Why HD Radio (Still) Doesn't Matter
Wunderadio iPhone App
From the article...
It streams EVERY station on the planet, or so it seems. I'm talking about every station I've ever listened to. It has stations I've picked up while listening at night as a kid. It picks up the stations I listened to commuting in New York and New Jersey and in Pittsburgh. It even has the station I used to listen to to find out whether or not my school would be closed due to snow. In the age of Pandora and last.fm and iTunes, terrestrial radio has taken a back seat. But for me, as someone who has always enjoyed the thrill of the hunt - picking up a distant AM station at night -- this brings me back to my childhood. And it brings me to places I can't be -- like to my favorite afternoon drive DJ in Pittsburgh. I almost forgot ... the stations that use RDS (Radio Data) will show what's playing and who's on the air when you search for the station. ...only $5.99.
Click to read the entire article.Labels: HD Radio, Industry, Internet, iPods, Radio, Streaming, Trendwatch, Webcasting
Commoditization Schmoditization
It's time to celebrate if you're rooting for further commoditization of traditional Radio and the Internet. TargetSpot (arguably one of the most impressive automated Radio/Web sales tools on the market) just got bigger.
TargetSpot buys rival Ronning Lipset Radio and results in forming the largest online radio ad network. TargetSpot brings together CBS Radio, Entercom, AOL Radio, Yahoo, and more than 1,000 other online stations comprised of more than 50 radio groups and web properties. The TargetSpot CEO (Doug Perlson) says combing the sales and technology structures positions them for the "strongest monetization possible."
He says "monetization" -- I say "commoditization."
Toe-MAY-tow.
Toe-MAH-tow.
What would you call an online system that requires no actual understanding or comprehension of marketing or radio advertising or web strategy in order for you to be able to produce and place advertising spots and web banners? Just because you can get a great price on a set of scalpels at The Dollar Store doesn't make you a brain surgeon.
TargetSpot (and other systems like it) allow the amatuers to pose as professionals. It puts Buyers in charge of strategy and execution. I don't care how good a negotiator might be, I don't want them writing my radio spots or designing my display ads.
Point. Click. Crap.
You think terrestrial Radio sounds like shit NOW?
It's not going to get any better when ALL the spots sounds the way a posting on eBay reads. This is the level of "expertise" that will be needed to plan and execute media advertising.
No one WANTS to talk to a Radio salesperson, but the truth is that the GOOD ones know what they're doing. They've been educated in advertising strategy and marketing techniques that are proven to work in their chosen media. I don't like doctors, but you can be damn sure that if I need an operation I rather have to deal with some complete DICK who happens to be the best at what he does than perform the surgery myself.
Eric Ronning and Andy Lipset of RLR will become co-presidents of TargetSpot, which also absorbs the entire RLR sales team. Lipset says their firm and TargetSpot have been "complimentary leaders and innovators" in the online ad space, and believes they're now poised for "explosive growth."
"Explosive growth?"
Explosive diarrhea.
...Coincidence?
The government stepped in to institute PAYOLA laws. Is it too much to hope that they'll do something about the coming CRAPOLA scandal?Labels: Advertising, Consumer Generated, Industry, Internet, Rants, Rates, Trendwatch
Radio: Your Last(.fm) Choice for Music
All The Cool Kids Are Doing It...
 Urban Outfitters has starting carrying a starter podcasting kit, and it's being overtly pitched as a sexy teen tech toy. With Radio stations completely out of touch with the needs and wants of the modern listening audience (young and old alike), how long before AARP offers these setups in their monthly magazine? From the promotional text...
Pump up your very own volume!
If you've ever wanted to have your own radio show or make custom, personalized broadcasts, podcasting is a great way to start and ION Audio has the perfect solution to help make you the star! U CAST is the best way to make your own podcasts for internet posting.
Anything is possible with U CAST; you can host your own talk show, mix sounds and music like a radio DJ, or be a movie critic heard by millions around the world.
U CAST gives you everything you need: a professional-grade USB microphone, headphones, sound editing software and an easy way to deliver your Podcast to the masses. Your podcast can be downloaded and played on computers and portable music devices everywhere. It's time to be heard! Add in a free domain name and a year of hosting with auto-upload features and Radio has a whole new crew of competitors who can create and broadcast content they (and their peers) really want to hear and share. Those 500+ friends on their MySpace and Facebook pages just became a micro-audience more devoted and accurately tracked than any terrestrial station could hope for. The new Arbitron books are out -- do you know where your audience is? Probably at UrbanOutfitters.com buying a podcast kit for $120. PSSST... You can buy it cheaper at Amazon.com (only $97.00 !)
Labels: Consumer Generated, Industry, Internet, Webcasting
Is Online Radio Killing Traditional Radio Advertising?
N is for Nokia and Net Radio
SymbianOne.com has posted a review of Nokia's new N95 device that features an internet radio application. As their YouTube recording (embedded below) illustrates, this bit of software is quick and simple to use.
Just how long do you think it will take for this utility to be adopted by other mobile companies? Since the net radio application is built from an open source solution, professionals and hobbyists alike from around the globe will be developing the versions (and hacks if neccesary) needed to get it running on a myriad of other mobile devices (whether the manufacturers want them to or not.) How long before you can buy a net radio-hacked Verizon or iTouch phone on eBay?
ZombieRadio thinks you just might have time to finish this article and watch the video clip.
Labels: Internet, Mobile, Radio, Streaming
Artist Radio Stations - Part 2
Sammy Hagar launches Cabo Wabo Radio.
Hagar, along with radio veterans Woody Nelson and Shadoe Stevens, begin webcasting their online station New Year's Eve from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Cabo Wabo Radio will feature "high energy" and classic rock. Hagar's calling it "Rock Radio the Way God Intended It." Who knew God was such a big fan of streaming audio?
No word yet on if they'll have to pay themselves the additional performance royalty charges currently being pushed upon other webcasters.Labels: Artists, Duh, Industry, Internet, Streaming, Trendwatch, Webcasting
What if every artist had their own radio station?
Rapper JA RULE is webcasting his own internet radio station from his home in New York. The Always On Time hitmaker, real name Jeffrey Atkins, fronts the ambitious new venture and hosts a weekly hip-hop show every Friday from 10-2.
"I got an Internet radio station, 187FM.com. It's a vehicle for new artists to get on and get their music heard worldwide. Internet radio is good because it doesn't pigeonhole you to just your region. You can be heard everywhere."
The hip-hop star launched the network in March (07) and he's delighted with his first months as a radio mogul. He says, "It's the best because we're not censored, and you can log in from anywhere and hear my station. "As technology is going forward... if you go on the iPhone, you can go to a website that has audio... It's becoming easier. "It's even easier than satellite radio because we're not making you pay for it."
"I think internet radio scares them all."
ZombieRadio says: What if EVERY artist has their own radio station?
What if they released their hot new single via their own webcast rather than fighting for airtime on local stations across the country? You could hear the song and buy with a single click.
If you follow Ja Rule's line of thinking, their stations could even help with the breakthrough of new artists.
I agree with Ja Rule -- internet radio should be scary as hell to traditional broadcasters.Labels: Artists, Internet, Radio, Satellite, Trendwatch, Webcasting
The Opposite of Thinking
The Big DUH of the Week award goes to...
An unnamed CBS Radio Manager who said they are allocating dollars to the Internet because:
"That's where we think the growth is going to be."
Think?
The web is where you THINK growth is going to be?
I got news for ya, Skippy -- it's where the growth has BEEN for the last three years. Pull your head out of the sand (or maybe outta your rear orifice) and you just might see how the world has changed around you (and passed you by.)
Here's a quote dedicated to our winner:
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum (I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.) ~ Ambrose Bierce.Labels: Duh, Internet, Profits
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Brraaaaainnssss...
Focusing
primarily on terrestrial radio broadcasting, ZombieRadio.com is
dedicated to pointing out the mindless and brain-dead actions of the
mainstream media industry in general.
Don't
get too comfortable satellite, television, cable, and internet -- we
all know from seeing zombie movies that the contagion spreads quickly.
"They're
coming to get you..."
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