Author: Brad Hill

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Bop.fm raises $2M, positioned as a universal remote control for streaming music

Posted on by Brad Hill

Bop.fm, a streaming startup founded seven months ago in the Y Combinator seed-funding group, has obtained a $2-million funding round from Charles River Ventures. Bop enables music sharing on a platform that hooks into popular streaming services. In the RAIN review, we found a crucial feature glitch, but an overall terrific experience that emulates an interactive music service, drawing on external libraries. As such, Bop.fm serves as a remote control for Spotify, Beats Music, and Rdio, and makes it easier to share music. Continue Reading →

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Campaign escalates to activate FM in phones

Posted on by Brad Hill

“Wireless carriers are dragging their feet and won’t activate the FM chips that are in every smartphone.” That’s the blunt message in a website campaign mounted by NPR, American Public Media (APM), Educational Media Foundation (EMF), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), and, of course, NextRadio. The campaign hopes to stir activism. Continue Reading →

adStream: Competitive ads

Posted on by Brad Hill

Should radio and Internet radio platforms run ads for competitors? In the battle for “share of ear,” this is a question we have examined from a number of angles. During our recent ad-stalking, we spotted Google advertising its streaming service (Google Play All Access) on Pandora. the call to action lifted us right out of Pandora into Google. Continue Reading →

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Radio’s digital marketing opportunities: a RAIN Summit Indy focus (and conversation with Gordon Borrell)

Posted on by Brad Hill

On September 9, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, RAIN Summit Indy will spotlight and break out an emerging topic: how local radio stations can expand their businesses beyond the single revenue stream of ad sales, via marketing and providing digital services to local businesses.

RAIN spoke with Gordon Borrell about the opportunity for radio to develop this new, high-potential business line. Continue Reading →

Mobile advertising will surpass radio and print this year

Posted on by Brad Hill

New research from eMarketer proclaims that a shift to mobile helps define the largest growth in total media ad spending since 2004. Total media spending will reach $180-billion in 2014, according to the research projection — that’s a 5.3% boost from 2013. Starting this year, mobile advertising will surpass radio ad revenue, newspaper ad spends, and magazine advertising. Continue Reading →

ROK Mobile launches music app and limited cell-phone service

Posted on by Brad Hill

One month ago we reported that ROK Mobile was gearing up for a July 4 launch of its music app (ROK Music) and unlimited cell-service. Both have happened, though the wireless service portion is a tightly limited roll-out. Here’s the deal: $50/month for unlimited streaming, and a brand new music service. T-Mobile is in the unlimited-music space now, too. Can ROK differentiate itself enough to lure consumers? Continue Reading →