«This year saw the emergence of a new buzzword in the digital music space -- widgets. Next year, we'll see if they do any good.

An offshoot of the global social networking trend, widgets are small applications that users can place into their blogs, profiles and Web sites, and thereby extend the functionality of an otherwise separate Web site or service. What's more, users can simply copy widgets found on friends' profiles and insert them onto their own, thus enabling a tremendously viral distribution opportunity.

The concept gained prominence in 2007, picking up momentum once Facebook opened its platform so that any developer could write an application using its user data and connections. Then Google upped the ante with its OpenSocial initiative, a standardized widget-development tool that would allow developers to write one application that can work with any social networking site adopting the technology -- which include MySpace and Bebo. ComScore, a leading Web traffic monitoring firm, even began a metrics service tracking the most popular widgets and their usage.

These widgets have opened the door to a whole new style of selling content and services online, called "distributed commerce." Simply put, rather than making customers navigate to a specific site to buy a concert ticket or a music download, widgets allow bands and their fans to sell the same from their own Web sites. If iTunes is the Wal-Mart of music, widgets are more like vending machines.»

«(...) Given the popularity of mobile phones and social networking among teens, it is not a giant leap to expect them to use the two technologies together. Early data suggest that is the next step. "Mobile social networking is predominantly a young consumer’s game," said John du Pre Gauntt, senior analyst at eMarketer. He cited a June 2007 M:Metrics study that found that users under 25 were the most active on mobile social networks, accessing sites daily or several times a week. "The next question is whether early adopters gather at mobile-only social networking destinations or if they are extending their existing social networking relationships to mobile," Gauntt said. "Here, the evidence is well in favor of the latter."» fonte: Teens Primed for Mobile Social Networks, eMarketeer, JANUARY 3, 2008

«Social networking is an activity that 37% of US adult Internet users and 70% of online teens engage in every month, and the numbers continue to grow. eMarketer projects that by 2011, one-half of online adults and 84% of online teens in the US will use social networking»

About 62 percent of "millennials" (consumers 13-to-24-years-old) are using their cell phones as entertainment devices, up from 46 percent in the previous study conducted February 23-March 6, 2007. And among Generation X consumers (25-to-41-year-olds), the number grew to 47 percent from 29 percent in the earlier survey.

About 20 percent of consumers said they are viewing video content on their cell phones daily or almost daily. The percentage of consumers watching TV online jumped from the 23 percent figure reported in the previous study. Roughly 54 percent of those surveyed said they are making their own entertainment content through editing photos, videos or music, 45 percent said they are producing that content for others to see, and 32 percent said they consider themselves to be "broadcasters" of their own media. "I think for advertisers one of the conclusions is you don't make decisions to advertise either on television or the Internet when you want to hit all the demographics, but rather you need to have a multiplatform strategy," said Ken August, vice chairman and national sector leader for Deloitte & Touche's media and entertainment practice, which commissioned the study. "It shouldn't be an either or proposition."»

fonte: «Americans more wired: survey» Reuters, Gail Schiller Fri Dec 28, 2007

«Arbitron’s Pierre Bouvard says there’s been big progress among 18-24s, and they plan to begin applying those lessons and techniques to 25-34s. Their plan will go into motion next month, when Arbitron’s internal software systems will begin working to increase sampling rates and incentives paid to panelists in the demo. Bouvard predicts Philadelphia and New York will “start to see some growth” by the end of the first quarter» fonte: «"25-34 is going to be our focus."», Inside Radio, 4/1/08

«A terceira vida da rádio foi antecipada pela chegada de uma nova tecnologia: a Internet. A Internet tal como a Rádio foi algo de um discurso similar sobre as suas capacidades libertadoras da criatividade e da comunicação humana. E em grande medida foi capaz de viver, até hoje ao nível das expectativas criadas pelo seu discurso. Embora tecnologicamente diferentes no seu âmago, as duas tecnologias de massa mais similares nas suas características de proximidade e criação de laços sociais são de facto a Internet e a Rádio. Daí que a resposta às diferentes variantes sobre “O fim da rádio” só possam ter como resposta que a “Internet não matou a rádio mas deu-lhe uma terceira vida”. Uma vida diferente das anteriores, é claro. Mas uma nova vida sem dúvida. Uma vida alicerçada no facto de a rádio ser o media que mais facilmente se adapta à Web 2.0.»

fonte: CARDOSO, Gustavo, «A terceira vida da rádio», Editorial Obercom, s/d (2007?)

«A rádio é também o espaço que mais facilmente, num contexto nacional, pode competir com redes sociais como o myspace.com na descoberta de novos talentos musicais e também é o espaço, por excelência, para a partilha de receitas com os artistas que seguem o modelo “livre de editora”. È claro que nem todas as rádios estarão preparadas para este novo modelo ou, se quisermos, vida. As rádios que nas suas emissões mais apostam na intimidade com os seus ouvintes são, porventura, as que melhor podem passar à criação de comunidades online. O sucesso está em conseguir criar redes alargadas, ou seja, chamar os seus ouvintes até esses espaços, num processo lento e de respeito para com essa relação e ao mesmo tempo diversificar para outros espaços falantes de português ou onde portugueses se encontrem, pois os espaços virtuais tais como os outros espaços precisam de diversidade para atraírem novos elementos e consolidarem as redes.»

fonte: CARDOSO, Gustavo, «A terceira vida da rádio», Editorial Obercom, s/d (2007?)

Continua a haver quem pense que basta olhar para o passado para a rádio sobreviver, que a rádio se reinventará por si própria. Como?

«Acontece, porém, que este meio sempre soube reinventar-se e ultrapassar todas as crises, atraindo novas gerações de ouvintes. A rádio serviu regimes ditatoriais e foi também a via usada para iniciar revoluções. Foi amadora e formou profissionais. Foi pirata e impôs novas frequências. Foi defensora do culto do programa de autor e apostou nos ouvintes segmentados. Foi um meio de comunicação unidireccional, bidireccional e agora é interactivo. Alguém tem dúvidas de que a rádio é um meio fascinante cheio de futuro?» (Rui Camarinha, Briefing, 19/10/07).

Vale a pena citar Mark Ramsey: «the absurdity of relating the present state of the radio (yes, radio) industry to any time in its ancient history. For example, the birth of FM back in the late 60's to 70's lived in a technological environment which this chart clearly shows has completely disappeared»

«The young people I have been working with and studying the past four years voluntarily remind me that they have iPod fatigue.
I have written about this before but I keep hearing it -- and the term iPod fatigue is theirs not mine.
There is no doubt in my mind that you'd have to amputate their arms to pry an iPod away from this generation, but I've been thinking about iPod fatigue a lot lately. It seems to me that what these young people are saying is -- entertain me where I live.
They are not particularly addressing the terrestrial radio industry. Outside of NPR and some catch-as-catch-can listening this generation isn't looking to radio for help.
But they are plainly tired of hearing the same songs over and over again. It's like they all turned into Steve Rivers (just kidding, Steve!). You know, many of their iPods have a limited play list smaller than Steve. The fact is iPods aren't loaded with lots of music like radio station computers.
Another factor may be that as the years go on Gen Y is spending more time with their cell phones and smart devices. It's not unusual to see college students carrying around Blackberry Pearls. Of course, not every young person is blessed with a chance to go to college and many other young people can't afford an iPod. (...)»

fonte «The iPod Is Vulnerable», Jerry del coliano, Inside Music Media, 18/12/07

UM estudo da Jacobs Media não diz isso: «"iPods are showing no signs of stopping," according to Fred Jacobs, President of Jacobs Media. "Last year, our data showed that the growth of personal mp3 players was far from over. This year, our new study confirms that this phenomenon continues to have lots of life, and we expect strong growth throughout ’07."»

« (...) almost everyone has a cell phone whether they can afford it or not.
I strongly believe that the mobile device will be the delivery system for content -- someday for music when the copyright issues are worked out -- and just about everything else from short videos to movies.
If I'm reading it right this a wonderful opportunity for record labels to satisfy the desire of the next generation to access more variety. Now, can they work out the remaining DRM issues and be the solution for this generation's boredom with their iPods?
Radio companies have an opportunity to create content for mobile devices. I know it's a bitter pill to swallow after spending billions of dollars to own terrestrial radio stations but the Internet is the new transmitter and the cell phone is the new receiver.
This generation is definitely not bored with their cell phones. They are attached to them permanently. I kid my USC students that someday when a new baby is born there will be an obstetrician and pediatrician, the parents, a psychologist and a lawyer to no doubt handle their RIAA lawsuits when they get older. I also say that I can see the day when a chip will be implanted in every new baby's head so they can receive signals, hear music and be on the GPS of life.
I'm kidding. I think.
They're not sure either.
One thing is for sure -- something is going on worth further study. The iPod is getting long in the tooth. It's still better than a radio to most but it's clearly not going to be enough to command the restless Gen Y.
It's too early to jump to conclusions, but times they are a changin' in the mobile space.
For the beleaguered radio and record industries -- it means opportunity if they will listen with an open mind.
If not, Steve Jobs will continue to satisfy their need for new content.
Which way do you want it?»
fonte «The iPod Is Vulnerable», Jerry del coliano, Inside Music Media, 18/12/07

«Os europeus já preferem a Internet à televisão. De acordo com um estudo de preferências dos media, realizado pela Associação Europeia de Publicidade Interactiva (EIAA, na sigla em inglês), os jovens, principalmente, passam mais tempo na Internet do que em frente à televisão. Esta é a primeira vez que a televisão fica relegada ao segundo lugar no estudo, realizado anualmente desde 2003. Realizado com mais de sete mil pessoas, em dez países europeus, o estudo mostra que os jovens entre 16 e 24 anos agora passam dez por cento a mais do tempo ligados à Internet do que em frente à televisão. O estudo revela ainda que 96 por cento dos inquiridos reduziram a utilização de outros meios de comunicação por causa da Internet, tendo sido a televisão a mais prejudicada: 40 por cento dos europeus vêem menos televisão e 28 por cento lêem menos jornais. Por outro lado, o estudo indica que a televisão online se está a tornar mais popular, tendo aumentado o visionamento de filmes e telediscos online, pelo menos uma vez por mês, em 150 por cento desde 2006. A isto se deve também a expansão da banda larga: 81 por cento de todos os utilizadores de Internet já usam este tipo de conexão. Actualmente, 57 por cento dos europeus acedem a Internet regularmente, por semana; o equivalente a 169 milhões de pessoas, um aumento de seis por cento em relação ao ano anterior. Desde 2006, o número de pessoas com mais de 55 anos que utilizam a rede aumentou em 12 por cento e o de mulheres subiu oito por cento.Também a frequência com que os europeus acedem à rede aumentou: 75 por cento dos utilizadores de Internet ligam-se à web entre cinco e sete dias por semana, um aumento de 61 por cento em comparação com 2004.»

fonte: «Europeus já preferem Internet à televisão, cienciapt, 12/12/07

«Beaten down by the market for yet another year, radio companies appear poised to face more of the same in 2008, with projections typically calling for minuscule to nonexistent growth in advertising revenue and increased competition for listeners as a foregone conclusion.The current year certainly looks poised to go down as another difficult period for the industry, with total advertising revenue down 2% year over year through three quarters, according to figures released by the Radio Advertising Bureau Dec. 3, data that also showed revenue figures sagging further in the latter portion of the year, with third-quarter revenue down 5% year over year. (...) Wachovia Equity analyst Marci Ryvicker, for instance, recently said she now views radio as a "no growth medium" and puts zero percent growth as a likely, and potentially a "best case scenario" for 2008.  (...) Ryvicker noted three major trends that will conspire to hold radio revenues down in 2008 and beyond: the flight of ad dollars to new media, the generally depressed state of the economy and a slowdown in overall ad expenditures.»

fonte: MarketWeek: Radio revenues to get 'down' in 2008, SNL Interactive December 14, 2007 1:12 PM ET By Dave Hendrick

«Depois da onda de optimismo gerada ontem com o anúncio do novo serviço da Nokia denominado “Nokia Comes With Music” que irá oferecer durante um ano downloads grátis da Universal Music a quem adquirir um novo telemóvel da fabricante finlandesa é altura de colocar mais água na fervura. É claro que já se sabia que a oferta iria incluir obrigatoriamente algum tipo de DRM, mesmo se os utilizadores tivessem a possibilidade de guardar a música depois da subscrição anual terminar. Mas segundo informa a Ars Technica, o sistema de DRM escolhido pela Nokia foi o PlaysForSure utilizado pela Microsoft no seu formato Windows Media. Ora, este sistema, para além de ser incompatível com o iPod da Apple, também não funciona com o Zune, o próprio leitor de música digital da Microsoft. E apesar das faixas poderem continuar a ser reproduzidas após o fim do prazo da assinatura anual, para ter acesso a mais música nova e renovar a subscrição, os consumidores terão que ser obrigados a comprar um novo aparelho… da Nokia, evidentemente. Quem também quiser gravar para um CD as músicas descarregadas terá que adquirir uma actualização para cada faixa. (...) Segundo a Nokia, o preço da subscrição será incluído no custo de venda do telemóvel. Isto é basicamente a primeira implementação na prática do modelo Total Music da Universal divulgado pela comunicação social no mês passado que iria supostamente permitir que os fabricantes de telemóveis e operadores de telecomunicações oferecessem serviços de downloads ilimitados juntamente com um novo dispositivo. Segundo o plano da editora, estas empresas teriam que pagar uma subscrição mensal de cerca de cinco dólares por mês por cada unidade comercializada. Esse valor poderia ser depois acrescentado ao custo final do aparelho ou cobrado à parte como uma espécie de tarifa plana. A nova oferta da Nokia confirma assim os piores receios na altura em que o plano da Universal foi anunciado: A música grátis, afinal, sai cara, muito cara. No caso do “Comes With Music” é o preço de um novo telemóvel. Por essas e por outras é que eu não uso telemóveis. Todo o hardware e software dos dispositivos está feito para controlar os usos do consumidor. Trata-se de uma autêntica “caixa negra” que limita a liberdade do utilizador e em que quase tudo é a pagar ou implica uma contrapartida oculta.

fonte: «O Nokia vem com DRM», 5/12/07 Rexmitures

A proposito deste estudo, os autores chamam bedroomers aos jovens (18-28 anos):

«Additionally, interviewees were single, college students, young professionals, married, and married with children. Living situations included respondents in dormitories, students living off-campus, in apartments, homes, fraternity houses, and living with parents. We found that much of their time with technology was spent in their bedrooms, which not only gave us the name for this study—The Bedroom Project—but also the name “Bedroomers” for this generation»

«“Why didn’t anyone think of that before?” – It’s a Tivo-like device for radio that can record and playback multiple streams of radio bands. The radio will have multiple antennas which record AM, FM, Satellite and HD radio signals. It will also be able to record audio on any upcoming Wi-Max and 700 Mhz radio stations. Like Tivo, the unit digitizes content and stores it for later playback. Songs, talk shows and other content can be paused and replayed. You can even skip those annoying ads. 3DRadio doesn’t actually have a booth at the Consumer Electronics show and company rep Alan Kaplan actually pitched us the product as we were walking to a press conference. The company is looking for a hardware manufacturer to churn out the multi-channel radio, but Kaplan says the software portion is basically done. He has offered to show us a demo later in the show and we’ll update this article if that happens. 3DRadio will start selling units for in-vehicle use and then branch out to portable and home markets. He expects consumer units to be available by Christmas of this year.»

fonte: «CES 2008: 3DRadio, Tivo for radio», 7/1/08, Tom's Hardware 

Cada vez mais o Pandora - e outros serviços semelhantes - se constituem como alternativa à rádio (convencional) musical. Esta noticia de que o Pandora vai passar a ser recebido em receptores on line é prova disso.

«Os rádios da Reciva permitem que os usuários fácil e convenientemente acessem as estações de rádio ao vivo espalhadas pelo mundo sem a necessidade de um PC. Estes são na maior parte radiodifusores terrestres que irradiam seu sinal de transmissão pela Internet em um processo conhecido como "simulcasting". A inclusão da Pandora à plataforma da Reciva adiciona um serviço original e altamente personalizado que é individualizado às preferências do usuário.

Os usuários podem avaliar as músicas em Pandora através da tecla "Reply" em cada Rádio da Reciva via Internet com o "thumbs up" ou o "thumbs down" dessa forma, Pandora pode imediatamente ajustar a programação da estação, e podem pausar uma canção bem como saltar uma fuma música a que eles não queiram ouvir. Usando a tecla "Reply", os ouvintes podem igualmente adicionar aos favoritos uma música, e o nome da música e o artista serão salvos.»

«2. The next generation -- and by extension older Internet users -- prefers to get their news on their terms -- when they want it, where they want it. They don't need someone to broadcast to them any longer. They seek out what they want to read, watch or hear. So instead of waiting for CNN or Fox News Channel to report to them, they research the things that interest them. Therefore, they see many sides of a story not just how news organizations see it. The Fox adage "we report, you decide" could arguably be replaced by "we research, we decide" among Gen Y.

3. Radio owners think that listeners want stations to entertain them. Increasingly young people want to participate in their own entertainment. Mash-ups. User generated content and what I think will be all the rage next -- collaborative user generated content that can be passed around social networks and altered as if it were a Wiki. If I'm right, this sure puts another nail in the radio coffin. Radio stations think they are playing the hits. What fools. Their future listeners want to make their own hits -- with each other.

(...)
6. The Internet business thinks that the holy grail is streaming 24/7. But what if I told them that the next generation can't and won't sit for streams the way older listeners enjoyed, say -- radio. What if the future of the Internet goes way beyond being a radio frequency on steroids. More of a delivery system that everyone has access to -- no FCC, no censorship, no gatekeepers -- and content could be five minutes or 45 minutes. Every day or once a month. Only your imagination would limit you. The next generation demands change because they want to listen when they want to listen -- to what they want to listen to -- for however long they will pay attention. Oh, and they want to be part of it.»

fonte: «Ch-ch-changes», Jerry del Coliano, 10/1/08, Inside Music Media

"The fact that younger Internet users are far more likely to be regular visitors to video-sharing sites points to a fork in the road,” said David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer.  "On the one hand, marketers looking to target the under-30 demographic can more reliably find them on these video sites. "On the other hand, the door is open for big content providers—mainly the TV networks, both broadcast and cable—to bulk up their online offerings, both in quantity and quality," Hallerman said. He also said that such counter programming could help attract the over-30 audience, which is accustomed to traditional TV content. Such content could draw ad dollars from marketers who want online-video ad inventory that is consistently appropriate for marketing, as opposed to a lot of user-generated content found on video-sharing sites. »

fonte: «Young Adults Hit Online Video Sites», eMarketeer, JANUARY 15, 2008

«(...) Delivery systems change. Content adapts.

Just because radio companies paid billions to consolidate radio stations does not mean that future generations will want to listen to content on radios.

There will be no more radio.

No more TV.

No more newspaper.

Just audio, video and text -- adapted for the delivery systems that consumers crave.

Stand back and see it happening before our eyes even now»

fonte: Jerry Del Colliano, «Radio vs Laptops», 16/1/08

«NEW YORK -- January 17, 2008: "Can a different revenue stream start and sustain a radio rebound?" asks CL King & Associates analyst Jim Boyle in a note released Thursday. Yes, he says, if radio starts "monetizing the P1 listener."

King notes that radio groups are now making 2 percent-3 percent of their revenues from the Internet, but says, "that hasn't stopped 2007 from being a down year."
He goes on, "So what else is out there? We would strongly recommend that radio look to the second of its two constituencies. Not just its advertiser, its audience!" Boyle says he'd like to see radio offer "small local content and branded items" to P1 fans. "Consumers have become highly trained by eBay, iTunes, Amazon, and others to frequently purchase impulse or planned items via the ease of well-established micropayments," he writes.
He writes, "Radio should establish a second revenue stream or resign itself to being the 'new newspapers.'"»

fonte: «Analyst: Radio Should Look To Listeners To Solve Revenue Woes», Radio ink, 18/1/08

Absolutely, people are the message. People deliver the message, and they are the message as well. I use the example in the book where I listen to Daily Source Code with Adam Curry, and he kept talking about his great experience flying Virgin Atlantic. He was talking about Virgin because, you know, he’s a human being and he loved the experience. Well, guess what? When I was flying to the UK and thinking about which airline I wanted to fly, I ended up flying Virgin - all because of one person - one person’s not even overt recommendation, but endorsement. I’ve never met this person before, but I trusted him. I just felt like I trusted him. I trusted them because I listen to him regularly. Gee, that sounds pretty familiar. It sounds like the radio business. We trust these people we listen to because of the power of asynchronous intimacy. We build a relationship and rapport with them over time. And that trust almost goes out the window in the radio business when I hear, for example, these Dan Patrick live reads, you know: ”Hey, I’m Dan Patrick and when there’s a snowfall in the …. (Laughter) I use some brand of gloves, or whatever.” And I’m like, “Come on!” It’s ridiculous.  People are the message. They’re carriers of the message, but they’re also originators of the message as well. So, you know, there's no ad campaign any more. There’s no start. There’s no end. It's a very fluid picture. There are no more sellers. There’s just life, you know? Life happens. Life is around us. Humanity is around us. Passion and engagement are natural. It doesn’t belong to the media companies, and it doesn’t belong to the brand marketers. It belongs to us, and I think that’s the opportunity.»

fonte: Mark Ramsey, «"Radio, get your head out of the sand" - an interview with marketing guru Joseph Jaffe (Part 2)», Hear2-0, 16/01/08

“The consequence of failing to support companies such as Pandora will be the continued explosion of piracy, the constriction of opportunities for working musicians, and a worsening drought of new music for fans.”»

Este trabalho tem como objectivo  ajudar a tentar conhecer e - já agora - explicar o que se passa com os novos hábitos (com a atitude) dos ouvintes mais novos relativamente ao que hoje ainda conhecemos por rádio: desde o seu desinteresse, constatado em diversos estudos, até aos seus comportamentos. Passa-se alguma coisa de diferente. «Analfabetos, a pesar de tanta tecnologia, seriamos si desconocemos los modos de conocer y explicar la comunicación» (Daniel Marti). É, pois, um contributo para tentar compreender o que se passa; teremos todos a ganhar - utilizadores e industria - se percebermos o que se passa, porquê e como.

“The show in Las Vegas was a busy time for Sprint. In addition to the soft launch, the company has announced a number of new Xohm agreements** for portal services and WiMAX devices…

“The promise of WiMAX technology is remarkable: data transmission speeds as fast as 70 Mbps over distances as great as 50 kilometers. Transmission speeds do drop over distance, however, and it is a shared-bandwidth technology, so actual mileage may vary. A more common metric for the service is 10 Mbps over 10 kilometers. Nonetheless, WiMAX offers the potential for significantly faster and far-reaching wireless Internet than cellular data transmissions or the more well-known WiFi» fonte:

«A friend put together this list of key radio companies before yesterday's roller coaster ride on the Dow. Look how well they have built shareholder value for their investors.

Spanish Broadcasting
High 42.00 -- Recently 1.54 -- Loss of 96.33% (1.50 yesterday)

Emmis
High 62.34 -- Recently -- 2.47 -- Loss of 96.04% (2.62 yesterday)

Radio One
High 31.33 -- Recently 1.77 -- Loss of 94.35% (1.68 yesterday)

Citadel Broadcasting
High 22.79 -- Recently 1.69 -- Loss of 92.58% (1.52 yesterday)

Regent
High 14.19 -- Recently 1.49 -- Loss of 89.50% (1.32 yesterday)

Salem
High 33.65 -- Recently 4.63 -- Loss of 86.24% (3.93 yesterday)

Entercom
High 67.75 -- Recently 11.00 -- Loss of 83.76% (11.00 yesterday)

Cumulus (Private buyout in progress)
High 22.70 -- Recently 5.90 -- Loss of 74.01% (5.43 yesterday)

Saga
High 23.44 -- Recently 5.90 -- Loss of 74.83% (5.97 yesterday)

Beasley
High 19.34 -- Recently 5.05 -- Loss of 73.89% (4.48 yesterday)

Cox Radio
High 34.67 -- Recently 11.10 -- Loss of 67.98% (10.89 yesterday)

Entravision
High 20.31 -- Recently 7.27 -- Loss of 64.20% (6.03 yesterday)

Clear Channel (Private Buyout in Progress)
High 91.50 -- Recently 34.42 -- Loss of 62.38% (32.14 yesterday)

CBS
High 35.50 -- Recently 24.00 -- Loss of 32.39% (22.28 yesterday)
(New issue missing most of the loss).»

fonte: «Radio's "Recession" Started A Long Time Ago», Jerry Del Coliano, 23/01/08

«"We have created the world's biggest free jukebox," said Richard Jones, one of Last.fm's three founders. "People love our recommendation service but they also want to cherry pick songs and now we can offer both."» 

«O site de música Last.fm vai passar a oferecer a seus usuários a possibilidade de escolher a canção que deseja ouvir após fechar acordo com as quatro grandes gravadoras, informou a agência de notícias Reuters esta quarta-feira (23). Até então, o site vinha funcionando como uma espécie de rádio on-line na qual o internauta pode escolher o estilo das músicas que gosta, mas não faixas individuais para audição. A mudança, por enquanto, valerá apenas para usuários dos Estados Unidos, Reino Unido e Alemanha. O serviço será gratuito para ouvir as faixas em streaming, mas oferecerá também a opção de download pago em MP3, em parceria com o site Amazon.com. A possibilidade de ouvir músicas via rádio em streaming, com seleções randômicas baseadas no gosto do usuário, continua para todos os usuários internacionais. De acordo com a Last.fm, fundada há seis anos, a oferta se tornou possível graças à receita obtida com a venda de anúncios em seu site. A rede americana CBS comprou a Last.fm em maio passado pela quantia de US$ 280 milhões.»

«Asked how Last.fm was able to make its ad-funded operation economically viable, Jones said that Pandora operated purely as an internet radio station, while his company had a diverse offering including social networking and music recommendation.He added that the company had always enjoyed "good industry relations" and had been paying artists and licence fees since 2002.Last year saw the launch of Spiral Frog, an ad-funded online music service that forces users to listen to an ad before being able to access the music track.»

«Até aqui, o modelo do Last.fm era baseado na oferta da audição linear de música através de acordos com estações de rádio e do seu serviço de recomendação de música. As faixas não estarão, contudo, disponíveis para download, o que quer dizer que os utilizadores não poderão transferir a música para um leitor de MP3. Depois de ouvirem as faixas, os utilizadores terão a possibilidade de fazer a compra a partir de uma das plataformas parceiras como o iTunes, o Amazon ou o 7 Digital.»

«(...) last.fm would make an announcement which might radically shape the way we consume music, and certainly makes Pandora look a bit old hat. (...) this puts last.fm right up there with MySpace as a place to hear tracks by, well, most bands you'd care to mention. (...) But last.fm are clearly on the right track, here. OK, there are caveats; individual tracks can only be played three times by each user, although they state that they're aiming to increase this number. Beyond three plays, a subscription service will allow you to listen to each track an unlimited number of times. But, crucially, it's taking the element of "ownership" of the music out of the equation. Traditional subscription models, such as the ones run by Napster, where you "rent" your mp3 files for the duration of your subscription, now look increasingly under threat. last.fm store the music, and they let you listen to it when you like. And as mobile phones, mp3 players and living room hi-fis become net-savvy, it's going to be something more and more people turn to.»

«In the absence of radio play, garage bands all across America are establishing a presence on MySpace, a social-networking site popular with young adults. According to MySpace, more than 240,000 artists of every kind -- from unsigned amateurs to international rock stars -- are using MySpace as a way to market themselves and build a fan base. Artists are using the site to build massive social networks and spread the word about upcoming shows and CD releases. Startup bands like My Chemical Romance have launched careers exclusively through MySpace, collecting more than 100,000 fans through the service. As the seventh most popular domain on the internet in terms of pageviews, according to February numbers from comScore Media Metrix, MySpace gives bands the chance to be seen and heard in a way never before possible. Traditionally, bands toured cities and played dive bars to create buzz about their music. But with MySpace, bands can host demos of their songs, announce shows and connect with fans without spending weeks on the road. (...) "It's a medium where people can go and hear new music and develop an attachment to the band," said Miller. MySpace is aimed at teenagers. It claims more than 15 million members, and even established acts like Weezer, Beck and Billy Corgan are starting to realize the potential of social networking.»

fonte: «Bands Embrace Social Networking» Wired, 18/05/05, david Cohn

«(...)The Motley Fool investors publication says Last.fm could mean the end of radio.

Kurt Hanson, who I respect more on these issues, says wait one minute -- Last.fm isn't even radio.

It's an interesting prospect either way. To bring you up to date the four major record labels have cut a deal with Last.fm to get a penny or so for every time a young consumer goes to Last.fm and requests a song. Hanson points out, "Going to a website and saying “I would like to hear ‘You Know I’m No Good’ by Amy Winehouse right now and then being played that song is not “radio” by any stretch of the definition that I’ve ever heard."
The Motley Fool is enamored at the prospect of free online streaming of music from the major labels and a host of indies.

One problem.
Young people have voted again and again in this race that they want to own their music not rent it or listen through a glorified subscription or ad-supported service.
(...) 6. Radio (whether Last.fm or terrestrial) cannot compete with an iPod for playing favorite music. An iPod is a storage device that plays back music. Radio entertains -- or should. Subscription services or ad driven services like Last.fm will be more popular with record labels than with young consumers.

The Motley Fool says:

“Last.fm, bought by CBS… is providing on-demand delivery of its growing digital library for free...Naturally, this is also bad news for other companies selling digital tracks, like Apple, or music subscription services like Napster and RealNetworks".

I disagree. Terrestrial radio doesn't have to worry about what Last.fm is doing. It needs to worry about what radio isn't doing.(...)»

fonte: «lost.fm», Jerry Del Colliano, 25/01/08

KURT HANSEN: «This is not radio! Going to a website and saying “I would like to hear ‘You Know I’m No Good’ by Amy Winehouse right now” and then being played that song is not “radio” by any stretch of the definition that I’ve ever heard. Reasonable people can differ as to what is “radio.” The NAB and the RAB, for example, apparently don’t consider XM or Sirius to be “radio.” Some traditional broadcasters think it’s not “radio” if it doesn’t have disk jockeys (although then you have to reject Jack FM stations and 50 years of automated FM stations). Others might say it’s not “radio” unless it’s a one-to-many transmission, which would exclude personalizable Internet radio brands (even though most consumers wouldn’t). But in every case above, there’s some element of a continuous stream of music that’s selected by someone (or, in the case of a smart recommendation engine, something) else. Influenced by the consumer? Sure. A precise sequence of songs specifically selected by the consumer? I think not. That’s not radio — that’s an “on-demand music service.” Just like Rhapsody, except without a 25-songs-per-month limit (and with more advertising). And it has far less value to both the average adult consumer and to record labels» 24/01/08

«(...) Young people have voted again and again in this race that they want to own their music not rent it or listen through a glorified subscription or ad-supported service.
The labels -- a group that would cause me to do the opposite of what they do -- is simultaneously selling music to cellphone companies so their customers can have a phone full of music included with the price of the phone. That's a loser with young people.
Last.fm -- now with the ability to play what you say instead of what terrestrial stations like "Jack" want to play -- is also a non-starter.

These ideas and concepts are the creative result of older and in some cases out of touch people who do not understand the young consumer. These products are what they think young people should listen to vis-a-vis their dying record businesses. They are not, however, what young people want. In the months ahead, the painful truth will become evident even to them.

Here's what the entrance and exits polls -- so to speak -- are telling us about the next generation, the record business and new forms of listening:

1. They want to own their music (I use the term own loosely to include paid and stolen music). Rental services like Napster and Rhapsody have not resonated. The labels want young consumers to rent. Cell phone companies can't see why adding a few extra bucks to the monthly bill for all the music in the world won't be a winner. I'll give you two reasons: one is the iPod -- the choice of the next generation and it isn't going away any time soon. And, two, the next generation can steal music without a problem. Who needs rental?

2. Young listeners don't like radio because they have alternatives, but radio has sucked since the 80's -- at least that's when the term "radio sucks" emerged. No one says, "iPods suck" -- at least not yet. But young people show signs of iPod fatigue. Properly read, this means they are not giving up their iPods, they'd just like to be entertained every once in a while.

3. Internet radio will be the smash hit we all think it can be once it can be received everywhere on every device. It's beginning to happen now, but most people don't listen to Internet radio on the go. And by Internet radio I don't mean terrestrial radio "lite" or another version of an HD subchannel. I mean real entertainment. Internet radio is the killer app.

4. Keep an eye out for some form of mash-up music sharing. We're seeing this in video where users can take pictures and send them along to a friend to add music or whatever. Control freaks like record and radio execs will do just about anything but enable a generation to fool with their artists rights. Admirable? Not when their customers do it anyway.

5. Young consumers have iPods -- they have hard drives loaded with music bought and stolen. They also want to be entertained. Instead the labels and their cohorts keep trying to invent the next thing but this generation is going to tell you what the next thing is. And what is it? Entertainment. They want to be entertained. They want to participate in the entertainment. If I'm in radio reading this I am jumping for joy -- that's a core radio skill -- but it will have to be transfered to where the next generation lives and it's not on the radio band.»

«In our content analysis, we found that many radio station Web sites do not include the features most desired by Web site visitors. Radio station Web site visitors were asked to rate their interest in different features on radio station Web sites. As we can see in the table below, the most popular radio station Web site feature is the “ability to listen to the radio station”; however, less than 60 percent of the Web sites stream their audio and allow people to listen to live broadcasts. “Information about local concerts,” the second most wanted feature, was found on only half of the Web sites. A mere six percent of the Web sites gave the “title and artist of songs recently played on the station,” which is the third most desired feature.»

fonte: ROSIN, Larry e SHUL, Janet S., Radio Station Web Site Content: an in depth look, (2000), Arbitron

A. Komarova (The content of music radio websites, by Komarova, Anastasia, M.A., University of Missouri - Columbia, 2004, 112 pages; AAT 1420925) lembra contudo que «what one most frequently finds there is information that is interesting from the point of view of the people working at the radio: DJ's bios with photos, music news, requests, and stations events» (pag 12)

Harris Interactive asked US adult Internet users about the types of online video they would like to see more. The supply of UGV was apparently sufficient for most of those surveyed, since it drew the lowest response rates. However, young adults were most likely to want more user-generated video.

An even more detailed picture of UGV viewer demographics came from the "Annual Gadgets Survey 2007" by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which profiled active adult users of video-sharing sites where many UGVs are hosted. Pew found that more than half of these site visitors were 18 to 29 years old. (...)»

fonte: «Who's Watching User-Generated Video?», eMarkeeter, JANUARY 24, 2008

«In the 2000s it’s the music that young listeners are sharing among themselves that radio seems to systematically ignore. Herein lies a great new format opportunity. “Paragon Media Strategies research into Youth Radio makes clear that there is a body of music that has reached gestation. Whether it be called ‘Indie’ music or ‘music that my friends and I like that isn’t on the radio,’ there’s a format out there. Check out Last.FM and see what this generation is doing in forming their own library.“Concentrating on this body of music—which also contains a lot of new music—would address pleas research respondents make to radio, and it would shore up one of radio’s big unique selling propositions: introducing listeners to new music…

“14-24 year olds are actively designing radio that’s not on the radio. The average (median) young adult has 500 songs on their computer, 400 songs on their MP3 player, and 50 CDs. 14-18 year-olds have more than double the number of songs that 19-24s have on their computers and MP3 players… Young music consumers are already creating their own ‘radio stations’ by creating playlists on their iPod.»

fonte: «A Once In A Generation Format Opportunity», Paragon Media Strategies, 17/01/08

«Did you know that almost one-third of mp3 player users are kids 10 or younger?

I'll bet you didn't.

Did you know that 40% of 6 to 8-year-olds own an mp3 player?

Or that 60% of 13 to 18-year-olds do?

Our youth are being raised on a diet of media control and extreme customization.

The consequences for how we program and market to this demo today - and as they mature - are profound.  As every smoker knows, lifetime habits are shaped during your youth. We can't prevent a generation of listeners from embracing mp3 players, but we most definitely can make sure we're embracing the listeners who are doing the embracing. We can make sure we're a part of their iPods and a part of their lives.

And to do that we're going to have to care about youth oriented stations and find a way to monetize our efforts there. We're going to have to inject a spark of engagement into these stations like never before. We're going to have to convert the monologue into a dialogue and the dialogue into a conversation. We're going to have to open up the airwaves for their input and their voices and their production and their content.Staying relevant for the future is not about launching a social network. It's about being a brand worth joining a social network for.»

fonte: «Kids embrace iPods rather than Radio», Hear2.0, 23/01/08

Etiquetas: mp3

«Viewers want advanced interactive television functionality across every genre of programming and advertising:

• 72% of those who watch reality TV shows want to interact with those shows
• 65% of those who watch sporting events on TV want to interact with those events
• 66% of viewers want to interact with commercial advertising
• 50% of those who watch drama TV shows indicated that they would be interested in interacting with those shows»

 Mark Ramsey comenta: «This leads to a series of questions I haven't asked, but ones I suspect I know the answer to: How many listeners to your station want to interact with your programming? How many opportunities do you provide for them to do that? This is one of the great and largely squandered opportunities for radio. Sure we take callers on the air. But getting your call through is like winning a contest - it's the luck of the draw. Tools like TXT messaging and the Internet, however, are made for universal access. But how very few of our stations invite it?»

«(...) Spark, a show about technology and culture hosted by founding Definitely Not the Opera host/producer Nora Young, has launched a "wiki." The term wiki - which comes from a Hawaiian slang term meaning "quickly" - refers to websites that anyone can edit. One of the most popular examples is Wikipedia, the "open source" encyclopedia. Young says she hopes that listeners will use the Spark wiki to offer thoughts about show topics, to contribute questions for guests and generally to interact with her and the rest of the show staff. Spark is planning to do its entire show on Feb. 6 using ideas generated by listeners. It airs on CBC Radio One on Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. and on Saturdays at 4 p.m."It's a way of making public radio in a public way," Young said in an e-mail. "Of embracing the values of public radio using 21st-century tools. What better way to encourage conversation about technology and society than by opening the show itself to more participation?"The Spark host said it was also a way for people to get a look inside the process of creating a radio show.»

Outro exemplo: «Crave on Demand -It's where YOU control the sound of a 50,000 watt radio station.  Here's how it works - Weekdays starting at 2 p.m., we post three way song races right here on this page.   Vote for the one YOU want hear next.  If it wins - we play it next.   And while we don't condone illegal betting,  only you know if you've got your own office pool going. Crave on Demand  - weekdays from 2 to 3 p.m»  

«Ruckus is a completely legal and advertising supported music service geared exclusively to the college community. All students with a valid school email (.edu) have free unlimited access to the entire Ruckus music library.  Why Sign Up?   Free unlimited download access
   Download full albums in under a minute
   New music every week
   Create and share your playlists
   It's 100% Free!»

«The company supports itself through advertisements on the Web site.
Students can choose from a database of over 3.2 million songs to download, which are completely legal and virus free, according to Ruckus' Web site.
"The downside is that unless you buy an MP3 player from (Ruckus), you can't download music to (other MP3 players)," he said. Students with iPods, for instance, wouldn't be able to use music from Ruckus on that player.
Students interested in using Ruckus can download it at Ruckusnetworks.com using their student e-mail account».

You need a school email address that ends in .edu to register as a student or faculty with Ruckus. However, you can still register as an alumni and pay a small fee to access our music catalog. Keep in mind only students with .edu email addresses get Ruckus music for free.

«Important listening shifts have been taking place in recent years: Overall, the percentage of both men and women listening to radio at least once per week gradually decreased between Spring 2002 and Spring 2006. The biggest declines took place among Teens, Men 18-24 and Women 18-24. For both Teen boys and girls, the largest dropoff was from 7PM to midnight, down 9% over those four years, though afternoons and weekends also were off 4% to 5%.» fonte: Radio Today 2007, Arbitron, pag 97

«Owing to numerous media alternatives available, overall time spent listening (TSL) has slipped 13% between 1998 and 2006, but less than an hour in the four years from 2002 to 2006. The largest erosion since 1998 for men has been with 18-24s, with a decline of 17%; for women, the largest decline has been among Teens, whose TSL has decreased 23%. »

fonte: Radio Today 2007, Arbitron, pag 91

«The majority of radio listening throughout the week takes place out-of-home except in the evenings.  (...) : At-home and in-car lead in mornings, at-work dominates in middays, in-car takes over in afternoons and at-home wins again in the evenings. Between 2002 and 2006, in-car listening rose throughout each daypart and on weekends, primarily at the expense of at-work tune-in. Over those four years, in-car’s share of listening was up 2% overall, 3% in mornings, 6% in middays, 5% in afternoons and 4% in evenings, while at-work was down in each daypart at least 2% and as much as 8%. These figures reflect the reality of American workers’ gradually longer commutes and increasingly mobile lifestyles.»

fonte: Radio Today 2007, Arbitron, pag 96

«Owing to numerous media alternatives available, overall time spent listening (TSL) has slipped 13% between 1998 and 2006, but less than an hour in the four years from 2002 to 2006. The largest erosion since 1998 for men has been with 18-24s, with a decline of 17%; for women, the largest decline has been among Teens, whose TSL has decreased 23%. The least slippage in time spent listening among men during those eight years has been with 45-54s, losing less than 6%; among women, it is the 45-54 group, down 9%»

fonte: Radio Today 2007, Arbitron, pag 91

«French telecom Orange has partnered with Lagardere Active and music service provider Yacast, to launch a new ad-supported streaming music service in France called Musiline, Billboard reported. Available for free to Orange France's 7 million broadband subscribers, the personalized radio service also offers paid downloads for about .45 per track.»

fonte: «Orange Debuts Ad-Supported Web Radio Service in France», 22/01/08

«Radio jumps on the social networking craze.
Forget Facebook and MySpace - more stations are launching a social networking component and some predict it could eventually become a solid revenue source. Clear Channel's social networking beta test has more than 150,000 registered users since its launch last April with two million page views each week» Inside Radio, 22/01/08.

«More than 8 million people in the UK listen to web-based radio services every week and nearly 2 million download podcasts on a weekly basis, according to a survey that suggests internet radio has hit the mainstream.

Commissioned by the industry's audience research body Rajar, the Ipsos Mori survey last autumn found that more than 12 million people have listened to the radio online and 8.1 million listen every week either through live streaming or "listen again" services.

Ipsos Mori found that 75% of users do not listen to less live radio as a result of listening again online, with 50% tuning into new shows as a result» Jemima Kiss guardian.co.uk, January 28 2008

«Entre o primeiro trimestre de 2003 e o quarto trimestre de 2007, este indicador oscilou entre os 53.4% observados no 3º trimestre de 2007 e os 60.2% registados no 1º trimestre de 2005. (...) »

Os quadros médios e superiores e os jovens dos 25 aos 34 anos são os targets com maior afinidade com o meio, ao registar audiências superiores, respectivamente 71.9% e 70.9%. Os homens, os residentes no Grande Porto e no Litoral Norte, bem como os indivíduos da classe social alta registam audiências superiores à média do universo, enquanto a menor afinidade com o meio se encontra junto dos idosos, das domésticas e dos indivíduos da classe social baixa.

«Digital audio broadcasting (DAB) may end up to radio what Betamax was to video, warns a report published today. The report, by media and telecoms specialist Enders Analysis, said the launch of the second national commercial digital radio multiplex, headed by Channel 4, might exacerbate the problems rather than solve them, and warned that media regulator Ofcom would face a public outcry if DAB failed. Enders Analysis added that the high cost of DAB transmission and slow growth in revenue had combined to undermine confidence in the new medium and led to the closure of a string of national digital stations. Today's report urged the radio sector to "stop continually beating its chest in public about the wonders of DAB and instead partake in an honest industry debate about the future of the platform". "The exodus of stations from the DAB platform is starting to look like a stampede," said the Enders report, written by Grant Goddard.»

«Digital sets are at risk of becoming obsolete unless sales pick up, industry analysts warned yesterday. That would mean they follow a host of other gadgets - such as Betamax video cassettes and mini-disc audio players, which were bought by millions but are now mere curiosities. Although 6.5million digital radios have been bought since 1999, it is not enough for broadcasters to recoup their costs.  And unlike in TV, there is no Government approved timeline for an analogue switch-off.  The problem seems to be that despite the huge investment in Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) by commercial stations, many of us are sticking to our old-fashioned analogue sets. Companies are now scrapping digital stations because the number of listeners is too small to justify their running costs. In recent months, longstanding outlets Groove, Oneword and Core have all been been taken off the digital service. »

«Play to the available audience because the next generation is busy on their cell phones and iPods. Don't try to aim for the generation you need so badly -- the one you let get away by doing nothing to fill their needs for the past ten years. The result: Gen Y has no strong attachment to radio and isn't likely to get one.

But...
Can radio be saved by becoming a content provider for the Internet and for consumption on mobile phones and devices?
You bet.
And that's why I am so optimistic about the future of radio-produced content away from the terrestrial signal. But radio people hardly know about the preferences of this elusive generation. I get emails every time I write about them from angry broadcasters who think Gen Y is the enemy. No, you are the enemy -- you've proven to be your own worst enemy.
They are not. They are your future business because terrestrial radio will never again be a growth business.»

fonte: Jerry del colliano, The Inconvenient Truth About Radio 14/01/08