Month: June 2014

2

House hearing #2 re-treads music licensing issues; hammers radio on performance royalties

Posted on by Brad Hill

by Brad Hill

The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held its second hearing on music licensing regulations, hosting a panel of music-industry executives who delivered prepared statements and answered questions. As with the first hearing on June 10, four contentious issues framed today’s proceeding:

  • Broadcast radio’s exemption from performance royalties
  • Pre-1972 recordings unprotected by copyright, and receiving no royalties
  • Uneven payments across different types of musicians
  • Consent Decrees which govern how ASCAP and BMI collect and distribute songwriter royalties

All four pillars of copyright discontent got some play today. Broadcast radio took a severe beating, but unlike the first hearing, the radio industry was represented. Continue Reading →

Mark Mulligan: YouTube, Record Labels, and the New Generation of Retailer Behemoths

Posted on by Mark Mulligan

Guest column by Mark Mulligan

Mark Mulligan is co-founder of MIDiA Consulting, and has been a digital music analyst for over a decade. In this guest column, he observes how a “new generation of retailer behemoths carves out new territory.” Noting that media companies risk becoming collateral damage in this trend, Mulligan lays some responsibility on record labels, both majors and indies. Original research from MIDiA Consulting offers an indicator of YouTube’s streaming impact. Continue Reading →

RAIN Internet Radio Awards spotlight best overall digital strategy

Posted on by Brad Hill

Nominees are pouring into this year’s RAIN Internet Radio Awards at about twice the rate of the 2013 awards. These awards are the industry’s preeminent recognition of achievements and best practices in Internet radio. Of the five nomination categories, Best Overall Digital Strategy is one of the broadest, straddling broadcast streaming and pureplays. Continue Reading →

1

Pandora exec discloses ad revenues, and needs a new car

Posted on by Brad Hill

Pandora VP of Investor Relations Dominic Paschel is a frequent guest speaker at investor conferences. We last eavesdropped on his remarks in December, at a JP Morgan event. Paschel recently held forth at the Sanford C. Bernstein Future of Media Summit. Paschel’s presentation provided an update of several aspects of Pandora’s business:

  • Pandora’s view of competition
  • Audience metrics: time spent per user
  • Revenue metrics: growth of local ad sales
  • A certain problem with Dominic Paschel’s car

    • Continue Reading →

2

Seattle radio station lowers ad load to Internet-radio level

Posted on by Brad Hill

One of the key differentiators of streaming music and online radio is relatively low “spot load” — the amount of commercial time in a hour — compared to broadcast radio. A terrestrial station in Seattle is creating broadcast buzz today with an announcement that it will dramatically reduce its commercial load, approaching the level of Internet radio. It’s called “The 2 Minute Promise.” Continue Reading →

adStream: McDonalds “Think With Your Mouth” campaign

Posted on by Brad Hill

adStream is a journal of ad-spottings in online music services that highlight how commercials (audio and visual) can be an integrated part of the online listening experience.

We noted that the McDonalds “Think With Your Mouth” campaign for Big Mac sandwiches won an award at Cannes Lions this year, and we have been spotting the digital placements in streaming music services, including iHeartRadio. Continue Reading →

Eric Bieschke, Chief Scientist at Pandora, to speak at RAIN Summit Indy

Posted on by Brad Hill

RAIN Summit Indy announces that Eric Bieschke, Chief Scientist at Pandora who leads one of the most significant Big Data operations in digital music, will be a speaker.

Eric Bieschke joined Pandora as its second employee in 2000. He will bring his unique depth of experience and preeminent reputation as a data guru to RAIN Summit Indy on September 9 at the Indiana Convention Center. Continue Reading →

RAIN Poll results: Would you pay for a YouTube music service?

Posted on by Brad Hill

In our latest RAIN Poll, we surveyed readers with a single Yes-or-No question: Would you pay for a YouTube music service? Such a service is on the way, reportedly later this summer, offering ad-free listening/watching on some kind of YouTube-ish platform. The result of our informal poll was definite: NO. Eighty-three percent or respondents declared a negative vote on this question; 17% said they would pay. Click through to read selected comments. Continue Reading →

Vadio partners with Vevo, provides “Radio worth watching”

Posted on by Brad Hill

Last week Vadio, a video-technology platform, announced a partnership with Vevo, a music video portal. The deal gives Vadio access to Vevo videos, for inclusion in curated video streams that Vadio synchs up with radio station webcasts. Vevo embodies a catalog of 100,000 high-quality song videos, concert events, and original programming. The alliance allows Vadio to enhance its existing repertoire of videos from which it curates programming for radio stations and other clients. We talked to Vadio CEO Bryce Clemmer to get more context. Continue Reading →