Winners of the 7th Annual RAIN Internet Radio Awards were announced Tuesday at RAIN Summit Nashville. A panel of 15 unaffiliated judges had reviewed 44 brands and services winnowed from hundreds of submission. From that process 18 finalists emerged, and six winners, one for each of six categories.
The winners of the RAIN Awards 2016 are:
BEST SINGLE STREAM WEBCASTER
Radio Paradise
Radio Paradise plays modern and classic rock, world music, electronica, even a bit of classical and jazz. There are no computer-generated playlists, and the station is ad-free.
BEST STREAMING BROADCAST STATION
KOIT 96.5
The 96.5 KOIT content strategy is “FFFF”: Fido, Food, Family & Feel Good, targeting women 35-54. All published content is also distributed to Facebook, Twitter, weekly e-blasts and other digital sites DAILY.
BEST AUDIO STARTUP
Otto Radio
Otto Radio works like Pandora for podcasts and news, using your interests and listening habits to find stories you’ll love. Otto Radio curates everything with the push of a button, automatically tailoring broadcasts to your tastes and preferred length.
BEST PODCAST
Dunkumentaries
Dunkumentaries, presented by SeatGeek and ESPN, is an audio-rich celebration of the slam dunk in all its glory. Over the course of five podcast episodes, the program explores the stories and personalities connected to the most powerful shot in basketball.
BEST OVERALL DIGITAL STRATEGY
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio’s digital strategy is focused on connecting fans to their favorite artists and music no matter where they are. iHeartRadio serves more than 85 million registered users, and has been downloaded more than a billion times. iHeartRadio continues to be one of the most popular digital music destinations.
BEST OVERALL ONLINE RADIO SERVICE
Spotify
Spotify offers music for every moment, and delivers personalized music in its non-interactive radio service, and its interactive on-demand service. The Spotify audience is global across 59 countries. Its owned and operated playlists are streamed over 1 billion times a week. The “Discover Weekly” personalized playlist is recognized as a milestone in data-driven song recommendation.
RAIN Awards Judges:
- Steve Goldstein, Amplifi Media
- George Bundy, BRS Media
- Patrick Reynolds, SessionM
- Paul Goldstein, PG Audience Development
- Valerie Geller, Geller Media International
- Mark Ramsey, Mark Ramsey Media
- Roger Lanctot, Strategy Analytics
- Casey Rae, Sirius XM
- Tom Webster, Edison Research
- John Gehron, AccuRadio
- James Cridland, media.info
- Vicki Nauman, CrossBorderWorks Consulting & Advising
- Seth Resler, Jacobs Media
- Justin Case, Benztown
- Karen Allen, Karen Allen Consulting