Quick Hits: Rhapsody rises up; iBiquity pushes HD
Quick news items and worthy reads from around the web:
Mark Mulligan on Rhapsody
iBiquity on HD Radio potential Continue Reading
Author: Brad Hill
VerStandig webcast royalty case tossed by judge; argument unresolved in principle
A lawsuit brought by VerStandig Broadcasting in Virginia last May, which sought to limit music royalty payments for its webcasts, has been ejected in a pre-trial dismissal by a federal judge. Judge Michael Urbanski reportedly dismissed the case as too “speculative” and “hypothetical” for trial. Continue Reading
Recruiting from radio: Apple hires Zane Lowe from BBC
Zane Lowe, well known in Britain and around the world for his weeknight music-discovery radio show on the BBC, has taken a position at Apple in Cupertino. When a popular DJ quits his show and moves to one of the world’s leading technology companies, the news can be framed within the human-vs-machine argument which divides streaming music curation Continue Reading
Internet Radio Rewind #030
A weekly podcast from RAIN News
Sponsored by AudioBoom
A six-minute blast of news you need to know in streaming audio.
THIS WEEK: Pandora makes direct licensing deal with Naxos; new survey of ad agencies and streaming audio; streaming now in UK albums chart; Nielsen launches online radio measurement; Rhapsody updates audience metrics; research report on mobile music; TeamRock Radio goes underground — literally. Continue Reading
Spreaker connects World Radio Day to podcasting with free podcaster sign-up
Spreaker, a podcast creation and listening platform, is supporting World Radio Day and throwing a spalsh of promotion on its service by offering free “On-Air Talent” accounts for a trial month. “Radio is currently in the throes of great transformation, and it’s being reinvented by young people.” Continue Reading
Pandora closes direct licensing deal with leading classical label Naxos
In another demonstration of “willing buyer, willing seller” deal-making, Pandora has negotiated a direct licensing deal with Naxos, one of the world’s most prolific classical music labels. Before this, Pandora’s most widely publicized private negotiating effort was with the international consortium of independent labels, Merlin. Both deals are important. Continue Reading
Strata Q4 survey tests agency sentiment for streaming and programmatic
Media-buying platform Strata released results of its 4th-quarter agency survey. Streaming radio is a rising priority for media buyers. Programmatic advertising across all channels is gaining favor and trust. Click for details. Continue Reading
TeamRock goes underground on Friday the 13th — literally, streaming from the London Tube
We received a note from London DAB+stream station TeamRock, with a heads-up about a Friday the 13th stunt planned for tomorrow morning. With morning host Stephen Hill on vacation, substitute DJs Moose and JRock plan to hijack the station from its studio location and take it underground. Literally. Continue Reading
WideOrbit’s Clarity platform selected by Nielsen for first rollout of its streaming metrics
Ad management company WideOrbit announced that its Clarity platform, which offers streaming, ad injection, and audience measurement to audio publishers, will be the first distribution partner for Nielsen Audio’s newly developed streaming audience measurement technology. Continue Reading
theCHIVE launches podcast, and scores with Mark Cuban interview
The Download on Podcasts is a new weekly feature sponsored by PodcastOne.
The spirit and anything-goes attitude of theCHIVE.com is carried into a new podcast, just three episodes old. The program is an interview format, and scored a big win with this week’s interview of celebrity entrepreneur Mark Cuban. Click through to listen. Continue Reading
Clip Interactive expands to desktop products, projects dramatic results
Clip Interactive, which has built its business on building interactive mobile apps for broadcast radio stations, announced that it is expanding its product line to include desktop and mobile browsers. This interactive web player will work on computers and mobile device browsers, bypassing the need for users to download a station-specific mobile app. Continue Reading
adStream: Pre-rolls and second-rolls
In recent editions of this feature we’ve looked at pre-roll audio ads (e.g. in Stitcher), and we regard audio pre-rolls as effective marketing that doesn’t strain the listener’s patience. We search for them in TuneIn and Pandora, and find something interesting — the second-roll. Continue Reading