All forms of broadcast.
One recipient of the recently-bestowed Edward R. Murrow Awards is Portland Radio Project, an Internet radio stream and website hub that received two Murrow commendations. RAIN spoke with two members of PRP’s founding team about the mission and operation of an Internet-only radio project focused on local community. Continue Reading
A small Virginia radio group, VerStandig Broadcasting, has filed for a declarative judgment in a local district court, seeking to escape payment of performance royalties in its webcasts. The loophole exists in radio’s exemption from paying for the recordings it broadcasts over the air. Continue Reading
Zimmer Radio Group is comprised of 10 radio stations in the Columbia, Missouri region. The Zimmer brand is a second-generation radio emblem; John Zimmer’s father got started in the 1950s. “We’ve never defined ourselves as being in the radio business. We’re in the business of helping local businesses grow.” Continue Reading
Music service Rdio will upgrade this summer to offer ad-supported on-demand listening to its music catalog. The announcement was made by Lew Dickey, CEO of Cumulus Media, which acquired a 20-percent stake of Rdio in September, in a quarterly earnings call. Click for full quotes. Continue Reading
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced that a congressional majority has signed onto a resolution called the Local Radio Freedom Act. The bill opposes any change to radio’s existing and long-standing exemption from paying a performance royalty to labels and musicians, for broadcast use of recorded music. Continue Reading
Media giant Clear Channel today announced iHeartRadio Networks, an advertising sales program that puts CC’s vast, multi-medium inventory on a unified platform. The values for advertisers will be simplified media buys, greater reach, and targeting capability across different media environments. Continue Reading
An awaited radio-listening app that pulls together most or all Canadian terrestrial station streams will be launched sometime this spring. Radioplayer Canada is a joint venture of SparkNet, a digital solutions provider for Canadian radio, and audience measurement firm BBM Analytics. Continue Reading
In a quadrennial update of rules which regulate how many stations a radio or TV company can own in a local market, the FCC rejected arguments that Internet radio creates meaningful local competition, and sustained the existing ruling of eight same-owned stations per market. Continue Reading
We spotted a tweet from media licensing attorney and RAIN Summit participant David Oxenford, indicating that an operating-system push from AT&T turned on the FM chip in his trusty Q10 phone. He sent us his review, which includes raves for ultra-fast tuning and good reception. Continue Reading
Radio.com, the website portal to CBS-owned radio and pureplay content, has significantly upgraded the design of its website, adding some new functions as well. RAIN spoke to Ezra Kucharz, President of Local Digital Media at CBS, for his perspective on the changes. Continue Reading
In a continuation of a series of similar partnerships, Clear Channel has struck a revenue-sharing arrangement with Broken Bow records and Stoney Creek Records, both part of BBR Music Group. The agreement provides performance royalties to the labels and their artists, which Clear Channel (and all terrestrial radio) is not compelled to pay by government licensing regulations. Continue Reading
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) today released a 2013 revenue report for broadcast radio. By a wide margin, digital revenue led other income segments in year-over-year comparisons. Overall revenues were flat in 2013, when examined through two lenses: full year-over-year, and Q4 2013 vs. Q4 2012. Digital is growing fast from a small percentage of total radio revenue — 5% in 2013. Continue Reading