temporarily, many permanently).

That was followed the same year by the 9/11 terrorist attacks which, among other effects, triggered the worst advertising recession since World War II. (That effectively eliminated any interest, for a time, among agencies in experimenting with new media opportunities.)

Then, in 2002, we had the "CARP crisis," in which a trio of Copyright Office-appointed arbitrators set a royalty rate for the industry (based on terms initially formulated by precisely one "willing buyer," Broadcast.com's Mark Cuban) designed (by Cuban) to reduce competition by making it difficult or impossible for smaller competitors to survive.

In short, the period 2000 through 2002 was a tough three years.

Consumer acceptance continues to grow;
advertiser interest is getting closer
Throughout this entire period, however, consumers have continued to embrace Internet radio, and the audience for this new medium continues to grow at 50-100% per year. (In fact, our own intern-programmed AccuRadio project is growing at a 100% increase in audience size every seven weeks!)

Internet radio's weekly cume can now be measured in tens of millions of people, with its midday AQH on the way to approaching a million simultaneous listeners before too long.

As such, advertisers are starting to show tentative signs of interest — and thus we may be on the brink of a breakthough!

Maximize your business opportunities!
To help you maximize your business opportunities in the hopefully healthier new world that's on the horizon, today we're presenting our quarterly "RAIN Vendor Guide" issue — a guide to products and services for broadcasters and webcasters that can help you reduce your expenses and increase your revenues in 2003 and beyond.

You'll find companies in this guide that will help you increase your audience size, expand your operations, improve efficiencies, cut costs, and grow your revenues.

We hope you'll spend some time today, and perhaps this weekend, exploring this guide in detail and then contacting a couple of the firms on the list to take advantage of their offerings. On behalf of all of the participating firms, thanks for your attention!

Note: If you're a vendor and would like to have a listing in this guide, which will be available in RAIN every day all year long, it's not too late: Please call us at 1-312-527-3879 or e-mail us here and we'll add your company's listing within minutes. (For rate information on this and other marketing opportunities in RAIN, click here.)

Ad insertion   TOP

In the long run, revenues from audio ads are probably going to be a key to most webcasters' business success. These vendors offer the technologies (and in some cases sales forces) that will let you play different spots targeted to different listeners.

Lightningcast Major media companies have chosen Lightningcast's technology for scheduling and reporting capabilities that replicate those of traditional broadcast. Delivering relevant advertising content and revenue to the Internet broadcast world. Contact: Chuck Dickemann at 703-535-5806 x.231 or email chuck@lightningcast.com. RCS SplitStream Make Targeted ad insertion sound just like terrestrial radio with smooth segues, no delays, no clipping, no buffering. Available with RCS RadioShow. Contact: Richard Darr, info@rcsworks.com or call 914-428-4600 ext. 148.

Automation systems   TOP

It will be the rare webcaster in 2003 who hires employees 24 hours a day to sit in a studio and play CDs, opening the mic once every ten minutes and smoking while the songs are playing. Good automation systems allow you to produce 24 hours of live-sounding programming in a fraction of the time -- and with better quality control.

Backbone Radio Fully integrated, automated live Internet radio station production and streaming software. MPEG-4 based, easy to use. Includes logging & reporting, image & text annotation, standard rotation. Also CentralCasting application to replace satellite affiliate feeds. Contact: info@backbone.com. RCS Master Control XV and Internet Voice Tracking Selector®-Smart integration provides "Living Log" real-time log editing from anywhere, Hot Keys®, and linking from ANY log item to ANY web site for instant show prep. Contact: Richard Darr, info@rcsworks.com, or call 914-428-4600 ext. 148.

Conferences  TOP

Two of the key success factors in any business are expanding your knowledge base and expanding your network of contacts and relationships. Attending industry conferences is a great way to do both.

Bayliss Radio Roast (18th Annual) The Directors of The John Bayliss Broadcast Foundation request the pleasure of your company at the 18th Annual Bayliss Radio Roast, March 11, 2004. The Pierre Hotel Fifth Avenue at 61st Street New York City. Black Tie. RSVP by February 27, 2004. Contact: Kit Hunter Franke at 831-655-5229. NAB 2004 The NAB spring convention delivers the most comprehensive showcase of electronic media in the world. Click here for the latest on the upcoming show, to be held April 19-22, 2004, in Las Vegas, NV. NAB European Radio Conference The NAB European Radio Conference will bring together radio broadcasters from around the world in London for an in depth look at hot radio issues and techniques and a chance to interact with international colleagues. October 19-21, 2003. Contact: Mark Rebholz at 202-429-3191. NAB Radio Show The NAB Radio Show puts you where you need to be — on the leading edge. The largest show focused exclusively on Radio delivers expertise and technology you can’t afford to miss. October 1-3, 2003, Philadelphia, PA.

Consultants   TOP

Broadcast radio learned many years ago the value of bringing in outside expertise. Consultants can often add great value, both thanks to the experience they bring to the table and because of the unbiased (and national or even global) perspective they can bring to your situation.

BRS Media BRS Media Inc. assists radio in building and branding on the Net. Online divisions include dotFM, dotAM, & dotzCD domain registrar of .FM, .AM, & .CD (TLD) domains. WEBCASTi AM/FM, providing the best webcasting solution and My Radio.FM, a ".FM Radio Station" service, and the ever-popular Web-Radio portal. First MediaWorks We are the broadcast industry's dominant provider of Internet marketing products, training and consulting, serving more than 1600 stations on five continents. We help radio stations meet ratings and revenue goals. Hanson Consulting Offering a fresh, unbiased perspective on your business plans for 2003 and beyond. Strategy and tactics for broadcasters and webcasters worldwide. Contact: Kurt Hanson or call 312-527-3879 (office) or 773-354-KURT (cell). SBR Creative Media SBR Creative Media specializes in advising radio stations throughout North America in Triple A/Adult Rock, Alternative, Modern AC and Classic Rock formats. We're also the folks behind Custom Channels Side Channels for Radio. If you're ready for a fresh perspective and creative ideas to improve your programming, station brand, website and marketing, contact Dave Rahn at 303-444-7700. Zapoleon Media Strategies Total brand management for your terrestrial or Internet-only station — including product, marketing, talent, research and more. Zapoleon Media Strategies has won Billboard Consultant of the Year awards for the past 8 straight years! Contact: Mark St. John at 281-980-3665.

Content providers   TOP

Consistently updating site content is the best way to insure repeat visits from your customers. Various content providers offer material that keeps your website vibrant and fresh -- from news and sports updates to traffic and weather info, plus features relevent to your listeners' lifestyles.

AP CustomWIRE CustomWIRE is a continually updated multimedia news service that replicates the design, structure and branding of your Web site. It’s a turnkey solution for member stations that want to retain the look and feel of their own site, but also want AP to handle the selection, presentation and updating of online content. Contact: Thom Callahan, General Manager/AP Radio at 202-736-1105 RadioWebStuff Content drives traffic! It's more true today than ever. We offer radio stations, networks and portals daily music news, artist features, album reviews and movie reviews that are relevant, highly targeted and format specific. Contact: Call John Duncan at (661) 253-9750. Sony Music Offers promotional features to enliven your radio station's website! Contact your Sony Music promo rep. (For New Media, Brian Cullinan at 212-833-4420.)

Custom Internet-only channels  TOP

Internet-only "side channels" give broadcasters a chance to extend their brands, protect their flanks, and satisfy consumer desires. Branded radio channels (e.g., B&N Radio or Coca-Cola Radio) can help extend site visits, encourage repeat visits, and serve as amazingly long-form commercials.

AP All News Radio AP All News Radio (ANR) is the only live, 24-hour news and information format designed and produced by radio news professionals. ANR is also the source of programming for AP's Streaming Audio services, which provide 24-hour audio content for your Web site. For an example, see Washington's WTOP2. Contact: Thom Callahan, General Manager/AP Radio at 202-736-1105 RCS iSelector Personal Online Player FREE promotion and research tool "iSelector" Personal Online Player provides each listener with a different stream of your station's music, promos and jingles. They interact with the player to hear songs MORE, LESS or REST as desired. You see the results. Fully licensed. Contact: Richard Darr, info@rcsworks.com or call 914-428-4600 ext. 148. SBR Custom Channels Since 1999, SBR Custom Channels has been a pioneer in bringing Radio a unique tool to generate revenue and superserve listeners: fully custom branded, Internet-only Side Channels. We're the Holiday Music Channel experts for stations of every format. Now is the time to plan for the perfect fourth-quarter programming and sales NTR solution. Easy. Inexpensive. Fully-customized to your station and market. Learn more about streaming Side Channels for Radio -- Contact: Dave Rahn at 303-444-7700.

Domain name registrars  TOP

Make it easy for your listeners to remember where to find you! Having an easy-to-remember domain name is a critical component for a plan to succeed on the Internet -- and top-level domains other than ".com" may offer the best approach for you.

Dot FM dotFM registers domain names that end in .fm. dotFM is the Premium Multimedia Domain Name for today's Interactive Web. Get a Great Sounding Web Address @ www.dot.fm.

E-mail marketing   TOP

Twenty years ago, it would have been the Holy Grail of most radio station GMs and PDs to know the names, addresses, and phone numbers of their listeners. What a dream! But today, that dream of knowing who your listeners are and being able to communicate with them on a regular basis is, thanks to the Internet, a realistic possibility, and the most valuable marketing resource you may have is your database of listener e-mail addresses -- if you use that resource properly!

FMW eListenerSuite eListenerSuite™ gives you the tactical advantage you need to ensure you've effectively reinforced your brand and the perception of extensive Time Spent Listening. RadioWebStuff eMail is proving to be one of the most effective means of building a one-to-one relationship with your listeners. We can design and implement an effective eMail marketing campaign that will provide real ROI. Contact: Call John Duncan at (661) 253-9750.

Loyalty programs   TOP

Radio stations have learned that one of the most profitable applications of their Internet effort is a sophisticated loyalty program, not unlike the "frequent flyer" programs offered by airlines. Well-executed loyalty programs increase both website traffic and station listenership -- and can include elements that bring in additional revenue to the station (e.g., prize and sponsorship slots can be sold to advertisers).

FMW eListenerSuite Great radio stations understand that their website is a doorway through which they can reach out to their most important listeners, those already highly engaged with the station — the P1 listeners contributing the most Time Spent Listening.

Music and promo scheduling  TOP

Careful scheduling of your music (and promotional elements) keeps your station sounding fresh. Clumsy scheduling (e.g., the same song coming up at the same time every day, too many sound-alike songs back-to-back, promos in too fast or too slow a rotation) will lead to listener dissatisfaction and cost you audience.

Linker® XV Schedule promos, jingles, live elements. Linker XV looks and works just like Selector®. Affidavits for sponsored promos, Flight Scheduling for scheduling promos like traffic systems, based on number of plays. From RCS Sound Software. Contact: Richard Darr, info@rcsworks.com or call 914-428-4600 ext. 148. Selector® XV Over 5,000 music stations in 79 countries schedule music with Selector every day. New features: Sound; round clocks; instant analysis; "Smart Ripper" adds title, artist, runtime, other coding directly to song card; Data Exchange shares databases with consultant or corporate office. Contact: Richard Darr, info@rcsworks.com or call 914-428-4600 ext. 148.

NTR revenue opportunities  TOP

One of the key values that the Internet offers radio stations is the chance to execute more and better "Non-Traditional Revenue" opportunities without overly cluttering the programming.

FMW RevenueSuite RevenueSuite is a family of easy-to-use turnkey products and services that can be attached to any website, anywhere, regardless of where it is hosted. Products are designed to deliver significant new sources of non-spot revenue.

Record labels   TOP

Where would radio be without record labels? For that matter, where would artists be? Record labels fund artist development, and the recording, marketing, promotion, and distribution of their artists' music.

Artemis Records Artemis Records is a New York-based independent record label. In both 2000 and 2001 the label was named the #1 independent label in the United States by Billboard magazine based on actual sales. Artists include Boston, Pretenders, Steve Earle & Susan Tedeschi. Contact: Adam Spielberger, 212-433-1821. Sony Music Offers promotional features to enliven your radio station's website! Contact your Sony Music promo rep. (For New Media, Brian Cullinan at 212-833-4420.)

Rep firms  TOP

A national advertiser can't entertain pitches from thousands of radio stations. Similarly, a single radio station can't possibly pitch every possible national advertiser. Thank goodness the radio industry has developed a single solution to both problems: Rep firms -- advertising sales forces that represent large groups of radio stations (e.g., 50 classical stations or 40 Susquehanna stations) to top advertisers.

Interep Interep is an advertising and marketing company that is a preeminent leader in the radio industry — the largest independent national spot radio representative, or "rep" firm in the United States. Interep provides innovative marketing solutions that help national and regional advertisers achieve their business goals with integrated media campaigns utilizing radio, the Internet, streaming audio, and other media.

Reporting tools   TOP

Royalty collection agents demand information more detailed than ever about the music you're playing. Software tools can search your music database on any number of criteria, and are indispensible for filing accurate, legal reports.

Ready-to-use BMI and ASCAP reports Selector® XV offers complete reports for BMI, ASCAP and 38 other companies in 15 countries. Each report created in conjunction with that country's copyright organizations. Sample 24 hour BMI and ASCAP logs online. Contact: Richard Darr, info@rcsworks.com or call 914-428-4600 ext. 148.

Research and ratings   TOP

Two issues are involved here: (1) Due to declining participation rates for telephone-interview-based consumer research, Internet-based research is almost certainly the future of research. (2) 2003 is hopefully going to be the year that advertisers start taking a serious interest in Internet radio audiences; as such, research about your audience is going to become critical.

Arbitron's Internet Broadcast Ratings Arbitron's Internet Broadcast Services is a new subscription service designed specifically to standardize the buying and selling of audio and video advertising on Internet broadcasts. The Media Audit The Media Audit provides website audience ratings for local radio stations, television stations, daily newspapers, alternative newsweeklies and city guides in 85 US markets. These web measurements cover past 30 day, past week and yesterday visits and are currently being used by more than 200 local online clients. RCS ProRate Merge RATINGS and RATES: Arbitron's Tapscan Software Suitenow uses RCS ProRate yield management to populate rate cards without manual rate entry. Get custom integration between ProRate's demand pricing and Tapscan Software Suite's ratings analysis. ProRate also available separately to minimize unsold inventory. Contact: Harlene Shaw or call 919-839-4144. TroyResearch TroyResearch provides custom research approaches for entertainment and media industry companies, including Internet-based music, perceptual and focus group research for radio stations. Contact: Bill Troy at 1-888-824-9768.

Sales consulting  TOP

If you run an ad-supported business, you won't get far without sales. Consultants are the experts in this space on how deals are closed, how ad campaigns are designed for maximum effectiveness, and how clients are retained.

Streaming Radio Sales Internet radio opens a brand new set of radio inventory that offers an account executive/radio station/webcaster the ability to create campaigns that reach the perfect demographic, with phenomenal reach and frequency. Streaming is radio over the Internet. The same rules apply! Capitalize now! Contact: 321-303-1996 or e-mail: info@streamingradiosales.com

Strategic management advisory  TOP

Serious business start-ups will always benefit from serious advice and consultation. The advice of an experienced third party offers a valuable perspective that can lead to both revenue increases and better cost control.

Sabo Media Sabo Media assists top media management to build compelling content. Sabo Media gives your product and marketing team a new, fresh, always pragmatic arsenal of custom ideas. Bottom line: The bottom line improves. Sabo Media saves you time and money. Contact: Harry Valentine at (212) 681-8181.

Streaming audio software  TOP

These services help you, through innovative technologies, improve the quality of your stream, or reduce the cost of delivering your content.

Backbone Radio Fully integrated, automated live Internet radio station production and streaming software. MPEG-4 based, easy to use. Includes logging & reporting, image & text annotation, standard rotation. Also CentralCasting application to replace satellite affiliate feeds. Contact: info@backbone.com.

Streaming providers (Peer-to-peer)  TOP

With the resolution of the sound recordings performance royalty issues, streaming costs become perhaps the largest controllable expense of most webcasters. Peer-to-peer networks provide a cost-saving approach in which you stream to a small number of listeners, whose computers then relay those streams to other listeners.

AllCast The AllCast Broadcaster allows webcasters to deliver live broadcasts to large audiences without incurring the high costs associated with current streaming technologies. Contact: Marc Steathan or call 646-792-2438. ChainCast Chaincasting is a unique content delivery technology that improves effectiveness and QoS as user demand increases - this is the key to true scalability for high-bandwidth, delay-sensitive Internet applications. Contact: 408-467-4040 or sales@chaincast.com

Streaming providers (unicast)  TOP

"Unicast" streaming providers have traditionally offered reliable, high-quality streaming -- and in any event the unicast approach is absolutely required for any webcaster with a "skip" button or other personalization features.

Globix Globix Streaming Media solutions offer: -- The speed of our high-capacity backbone and massively scaleable Content Delivery Network, EarthCache; -- The infrastructure of our world-class Data Centers, and; -- Our proven experience with on-site production, webcasting, encoding and diverse on-demand services. Contact: streaming@globix.com or 877-7-GLOBIX. Invisible Hand Networks Invisible Hand is a service provider that distributes content across the Internet in a radically cost-effective manner. Content providers purchase the bandwidth they need, when they need it, at a cost that makes sense for their business model. Contact: John Cahill at 866-637-5286 Limelight Networks Limelight Networks is a leading provider of outsourced media delivery solutions. With multiple Edge distribution locations, Limelight Networks enables broadcasters such as Radio Free Virgin and Musicmatch to reduce the cost and complexity of delivery while ensuring unmatched performance. Contact: David Rice at 949-330-7671 Speedera Networks Speedera Networks is the industry's fastest growing Content Delivery service provider, providing a wide variety of services including outsourced media delivery. Leading customers include NPR, SIRIUS, XM Radio, Sony Music and Fox Broadcasting, who benefit from reduced infrastructure costs, improved delivery quality and virtually unlimited scalability. Contact: sales@speedera.com or 408-970-1528. StreamGuys Serving over 600 international Internet broadcasting stations to more than 20,000 concurrent users! StreamGuys brings the price of netcasting down to earth. Find out why the smartest broadcasters on the web are using StreamGuys. Contact: Kiriki Delany or (707) 826-0938 Stream To You Stream To You provides high quality, low-bandwidth archiving, streaming, and edge serving capabilities using the latest encoding and compression technologies, ideal for entities of all sizes. Windows Media, Real, MP3, and Quicktime. It's what we do. Contact: sales@airnetgroup.com or call (423) 664-7678. SurferNetwork Our unique business model allows you to distribute on-air programming via the Internet and aggregate the embedded ad inventory to deliver a synchronized audio/ visual ad package that generates shared revenue. Contact: Bill Grywalski at 973-691-7420. WarpRadio With 30+ years broadcasting experience combined with Internet level expertise, WarpRadio.com has rapidly grown into a world-class provider of streaming audio services for the radio industry, developing what many broadcasters are calling "the future of streaming on the Internet." Contact: Denise Sutton at 303-799-9118.

Streaming technologies  TOP

At this early stage in the game, there are four main "codecs" (compression / decompression schemes) for streaming Internet radio. Either these choices will eventually consolidate or players will become more flexible and the choice will become transparent to consumers.

Windows Media 9 Microsoft® Windows Media® is the best platform for encoding, protecting, distributing, and playing digital music from dial-up rates to rich 7.1 surround sound. WMA has for years led the industry with the best quality and compression available, as shown by independent tests.

Subscription service providers   TOP

As of today, a national advertising market has really not yet developed for Internet radio. Several webcasters are filling in the revenue gap by experimenting with subscription services in which listeners pay a small hourly or monthly fee for access to high-quality, commercial-free streams.

StreamGuys StreamGuys turnkey subscription services enable broadcasters to sell streaming content and other digital assets. StreamGuys will enable you to realize a profit from the Internet delivery of digital media. StreamGuys — bringing broadcasting to business. Contact: Kiriki Delany or (707) 826-0938

Technology consultants   TOP

If you're a veteran of broadcast radio making a go of it on the Internet, this technology may be a whole new confusing world to you. Technology consultants can guide you through the maze and find the right third-party systems and solutions to meet your company requirements.

Ramp^Rate We provide a FREE service simplifying the way your IT services are purchased, saving you time, effort, and money – often up to 75%. The combination of our Service Provider Intelligence Index (SPY) and our research partnerships help us objectively identify the right service providers, at the right price, for you. Contact: Contact Andy Steuer at 415-786-5653.

Trade associations  TOP

There's power in numbers. Trade associations have proven themselves in thousands of industries to be valuable organizations for advancing the agendas of their members - for example, with advertisers or in Washington, DC.

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) When lawmakers on Capitol Hill want to know the facts about issues facing our industry, NAB is the first place they come. As one of the most respected lobbying organizations in the nation, NAB makes sure key House and Senate members and their staff members understand our arguments and our industry as they weigh important policy concerns.

Voice talent   TOP

Professional voice talent can make a small station sound big, and make a good station sound great. Thanks to advances in "desktop editing" and digital audio production, and the connectivity offered by broadband connections to the Internet, more and more professional voice talent is working from their home studios, available to work for you on a fast turnaround and at reasonable prices.

Jay Beau Jones History and current stations include: Z-100 New York, Kiss 108 Boston, Kiss 103.5 Chicago, Kiss 95.7 Hartford, Hits 96.3 Ft. Wayne, KMMX Lubbock, WSOY Decatur, KTSC Pueblo, WPRI TV Providence, and WVIT-TV Hartford. Commercial voice work for: "Six Feet Under: The Soundtrack" on Universal Records, "Bowling For Columbine." See JayBeauJones.com or call 800-867-9532. The Tasty Voice of Melanie Haynes Radio and TV commercials, corporate narrations, messages on hold, radio imaging, TV promos... National clients include: Colgate-Palmolive, Coca Cola, Ford, Wilson, Exxon, Xerox, Texaco, Minute Maid, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Kirby Paint, Neiman Marcus, Conoco, Compaq, United Way, BMC Software, NASA, Halliburton, Baylor College of Medicine, Rockwell International, Weather King, BMC Software and more. Visit: VoiceHunter or call 800-867-9532. Ryan Chase Voice-over Station history and current clients include: Z100 NY, KRBE, WXRK, KTBZ, 97X Tampa, KHKS Seattle, The Buzz KC, KDGE Dallas, and more! ISDN, MP3, or CD delivery. Visit: www.ryanchase.com or call 800-867-9532. The Production Guys Offering a vast array of services for Radio Broadcasting, Corporations and Ad Agencies, we feature some of the top voice talent in the country! Commercials, Imaging, Voice-Tracking, Copywriting, Syndicated Radio Programs and more! Visit: www.TheProductionGuys.com. VoiceHunter.com Free voice casting: Over 5,000 voices and growing... VoiceHunter.com casts voices for radio, TV, commercials, and web radio. VoiceHunter.com has access to the world's top voice-over talent. Contact: Adam Goodman at 800-867-9532.