Uma análise ao que está a fazer a Indie 103.1, considerada pela Plug como a estação de rádio na internet do ano.

De acordo com o boletim RAIN, que alerta para esta rádio, ela conjuga muito bem a emissão FM com o webcasting, aprofundando no site assuntos que não são explorados no hertz. O próprio site na net já é disso exemplo, dando voz aos ouvintes, através do blogue.

Alguns execertos do texto de DANIEL MCSWAIN:

«Indie 103.1 doesn't really fit in. As an FM broadcast, Indie 103.1 represents what some might call a bold programming move. It's multi-format approach provides a very broad, albeit slightly unfocused, swath of musical genres, personalities, and weekly shows. Indie 103.1's website, home to the online webcast of their FM signal, takes those unfocused tendencies and converts them into a very engaging and feature-filled digital media depot.»

«In addition to streaming, Indie 103.1's site features podcasts, digital downloads, videos and photos of DJ's and events that cover every page of the site. The site's player is basic but sleek, and listeners can tune in using external software or the self-contained web player (pictured right). One of the site's most popular features is a section of downloadable,  quasi-legal "mash-ups", tracks created by grafting constituent parts of dissimilar tunes into one mutant song.»

«La simple radio-tocadiscos estará al alcance de todo el mundo como hasta ahora, pero parece claro que los formatos que tendrán más posibilidades de triunfar serán aquellos que ofrecerán algo mas, bajo diferentes fórmulas, pero todas ellas imaginativas y que transformen los roles tradicionales, tanto el hasta ahora reproductor del radiofonisto, como el pasivo del oyente. Todo lo antedicho nos viene a demostrar que de alguna manera la historia de la radio tiene un cierto sentido circular, es decir, siempre acaba volviendo a los orígenes: por mucho que cambien el entorno técnico y productivo, el talento, la creatividad y el trabajo de los profesionales continúa siendo la materia prima con la que se elabora un intangible denominado programación» (Marti in Esteban, 2000: 244) 

Via Corey Deitz: «Interested in receiving music on your cell phone? I recently received this email from Rusty Hodge, the General Manager of SomaFM.com in San Francisco. SomaFM is listener-supported, commercial-free, underground/alternative radio broadcasting from San Francisco. Rusty wrote: I read your article about Mspot Puts 8 Channels of Commercial-Free Music on Sprint PCS Vision Phones and wanted to let you know that there are other sources for commercial free music on phones. SomaFM has been supporting Sprint's "3GPP" multimedia phones (Sanyo MM-7400, MM-5600 and Samsung MMA700 phones) since May, 2005. We offer 3 of our commercial free radio channels on our 3GPP service for no additional charge if you already have a Sprint internet access plan. We also offer radio stream formats that are compatible with newer smart phones that include the Windows Media Player, and the Treo phones with Pocket Player. (...) You'll be surprised at how good radio over your 3GPP phone can sound - even better than satellite radio!»

Dominique Baudis, President of the French regulatory authority, CSA, told delegates at a conference in Paris this week that there is a clear consensus in France for digital radio, adding that the current discussion is not about whether to proceed with digital radio, but how. (...) in place since July 2004, the CSA launched a consultation in 2005 to which it received 50 responses from the French media industry. All were positive on the need for France to embrace a digital radio future.

Although the digital radio debate in France is still open, the CSA is committed to moving forward quickly, with M Baudis saying “the future of radio is digital.” From the public consultation, the CSA has identified four possible routes to digital including on-carrier digitisation of FM and AM; dedicated digital radio networks in new bands such as Band III and, possibly, L Band; hybrid digital terrestrial/satellite radio; and digital radio on any other platforms, such as the DTT network. M Baudis emphasised that these routes are not mutually exclusive: “There are different ways to go into the digital era, but they can be seen as complementary,”

France is in the process of reshuffling its FM band, a big issue for radio in France. This reshuffle is designed to reallocate existing licences and, possibly, free up spectrum for new analogue radio stations. The process will result in a maximum of just 10% additional spectrum being freed for new services, which means the only option for many broadcasters to expand their portfolio of stations is via a digital platform.

The next step for digital radio in France is to look at the potential for Band III digital radio broadcasting»

(texto total: «17/02/2006 - Digital radio in France is "inevitable"»; o texto original aqui)

Excerto do texto: «Indústria fonográfica processa portugueses que roubam músicas na Internet », 02.04.2006 - 07h49    Paulo Anunciação (PÚBLICO)

«Depois de várias iniciativas contra a pirataria digital noutros países, a IFPI [Federação Internacional da Indústria Fonográfica] vai atacar, agora, o problema português. A situação, em Portugal, preocupa-o?
John Kennedy: Quando eu era presidente da Universal Music, Portugal era um dos países que estava sob a minha responsabilidade. A pirataria, nessa altura, já era um problema que nos impossibilitava, por exemplo, de fazer grandes investimentos na música local. As coisas pioraram muito nos últimos anos. A partilha ilegal de ficheiros musicais na internet continua a aumentar em Portugal. A indústria da música sofre terrivelmente. Por isso decidimos abordar o problema de outra forma e desencadear acções mais drásticas.

A situação em Portugal é mais grave do que em outros países da União Europeia?
O [país] pior era a Alemanha, mas a situação começou a recuperar um pouco. Na Alemanha e no Reino Unido, o número de utilizadores que compra música online de forma legal passou a ser superior ao número de utilizadores que o fazem ilegalmente. As estatísticas, em Portugal, eram semelhantes às da Alemanha. As vendas de CD em Portugal caíram 40 por cento nos últimos cinco anos. Grande parte dessa quebra está relacionada com o facto de um número crescente de pessoas obter música de forma ilegal. Estamos perante uma verdadeira batalha para salvar a música portuguesa.

Porquê?
Cerca de um quarto de toda a música comprada em Portugal é música portuguesa. Os artistas nacionais vendem, sobretudo, a nível nacional. Mas uma grande fatia deste mercado nacional passou a obter as músicas de forma ilegal, pondo em causa a sobrevivência da música independente em Portugal. O problema é muito sério.

Vão processar judicialmente portugueses que fazem “uploads” e “downloads” ilegais de música?
Com certeza. Faz parte do plano.»

Há qualquer coisa que me escapa, mas registo a procura das estações via satélite por rádios sem publicidade:

«Overall, the additions will raise the XM selection to 69 commercial-free music channels, a figure that narrowly beats competitor Sirius»

excerto da notícia «Podcasts Coming Of Age», March 31, 2006, Antony Bruno, Billboard

«A year ago podcasting was just a fad with a cool name. In recent weeks, the format has taken several steps toward becoming big business. The audio blog phenomenon that began as free, grass-roots rantings is being commercialized through advertising and subscription fees. In early March, for instance, the creator of the British sitcom “The Office” began charging a pop for his comedy-themed podcast after generating 250,000 downloads per week from Apple’s iTunes Music Store.
Media companies like NPR and Clear Channel now sell 10- to 30-second commercials for their podcasts, prompting the emergence of startups formed to insert ads into amateur podcasts whose creators are unable to sell the ads themselves. The trend has even expanded into the mobile space. On March 27, Mobile podcasting service Pod2Mobile introduced an automated advertising program that inserts 20-second audio ads at the beginning of participating podcasts. The motivation is clear. A recent eMarketer report predicted that podcast advertising spending will increase from an estimated million this year to 0 million by 2010. Venture capitalists at Sequoia Capital—which participated in the .85 million funding of podcasting pioneer PodShow—say the market could grow to as much as billion in the next five years. Of course, to reach these figures, podcasts need listeners. According to Bridge Research, there are about 9 million podcast listeners today. Conservative analyst projections peg that the audience will reach around 12 million in the United States alone by 2010.  The “corportization” of podcasts is contributing somewhat to this growth, as the big media brands take over the format from the geek fringe. But almost every pundit agrees the biggest killer app for the format is the one most difficult to obtain—music.»

«Texas Instruments introduces a Bluetooth chip that rocks, dude! Its BlueLink 6.0 platform couples FM radio reception (mono and stereo) with Bluetooth in a single chip. This module also co-exists neatly with Wi-Fi. The notion is that a handset could be an FM tuner without additional chips or integration; this feature must be a top request as music players are added into phones. One analyst predicts 400m units with FM reception by the end of the decade.

Of course, if I put on my other hat, I know that HD Radio, a digitally encoded form of AM and FM radio, has begun making headway in the market. HD Radio uses unused guard bands around the primary analog frequencies to deliver crisp, even multi-channel audio. It makes a lot of sense in about two years to have HD Radio-only AM and FM tuners in handsets. About 700 stations broadcast HD Radio today and only a few car receivers, one high-end home receiver, and one tabletop radio can tune in these broadcasts. A few thousand stations will have added HD by 2007»

fonte: «If This Bluetooth Is Rocking, Don't Come-a Call Waitin'», Glenn Fleishman, March 30, 2006)

excertos de um texto que pode ser resumido assim: "How is the independent internet radio market going to survive?"

- «Growing costs for bandwidth are coupled with exorbitant monies being paid for music fees (...) Dailysonic is the station that’s introduced "Subtract," a system that allows audience members to remove audio ads in its program. Here’s a section of the sell-line featured at DailySonic: "For each Subtract that you buy, you’ll get one less advertisement inserted into your show. And it’s pretty inexpensive. Each Subtract costs 6 cents..."

OK, people don’t like advertisements. But the fact that we have reached a point where an industry that is trying to survive from selling ads is telling its audience that these ads are bad, is bad»

Mais: «The system allows listeners to remove advertisements from their online radio show by purchasing "Subtracts". Each Subtract costs a few pennies, and results in one less ad heard by the listener.

Unlike subscription-based online radio, listeners can purchase as many or as few "Subtracts" as they want. There is no contract or minimum cost, and unused subtracts automatically roll over to the next month. When a listener's subtracts run out, advertising gets re-inserted into the show without interruption of service»

a partir daqui, algumas notas mais:

- «The U.S.’s first commercial radio station branded with a major newspaper name — Washington Post Radio — has just debuted in the nation’s capital. WTWP, 1500 AM and 107.7 FM, is a joint venture of The Washington Post Co. and Salt Lake City-based Bonneville International Inc. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed. The station is aimed at an audience that wants more in-depth stories than short-form radio, but something different from public radio. But competitors in the long-form radio format said the audience for the polished, highly produced sound of public radio is extremely loyal.
The newspaper is following The New York Times, which began broadcasting some news and talk programming on XM Satellite Radio channels last fall. The Times is also developing hourly newscasts for XM that will debut in the future, XM spokesman David Butler said»

- «"This is a wonderful opportunity for The Washington Post to encourage the radio audience to read more of the newspaper," said Boisfeuillet Jones Jr., publisher of the Washington Post, in a statement. The Post’s circulation -- like that of many other papers -- has been on the decline in recent years. Washington Post Radio will draw on content from the Post, with the paper’s editors, reporters and columnists providing more context on their reporting. The station will also broadcast news and commentary from journalists and others outside the Post. (...) This is not the first time WTOP and The Washington Post have been linked. The Post bought a partial interest in the station from CBS in 1949, then purchased the rest in 1954 and began the all-news format in 1969. The Post sold WTOP in 1978. Two owners later, Bonneville bought it in 1997».

- «The Post follows the New York Times into the radio news business, although both have owned broadcasting operations for decades. The Times established its New York Times Radio division last year. That operation has a partnership with XM Satellite Radio to produce hourly newscasts and provide other reports and commentary from Times staffers»

- «The person driving this family affair is Post Company chair Don Graham. He’s been trying to get back into radio WTWP since the company gave up ownership of all-news WTOP in 1978. And the backstory of this deal—in which the radio station uses Washington Post reporters—comes from the business side. According to sources, the company didn’t pay a dime to move into radio. It got control of a radio station with AM and FM signals essentially for free. With Graham’s support, the Post Company had been negotiating with radio-station owners for the past six years. Graham had to sell WTOP in 1978 to comply with Federal Communications Commission regulations against media cross-ownership in the same market. By gaining control of WTWP without owning it, the Post Company gets around any FCC prohibition. (...) No one would talk on the record about the business side of the transaction, but sources describe a cash-free deal for the Post Company. It pays zero to Bonneville for essentially moving onto the airwaves with its own station, WTWP AM-FM. The Post Company did pay for installing a radio studio inside its newsroom. Bonneville pays WTWP’s on-air hosts, Mike Moss, Bob Kur, and Hillary Howard. It also pays a fee to the Post for supplying content through its reporters. The Post gets a share of the advertising revenue if it reaches a certain level. The Post’s other outlay? A nominal fee to reporters who appear regularly on WTWP, such as media critic Howard Kurtz. Whether other Post reporters who go on the air get additional pay, and how much, is the subject of discussion with the newspaper guild. “Basically,” says a local radio executive, “the Post got a free radio station.” Bonneville, which moved WTOP, its flagship news-talk station, to a much more powerful FM frequency, 103.5, got free content for a new station. Radio executives say Bonneville hopes to increase its revenue from million to million a year».

via Ponto Media:

«The chart landmark comes less than a year after download sales were first counted towards the top 40. Before that, the singles scene looked rather gloomy - sales had dropped from 80 million in the late 1990s to little more than 20 million in 2005. But then came the legal download services, led by Apple's iTunes, which launched in the UK in June 2004. (...) So instead of going to a record shop to hand over £2-4 for their favourite song, fans could instead pay 79p from the comfort of their own homes. (...)More than 26 million songs were downloaded legally in the UK in 2005 - up from virtually zero two years earlier. And downloads now account for about three quarters of all singles sold. (...) A recent rule change means digital sales start counting towards the chart the week before the CD release. But Gnarls Barkley's song was first made available to download on 13 March, meaning there were two extra weeks when thousands of fans were legitimately buying the song - but it was not appearing in the chart».

Via Público, 1/4/06:

«A revista Kulto, que sai todos os domingos com o PÚBLICO, é desde esta semana a primeira revista a ter uma web radio onde os leitores da Kulto, entre os sete e os 14 anos, podem ouvir a sua música, ter programas de rádio feitos à medida do seu gosto e até escolher o género de música que querem. A Rádio Kulto, assim se chama, foi criada em parceria com o portal de rádios Cotonete, que disponibiliza ainda a estrutura tecnológica para se fazerem rádios on-line personalizadas. Mas Rute Gil, uma das responsáveis da Kulto, diz que, mais do que uma web radio, a Rádio Kulto é um site de Internet onde os fãs da Kulto podem aceder para enviar mensagens, consultar notícias de música, por exemplo, e onde até vai ser possível ouvir programas de rádio caseiros enviados por podcast: "Os nossos leitores acordam e vão para a cama a ouvir música e não há produtos de rádio dedicados a eles. Foi a pensar nisso que surgiu a Rádio Kulto. Apostámos desde o início do projecto da Kulto num caminho mais tecnológico." Isto tudo pode ser encontrado em http://cotonete.clix.pt/kulto/index.asp»

Algumas observações:

- Trata-se de uma ideia muito boa; mas não pode ficar só com música (para já parece-me só uma play list alinhada por computador, porque acabará por perder o interesse - é preciso algum investimento); é também uma forma de atacar a «geração iPod», dando-lhe rádio. Além do mais, a partir do momento em que todos nós passamos cada vez mais tempo na internet, por que não ter o audio mais personalizado? É essa a ideia da própria rádio do Washington Post... Outra vantagem: desafia a rapaziada a fazer  conteúdos e a enviá-los. Alô escolas...

«Quando o iPod chegou às prateleiras das lojas, em 2001, foi o primeiro leitor de áudio portátil digital com um disco rígido, na altura de cinco gigabytes (GB), uma capacidade que superava tudo o que havia no mercado.
Hoje, o iPod clássico tem duas versões, com 30 ou 60 GB, e o mais barato custa 319 euros. Para além disso, foram lançados outros dois modelos: o Shuffle, que é pequeno como uma caneta de memória que se liga ao computador, e o Nano, que foi lançado no ano passado, cabe no bolso da camisa e faz lembrar as caixinhas onde se guardam os cartões de visita. Este, na versão de dois GB, custa 208 euros. Também no ano passado foi lançado o iPod Vídeo, que é semelhante à versão clássica mas que permite ver os vídeos disponíveis na iTunes.
Na terça-feira, um artigo publicado no CNET News, um site dedicado às tecnologias, referia que o iPod levou muitas empresas a produzir acessórios e criou um mercado na ordem dos mil milhões de dólares. Atrás dos leitores vieram as capas, os auscultadores, ou os suportes e tudo isso ajudou a criar uma enorme legião de fãs.
Dois anos depois do iPod, em 2003, a Apple lançou a iTunes, que é hoje a maior loja de música na Internet, onde se podem descarregar ficheiros de áudio por 99 cêntimos. A quantidade de conteúdos disponíveis depende da iTunes a que se acede, uma vez que em cada país foi aberta uma loja diferente. Na iTunes norte-americana existem dois milhões de músicas, 3500 vídeos, 35 mil podcasts e 16 mil audiobooks, ou seja, livros cujo texto foi gravado em áudio e que agora podem ser ouvidos nos iPod.
A junção entre os iPod e a iTunes acabou por ser vital para a Apple, até porque esta optou por não disponibilizar a sua tecnologia de protecção anti-cópia e impediu que os ficheiros da iTunes pudessem ser descarregados para outros leitores de áudio portátil. Em resultado disso, os clientes da iTunes apenas podem copiar ficheiros para o computador, PC ou Macintosh, e para o iPod.
Essa medida da Apple começou a ser alvo de contestação quando, há duas semanas, o Parlamento francês votou uma proposta legislativa sobre direitos de autor. Nessa proposta era exigida a interoperabilidade entre os ficheiros da iTunes e os vários leitores de áudio portáteis, para além dos iPod. A Apple considerou que essa medida se traduziria em "pirataria patrocinada pelo Estado" e justificou com o facto de os iPod não deverem ser compatíveis com outros ficheiros de áudio que não estejam "adequadamente protegidos" quanto ao copyright.»

(fonte: Isabel Gorjão Santos, «O leitor de música digital iPod tornou-se um fenómeno cultural», Público, 1/4/06, pág 3)

«Depender de amigos ou de lojas de CD para descobrir novas bandas já faz parte do passado. Uma revolução que começou com o site de relacionamentos MySpace (www.myspace.com) agora ajuda os fãs de música a aumentar a lista de artistas favoritos. Três sites – Pandora (www.pandora.com), Last.fm (www.last.fm) e TagWorld (www.tagworld.com) – aperfeiçoaram a idéia e criaram ferramentas para ajudar as pessoas a conhecer músicas novas.

Com mais de 66 milhões de usuários, o MySpace foi o primeiro a criar uma seção especial de música. Qualquer artista pode fazer um perfil e colocar canções e clipes para download, além poder criar blogs e dar informações sobre álbuns e sobre as datas dos próximos shows. Os fãs podem ficar "amigos" dos artistas ou postar comentários. Ter uma página no MySpace Music virou quase obrigação para as bandas norte-americanas e européias. (...)

Os sites que aprimoraram a idéia do MySpace são em inglês, mas o Pandora é mais fácil de usar. Desenvolvido em Flash,logo na tela inicial, você digita o nome de uma banda ou música do seu gosto, e o site cria uma estação de rádio com canções parecidas, porém, de artistas diferentes. Se a seleção do Pandora não agradou, você clica em "Don’t Like it". Mas, se você adorou vá em "Like it". O acervo é grande: estão cadastradas 400 mil músicas de 20 mil artistas. (...)

Além do Pandora, o Last.fm, que está na web desde 2003, também quer ajudar as pessoas a encontrar novos sons. A diferença é que, depois de criar um perfil no site – uma comunidade similar ao Orkut –, você pode baixar um programa que funciona como um plug-in no tocador de música que você usa no PC, como o iTunes ou o Windows Media Player. (...) Depois de 200 músicas ouvidas e enviadas, o Last.fm “encontra” pessoas que ouviram as mesmas canções que você. O perfil dessas pessoas, que o site chama de neighbours (vizinhos), aparece na sua página. (...)

Com tantas possibilidades , fica até difícil lembrar de todas as bandas que você viu em um só dia. Mas, o outro site, o TagWorld, com mais de 1 milhão de usuários, tenta resolver esse problema. As músicas das bandas que você encontrou e gostou podem ser guardadas em um arquivo do seu perfil chamado My Tunes. Com isso, você pode ouvir as favoritas sem ter que entrar na página das bandas. Outra vantagem é o player chamado de Music Discovery Engine. Não é preciso instalar nada. Mesmo sem ter cadastro, você escuta as bandas que quiser. O problema é que o repertório não é grande e não há muitos artistas diferentes.»

fonte:Filipe Serrano, «Sites acham novos sons para você», Estadão, 03/04/2006

É evidente a preocupação dos jornais - pelo menos daqueles que se apresentam como mais atentos e ambiciosos - em evoluírem para um formato multimédia. Seja para estar sintonizado com o que possa vir, seja por convicção.

Esta informação do Jornalismo e Comunicação sobre o The Times vai nesse sentido: «O britânico "The Times" tem vindo a publicar regularmente um anúncio de auto-promoção que, não remetendo propriamente para uma novidade, não deixa de constituir um "sinal dos tempos" que vivemos. Trata-se de uma selecção de notícias, reportagens e colunas de opinião, com a duração de cerca de 50 minutos, que podem ser diariamente descarregadas a partir das 5 da manhã e ouvidas no computador, no iPod, etc.»

Via Ponto Media, uma informação que reforça esta preocupação: «UM NOVO estudo da Newspaper Association of America, publicado ontem, revela que a audiência dos jornais online está a aumentar a grande velocidade: »

Via Travessias Digitais: «NYTimes.com aposta no vídeo»

Nem de propósito: «FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told publishers that it’s time for those who own newspapers to also be allowed to own radio and TV properties. “Much has changed since the days of disco and leisure suits, including the media marketplace. Over the last 30 years, we have seen an explosion in media outlets and other sources of news and information. The rule that is in place today was based on a market structure that bears little resemblance to the current environment. That rule was adopted in an era with little cable penetration, no local cable news channels, fewer broadcast stations, and no Internet.»

Via Washington Post (excertos de «Record labels not boarding podcast bandwagon», By Antony Bruno, Reuters, Sunday, April 2, 2006; 7:37 PM):

«A year ago podcasting was just a fad with a cool name. In recent weeks, the format has taken several steps toward becoming big business, but the major record labels are not eager to partner with the growing format. The audio blog phenomenon that began as free, grassroots rantings is being commercialized through advertising and subscription fees. (...) Media companies like National Public Radio (NPR) and Clear Channel now sell 10- to 30-second commercials for their podcasts, prompting the emergence of startups formed to insert ads into amateur podcasts whose creators are unable to sell the ads themselves. The trend has expanded into the mobile space. On March 27, Mobile podcasting service Pod2Mobile introduced an automated advertising program that inserts 20-second audio ads at the beginning of participating podcasts. The motivation is clear. A recent eMarketer report predicted that podcast advertising spending will increase from an estimated million this year to 0 million by 2010. Venture capitalists at Sequoia Capital -- which participated in the .85 million funding of podcasting pioneer PodShow--say the market could grow to as much as billion in the next five years. Of course, to reach these figures, podcasts need listeners. According to Bridge Research, there are about 9 million podcast listeners today. Conservative analyst projections peg that the audience will reach around 12 million in the United States alone by 2010»

(obrigado E.)

ACT a 7/4/06: Uma visão mais pessimista, a Kurt Hanson: «My belief is that podcasts — in the sense of short programs automatically downloaded overnight onto MP3 players — are merely a transitional phenomenon, until consumers' mobile devices are Internet-enabled. At that point, it will make sense to simply grab an on-demand stream of the program you're interested in»

Se os jovens chegam cada vez mais cedo à internet, a Disney - que tem uma rede de rádios nos EUA com programação infantil - não podia ficar à margem: «"Streaming on RadioDisney.com is part of our overall strategy to be the kid and family music leader across different media platforms," said Jean-Paul Colaco, president and general manager, Radio Disney Worldwide. "Now, more than ever before, kids and families are engaging in multi-tasking, especially as they surf on the Internet. Streaming enables our listeners to stay connected with Radio Disney in a way that is in tune with their lifestyles." »

Broadband choice has become more of a reality for some Canadians, as Inukshuk Wireless, a joint venture between Bell Canada and Rogers Communications has opened for business. According to Bell Canada, the first phase of the network covers over 5 million households and is available in selected areas from coast to coast.

Inukshuk is using pre-final-certification WiMAX technology to operate the network, making it the first large-scale WiMAX deployment in North America. Bell and Rogers used their preexisting infrastructure such as cellular towers to install the network, which operates in spectrum licensed to the companies already. Those spectrum licensing requirements stipulate that the service be made available in at least 25 unserved rural markets in the next year and 50 by March 2008. (...) WiMAX has been touted for many years now as both an alternative to cable and DSL, and as a solution to extend the reach of broadband to areas where it is not currently available. Earlier this year, the WiMAX Forum certified the first official WiMAX hardware, which operates in the 3.5GHz range. Unfortunately for US residents looking for options when it comes to broadband, that spectrum is already in use. That means for the time being, any WiMAX implementations in the US will either have to use proprietary hardware and run the risk of not being to interoperate with other networks, or wait until gear that operates in open spectrum (e.g., 5.8GHz) is certified (hopefully within the next twelve months). Until that time, we'll have to be content with seeing how our neighbors to the north do with their first WiMAX deployments»

«A recent study conducted by Edison Media Research found that almost three-quarters of radio traffic listeners pay more attention to commercials read live by the announcer of a traffic or news report than they do to pre-recorded commercials. The Edison Metro Traffic Study also concluded that 78% of those commuters requiring traffic information for suburban roadways gained this traffic information from their regular local traffic stations.

The Edison Metro Traffic Study was conducted by random telephone sampling February 9 - 22, 2006 of Adults 25 - 54 evenly distributed throughout the nonmetro counties in 10 of the top 20 DMAs. Respondents were required to have at least a part-time job, work primarily outside of the home, and spend at least 30 minutes commuting one-way to their workplace via a personal vehicle. This study was conducted on behalf of Westwood One by Edison Media Research.»

fonte: Edison Media Research, «Traffic Reports Capture Listeners' Attention Despite Distractions and Other», SOMERVILLE, N.J., March 30 /PRNewswire/ .

«A recent study conducted by Edison Media Research found that almost three-quarters of radio traffic listeners pay more attention to commercials read live by the announcer of a traffic or news report than they do to pre-recorded commercials. The Edison Metro Traffic Study also concluded that 78% of those commuters requiring traffic information for suburban roadways gained this traffic information from their regular local traffic stations.

Additionally, the study found that traffic reports demonstrated an ability to pull people away from CD players, MP3 players and Satellite Radio. One in four respondents indicated that they listened to something other than radio in their cars, but then switched back to AM/FM radio specifically to hear traffic reports. Those with exceptionally long commutes (greater than 60 minutes each way) reported an even greater propensity to switch to AM/FM radio for traffic reports, as nearly half of those listeners indicated they listen to CDs or MP3s, but switch to hear traffic.

More than 90% of radio traffic listeners pay close attention to traffic reports. "Clearly, traffic reports are extremely ’sticky’ content for radio listeners," noted Tom Webster, Vice President of Edison Media Research. "Listeners know where to find localized traffic reports, especially in suburban areas, and rely on them to help them navigate their increasingly longer commutes."

The Edison Metro Traffic Study was conducted by random telephone sampling February 9 - 22, 2006 of Adults 25 - 54 evenly distributed throughout the nonmetro counties in 10 of the top 20 DMAs. Respondents were required to have at least a part-time job, work primarily outside of the home, and spend at least 30 minutes commuting one-way to their workplace via a personal vehicle. This study was conducted on behalf of Westwood One by Edison Media Research.»

fonte: Edison Media Research, «Traffic Reports Capture Listeners’ Attention Despite Distractions and Other», SOMERVILLE, N.J., March 30 /PRNewswire/ .

Um estudo da Bridge Ratings sobre a erosão dos ouvintes da rádio convencional. Conclusões:

«Bridge Ratings reports that audience erosion from terrestrial radio is due to generally less time spent with AM/FM radio and more time spent with a variety of digital media. This includes MP3 players and iPods, Internet radio, satellite radio and CDs. 

1. Terrestrial audience erosion to alternative audio entertainment continues to occur in young demographics.

2. Podcasting is beginning to siphon listening.

3. MP3 device usage can consume as much as 80% of a radio user's audio entertainment during initial ownership weeks and months. This number tends to be generally lower among 30+ women and 35+ men.

4. MP3 player fatigue is slowing overall as the market continues to expand due to consumer interest in these devices. Fatigue with MP3 players remains high among those consumers who have owned the devices longer than 6-8 months.

5. Competition for traditional radio time-spent-listening is more severe. Time spent listening to terrestrial radio is fighting for its share of time with a multitude of digital devices. Even television has regained viewership based on this quarter's data. The most often given reason for this by our sample: better programming and new shows. Meanwhile, music-specific radio stations are vying for the attention of their constituencies as MP3 players continue to be more pervasive than ever (75 million sold). Podcasting is beginning to show evidence of cannibalizing radio's time-spent-listening.

6. Satellite radio also suffers from attrition! For the first time, we are seeing satellite radio consumers who have been subscribers for longer than 6 months are actually spending less time than they were six months ago with their satellite service of choice. According to our panel, during the second quarter of 2005 average time spent listening to satellite radio was 16 hours per week. During this most recent study during the period of January 1 through March 31, 2006, weekly TSL for satellite radio among subscribers of 6 months or longer was down to 12.6 weekly hours»

Sobre o estudo:

«This study, which has been tracking such behavior since January, 2004, once again reveals behaviors assumed to be taking place.
After a recovering Quarter 4 of 2005 for terrestrial radio where positive signs that terrestrial radio was experiencing positive Time Spent Listening and Weekly cume audience tune-in, the first quarter of 2006 showed just the opposite in overall listener behavior.  AM/FM radio listening among 18-34 year olds was significantly off fourth quarter 2005's pace as its increase in weekly quarter hours to "other media" than radio jumped from 50 to 60 quarter hours affecting the trend for both 12-24 and 25-49 year old metrics»

fonte: «Bridge Study: "Where Are My Listeners Going?"», Radio Ink, 7/4/06. O texto original aqui.

But as the two satellite radio providers carefully ponder their mobile strategies and chew over business plans, a small group of technically savvy devotees are taking matters into their own hands.

Grass-roots software and web developers have found ways to tap into XM Satellite Radio Holdings' and Sirius Satellite Radio's websites to stream music channels onto Windows-powered smartphones and other devices»

fonte: Wired News, Satellite Radio Rocks Cell Phones, Reuters  13:10 PM Mar, 24, 2006

A rádio perde o privilégio da divulgação da música
“Enquanto a indústria discográfica faz o balanço de um ano em que as vendas voltaram a baixar, alguns sinais apontam para uma democratização da música, graças à Internet, que começa a alterar o equilíbrio de forças no seio da indústria musical. Explorando designadamente os fóruns e os blogues musicais, as companhias independentes de discos fazem grandes progressos, à custa dos quatro conglomerados mundiais de música, cujo modelo comercial, que consiste em promover os «hits» graças à difusão radiofónica, parece cada vez mais ultrapassado”.Jeff Leeds, no New York Times, traduzido pelo Courrier Internacional, “Net beneficia editoras independentes”, nº 43, pág. 43

Corey Deitz fala no serviço da Raphsody, um dos mais conhecidos dos EUA, mas de que nunca falei.

Por isso, aqui vai:

«If you’d like 100 radio stations to choose from and would also like the option of creating your own customized streams, then Rhapsody might be your music service. No matter your mood, you can always have just the right sound for your work or leisure with the various options from Rhapsody. The free Rhapsody software allows you to also build your music library, share your playlists with others in the Rhapsody music sharing community, burn custom CDs, transfer it to your digital devices and more. Sharing playlists is one of the most interesting features of Rhapsody. You can browse by genre, celebrity picks, theme/holiday mixes, decade mixes, single artist mixes, and label spotlights. At a cost of .99 per month you have access to over 1,000,000 music tracks to play and share. A 14-day free trial is available. (Sign Up Directly) It’s not quite Satellite Radio but, it is about .00 less per month than XM and SIRIUS and you don’t have to buy any special equipment. You should know that XM Satellite Radio does offer 75 channels online for .99 per month compared to Rhapsody's 100 channels for .99. Compare the channels offered by each one to make your best decision».

fonte: «Rhapsody: Diverse Like Satellite Radio, Only Cheaper» 

Os vários webcasters dos EUA vão reunir-se com os detentores dos direitos autorais naquele país para negociarem formas de continuarem a transmissão de música.

Interessante ver como esses webcasters se organizam por lá:

• Digital Media Association (DiMA), which represents large Internet-only webcasters like Yahoo! LAUNCHcast, AOL Radio, and Live365,

• A consortium of large broadcasters who also stream their AM/FM/HD programming on the web, including Clear Channel, Bonneville, Salem and others,

• A consortium of self-described “small webcasters,” headed by Digitally Imported, AccuRadio, Radioio, and MVYRadio,

• NPR and various parties representing noncommercial broadcasters and webcasters, including colleges and universities.

 mais em http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/040706/index.asp

Talvez o facto da transmissão em HD exigir novos receptores, desses receptores serem raros e caros, seja o seu maior problema na actualidade.

Este desenvolvimento acaba por ser relevante: «retailers are now jumping on board. Early this morning, retailers Tweeter, Crutchfield and ABC Warehouse Detroit announced that they would be selling a crop of HD-compatible receivers. Starting today, the receivers will be available in more than 100 stores in over 30 markets across the United States. "Consumer demand for HD digital radio receivers has increased significantly over the past few months as consumers see the incredible value that HD radio offers," said Peter Ferrara, president and CEO of the HD Digital Radio Alliance».

fonte: «Radio Conglomerates Push HD, Retailers Offer More Support», Digital Music News, 10/4/06

É apenas um sinal do que está para acontecer (mesmo ao nível dos investimentos publicitários convencionais): a Bacardi acaba de anunciar a criação de uma rádio on line para chegar também aos telemóveis! 

«Spirits and song often go hand-in-hand, though Bacardi is taking the barroom sing-a-long to an entirely new level. The Miami-based rum manufacturer just announced a mobile and online radio station called Bacardi B Live Radio, which is heavily focused on dance music and club deejays. The station is slated to officially launch in the United States and the UK in May, though the stream is currently live at bacardibliveradio.com for those that want to take a peek. B Live will also showcase various Bacardi events on the channel, offering far greater branding and reach. "Bacardi B Live reinforces our music association by creating more opportunities to connect our target consumer in a way that reflects our brand values," commented John Burke, a global brand director at the company. Powering the backend is Colorado-based Blumodus».

fonte: «Bacardi Unveils Mobile, Online Streaming Radio Service», Digital Music News, 10/4/06

Mais: Beverage giants Coca-Cola and Bacardi--regular glass-mates at bars around the globe--have launched separate marketing campaigns that use digital music to connect with consumers.

Coca-Cola has created the entertainment Web site Stageside.tv, from which fans can download exclusive videos from select acts using peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. The first artist featured on the site is Island Def Jam's Ne-Yo, whose label debut, "In My Own Words," entered The Billboard 200 at No. 1 six weeks ago. (...) These are two more examples of brands using music to carry their marketing messages over digital channels. The music industry is jumping at the chance to participate as the sponsoring brands not only bankroll the creation of new services that more widely distribute music and expose artists, but also pay labels licensing fees to access content. (...) Coca-Cola is paying Ne-Yo's label, publishers and the artist himself for the right to exclusively film a 15-minute "day in the life" mini-documentary interspersed with two minutes of music. The video is available not only as a free download from Stageside, but also has been distributed throughout chat rooms, social networking sites and has even appeared on Youtube.com. Jeff Straughn, Island Def Jam's vice president of strategic marketing, said the partnership allows the music industry to utilize the marketing power of free P2P networks--and realize a revenue stream while doing so. "We see this as the first step in the direction of embracing P2P networks," he said. "It's given us tremendous viral exposure we wouldn't have gotten through traditional means." Coca-Cola also hopes to piggyback on this exposure by featuring its logo in each video. Each clip will be replaced after 90 days, and only one artist will be featured at a time. Coca-Cola and marketing firm the Jun Group already are negotiating with labels for the next artist. Reichgut said Coca-Cola is looking for acts it feels match the "upbeat and positive" message conveyed via its new "Coke Side of Life" marketing effort (...)"

fonte: «Rum and Coke find new mixers: digital music», Cnet (by Reuters) April 17, 2006, 4:59 AM PDT

fonte: «Broadcast Electronics Introduces HD Radio to France », Radio Magazine, 3 a 9 de abril,.

Mais: «Could France give up on Eureka-147?»

«A Alcatel vai fornecer à Sportinveste Multimédia uma solução de Mobile TV para a cobertura da Liga Portuguesa de Futebol que permitirá criar e distribuir programas desportivos em formato específico para telemóveis. “A solução está a ser estudada junto dos operadores móveis. Trata-se de um canal de futebol especificamente formatado para Mobile TV”, afirmou ao Diário Económico Diogo Caldas, director-geral da Sportinveste Multimédia, escusando-se a falar no valor do contrato assinado com a Alcatel.  Os conteúdos serão notícias, resumos de jogos, classificações, etc..., mas não a transmissões dos desafios. O mais comum actualmente na área da Mobile TV ainda é a transmissão dos próprios conteúdos televisivos nos telemóveis, sem adaptações específicas ao formato.
“Trata-se de personalizar conteúdos para os fãs de futebol em Portugal”, explicou, por sua vez, José Camões Vieira, director de comunicação da Alcatel. (...) Para Diogo Caldas, os jogos de futebol no telemóvel estão predestinados a ser a próxima forma de entretenimento de massas mais popular em Portugal. “A solução fornecida pela Alcatel  permite-nos criar, formatar, adaptar e distribuir conteúdos de vídeo para telemóveis com uma grande liberdade e de uma forma económica”, acrescenta o mesmo responsável.
Tanto os operadores móveis como a Sportinveste, enquanto distribuidora e detentora de conteúdos, ganham com esta solução a oportunidade de realização de receitas em novos negócios junto dos utilizadores dos telemóveis de terceira geração»

fonte: «Resumos dos jogos da Liga em Mobile TV», Diário Económico, Carla Castro, 2006-04-10

«(...) a MTV vai introduzir a partir do Verão um serviço para criar comunidades móveis em torno de conteúdos desenvolvidos pelos próprios utilizadores. Sabe-se que o presidente desta rede tem em mente a implementação de um plano que irá permitir aos utilizadores a criação dos seus próprios toques para telemóveis e outro tipo de conteúdos que podem utilizar nos seus aparelhos. Atenta aos desejos e gostos das gerações mais novas, a MTV tornou-se, «in a relatively short time, (...) the world’s largest content provider for mobile phones. It works with 63 providers worldwide and has access to more than a billion cellphones».»

fonte: NetFM

«Insiders at Taiwanese phone maker BenQ say that Apple procurement executives have been talking to various Taiwanese phone makers during the past few months in an effort to cut a manufacturing deal on an iPod Phone. They say that Apple will launch an iPod with phone functions within the next few months.  "An iPod phone is definitely coming. BenQ will not be making it as we are in competition with Apple however several of our suppliers have been approached to manufacture parts. Among manufacturers in Taiwan it is common knowledge. The issue for many is the availabilty of parts if the phone takes off" said the BenQ executive.  (...) Analysts believe that if Apple does come out with a music-playing cell phone, it will likely have the biggest impact on Motorola, the leading cell phone maker in the U.S. "Even a modest showing for an Apple multimedia cellphone could put a dent in Motorola’s profits," Barron’s says. "If Apple were to grab just 1% of the 900 million phones expected to be sold world».

fonte: «iPod Phone Confirmed», SmartHouse, David Richards - Tuesday, 21 March 2006

[obrig E]

O que leva a Walt Disney/ABC a decidir colocar on line muitos dos seus programas (as séries de ficção de maior sucesso) para serem descarregados gratuitamente? Só há uma explicação: a internet e o computador vão mudar o paradigma televisivo e com tanta gente, cada vez mais, na net, nada como começar a ganhar clientes... Os programas passam na televisão e no dia seguinte estão on line com anúncios (sem anúncios só através do iTunes, mas a pagar) e a WD/ABC pretende claramente chegar a outros potenciais telespectadores que estão a aderir aos leitores digitais e à net (e se este modelo/plataforma de negócio vai triunfar, a WD/ABC já lá está - em Portugal só a Sic disponibiliza programas na net e sem imagem!).

«From the Wall Street Journal: "Walt Disney Co. plans to make much of its newest and most popular programming on ABC and other channels available free anytime on the Web, in a move that could speed the transformation of television viewing habits and help revive the struggling TV advertising business. "On April 30, ABC will unveil a revamped Web site that will include a ’theater’ where people with broadband connections can watch free episodes of ’Desperate Housewives,’ ’Lost’ and other hit shows on their computers. Episodes will be available the morning after they air and will be archived»

Não tem memória mas aceita cartões até 1 gb, é fino como um iPod shuffle e custa menos de 10 dolares (e, pelos vistos, tambem não tem rádio...)

«A very curious MP3 player emerged from Japan this past week from a company called Evergreen. Picture the most stripped-down, Spartan portable you can imagine, and you still may have to lower your expectations to arrive at the Evergreen DN-2000. The roughly 2-inch by 2-inch player has a crude matte black faceplate that is sans-display like the iPod shuffle. But unlike the shuffle, the DN-2000 comes with no memory. Instead, users must provide their own SD cards, though the player cannot read more than 1GB of removable storage. So what makes such a feature-deprived player interesting? The price. The Evergreen is now available from Yahoo Japan for 999 yen, which equals roughly .50 in US currency»

fonte: «Sub- Portable MP3 Player Rattles in Japan», Digital Music News, 11/4/06

«Orbitcast has posted photos of the newest portable XM Radio player, the Pioneer Inno. The iPod-sized device receives XM's live signal, records up to 50 hours of music, schedules recordings, and plays WMA's and MP3's. Like earlier XM portables, the Inno has a built-in FM transmitter, allowing you to play your satellite radio over analog radio. Nice. Other specs: color display, 50 channel presets, playlist editing on the device, 5 hours of live XM playback and 15 hours of recorded playback. The price? A mere 9. »

fonte: http://www.droxy.com/2006/04/04/photos-of-pioneer-inno-xm2go-posted/

«A new digital radio receiver in the U.K. will allow listeners to download songs after their hear them. The HD Radio is being tested by Chrysalis and UBC Media, and if it is a success, will fully launch by year's end. The service will incorporate Chrysalis' AC "Heart" radio stations and a new mobile device that also receives TV stations as well as radio. It would likely work as a subscription service, with an extra fee on top for each song. The service uses DAB digital radio technology, according to Reuters, which allows data files and audio to be sent simultaneously. UBC CEO Simon Cole told the BBC, "If you press 'Buy' when you're listening to James Blunt on Heart, the file is immediately added to your library in the phone. The server also pushes a 128-kilobyte version of the song to your home account so it's also on your computer waiting to be put on your iPod. We think people will be willing to pay a premium for that level of service."»

fonte: FMQB, «New U.K. Digital Radio To Also Download Songs», April 6, 2006

«O novo álbum de Morrissey, Ringleader Of The Tormentors, foi eleito, este domingo, como o primeiro número um da nova tabela de vendas de álbuns do Reino Unido, contagem híbrida que agora soma os números do mercado físico tradicional com os downloads de álbuns na íntegra através de lojas digitais. Esta nova tabela, que reflecte mais fielmente o comportamento actual de um dos maiores mercados mundiais de música, surge quase um ano depois de semelhante lógica híbrida ter sido aplicada à lista que traduz, semanalmente, as vendas de singles no Reino Unido.

Há, todavia, diferenças substanciais entre o comportamento dos compradores de música digital e os que ainda aderem ao formato tradicional. Pela Internet vendem-se mais singles e faixas avulso que álbuns na íntegra. Segundo revelou a Official UK Charts Company (OCC) na semana passada, apenas um em cada 50 álbuns editados está à venda para download. Todavia, apesar do menor volume de oferta, as vendas de álbuns por donwload foram já consideradas pelos ingleses como capazes de números significativos e suficientemente robustos para permitirem a sua integração na tabela oficial principal. O director da OCC afirma até que "o número de downloads digitais de álbuns tende a crescer".»

fonte: «Álbuns já têm um 'top' misto», DN, Nuno Galopim, 11/4/06

Station GM Tom Bartunek said he hopes to expand that relationship. MobaHO! has 37audio channels, including overseas FM radio stations and genre-specific music programming; eight video channels, including news, sports and entertainment programming; and a data service channel»

fonte: rwoline, «WQXR to Be Carried on Japanese Satellite Broadcasting», 2006-04-05

Mais aqui; a rádio: http://www.wqxr.com/cgi-bin/iowa

Como os gravadores digitais de video nos EUA (pelo menos o TiVo) eliminam a publicidade, os anunciantes poderão optar pela rádio, uma vez que é mais díficil (impossível?) eliminar os spots.

A teoria é defendida pelo guru Mark Ramsey: «Can DVR's help Radio?»

«Spending on Internet ads will overtake billboards and other outdoor advertising next year, and close the gap on radio in 2008, a new report said. The Internet will account for 6.5 percent of all advertising by the year after next, up from an earlier forecast of 6 percent in December, according to global media firm Zenith Optimedia. Online ad spending accounted for 4.5 percent of the global market last year. "We have revised our Internet forecasts upwards once again, as it has continued to exceed expectations," Zenith said. Radio's market share will fall to 7.9 percent in 2008, from 8.5 percent last year. "The Internet is now firmly established as a mainstream advertising medium in developed markets, and in many developing markets too," Zenith said».

fonte: «ONLINE ADS GRAB SHARE», New York Post, By HOLLY M. SANDERS, April 11, 2006

Desenganem-se os que pensam que a rádio é dos meios mais próximos dos receptores, o que tem mais interactividade.

Um estudo britânico, oficial, mostra que não (via Rádio e Jornalismo):

«Segundo o ofcom a rádio é o meio de comunicação onde o nível de interacção é mais reduzido, pelo menos na realidade britânica.
A notícia vem na newsletter do Obercom que refere que a principal forma de interacção com a rádio é feita através dos sites das estações emissoras. Os programas de antena aberta, que muito contribuíram para a popularização da rádio, parecem estar a perder terreno, pois de acordo com o estudo da ofcom os contactos por telefone para a rádio aparecem em segundo ou em terceiro lugar, dependendo da faixa etária, quando os ouvintes pretendem interagir com a emissora.
Responder a uma questão ou participar num concurso são as principais razões para os ouvintes estabelecerem interacção digital com a rádio.
Os inquiridos neste estudo responderam ainda em relação aos conteúdos emitidos pela rádio. Neste caso as respostas devem representar um sério alerta para quem faz rádio nos dias de hoje:
As queixas registadas incidem essencialmente no tipo de linguagem utilizada (quer pelo locutor, quer nas letras dos temas), e na fraca qualidade dos conteúdos (intervalos publicitários muito longos, conteúdos liderados pela ditadura das audiências...)»

O estudo: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/older/older.pdf

Este artigo tenta responder a uma pergunta que faz todo o sentido: as audiências de HStern, quando trabalhava herztianamente, eram superiores a 10 milhões de ouvintes. Agora na Sirius não terá mais do que dois milhões...

«Can millions of listeners just disappear?

That's a question plaguing Howard Stern and one with vital implications for radio itself in the wake of the shock jock's heralded and hyped switch from free to satellite broadcasting.

The self-proclaimed King of All Media once commanded a national audience of 12 million daily listeners before jumping to satellite in January. But since then, his kingdom has shrunk to a small fraction of that size. Meanwhile, the shock jock's main replacements thus far have failed to hold very much of the former flock. According to industry analysts, the new Stern math scans something like this: At best, he took between 1 million and 2 million listeners with him, and his replacements, spread across many of the country's major radio markets, are drawing numbers in a similar range. That leaves 8 million to 10 million nomadic listeners nationwide wandering the terrestrial radio dial in search of a new voice or sound to lead them out of the morning drive-time wilderness. Call them the Howard Stern diaspora, those legions unwilling to fork over satellite subscription fees and unimpressed by pretenders to the throne. (...)

With limited ratings data so far, it's hard to tell where the Stern herd is roaming and where big portions of it might ultimately settle, say analysts. But Arbitron ratings clearly demonstrate they aren't stampeding toward Stern's big-name replacements, former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth on the East Coast and comedian Adam Carolla on the West Coast. Although any head-to-head comparisons between the newcomers and the veteran Stern are unfair, say analysts, the pair's ratings are nevertheless widely regarded as disappointing and, in one case, possibly job threatening.

(...) In a recent interview, Stern attacked his ex-listeners who are still clinging to terrestrial radio and have refused to cheer him on on the other side. "You haven't come with me yet? How dare you?" Stern told Entertainment Weekly. "We're up to wild, crazy stuff; the show has never sounded better."

fonte: Trying to corral Stern's lost herd, Los Angeles Times, http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-stern11apr11,0,4823944.storyBy Martin Miller, Times Staff Writer, April 11, 2006

Resultados de um estudo sobre o desenvolvimento da rádio digital em França, nomeadamente em termos de plataformas de distribuição (Obercom):

«Por um lado, diversos operadores apoiam a distribuição da rádio digital através das redes terrestres existentes (FM, AM). Afirmam que tal solução permite uma digitalização rápida do sector, assim como uma iniciação do mercado. Além disso, este tipo de plataforma não implica mudanças em termos de hábitos de consumo nos indivíduos. No entanto, os opositores desta sugestão enfatizam o facto dela não permitir o enriquecimento da oferta, tanto em termos de diversidade, como em termos de uma possível combinação com dados associados de vídeo e texto.

Assim, a distribuição de rádio digital através das redes terrestres existentes afirma-se mais como uma primeira etapa da digitalização, do que propriamente como um modelo a ser seguido.

Por outro lado, algumas entidades defendem a distribuição da rádio digital através do sistema DAB, numa rede dedicada. No entanto, também esta proposta apresenta inconvenientes, a saber: a norma de compressão Eurêka 147 estará brevemente ultrapassada; a não atribuição da banda III para o desenvolvimento da rádio digital DAB constitui uma séria desvantagem; e a difusão em DAB através da banda L não permite a cobertura de zonas rurais isoladas.

Também é sugerida a distribuição da rádio digital numa rede mista terrestre/satélite. Este modelo, relativamente bem aceite pelos intervenientes do sector, apresenta contudo limites. Por um lado, os elevados custos associados não permitem a adesão das rádios locais e regionais, o que implica um retrocesso em termos de diversidade dos conteúdos. Por outro lado, é argumentado que este modelo económico será inadaptado ao sector da rádio na Europa de Oeste, muito habituada à gratuitidade do acesso. Por fim, o desenvolvimento de uma rede mista deste tipo conduz a um monopólio em termos de distribuidores de serviço.

A distribuição da rádio digital em redes digitais não dedicadas exclusivamente à rádio é um outro modelo defendido, sendo o que conta com um maior número de apoiantes. Entre as vantagens desta opção conta-se o facto de permitir um real aumento da diversidade da oferta, assim como permite a entrada de novos actores no mercado. Além disso, não implica a compra de dispositivos específicos, podendo ser recebida através da televisão digital terrestre, e permite alcançar todas as zonas geográficas. Não obstante estas vantagens, fica a dúvida se este modelo conseguirá subsistir sem alternativas complementares»

“The proliferation of digital broadcast platforms such as Internet radio, satellite radio, HD and podcasting is a testament to the popularity of radio programming,” the research company stated in announcing the release of “The Infinite Dial: Radio’s Digital Platforms.”

Edison Media’s Larry Rosin said, “Our research shows that regardless of the platform consumers see all these options as merely being new forms of ‘radio.’”

The phone survey involved approximately 1,900 people»

fonte: «Study Sees New Media as ‘Expansion of Radio Market’´, RWonline, 13/4/06

O estudo: http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/digital_radio_study.pdf

Outras conclusões:

• Seventy-seven percent of Americans say they expect to listen to AM/FM radio as much as they do now despite increasing advancements in technology.
• Online radio reaches nearly one in five (19 percent) persons per week age 18-34 and 15 percent of persons 25-54.
• Twenty-seven percent of satellite radio subscribers live in households with an annual income of more than 0,000, nearly double the percentage of all households (14 percent).
• Podcasting attracts a youthful audience: one out of five who have ever listened to an audio podcast are 12-17 years old, and more than half (53 percent) are under the age of 35.
• More than one-third of Americans say they are “very” or “somewhat” interested in HD Radio.

finalmente proibida de emitir, e contada neste artigo:

Um excerto:

«The legal battle began when the FCC forced the station off the air in June 2003 after receiving complaints its broadcasts interfered with a Massachusetts-based public radio station.

Members of the station turned to the community and received resolutions of support from town meeting and the Brattleboro Select Board before resuming broadcasts. They argued in court documents that the FCC benefited large corporations at the expense of community radio»

The broadcaster is airing a compilation of automotive news and entertainment programming including the latest from the Manhattan Auto Show now through April 16.

"Auto Scoop New York" airs on the HD2 channel for WCBS(FM) and will also be streamed live at www.cbsradio.com on those days. New car designs and debuts and concept cars will be covered; the show will include interviews and commentary from automobile manufactures and local dealerships.

Auto Scoop normally airs on various CBS Radio stations Saturday mornings and focuses on the car buying and leasing process»

fonte: «CBS Will Use Multicast for a Special Car Event», RWonline, 12/4/06

Mais deste estudo: online radio reaches nearly one in five (19 percent) persons per week age 18-34 and 15 percent of persons 25-54

«number of weekly Internet radio listeners nationwide has jumped 50% over last year.

In previous studies’ measurements from January 2003, 2004, and 2005, cume Internet radio listening remained nearly steady at about 8%. This new study, titled "The Infinite Dial: Radio’s Digital Platforms," shows that as of January 2006 that figure boomed 50%.

In other words, 12% of the U.S. population now regularly listens to Internet radio»

fonte: RAIN, «Net radio reaches surges 50% over last year», 13/4/06

Reproduzo este texto na íntegra, porque o assunto assim o justifica: quando o carro deixar de ser um domínio de quase exclusividade da rádio,  ficará o quê?

«Automakers are continuing to stuff their dashboards with next-generation digital music amenities, and the iPod is just one part of the mix. At the New York International Auto Show, several advanced music services have been unveiled, offering the consumer a broad range of options. BMW, which has led the charge on iPod integration, just stepped up its support of the device with enhanced display, docking, and steering wheel controls. But the luxury carmaker is also offering Sirius Satellite Radio and digital radio amenities, among other features. Meanwhile, Subaru has also raised its game, delivering an in-dash connector for the iPod - and various other digital music players - within its 2007 WRX STI Limited, part of a 120-watt, 6 speaker system. And Infiniti is reportedly readying an integrated hard drive into its console, though details remain light. Most other manufacturers are also making musical moves, and the future automobile will include multiple radio and portable player options. Satellite radio, digital (HD) radio, portable MP3 player support, and mainstays like terrestrial radio and multi-CD changers will all be part of the mix. The result will be a Darwinian battle among a number of providers, and natural selection could favor multiple survivors. For satellite radio, that landscape lessens the in-dash advantage, though multi-month subscription freebies will offer a nice toehold. But digital radio will also have an increasingly strong impact, especially among those less interested in genre-targeted selections, extras like Howard Stern and monthly subscriptions. So where does that leave the iPod? Despite an increasingly crowded console, the iPod will probably remain a looming presence, and a growing answer for music ubiquity among consumers.»

fonte: «Automakers Broaden Music Dashboards, Push Beyond iPods» Digital music News, 17/4/06

O maior grupo de rádios nos EUA está à frente:

«Clear Channel Radio is preparing to deliver a slate of album exclusives on Monday, part of its stepped-up online commitment. Across 900 participating station websites, the company will offer online previews of albums from Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, and Godsmack, as well as an in-studio performance from Carrie Underwood. Those exclusives are expected to create a bang for the radio conglomerate, and follow a strong increase in online traffic over the past few months. Meanwhile, the company is expected to announce a broadened video-on-demand (VOD) initiative, which has quickly moved from 16 radio station websites to 700 over the past quarter alone. (...) each local Clear Channel station selects content that speaks best to its audience. For example, the Godsmack exclusive will be picked up by 80 rock-focused stations, while Bruce Springsteen will be carried by 380 stations across various genres, with some emphasis on older listeners».

Fonte: Digital Music News, «Clear Channel Radio Prepares Album Preview Exclusives», 14/4/06

da página da Apple: 

«Take your music on the road with seamless integration between your car and your iPod. A host of top automakers offer elegant solutions for both new cars and prior-year models. Or choose iPod integration options from leading car stereo accessory manufacturers and outfit any car to play well with iPod.

Acura MDX, RL, TL	Audi A3, A4, Allroad	BMW Z4, X3, X5
Chrysler Pacifica, Sebring, Town & Country	Dodge Caravan, Grand Caravan, Neon, Ram, Stratus Sedan	Ferrari Coming Soon
Honda Accord, Civic, CR-V, Element, Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline, S2000	Infiniti Coming Soon	Jeep Liberty, Wrangler
Mercedes-Benz C-Class, CLK, CLS, E-Class, SLK, M-Class, R-Class	Mini Cooper, Cooper S	Nissan Frontier, Pathfinder, Armada
Scion xA, xB, tC	Suzuki Aerio SX, Grand Vitara	Volkswagen Beetle, Jetta, Golf, GTI, Passat, Touareg
	Volvo S40, S60, S80, V50, V70, XC70, XC90

Edgard Costa chamou-me a atenção para uma iniciativa da Mercedes que criou uma página na net onde convida grupos musicais a juntarem-se para livre difusão (tambem como podcasting) das suas obras. A Mercedes, sim.

A coisa é série e já têm ligação própria para a loja do iTunes, onde, além de downloads, vendem também poemas em cds editados pela própria Mercedes.

Devo dizer que esta aposta da Mercedes me deixou confuso - trata-se de uma atitude de marketing (promocional)? ou algo mais, como uma nova área de negócio? O Edgard acha que «a música de distribuição livre está a ganhar uma força sem precedentes. O que esta iniciativa da Mercedes mostra é que pelo menos uma grande marca já descobriu que pode "dar música" aos seus clientes sem ter que pagar por isto».

Ainda o Edgard: «Será que planeiam ter um canal exclusivo de música (ou multimédia de entretenimento), distribuído online somente para os carros deles? Será a música exclusiva um diferencial de marketing capaz de justificar a compra desta marca e não de outra? Será só mais um serviço exclusivo da marca? Não sei bem o que me parece, mas que é significativo é. Primeiro pela marca que se trata e depois pelo assunto, música».
Obrigado Edgard.

O Público de hoje conta a história de um artista chamado  Danger Mouse (Brian Burton), o primeiro a atingir o top de vendas inglês apenas com descarregamentos na internet.

Três excertos:

«Se existe uma personalidade que simbolize as transformações da indústria da música esse alguém é o americano Danger Mouse. No início de 2004 resolveu criar um disco que resultaria da junção entre os elementos vocais do The Black Album do rapper americano Jay-Z e partes instrumentais do The White Album dos Beatles. Chamou-lhe The Grey Album, mas quando se preparava para o editar a EMI ameaçou-o com um processo, não só porque estava em causa a obra dos Beatles, mas também porque o braço-de-ferro entre a indústria e todos os que adoptavam formas de criação e difusão diferentes das que pratica estava no auge»;

«Se Brian Burton apenas queria que a música chegasse ao público consegui-o. Milhões fizeram-no, transformando The Grey Album no primeiro longa-duração a ser objecto de um movimento de massas na Internet. O sucesso assustou-o - "houve uma altura em que pensei que a minha carreira terminara", dizia nessa altura -, mas afinal o efeito foi outro. O cantor dos Blur e mentor do projecto Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, convidou-o para se juntar a este projecto. São dele as bases instrumentais do último álbum dos Gorillaz, o muito bem sucedido Demon Days»

«Lançado pela multinacional Warner, o single Crazy tornou-se no primeiro disco da história a chegar ao primeiro lugar do top inglês, antes de chegar às lojas no formato físico, apenas pelo número de vendas digitais - cerca de 31 mil descarregamentos numa semana. De acordo com os dados revelados ontem pela indústria britânica, Crazy continua a liderar o top pela segunda semana consecutiva.
Mais uma vez, a curta história de Danger Mouse confunde-se com as transformações profundas que estão a ocorrer na indústria da música. Em declarações à imprensa, proferidas no final da semana passada, disse-se "surpreso" com o sucesso do single Crazy, um pedaço de soul psicadélica retro, mas não com o facto de terem alcançado o primeiro lugar apenas através de descarregamentos: "Quando me vi envolvido no episódio do Grey Album percebi que ninguém pode parar o futuro", disse simplesmente. O álbum St. Elsewhere dos Gnarls Barkley é colocado à venda nas lojas a 9 de Maio».

fonte:  Vítor Balenciano, Público, «Danger Mousa faz história na era digital», 17/4/06
 

«Porque há sempre mais qualquer coisa sobre uma notícia", o Washington Post está agora na rádio na zona metropolitana da capital americana. Não é só por causa disso, claro. Como a maioria dos seus concorrentes, as tiragens do Post estão a diminuir e há que encontrar novas formas de manter o contacto com o público.

Não é a primeira experiência do Post na rádio. Na verdade, a WTOP foi pela primeira vez do Washington Post quando o jornal comprou parte dela à CBS em 1949, cinco anos mais tarde era o único proprietário, até a vender em 1978. A WTOP foi mais tarde comprada pela Bonneville International Corp, de Seattle, que hoje a explora em joint-venture com o Post.

Utilizando os jornalistas e repórteres do Washington Post, a WTOP mantém a ligação dos leitores com o jornal dando não só continuidade às notícias do dia como alertando para as que estão em desenvolvimento. E, claro está, potencializa a publicidade. Como diz o editor do Post, Boisfeuillet Jones Jr., "é uma oportunidade maravilhosa para o Washington Post encorajar a audiência da rádio a ler mais o jornal". Sinal da boa recepção do projecto foi a cotação das acções do Post na NYSE ter subido no primeiro dia de cinco para 7,70 dólares.

Esta é uma fórmula já adoptada por outros jornais. O New York Times tem a WQXR, com música clássica e flashes noticiosos, o Chicago Tribune a WGN, que são complementadas com a rádio na Internet.

Enquanto estão a perder leitores nas edições impressas, os jornais estão a ter um aumento de leitores na edição online (só o USA Today deve ter mais leitores para a edição em papel que na edição online). Logo, é na Internet que estão a ser feitos os maiores esforços.

Além dos blogues e podcasts, o site do New York Times oferece também clips de notícias em vídeo, concorrendo directamente com os das estações de televisão (...)»

fonte: «Jornais americanos cativam leitores na rádio» por Manuel Ricardo Ferreira, 15/4/06

Realizou-se em Lisboa, na semana passada, um encontro de rádios universitárias e alternativas europeias, chamado RadiaLx2006, organizado pela Rádio Zero, emissora do IST que transmite na net.

Da reportagem do DN («À procura de espaço para uma nova rádio universitária») retiro duas notas: a vontade da RZ em ter uma frequência no FM, ao abrigo da possibilidade prevista na lei de criação de rádios universitárias (sem publicidade) que só a Universidade do Algarve aproveitou até agora; a afirmação de que a internet não é o caminho, «nunca terá o alcance do FM» diz o director da RZ, Ricardo Reis.

Uma afirmação como esta, vinda de um universitário, desiludiu-me pela falta de visão: não contesto a vontade em ter uma frequência hertziana, mas a internet tem capacidades para ser muito mais. E o podcast, para as rádios, não será apenas um gravador de video que se usa quando não se consegue ver um programa a horas (parafraseando o mesmo responsável). Serão muito mais do que isso.

PS - fui convidado para participar nesse encontro, mas um problema de comunicação provocou um desencontro de datas.

lembram-se da rádio via satélite nos EUA ser «commercial free»? Belos tempos...

«As XM and Sirius continue to evolve, it looks as if commercials will become more and more prevalent on the satcasters’ stations. Already, XM has altered its slogan of "100% commercial-free music" to having the "most commercial-free music channels." Last month it was revealed that ads would be placed on Clear Channel-controlled XM stations as part of the companies’ agreements. XM SVP of Sales and Marketing D. Scott Karnedy tells Business Week, "Advertisers were concerned about mass. When we broke through six million subscribers, we saw that as a tipping point [with advertisers]." In 2005, XM tripled the amount of ad agencies it was involved with as ad revenues have skyrocketed in the past two years, reaching million last year. Karnedy says that XM "can’t keep up with the demand." The company expects to up its amount of ads on its talk channels in the near future. As for Sirius, ad sales grew to .1 million last year. The satcaster is also considering increasing the spotload on Howard Stern’s show from six minutes per hour up to nine, reports Business Week. Stanford Financial Group analyst Fred Moran tells Business Week that he predicts both satcasters will bring in 10 percent of their sales revenue via advertising by 2011. Sirius predicts they will reach that amount in the next few years, though advertising only makes up under one percent of their current sales.»

fonte: «Satcaster Advertising On The Rise», FMQB, 17/4/06; o artigo da Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2006/tc20060413_150389.htm?campaign_id=search

Até por isto...

«The 0 million financial restructuring offers another reminder of just how capital-intensive the satellite radio sector remains. But beyond capital outlays for infrastructure, overhead, and satellites, a great deal of money is being used for attention-grabbing content. Both XM and Sirius have been criticized for spending excessively to secure big personalities and sports packages, and XM board member Pierce Roberts even resigned over a lack of cost controls» («XM Initiates 0 Million Debt Restructuring Plan» Digital Music News)

Reproduzo quase na íntegra um artigo que clarifica algumas coisas: 

«When National Public Radio (NPR) started offering a free podcast of its popular quiz show "Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!" it did so with lttle fanfare. That didn’t stop hundreds - and perhaps thousands - of people from downloading the satirical look at the week’s news on a Sunday afternoon back in February. By Monday morning, the show had joined Apple Computer’s list of the day’s five most popular podcasts.

Um LAD à venda em Portugal por €79,90 (e 512 MB; e rádio!)

A questão é importante porque a banalização dos LAD só se fará pela queda dos preços. E quanto mais LAD mais conteúdos serão necessários (e mais o podcasting terá viabilidade)

(iPobre? Obrigado E)

«During a Tuesday morning conference call with Wall Street analysts, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan addressed the question, “Is radio a lost cause? Standing up for the radio business, Smulyan replied, “It's not a lost cause, because we reach almost every American. If you look at leading forms of media, they are incredibly fragmented, and narrow. We reach almost every American, almost every day, where they live. We're relevant to them. They use us as companions. They use us as a source of entertainment. They rely on us for information, especially in critical times. For some reason, this is a business which has the perception that it's over. It's not over. It's a business that's been able to produce 45 cents on the dollar and still does. It's not over, but it's struggling."

He continued, "What I've seen over the thirty some years I've been in this business is that every industry has its ups and downs, but the basic relevance of this industry has not diminished. It is a fragmented world. It is a world where people have lots more choices. But we can't find another business which reaches people where they live, and which has such universal distribution, and which we think has the ability to be leveraged into some new areas."(...)»

fonte: «Smulyan On Radio: “It's Not Over”», Radio Ink, 19/4/06 

«Um estudo recente da firma americana de pesquisa de mercado PQMedia apurou que o investimento publicitário em blogues, podcasts e RSS duplicou em 2005 - cifrando-se mesmo assim nuns relativamente reduzidos 16 milhões de euros; mas a firma estima que, até 2010, o investimento publicitário nesses meios chegue aos 620 milhões de euros anuais. Outra firma de pesquisa de mercado, a Zenith Media, estima que em 2005 a quota da Internet no mercado publicitário mundial era de 4,5 por cento; e que em 2008 essa quota chegará aos 6,5 por cento. Ainda segundo a Zenith media, a publicidade na internet irá ultrapassar em volume a publicidade em outdoors; em 2008 irá alcançar a publicidade na rádio».

fonte: «E de onde vem o dinheiro» Publico, 15/4/06, pag 5 

"«Acho que ninguém sabe para onde a rádio está a ir. Aquilo que se sabe é que, de acordo com o se viu nos últimos 30 a 40 anos, a rádio já não é só o FM. Pode haver outros suportes», defende António Mendes , director de programas da RFM. Reconhece que a relação da internet com a estação jovem adulta da Renascença é de complementaridade e que sobre o «podcast» «fala-se mais do que se adere»: «o ouvinte da RFM não tem muita paciência para isso. Não sei como é que se será daqui a um ano ou dois»" (Público, 15/4/06, «A rádio está a mudar. E vai ter de mudar»)

Um comentário meu: ou António Mendes perguntou aos ouvintes da RFM (sondagem?) ou como é que chega a essa conclusão se a RFM não tem podcasts? Ou será que o problema é que não há na programação da RFM programas/rubricas que se adaptem ao podcast? (Não faz sentido estar a reproduzir música, como é evidente)

«Apple posted another strong financial result for the quarter ending April 1st, with revenue topping .36 billion. That represents a 34 percent jump over the year-ago period, and the second-highest quarterly result for the company. The three-month period - which technically corresponds to the second fiscal quarter of 2006 for Apple - also saw robust iPod sales and strong overall profits. Specifically, Apple shifted 8,526,000 iPods in the period, a 61 percent surge over the year-ago quarter. And earnings surpassed 0 million, or $.47 per diluted share, a 41 percent rise»

fonte: «Apple Posts Strong Quarterly Earnings, 8.5 Million iPods Sold», Digital Music News, 20/4/06

«the largest local Web site in most markets, typically run by a local newspaper, will generate more in ad sales this year than the largest-grossing radio station in that market»

«Borrell estimated that 1,700 to 2,000 radio stations of a total 6,700 stations are selling advertising on their Web sites. Radio stations grew ad sales by 70% from their Web sites in 2005 to million, up from million. That’s still only a small portion, about 1% of total local online advertising. Average revenue from a site was ,024»

fonte: «Borrell: Web Is The Place To Be», Billboard Radio Monitor, April 19, 2006, Katy Bachman

O receptor portátil da Sirius que grava a emissão e faz ficheiros em mp3 tem sido contestado pela industria discografica. A Sirius resolveu o problema, negociando com as «majors»:

«Sirius Satellite Radio’s fight with the major labels over its S50 portable receiver is over. EMI today became the fourth and final major to ink a deal with Sirius that allows for sales of controversial device. Details of the agreement were not disclosed but it is believed to mirror similar pacts Sirius struck with Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group in mid-March. According to sources close to the agreements, Sirius will pay the labels an undisclosed fee for each S50 sold and will cap the number of devices it sells.
Sirius has not disclosed sales figures for the S50. Analysts expect no more than 1 million will be sold»

fonte: «Portable Player Dispute Ends Between Sirius, Major Labels», April 14, 2006, By Brian Garrity, Billboard

Por um lado, o fenómeno iPod é demasiado importante para ser ignorado, por outro porque não potenciar as suas capacidades para associar a rádio? É o que faz a empresa norte-americana Griffin com este programa iFill: uma vez descarregado (custa 20 dolares mas há uma semana de experiência à borla), permite receber e gravar directamente no iPod as rádios com transmissão na internet.

É uma ideia bem interessante: escolhe-se a rádio que passa a música que nos interesse, põe-se o ipod a gravar e de manhã é só ouvir! (pelo que percebi não utiliza o iTunes, mas se estiver errado corrijam-me por favor)

«the personal computer remains the dominant platform to access the Internet globally. However, Internet access via the mobile phone actually outpaces wireless access from a notebook PC in many of areas of the world – a statistic driven largely by the massive install base of mobile phones throughout the world as well as more developed wireless networks, according to The Face of the Web, the annual study of Internet trends by global market research firm Ipsos Insight. »

fonte: «Mobile Phones Could Soon Rival the PC As World’s Dominant Internet Platform», Ipsos News Center, 18/4/06

«A rádio, fruto da sua polivalência (tanto pode ser consumida no interior como no exterior) apresenta grandes vantagens competitivas ao nível da cobertura de audiências. Todavia, a valorização da rádio enquanto veículo publicitário está, em larga medida, confinada ao período que os potenciais ouvintes passam no interior dos seus automóveis. Analogamente à imprensa, também a rádio se encontra ameaçada pela propagação da tecnologia digital que disponibilizam produtos/serviços semelhantes aos da rádio»

fonte: «Evolução do investimento publicitário mundial por suporte de comunicação» Obercom, (E.P) 19-04-2006

«A pesar de las aciagas predicciones de la segunda mitad de los años noventa, la radio está de regreso y, en muchas maneras, mas fuerte que nunca. Las ganancias están aumentando y la audiencia es constante. A medida que avanza un nuevo siglo vemos también como las fortalezas tradicionales de la radio siguen realzando el atractivo del medio. Ahora también es posible acceder, por medio de un teléfono celular, a estaciones de radio por Internet. Lo que hace de la radio parte esencial de esta época es su capacidad para llegar hasta nosotros mientras hacemos otra cosa. Podemos escucharla en el trabajo, en el automóvil o mientras hacemos ejercicio»

(Hausman, Benoit e O'Donnell, 2001: 351) 

That’s something you’ll never get from an iPod on shuffle. You can get it from radio, but most music stations don’t bother to provide it anymore. Radio is a medium with unique strengths -why not use them instead of burying them?»

fonte: «Do what an iPod can’t do», RBR, By Jesse Walker (from March’s RBR/TVBR Solutions Magazine), Abril 06, http://www.rbr.com/epaper/pages/april06/06-76_media1.html

Da California (de um lugar que se chama Freedom...) para todo o mundo, está de regresso uma das mais míticas rádios dos EUA, a KPIG. Foi das primeiras a emitir na net (em 1995), interrompeu e está outra vez on line. Em http://www.kpig.com/. Até é possível ver a sua playlist.

Mas, apesar da playlist (que lhe retira o âmbito «free form» ou rádio de autor) o que distingue a KeyPIG é o facto de se manter irreverante. Eles próprios se consideram um anacronismo: «We're an anachronism - a throwback to the days when real DJs picked out the music, and listeners expected something more from a radio station than just a couple of hundred songs repeated over and over, with some "big voice" guy yelling about how great it all is. We're also - to the amazement of all of the radio "professionals" who make the rules we thumb our noses at - very successful, though we try not to let it go to our heads»

Depois da saída de HStern para a Siriuas, a CBS/Infinity ainda não recuperou: primeiro criou um novo formato, chamado «free FM» e a seguir contratou alguns nomes de peso, entre eles David Lee Roth (Van Halen...). Agora Lee Roth abandonou e a CBS foi em busca de novos nomes para animar as manhãs das suas afiliadas «free fm» - acaba de contratar um dupla humorística e polémica conhecida como Opie & Anthony (actualmente a trabalhar já na XM).

Veja-se esta informação da Radio Ink: «John Mainelli in the New York Post reports that O&A will do a three-hour, FCC-friendly simulcast on CBS and XM (6-9 AM) and then two uncensored hours just for XM». O que é que isto siginfica? que as tres horas hertzianas são controladas ao nível da linguagem; as duas horas só na XM são «à abrir...» porque o regulador FCC não controla as emissões via satélite (daí a passagem de Stern...)

A partir do momento em que há centenas de rádio a emitir por HD, abrem-se perspectivas de novos negócios para os novos canais de multicasting. E a Clear Channel, como gigante, não perde tempo: acaba de criar uma nova empresa/solução, a que chama Format Lab para vender formatos alternativos... à concorrência que quer ter um segundo ou terceiro canal. «a new service that will make 75 new channels available to rival radio broadcasters for use in digital radio multicasts, station web sites and other outlets.

Format Lab channels include a variety of genres, such as traditional jazz, bluegrass and classical music. Within the rock category, Clear Channel offers such channels as Dank, a combination of hip-hop and rock; Vinyl Vineyard, intended as a throwback to Album Oriented Rock; and The Gig, featuring nothing but cuts from live albums.

Among other formats included at Format Lab are variations on urban, Christian, Spanish, comedy, country, and gay-themed programming.

"As other companies begin to use the HD side channels, they’re going to need programming help of the sort we can provide with Format Lab," said John Hogan, president and chief executive of Clear Channel Radio, in an interview. "So they will be very interested in what we can provide them."

fonte: Radio Ink, Clear Channel Experiments In The “Format Lab”, 24/04/06

Nem por acaso: «The member stations of the HD Digital Radio Alliance are rolling out HD2 channels in an additional 22 markets, bringing the total number of markets in which stations are multicasting their digital signal to 50 markets. This is the second wave of multicast formats to be announced; the first 25 markets were unveiled earlier this year. HD2 multicasts will now be available in 50 markets (including 42 of the top 50) -- more than six months ahead of schedule, says the alliance. The number of new radio stations created under the initiative now tops 450»

(directamente da terra dos estudos, mais um...; feito com mil entrevistas no universo da população dos EUA)

«Survey: Radio is Important to Americans
Charleston, SC - Apr 19, 2006 - Americans rate the importance and relevance of local commercial radio very highly, despite the entry of high-technology competition, a national survey commissioned by American Media Services shows. The survey found that 78 percent said radio is important in their everyday lives, and 91 percent said radio is important in American life in general. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) said they listen to radio at least once a day. The telephone survey of 1,004 American adults was conducted April 13 to 15, 2006, by Omnitel. The survey is considered accurate within plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The new findings complement those in AMS’ initial survey in January: 64 percent said they were listening to radio as much as, or more than, they were five years ago. In the AMS survey, 57 percent of men and 49 percent of women said they listen to radio at least daily. The availability of music, news and reports on weather and traffic continues to be the most often cited reasons for listening to the radio, with 98 percent of respondents saying they listen to radio for one of those features.

Additional statistics:

fonte: http://beradio.com/currents/radio_currents_041706/index.html#ams

... diz o presidente da NAB, National Association of Broadcasters: «To our competitors I say, ‘We will beat you,” he said during the Monday morning address delivered from the Las Vegas Hilton. “Radio’s history is one of meeting new competition head on and coming out on top. That hasn’t changed. All we seek is a level playing field.”

(fia-te na virgem, neste caso na história... e não corras - comentário meu!) 

fonte: «David Rehr Warns Radio’s Competitors: ‘We Will Beat You’», Radio Ink, 26/4/06

«Meet the press», um mítico programa da televisão NBC, está a ser promovido de múltiplas maneiras - para além da difusão hertziana.

Uma vista de olhos pela página do programa (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/) mostra que os seus responsáveis já passaram a fase dos medos (isto vai retirar audiência ao programa?). Ou seja, que, no final, haverá mais gente a ver o Meet the Press. É só uma questão de rentabilizar (comercialmente ou não) isso mesmo!

(obrigado E.)

É o Nokia N91 e já está à venda. Para quem tiver quase 700 euros...

Com os seus 4 GB, pode, diz a própria marca, levar «até 3.000 das suas músicas favoritas».

Como comentava comigo o Edgard, «iPod Nano vira coisa de criança». Por falar em iPod Nano: se a versão maior tem 4GB e suporta até mil músicas, como é que o N91 pode ter até 3 mil e a mesma capacidade? É um problema do formato de compressão do iPod (o AAC)?

«The battle between radio formats is about more than just music, especially when it comes to commuters. Americans spend an inordinate amount of time in their vehicles, often in headache-producing traffic jams. That has created a push for next-generation traffic navigation technologies, including new rollouts from both satellite and terrestrial companies. Most recently, terrestrial giant Clear Channel Radio announced a slate of new distribution deals involving its Total Traffic Network, which uses a team of reporters, traffic cameras, helicopters and airplanes to deliver real-time updates. That system will now be used by Citadel Broadcasting and Fox Interactive Media, according to an announcement made early this morning (...) Elsewhere, offerings like XM Instant Traffic & Weather from XM Satellite Radio offer real-time traffic information in 21 metropolitan areas, part of a plan to supplant the local advantage that terrestrial radio offers.»

fonte: «Clear Channel Radio Broadens Traffic Technology», Digital Music news, 26/4/06

É irreversível. A BBC já está a dar os primeiros passos:

«The BBC is preparing to revamp its internet and broadcast strategy with user-generated content and greater interactivity. MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr will offer inspiration for the stepped-up venture, and the BBC will also deliver its television and radio content on-demand across multiple platforms. For a website overhaul, the BBC is expected to hold a design contest, which fits into the new approach well. User-generated radio stations and unsigned band content are also expected to be part of the mix. The "web 2.0" strategy is designed to court a younger generation of media viewers, and develop a deeper audience bond. A key component of the revamped strategy will be the BBC iPlayer, which will offer on-demand playback of previously-aired television and radio shows. The player will enable PC-based viewing initially, though playback across a wider range of devices and platforms is also expected. The initiative comes ahead of renewed government funding, and the program is being tailored to the lives of modern-day media consumers. Meanwhile, the BBC has already engaged in a number of new technologies and concepts, adding momentum to the initiative. Last summer, the company delivered free Beethoven downloads from a BBC Philharmonic performance, an experiment that was followed-up with another classical offering involving Bach. Elsewhere, the company is flirting with a digital music store, and the BBC recently positioned its video news archives for free download and consumption.»

fonte: «BBC Moves Towards User-Generated Content», Digital Music News, 26/4/06

Curiosa esta afirmação: «After a yearlong review of its strategy, the British Broadcasting Corp., the world's biggest and best-known public broadcaster, said it plans to put more resources into its already-large Internet presence and no longer regards itself primarily as a producer of television and radio»

«that of all of the new media tested – satellite radio, Internet streaming, text messaging, video games – the sharpest growth belongs to iPods and similar MP3 players. The iPod (and similar portable devices) has become a pop culture phenomenon, rapidly becoming a dynamic force in the way that music (and other content) is being purchased and consumed. From the 2005 to 2006 studies, iPod/MP3 ownership has risen sharply, from 21%-35% - which translates to 67% growth year-to-year. No other media activity has shown anywhere near that type of dramatic increase in our study».

fonte: «iPOD OWNERSHIP IS EXPLODING AND PODCASTING IS EMERGING AS A VIABLE CONTENT MEDIUM», JacobsMedia, April 24, 2006

Pela primeira vez uma rádio nos EUA está emitir em 5.1 Surround, o «formato» sonoro equivalente/idêntico ao Superaudio CD - ou seja, permitindo (com um descodificador) a recepção em cinco colunas.

Jorge Guimarães Silva esclarece, a meu pedido: «Equivale à passagem do Mono para o Estéreo, mas a primeira transmissão em surround 5.1 foi feita pela União Europeia de Radiodifusão (EBU), em 12 de Outubro de 2003, aproveitando o "Dia da Rádio". escrevi um texto sobre isso em 12/10/2003: http://telefonia.weblogger.terra.com.br/200310_telefonia_arquivo.htm»

«Telos Systems and CBS Radio said WZLX(FM), Boston would become the first station in the nation to broadcast all of their format in 5.1 surround sound using the MPEG system on its HD Radio signal. The change is expected to occur within the next 90 to 120 days. The companies hope the move will attract the attention of Boston-based receiver makers such as Boston Acoustics and Bose, as well as other stations, to get them excited about MPEG Surround sound capability, said Steve Church, chief executive officer of Telos Systems and Frank Foti, president of Omnia. "This is going to create a significant boost to radio's aural impact and will be an important motivation for consumers to buy HD Radios," said Church. The station will hold off on promoting the 5.1 surround until there are compatible MPEG Surround receivers in the market, said Church and Foti, who added MPEG has developed a reference design for receiver makers. Other stations are interested in adapting their studios and music formats to surround sound, said Foti, who added the classic rock and classical formats currently have the most music recorded in 5.1 surround. Telos/Omnia is helping WZLX convert its record library to surround and Fraunhofer is providing the MPEG Surround encoder. WZLX is a Classic Rock-formatted station».

fonte: WZLX to Go 5.1 Surround, RWonline, By Leslie Stimson

O DN (não oestá on line) revela hoje ops numeros do investimento publicitário no primeiro trimestre de 2006, relativamente a identico trimestre do ano passado.

TV sobe 25,3%, imprensa mais 6,4 %, outdoor cresce 22,1%; em queda (esperada) o cinema (menos 16,8) e a rádio, com uma perda de 5,3 por cento. É preocupante, sem dúvida!

O El País acaba de lançar um novo jornal, chamado 24 Horas, um jornal «fruto de um processo totalmente automático, sem intervenção humana". A máquina está programada para, mal recebe a ordem para descarregar a edição, colocar nas páginas iniciais do 24 Horas as "notícias mais recentes do ponto de vista informativo", seguidas pelas "mais consultadas pelos leitores em elpais.es". A última das 14 páginas exibe informação bolsista, o tempo e o cartoon diário exclusivo de Ramón Rodriguez».

Os responsáveis explicam que «O target deste novo projecto do grupo Prisa é "o público da imprensa tradicional que não gosta de ler no ecrã mas quer saber as últimas notícias e tem pouco tempo, exige agilidade", refere Ruth Blanch. A responsável rejeita a competição do 24 Horas com o El País, sublinhando que o novo projecto é um jornal para imprimir e ler as notícias mais importantes das últimas horas».

Ou seja, os jornais são cada vez mais multimédia (tiram cada vez mais partido das potencialidades da net), neste caso «invadindo» o espaço da rádio

Três dos conselhos que o presidente da NAB dá á industria radiofónica (e televisiva) para reagir à «concorrência»:

O presidente da reguladora norte-americana FCC:

É, penso, um caso único na Europa (e, muito mais, nos EUA): o regulador audiovisual britânico, OFCOM, intervém quando determinada rádio muda o tipo de programação que «contratuliza» com esse regulador (o formato). Este caso, recente, é ilucidativo (até dos próprios receios das rádios) – não podiam passar música irlandesa porque não tinha essa uatorização:

« New radio platforms are rapidly gaining strength, though time-shifting and storage capabilities are generating major concerns. While consumers are increasingly opting for on-demand models, groups like the RIAA have been pushing for compensation on technologies that allow consumers to locate and store specific songs within streamed broadcasts. Now, a new piece of legislation has surfaced on Capitol Hill that addresses those concerns, specifically as they relate to satellite, internet, and cable-based radio formats. The freshly-introduced Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act of 2006, or PERFORM, is being backed by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). "I want new services to continue to be made available on different platforms," said Graham. "But the rules need to be fair for everyone.” Specific compensation amounts were not outlined, though a release from the office of Dianne Feinstein noted that "all cable, satellite, and internet companies should be subject to the same rates," defined by “fair market value. (…) "What a listener cannot do is set a recording device to find all the Frank Sinatra songs being played on the radio-service and only record those songs".

Fonte: «Legislation Seeks Compensation on Radio-Based Downloads», Digital Music News», 27/4/06

ACT a 30/4/06: esta medida vai ter consquências: «"If the PERFORM Act becomes law, webcasters who use the statutory SoundExchange licenses to play music would have to give up MP3 streaming in favor of a DRM-restricted, proprietary formats that impose restrictions on any recordings made. So much for great time-shifting technologies like Streamripper and RadioLover."»

Walt Mossberg, o especialista em tecnologia do Wall Street Journal, esteve na convenção NAB 06 e falou sobre (o futuro d)a rádio. O texto merece ser lido na íntegra, ou pelo nos extractos divulgados pelo site RAIN, mas aqui ficam algumas ideias:

«There are now 50 million iPods out there,” Mossberg said. “What you have to do to confront the iPod and the Internet isto be better at what you do. “My music tastes don’t fit into the little boxes that Clear Channel in my market has decided I need to fit into,” he said, arguing that broadcasters need to use streaming, podcasts, HD-2 channels, and other tools to beat that iPod“You’re in the business of producing audio programming, and you should be  using all the technology at your disposal.” (...) “Your job is not just to string together a bunch of songs in a row, but to put on exciting new programming to attract new listeners and beat the iPod.” »

«As I write this, I'm listening to Mozart arias from an online radio station based in Buenos Aires. That's hardly unusual. Millions of people regularly listen to Internet radio on their computers. But there is no computer on in the house; I'm using pencil and paper (gasp!) to write these paragraphs. The sound is coming from what appears to be a clock radio. And that's essentially what it is — a clock radio for the Internet era. The AE Wi-Fi Internet radio is a stand-alone receiver, preprogrammed with more than 2,500 online stations. Designed to operate more like a radio than a computer, it's made by Acoustic Energy in Britain and is scheduled to hit the U.S. marketplace in mid-May. It won't be alone. Roku's long-delayed SoundBridge radio — also a stand-alone unit that can pick up Internet radio via Wi-Fi — is also scheduled to start shipping next month. It comes programmed with only about 80 stations (more can be added) and lacks the user-friendliness of the AE machine. But the sound quality is better»

fonte: «You Don't Need a Computer to Listen to the Radio on the Internet», Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2006, David Colker

EXiste um livro, publicado nos EUA, que regista dezenas de milhares de canções por tópicos - os mais inconcebíveis. Depois, os animadores das rádios (que não têm playlist...) programam as suas sequências temáticas com esses temas. É do meu ponto de vista um exemplo da rádio previsível, formatada em excesso, em que o animador já nem pensa...

Sobre o livro: http://www.greenbookofsongs.com/

Uma curiosidade: Corey Deitz apresenta os temas para assinalar o nascimento do novo filho de Tom Cruise e Katie Holmes (como se fosse preciso música para assinalar isso...):

This week:

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Have Baby Girl

Song/Artist/Album (ST=Soundtrack)

Blessed	Elton John	Made In England
God Bless The Child	Blood, Sweat & Tears	Blood, Sweat & Tears
Growing Up	Peter Gabriel	Up
Isn't She Lovely	Stevie Wonder	Songs In The Key Of Life
You're Having My Baby	Paul Anka	70s Party Killers

A OFCOM britânica apresentou propostas para liberalizar a actividade das RSL, restricted service licences (RSL):

«Restricted Service Licences (RSLs) are issued under the Broadcasting Act on FM and AM to provide radio services within a particular establishment (long-term – up to five years), such as a university campus or hospital, or during an event (short-term - typically 28 days), such as Ramadan. Almost 500 short-term RSLs were granted in 2005, while 128 long-term licences have been issued. RSLs provide an inexpensive means for non-professional broadcasters to reach their audiences; licences are issued on a first come, first served basis but include certain restrictions as a result.

Ofcom is proposing:

• to allow commercial organisations, such as shopping centres and theme parks, to apply for long-term RSLs;
• to reduce restrictions on issuing short-term RSLs in a location where a commercial or community radio licence has been granted or where it is being advertised; and
• to issue long-term RSLs for periods of less than five years upon request (...)»

fonte: «Deregulation of restricted radio broadcasting services», Ofcom, http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2006/04/nr_20060426

É este estudo (Arbitron/Edison Media Research study, "The Infinite Dial: Radio's Digital Platform", http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/digital_radio_study.pdf) que o diz:

«The study shows the number of weekly Internet radio listeners nationwide has jumped 50% over last year -- which means that now 12% of the U.S. population regularly tune in to Internet radio»

(onde a emissão AM/OM ainda está pujante)

«DRM Updates Available at NAB2006» (http://www.nabshow.com/)