eMarketer projects that this year there will be 193.9 million US Internet users, two-thirds of the population. By 2012, 217 million Americans will be online, about 71% of the population.

Those are huge numbers. But by breaking the US Internet population down and focusing on demographics—size, gender, age, race and ethnicity, income and education—this report will help marketers make better targeting decisions.

~fonte: eMarketeer «US online population, fevereiro 08,

«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)

Dana Hall, Executive Editor da página/empresa Radio-Info.com, diz o que deve ter um bom site de rádio e dá tres bons exemplos:

«1. Consistent branding of your station.
2. Usable and effective advertising opportunities
3. Interesting and Interactive content for your Website user
4. Efficient and easy tools to use
5. Give them more than what they get on the air
6. Have a dedicated person to oversee and run the site
Three websites that I particularly like are CBS Rocker WXRK “K-Rock” New York, Radio One Urban WPHI “Philly 103.9” Philadelphia, and Clear Channel’s “alternative” Country KZPS “Lone Star 92.5” Dallas, each for different reasons. K-Rock is a great branding site, while WPHI’s advertising opportunities including effective advertorial, is impressive. Lone Star is simply a very non-traditional approach to a radio website (kind of like its format) and that’s what may make it so appealing to users. Check them out for yourself»

fonte: What makes a great radio station website?

«The BBC's iPlayer web catch-up service will include video streaming for PCs and Macs when it is launched at the end of the year. The broadcaster is to use Adobe Systems' Flash Player software to deliver on-demand streaming, which will be accessible to users of Macintosh, Linux and Windows. The relationship with Adobe will also allow the BBC to standardise most of its streamed video and audio content on bbc.co.uk. The BBC is to launch the iPlayer as a downloading and streaming service to consumers in time for Christmas. The platform will also include radio. It currently enables registered users to download and view around 400 hours of programmes up to seven days after their TV broadcast, and to store them for up to 30 days. The BBC has also become the first UK broadcaster to make all of its online content available for free via wi-fi at 7,500 hotspots operated by The Cloud. Users will be able to access bbc.co.uk via an interactive video, highlighting a range of content available or via a BBC logo. A further deal with Telegraph Media Group will see telegraph.co.uk offering visitors the chance to click through from its TV listings to iPlayer to watch BBC programmes.»

fonte: «BBC iPlayer to include video streaming»,Robin Parker, Broadcastnow, 16/10/07 

«Spring 2007 data shows less than 1% of diaries contain listening to Internet radio. But when listeners do tune-in online, they seem to favor local stations. In Fall 2006 66% of diary-keepers went to a webcast from a station they could also hear over the air. But they’re not replacing FM or AM with online —78% say they listened to the station via both mediums. According to Arbitron, 45% of stations are now streaming»

fonte: «Internet radio: Potential is great, listeners are few» Inside Radio 9/10/07
 

Ramsey: «(...)are you as alarmed as I am that so few radio stations actually have an online stake in their future? Granted, streaming the audio is not the only way to plant a flag online. But if distributing your content online isn't a main reason to BE online, then you need to go back to square one.»

«Internet radio has certain social strengths, because it is possible to create services even for very small and scattered groups all over the world without large initial investments. Although it has become the main delivery system for thousands of web-only radio operators and an important supplementary platform for practically all radio broadcasters, it has still problems with copyright  issues. When compared to broadcasting, perhaps the main economic disadvantage of Internet radio is that every new listener means more expenses for the program operator. This is why BBC is probably going to prevent foreign users to listen its domestic channels over the web. (Laven 1998, 6-8; Bagharib & Tan 2004, 2; Ala-Fossi 2005, 40-41; Colker 2005) Another disadvantage of Internet radio has been it's weak mobility and portability. While mobile phone approach may still be too expensive to use, a wireless broadband network with fixed rates can become a practical solution for listening live or streaming Internet radio outside of your home or office.» (Ala-Fossi, 2005: 23-24)

«"The hybrid or the meeting of two media is a moment of truth and revelation from which new form is born. For the parallel between two media holds us on the frontiers between forms that snap us out of the Narcissus-narcosis. The moment of the meeting of media is a moment of freedom and release from the ordinary trance and numbness imposed by them on our senses." » (Understanding Media, pág. 55)

«(...) what podcasting represents, and it is a moving trend rather than a finished product, is ‘hybrid energy’ – as McLuhan would term it – when one medium, radio crossing into another, the Internet. In this case it moves beyond the classic Internet radio forms, live-streaming, which simply used the Internet as a distribution platform and allows the meeting of radio and the Internet to create something new through a software marriage. The RSS is the facilitator or enabler which is allowing old media, whether newspapers, radio or television, to become something new in the Internet.» (Shaw, 2005: 15) 

Mark Ramsey elogia a nova criação da Clear Channel: um portal para vender e comprar carros, chamado DFWAutoplex.com:

«(...) it is an example of a new form of connection linking a station's audience to that station's advertiser so as to generate revenue results and happy customers without depending solely on a station's airtime in an ever-more-cluttered ad marketplace.

This is exactly the type of Internet-based, off-air "connection mechanism" we're going to see a LOT more of in the future, especially when it comes to sales categories of critical importance to the radio industry. It's exactly the kind of stuff I've been talking about on this blog over the past few months. As a radio station, your strength isn't that you have spots. It's that you have listeners.»

fonte: «You're not in the "Radio Business," you're in the business of hand-delivering leads», Hear2.0, 20/08/07

Sempre foi uma das questões com que os animadores das rádios musicais portugueses lidaram mal, a apresentação das canções que se seguem ou se seguiram (genericamente, mais por desleixo do que por incompetência).

Ou não apresentam, deixando os ouvintes pendurados, ou apresentam de uma forma incompleta, ou apresentam todas seguidas, como se tivessemos um lápis para assentar e ficar à espera (e, claro, às vezes apresentam bem!).

Esta manhã, antes das 10, na Antena 3 passou uma música que já tinha ouvido, com a qual simpatizei, mas de que nada sabia. Fiquei à espera, mas no final, Raquel Bulha disse apenas «Closer». Porque o refrão dizia isso mesmo, percebi que se tratava do nome da canção. Mas quem a canta? Felizmente existe hoje a internet e uma busca simples por «Closer» não demorou muito a fornecer uma resposta: «Closer», de Travis.

Não sou dos que defendem a pureza da complementaridade entre rádio convencional e internet, como se elas pudessem coexistir tranquilamente. O que me parece é que quanto mais a rádio convencional desiste de servir o seu cliente, dando azo a que ele procure noutro lado, menos tempo o cliente passará a ouvir a sua rádio. Veremos...

«A Internet é o tecido das nossas vidas. Se as tecnologias de informação são o equivalente histórico do que foi a electricidade na era industrial, na nossa era poderíamos comparar a Internet com a rede eléctrica e o motor eléctrico, dada a sua capacidade para distribuir o poder da informação por todos os âmbitos da actividade humana. E mais, tal como as novas tecnologias de geração e distribuição de energia permitiram que as fábricas e as grandes empresas se estabelecessem como as bases organizacionais da sociedade industrial, a Internet constitui actualmente a base tecnológica da forma organizacional que caracteriza a Era da Informação: a rede» (Castells, 2004: 15).

«A Internet (...) não é apenas uma tecnologia: é o instrumento tecnológico e a forma organizativa que distribui o poder da informação, a geração de conhecimentos e a capacidade de ligar-se em rede em qualquer âmbito da actividade humana» (Castells, 2004:311)

«A Internet é um meio de comunicação que permite, pela primeira vez, a comunicação de muitos para muitos em tempo escolhido e a uma escala global. Do mesmo modo que a difusão a imprensa no ocidente deu lugar ao que McLuhan denominou de 'Galáxia Gutenberg' , entramos agora num novo mundo da comunicação: a Galáxia Internet.» (2004: 16)

«Taking radio to task for not delving more rapidly into the digital space, Zenith Media's Matt Feinberg, who oversees the company's Radio and Interactive divisions, said radio is missing out on money that is increasingly being funneled to digital media. Digital is everywhere," he said at the June 28 Interep Radio Symposium. "There is a digital wave and everyone wants a piece of it, but radio is not there. People want pure digital buys, and radio is not there. Radio is a line item, a nuisance. It's a pain in the butt right now." With a couple of notable exceptions, he also said that radio groups aren't doing enough in the online space, either. "It's not that they're bad at it, they just haven't really done it," he said. "Citadel and Clear Channel have done some good things, but radio hasn't stepped up to digital frontier en masse. There is alack of understanding at the high levels, and they don't see the reasoning for the investment. I believe that wholeheartedly."

fonte: Radio Ink, Radio 'A Line Item' For Agency Rep, 01?/07/07

Um novo paradigma pressupõe saber como lidar com uma nova - e estranha - realidade.

As rádios procuram colocar conteúdos nas suas páginas on line, que prendam a atenção dos seus «ouvintes». Mas qual é o limite quantitativo para essa informação?

Mark Ramsey, assustado com os 150 links da z100 de Nova Iorque, lembra que o Google tem 17 ligações na sua pagina de abertura. E conclui, como os japaneses, que mais pode ser demais: «Before you craft a web page designed to overwhelm and turn off your audience, before you suggest to listeners that when they visit your site it's unlikely that they'll actually find whatever they're looking for, post this note over your webmaster's PC: "Hara hachi bu." (ou seja, «Japanese have a great expression concerning healthy eating habits: Hara hachi bu, or “Eat until 80% full.”)

Kurt Hanson explica porque é que vários grupos com responsabilidades nos EUA não aderem:

«First and foremost, some groups believe the death of Internet Radio is a blessing. They feel that the less Internet radio there is, the better off they will be. In fact, if all Internet radio stations disappeared tomorrow such that terrestrial stations could shut down their streaming efforts, I'm sure many would be glad to do so. (...) Radio will, in other words, be victimized by its lack of vision. Because not only will this rate hike, if it's approved, come back to haunt radio by setting a precedent for what "fair" compensation is, not only will it cause many broadcasters to abandon their streaming efforts (if they had any to begin with), it will also kill most small webcasters leaving room only for the folks with deep pockets and a long view of the future»

A Internet não precisa de ser legitimada cientificamente, dirão, porque todos nós sabemos que a usamos.

Mas há dados que mostram que a Internet não é como ver televisão ou ouvir rádio. «Num estudo efectuado em 2002/ a Datamonitor, uma multinacional especializada em estudos de mercado e líder na disponibilização de informação onine, apurou que a Internet demorou menos de dez anos até ser utilizada por cinquena milhões de indivíduos, enquanto a televisão precisou de aproximadamente quinze anos e o rádio cerca de quarenta». (Chaves et al., 2007: 29)

Putting such political nonsense to one side, the player gives access to every single station in the UK, either in an alphabetical format or by group ownership basis. This means that you can listen live, in real time, for free, to any station in Britain. Whether you are a record plugger wanting to assess a music format (or, more importantly, find out whether a station really is playing your artist's song), or a media buyer checking out the target audience, this is a brilliant tool. It is quick - almost every station buffers and streams live in less than 10 seconds - and there are fewer clicks than going on to the BBC website to "listen again".

This brings me to the BBC, and where some commercial radio executives start to get uneasy. The player features a "search" button, which brings up all of the BBC's national, regional and local stations (http://www.bbc.co.uk/imp/). So imagine if you are tuned to Magic, and the breakfast presenter Neil Fox promotes the RadioCentre Player URL. Listeners are instantly transported to a place where not only can they hear all of Magic's commercial rivals, but the BBC as well. Chris Moyles is just three clicks away.» (http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2094429,00.html)

fonte: «This is the future of radio - and new music», On An Overgrown Path, 08/06/07 

Diz Mark Ramsey (e aplica-se a muitos dos responsáveis por rádios portuguesas):

«Even in 2007 it's not uncommon for the average radio station to view their website as a cost, and usually a nominal one at that. To most stations even today, it's a billboard in cyberspace (remember that term?). A repository for boring details about your personalities, your music, your events, and tons of non-contextual banner advertising, occasionally bonused with a live stream. (...) Your website is a destination for enriching the experience of visitors in ways that entertain and involve them such that your brand is enhanced, usage is stimulated, page views are maximized, and revenues are generated. Start thinking about your website in those terms and recreate your site from ground zero. The trap in our industry is the norm. I can't count the number of times I'm asked for "a good example" of this or that on other radio stations. The best examples of websites for radio stations are generally not on radio stations. (...)The trap in our industry is the budget. Too many stations have volunteer webmasters if they have any at all. Your web effort will soon be as important as on-air programming effort. In fact, I would suggest you picture your website as an entirely separate radio station and budget accordingly. I can easily - easily - foresee your website attracting a larger audience than your radio station. »

fonte: Hear2.0, What your website is, 01/05/07

«One in three people now listen to radio via the internet, according to new research from Sony. Not only are millions listening to radio in new ways, but new technology is changing what people listen to. Some 15 per cent of people now use the internet to listen to shows and stations outside their terrestrial broadcast areas. Another 18 per cent of people have used the internet to listen to a radio show after it was broadcast by downloading from a radio station website.Internet listening is most popular in the 35-44 age group (41 per cent of whom listen this way), and in the 24-34 age group (40 per cent). The ICM poll also found that internet listening is more popular among men (36 per cent of whom listen via internet) than women (25 per cent).

Other findings include:

- 42 per cent of people listen via their television reflecting the growth of digital TV - 36 per cent of people listen via a digital radio (DAB) radio set, meaning more people use a TV than this service - 21 per cent listen via an MP3 or other digital music player, despite many consumers' devices not having an integrated radio tuner - 12 per cent listen via a mobile phone with built-in tuner, as more and more have this facility - 82 per cent listen via a conventional analogue radio set; Steve Dowdle, MD, Sony UK, said: "Internet radio is no longer the preserve of technology enthusiasts. This research shows that it is hugely popular among millions of people from a wide range of ages. “We can see just what an impact the internet is having on radio, changing how millions of us listen, and even changing what we listen to and when. He added, “This trend will surely continue, meaning great news for the millions who love radio, and further opportunities for the many talented people who work in it."Studies of young people found they now listen to radio via television sets, and via DAB digital radio sets. The research also found that a third of young people now listen to radio via mobile phones. (...) The research was released to coincide with the Sony Radio Awards which took place in Central London last night.»

fonte: «One in three listen to radio via Internet». UTalk.Marketing.com, 01/05/07

(os vencedores são conhecidos na terça-feira)

«The results show that listening to news online improves both recall and comprehension of events. Participants were able to retrieve more details and understand developments of actions when they had more control over the pace of information. (...) This physical attachment could translate into more cognitive activity, especially if a user can control the pace of information flow. In return, traditional radio listening is less engaging. This might explain why respondents in the condition of regular radio listening had a poor cognitive performance in the experiment. Nonlinear listening to news had an important role in elaboration on news content» (MESBAH, Hesham M. The Impact of Linear Versus Nonlinear Listening to Radio News on Recall and Comprehension, Journal of Radio Studies 13(2), 2006, 196-197)

«(...) The days when radio station sites could simply function as blinking billboards, showcasing station events and DJ bios are long gone.  Today, sites need to be interactive, focus on the music that listeners love, provide video, and cater to the needs of listeners [Fred Jacobs dá o exemplo de uma rádio dos EUA, a 107.7 The Bone, que tem uma página chamada «Ask th PD», ou seja, perguntem ao director de programas; este responde on line às perguntas dos ouvintes].»

fonte: Fred Jacobs, «MyCandidate», 30/03/07, Jacobs Media

É público que BBC, NPR e outras rádios de serviço público são as menos receosas relativamente ao podcasting e às novas mudanças que a rádio está a sofrer.

De acordo com a edição de 2007 do State of the News Media, a rádio do Washington Post, WTOP, estará ainda mais à frente:

«Washington-based WTOP represents an entirely different look at radio online, one which is simultaneously local and national in scope. The homepage features an obvious lead story; an invitation to visitors to listen to WTOP radio news; weather and traffic information for the day; and a prominently featured local news section. Advertisements also have a heavy presence. WTOP.com ranks in the top tier for offering customizable options. Users can subscribe to both RSS feeds and podcasts, and its RSS feeds are relatively varied (totaling 12 different feeds, all of which are different categories of news). WTOP also goes further than NPR in providing on-demand listening options: visitors can sign up for content delivery (headlines, weather, traffic and breaking news) to their mobile phones. WTOP.com is still largely about narrative text (it makes up close to three-quarters of the content with still photos the second-most common form). Still, it did make some effort at multimedia forms (falling in the mid-level range of all sites studied) with some presence of video stories, slideshows, interactive graphics and yes, live streaming audio. Listening makes up only a small though prominent part of the Web site’s homepage with a section called “ Audio Center” that is devoted to live streaming of the WTOP radio station content.The site puts less emphasis on its own original branded content, relying mostly on the A.P. The heavy use on wires reflects the larger reality of radio today — even in Washington, D.C., national and international news comes heavily from sources other than the station itself. And even for local stories, only some had WTOP staff bylines; most came from the A.P., along with a few contributions from the Washington Post. Economically, WTOP seems to emphasize revenue streams from its Web site, as opposed to simply leaning on its radio station for cash-flow. It averaged close to 20 different ads on its home page, only one of which was self-promotional. Ad eyeballs, it seems, are the way users pay for use of the site. All the content is free and there no registration is necessary»

«Web radio may be the biggest threat to radio since the advent of TV», diz-se neste artigo do Globe and Mail. «Without facing regulatory restrictions or a need to fight for space on a fixed radio dial, the Internet may just be the biggest threat to the radio industry since the advent of television -- and the established players, faced with a challenge to their business model, have stood up and taken notice.  Just as telling as Mr. Woost's popularity at the conference is the fact that Internet radio has new enemies -- in particular the U.S. recording industry, which this month proposed aggressive royalties many feel could be the death knell for the industry. For now, there's no question Web radio is taking off. With the proliferation of WiFi as a catalyst, companies have been quietly pumping millions of dollars into developing new technologies. Some of the industry's key players are upstarts, such as last.fm and Oakland-based Pandora. The bigger sites are better-known Web portals, with Yahoo Launchcast and AOL Music topping the global list. Even they started small, but Yahoo Launchcast now draws enough listeners to equal the largest FM stations combined in a major U.S. city like New York.(...)»

fonte: «Everyone's on the same wavelength now», GRANT ROBERTSON, 10/03/07, Globe and Mail Update

«Twenty years later, the Internet became the communications trend du jour, and even wilder predictions were made about its future. We know now that every optimistic prognostication made during the early nineties about the Internet, no matter how outlandish, underestimated what actually happened. No one back then dared to claim that within a decade a billion people would be connected, that many times more e-mails than letter would be sent, that the biggest stores in the world would have no walls (...)» (Levy, 2006: 121)

Mark Ramsey chama a atenção para o site RadioTime «that aggregates content from your station's stream and tons of others.Then, they showcase that content in a form that will be more attractive to a broad base of potential listeners. For example, as I write this I can choose from 237 stations if I want to tune in Bill O'Reilly's "Radio Factor." What? The show's not in right now in your town? Chances are it's on somewhere, and RadioTime can help you find it.»

É mais importante ter os conteúdos ou gerir os conteúdos?

«Do you ever find yourself humming a song whose title, to your frustration, you don't know or can't remember? New search Web site Midomi is designed to actually identify that song for you in as little as 10 seconds. Launching in beta mode on Friday, Midomi allows people to search for a song by singing, humming or whistling a bit of the tune. The site then offers search results that include commercially recorded tracks or versions of the song recorded by others who have used the site. The technology also lets people listen to the exact section of each of the results that matched their voice sample. People also can type in a song title or artist to get results. The system recognizes misspelled words. Melodis, the company behind the site, has licensed 2 million digital tracks that can be purchased and has accumulated about 12,000 more from users. Users, who range from aspiring American Idol contestants to professionals, can create profiles and rate one other's performances on the ad-supported site. »

fonte: «This Web site can name that tune», Elinor Mills, CNET News.com, January 26, 2007, 6:00 AM PT

diz o presidente da Bridge Ratings:

«"Traditional radio should heed this development," Bridge wrote of the latter prediction. "Just because radio has specialized in audio content for 100 years, doesn't mean it can't and shouldn't develop video to complement their brands. And with that will come a new stream of revenue. CPMs are much more lucrative with video on the net." Also, he believes, advertising in digital venues will become more contextual; small-screen devices will have limited appeal as a media platform; and marketers will make some mistakes as they move into new digital spaces.»

fonte: «Bridge: Radio Should Heed Digital Video Online», 4/01/07, RWOnline 

Etiquetas: video, convergência

«Traditional radio is carving out a bigger piece of the Internet radio pie. According to a J.P. Morgan report, terrestrial radio’s share of total unique visitors hit a new high in November, now at 33.1% compared to 66.9% for Internet operators. Overall, the number of unique visitors to Internet radio in the past 12 months is up 44%, according to a J.P. Morgan report, to 55 million. Since November 2005, the Internet audience has grown at a 3.1% monthly compounded rate. Growth in November was driven by sites run by both terrestrial and Internet radio operators, “though terrestrial had the slight edge,” the authors stated. “The terrestrial operators broke a string of two consecutive declines to grow their unique visitors about 5% sequentially, while the Internet operators rebounded after three straight months of declines to grow close to 2%.” The authors state that, “On a year-over-year basis, growth is much stronger, reflecting the terrestrial operators’ recent investments into their digital/online operations. Unique visitors to the terrestrial operators’ sites are up more than 110% year over year, while the Internet operators’ sites are up about 25% year over year.”»

fonte: «Terrestrial Radio’s Share of Internet Radio Listening Hits New High», RWonline, 21/12/06

«Adiós a las radios Am/Fm y al DAB móvil vía satelite. La radio Wi-Fi para internet es la verdadera revolución en el audio doméstico. No tiene rival en cuanto a contenidos, es fácil de usar, versátil, económica y suena de maravilla. La radio Wi-Fi para internet está destinada a ser el dispositivo imprescindible del 2007. Acoustic Energy ha lanzado la primera radio Wi-Fi que permite escuchar mas de 10.000 emisoras de radio online de todo el mundo. Puedes tener la radio en cualquier parte de la casa u oficina y utiliza tu conexión normal de internet via Wi-Fi. Es la primera en dar acceso, desde cualquier rincón del mundo, a más de 10.000 emisoras de radio on-line. La compatibilidad con los 3 formatos más comunes: mp3, Windows Media y Real Player, deja a la radio Wi-Fi de AE sin competencia! Sin tener que pagar cuotas ni subscripciones, sin problemas de recepción, sin ruidos de fondo ni fronteras.»

fonte: «Llega la Radio Wi-Fi»; Nodos.com, 21/12/06, Jesus Garcia

Etiquetas: segundochoque, wi-fi

«RADIO DJs could become a thing of the past with new technology which can personalise stations for music fans across the globe, experts said today. The University of Edinburgh researchers are developing the world's first "personal DJ", which would offer music commentary on-line tailored to a listener's taste. Instead of a DJ providing a voice-over, millions of nuggets of music trivia would be stored on a database and played to the listener using voice-generating software. Those behind the project believe their work could become a commercial reality by the end of next year. And with one in four people in developed countries thought to be tuning in on-line at the moment, experts say the new system could prove a real money-spinner. (...) Nick Wright "More and more people are listening to music on the internet - whether this means new internet radio stations or traditional radio stations streamed on-line," he said. (...)"For instance, if you like Bon Jovi, we could tell you about other work band members have written or produced.- (...) Although the voice is synthesised, the speech sounds natural. Different accents can also be recorded. (...)»

fonte: «Technology could spell the end for radio DJs» Manchester evening news, 21/12/06

Etiquetas: animadores, streaming

«Cambridge Consultants is preparing to blow wide open the rapidly emerging global internet radio market with a new platform technology designed to massively undercut its competitors. The Cambridge Science Park-based firm believes the low-power internet radio’s sub-$15 (£7.60) electronic bill of materials (eBOM) will rewrite the economics of the sector and create a global market opportunity.
Recent research from radio audience tracker, Bridge Ratings, shows that one in five people in the US – almost 60 million residents – are listening to internet radio at least once a week, a figure that increased 40 per cent in the last year alone.
Head of consumer products at Cambridge Consultants, Duncan Smith, said: “Combined with the existing infrastructure of Wi-Fi and broadband, we believe that the internet radio market is poised to explode as soon as the right product price/performance point is achieved. The Iona platform more than meets that target.”
The Iona Wi-Fi portable radio is based on just two silicon chips and will be launched at CES 2007 in the US at the beginning of January.
Cambridge Consultants believes it could lead to consumer products retailing for around £25 to £30 – under half of most of today’s internet-ready ‘kitchen radio’ type products.
The radio technology is designed to operate without a PC and to be as accessible and easy to use as current portable FM radios.)(...)»

fonte: «Internet radio power play launched», Business Weekly, By Lautaro Vargas, 13 December 2006,

«A internet é a mídia que mais atrai usuários com até 54 anos no mundo. São gastas cerca de 16 horas por semana navegando na web. Os dados fazem parte de um estudo divulgado nesta semana pela União Internacional de Telecomunicações (ITU), o braço da ONU para telecom, chamado “igital.life.  De acordo com a pesquisa, o tempo dedicado à navegação na web é oito vezes maior que o dedicado aos jornais, revistas e cinema, quase três vezes maior que o dedicado ao rádio e quatro horas maior que à televisão»

fonte: «Web atrai mais usuários que a TV, diz estudo», Info online, 5/12/06

Etiquetas: rádio, TV

«New York - Nov 28, 2006 - Clear Channel Radio’s Online unit has added news and video content from Reuters to its News on Demand service. News on Demand combines on-demand video and text feeds from Reuters with Clear Channel’s existing coverage of news. The service also allows Clear Channel radio stations to upload their own local news to their sites.»

fonte: «Clear Channel Online Teams With Reuters to Power News On Demand», radio Magazine, 27/11/06

Se, como diz Passman, «80% de todos os bilhetes [sobretudo para concertos] são agora vendidos através da Internet» (2006: 344), é óbvio que esse capital de notoriedade não pode ser desperdiçado. Os interessados estão lá. É lá que deve acontecer o marketing. E não, como acontecia, até agora, através da publicidade convencional em jornais, rádios e, nos casos mais relevantes, televisões.

PS - o mesmo autor chama a atenção para o facto de, no arranque da Net, muitas editoras terem registado os domínios na net para muitos dos seus grupos (que provavelmente ainda não tinham descoberto esta realidade). Isso teve como consequência que os sites oficiais são hoje propriedade das editoras, que os controlam, gerem e ainda cobram pelos conteúdos («After the predictable shouting, tugging, and gouging, most deals now provide that, during the term, the company will have an exclusive license to set up the artist's website, and the artist is allowed to set up an "unofficial" website. After the term, the rights go back to the artist, although companies keep the right to have an artist section on their website. Companies want to recoup the costs of creating and maintaining the artist's website», Passman, 2006: 135)

Etiquetas: marketing

«Remember when CBS wanted little to do with Internet streaming? CBS Radio said it now broadcasts 100 stations online, or 70% of its stations. The most recent is WRKZ(FM) in Pittsburgh. “Extending its audio content to an online platform is an ongoing initiative that CBS Radio began with the launch of the streams of its all-news stations in March 2005,” it stated. “To date, CBS Radio has amassed close to 4 million registered users of the company's online properties.”»

fonte: «CBS Says 70% of Its Stations Are Now Streaming», 30/11/06 Rwonline

Etiquetas: streaming

«phones, headsets, and speakers getting Bluetooth, it was inevitable that alarm clocks would get them too. iHome's iHC5 dual-alarm clock radio has wireless capability that lets you both stream music from your PC/phone and act as a speakerphone for your cell. The upside? You won't need both an alarm clock and speakers. – Jason Chen»

fonte: Gizmodo

Etiquetas: bluetooth, despertador, convergência

«UBC Media plans to launch a new service that allows radio listeners to instantly download songs to a computer or mobile phone, allowing for impulse driven media purchases. The company said that it would launch its Digital Music Downloading (DMD) service in London early in 2007. The service will be available throughout the UK in March. The DMD service will initially feature five streaming radio stations. Users can download songs in real time to both their home systems and specially-equipped mobile devices. The service uses prepaid credits and charges ₤1.25 per song. Apple's iTunes store charges 79p per download. The company said it has secured licensing deals with all four major record labels, as well as the PPL and MCPS licencing organisations. Currently, the only mobile device that is equipped to support the DMD service is Virgin Mobile's Lobster 700 TV. The company hopes that manufacturers will begin selling more devices that support the service next year. The music download service sends each song as an ecnrypted audio file alongside the radio broadcast over an internet connection. Because of the limited mobile bandwidth and associated costs, UBC at launch will offer only five radio stations.  The company plans to grow out its station line-up through software that transmits downloads directly through a home internet connection rather than a cellular network. The DMD service was first demonstrated in November of 2005 at an event in London. In August, the company conducted a month-long trial of the service with Birmingham radio station Heart 100.7.»

fonte: «Downloadable radio service prepares for takeoff» Shaun Nichols in California, vnunet.com 27 Nov 2006

Etiquetas: iTunes, downloads, streaming

A internet oferece uma panóplia de oportunidades para os músicos se promoverem, encontrando os seus fãs muito mais facil e eficazmente do que através da rádio.

A existência de páginas que recriam/constroem uma realidade virtual é mais um contributo: o Second Life ou o Habbo Hotel são disso exemplos. O Habbo Hotel, «a 3D online world popular with teens which is being targeted by record companies desperate to find new ways to reach this crucial audience. Next month U2 will become the biggest band yet to insert themselves into this virtual world, with cartoon-like representations of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr appearing within the game to host a pub quiz and promote their new album. In the UK, more than 800,000 users regularly meet in the sprawling virtual hotel to chat, play games, decorate their rooms and hang out in a variety of locations from pizza joints to swimming pools and nightclubs to burger bars. Globally, more than 66m Habbo characters have been created, there are communities in 29 countries across five continents, and it now has 7 million unique users a month. When they sign up, new users, typically aged between 11 and 18, create their own digitised versions of themselves and are then free to roam around and interact with others online at the same time.»

fonte: «Pop music moguls home in on the hotel with 66 million guests», Guardian Unlimited, 21/11/06

Etiquetas: SecondLife, HabboHotel, virtual, internet, música

«A rádio online do portal MSN, da Microsoft, não é mais a mesma. É que nesta semana o serviço incorporou a tecnologia do Pandora, um popular serviço de música online onde os usuários podem ouvir músicas por gênero e similaridades, seguindo o ´projeto genoma da música´, como o serviço se descreve. O acordo, dizem analistas do setor, foi feito para barrar a perda de ouvintes do serviço da Microsoft, que teve uma queda de 9% no número de usuários mensais no último ano, segundo a empresa de pesquisas ComScore. Um levantamento da companhia indica que o Pandora tem cerca de 1,1 milhão de visitas mensais, enquanto o serviço do MSN tem 2,5 milhões de visitas. Ao entrar no endereço da rádio online da Microsoft, o usuário acessa uma interface customizada do Pandora, onde tem as mesmas funcionalidades do serviço original. Basta digitar o nome de uma música, músico ou banda para ouvir um trabalho do artista preferido e, em seguida, conhecer canções de outras bandas ou músicos similares. Dentro do site, há ainda um serviço de recomendação em que o usuário pode dizer se concorda ou não com a seleção proposta pelo serviço, auxiliando a filtrar as recomendações propostas pelo Pandora. »

fonte: «Rádio online da Microsoft incorpora tecnologia do Pandora», Estado de São paulo, 23 de novembro de 2006 - 09:48

Etiquetas: Pandora, MSN, streaming

«Escuchar cadenas de radio digitales a través de la televisión o del ordenador incrementa en gran medida las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, ya que estos aparatos tienen un consumo de electricidad mucho más elevado que un aparato de radio convencional, según un estudio publicado por el Gobierno británico, informa el diario The Guardian.

Los británicos que sintonizan estas emisoras con sus ordenadores y televisores digitales incrementan las emisiones de CO2 en 190.000 toneladas al año. Los daños medioambientales provocados por estas emisiones están valorados en 12,6 millones de euros. El incremento en la utilización de pequeños electrodomésticos, y la sustitución de los aparatos de televisión analógicos por digitales podría incrementar en un 60% el consumo eléctrico de los hogares británicos. Blair augura una gran crisis económica y humanitaria por el cambio climático»

fonte: «Sintonizar la radio con el ordenador dispara las emisiones de CO2»,Internacional, 15/11/2006 La Crónica Social • Laura Vallejo.

«1. Is the purpose of your website just to put online what is already on the air, or is it something else?
2. Are we investing the necessary resources and talent in the development of our website, or are we having an intern update stuff in his spare time?
3. Are we giving people what they go to our station for in all its shapes and sizes on the web? Or are we offering one stream and a bunch of photos of our personalities?
4. If the content described in this article can generate considerable traffic, can we convert that traffic to revenue? And if so, then why aren't we investing for traffic instead of seeing our websites as expensive necessities?
5. If we keep crowing about how "local" our radio station is, exactly how does our website express that or service that?»

fonte: Mark Ramsey, Hear2.0, A website is not an expense, it's an investment, 17/11/06

«No one thinks radio is going away. But neither is radio any longer just a box with one dial for on-off and volume and another dial for tuning. "Radio" today can come through a subscription satellite service, a multichannel HD unit, a cell phone, a computer and who knows where else. What has changed very little is content. People still want music, talk, news. So the radio companies that offer this content in the most popular places are the ones apt to have the longest, happiest, most lucrative lives. That's why Clear Channel New York has hired Zena Burns to the new position of online program director. On the corporate flow chart, that puts her on the level with program directors Jim Ryan of WLTW (106.7 FM), Bob Buchman of WAXQ (104.3 FM), Sharon Dastur of WHTZ (100.3 FM), Helen Little of WWPR (105.1 FM) and Rob Miller of WALK (97.5 FM) and WKTU (103.5 FM). "Her position indicates the importance this company places on what she'll be doing," says Tom Poleman, senior vice president of programming and marketing for Clear Channel New York. "She'll be on a par with all our other PDs."

Etiquetas: Clear, Channel, internet

Sucedem-se as aplicações que visam reforçar/facilitar a ligação entre a emissão on line e a consulta através do computador:

«If you are a user of the Firefox Browser and a radio fan, you may be missing out on some great radio freebies available which will enhance your browsing experience. Various third-party developers, hobbyists, and programmers have created a wealth of add-ons which put the world of streaming online radio as close as your mouse» (Corey Deitz, «Many Radio Add-Ons Available for Users of Firefox Browser», 12/11/06, Radio About)

«On demand listening to BBC Radio on the internet has reached record levels, with 12.5 million requests logged in September 2006, according to the BBC's latest monthly statistics. The Archers (BBC Radio 4) was the most popular on demand programme (listened to after broadcast) on the BBC Radio Player, with 682,304 listens over the month.»

fonte: «Monthly figures reveal record requests for BBC Radio online», BBC on line, 6/11/06

Etiquetas: BBC

Citações a partir de um artigo do El País:

«Primero fue Orkut y las redes sociales, después Flickr y el intercambio social de fotos. Ahora triunfa la música social, con servicios como Last.fm, Pandora o iRate, que permiten hacerse una emisora de radio a la carta.»

«Cada oyente tiene una web propia en Last.fm, donde se publica esta información, de forma que es posible saber qué tema está escuchando en un determinado momento o ver estadísticas de los grupos que más le gustan. Esta lista de canciones preferidas constituye su emisora de radio personal, a la que puede conectarse cualquier oyente de Last.fm, para escuchar juntos lo mismo, o crear grupos.»  El registro es gratis y existe una versión de pago (3 dólares mensuales), con contenidos extra y sin publicidad. Junto a las suscripciones, el negocio se entrevé en la cláusula de privacidad: "Nos reservamos el derecho de vender o licenciar los datos de la música escuchada para su uso comercial, aunque nunca vamos a vender información personal que pueda llevar a un usuario específico".

«Pandora es otro servicio que comparte protagonismo con Last.fm. Nació en 2005 y no es necesario instalar ningún programa: pueden escucharse las canciones en su web. La novedad de Pandora es que no recomienda la música a partir de grupos parecidos, como Last.fm, sino que usa parámetros más detallados, como el tipo de melodía, ritmo, instrumentos, letras, etc.»

«La diferencia de iRate con los otros servicios es que la música se descarga de las webs de los artistas. La música ofrecida es de grupos independientes que no quieren cobrar derechos de autor o usan una licencia libre. iRate no es un negocio, sino obra de voluntarios.»

LAST.FM: www.last.fm

PANDORA: www.pandora.com

IRATE: www.irateradio.com

JAMENDO: www.jamendo.com

MUSICSTRANDS: http://musicstrands.com

YAHOO!LAUNCHCAST: http://music.yahoo.com/launchcast

Etiquetas: pandora, last, fm, streaming, internet

Pelo menos neste caso:

«(...) That's not a problem for KPLU-FM (88.5), says interim general manager Kerry Swanson. Last year, the station raised more than $200,000 from outside its signal area, from listeners as close as Spokane and from as far away as China and Japan who were "tuned in" on www.kplu.org or www.jazz24.org. In fact, Swanson says, revenue from beyond the region has been sizable enough that "we're recovering (the cost) -- and more." As the non-commercial jazz and National Public Radio station officially celebrates its 40th birthday this month, Swanson predicts the greatest growth in listenership audience -- and revenue from listener pledges -- will come from audiences delivered by those new technologies.  (...) On reason for that growth, Swanson believes, is KPLU's status as a jazz station. Competitive life would be much tougher, he says, were KPLU a Top 40 station competing with several others in that format in every market including its own. Jazz, on the other hand, provides an audience with an intense interest in the music but not many places on the dial to hear it (smooth jazz, a format played by such commercial stations as KWJZ-FM locally is an entirely different entity, he adds). With the advent of streaming a decade ago, KPLU made itself one of the top Internet-radio destinations. Now the station is looking at how to take advantage of new technologies that can deliver wireless Internet service -- and stations like it -- to laptop computers, handheld devices, cell phones, even the dashboards of cars. »

fonte: «On Radio: New technologies deliver listeners and revenue to KPLU», Seattle post intelligencer, November 9, 2006, By BILL VIRGIN

(estamos naquilo que os especialistas designam por web 2.0, a rede da socialização)

Com aparelhos como o RadioShark os meus programas favoritos passam à hora que eu quiser - o receptor, que se liga ao computador, grava como se fosse um video (como o TiVo norte-americano )e faz um ficheiro que eu posso ouvir quando quiser.

Quando toda a rádio estiver em podcasting isto não será necessário. Mas e se não estiver...

(as comunidades de ouvintes funcionam como os novos gate keepers informativos substituindo os realizadores da rádio. Com mais especialização, mais capacidade informativa e mais gente envolvida, pode conhecer-se mais e melhores músicas – do que aquelas que a rádio nos apresenta)

A comunidade de ouvintes do Last FM

«Trata-se do Last.FM, um site que proporciona aos utilizadores criarem a sua rádio on-line. Não uma rádio como normalmente a conhecemos. Aqui, será capaz de ter o seu espaço com as suas músicas predilectas, mostrando o que escutou a, sempre que quiser, iniciar pesquisas por informações de artistas, álbuns e músicas dentro do próprio site. Mas para dar início à verdadeira revolução, necessita de instalar no computador o reprodutor e um ‘plugin’, o Audioscrobber. Com eles poderá criar então a sua estação de rádio e procurar utilizadores que, por norma, ouvem o mesmo género de música. Ao participar nesta autêntica comunidade, o utilizador poderá escutar músicas gratuitamente, por género e com grande qualidade; criar o seu estilo musical; votar nas suas músicas favoritas; discutir sobre música em fóruns; entre outras coisas. Enfim, transforme os seus gostos numa estação de rádio para que outros saibam o que você ouve».

Desenvolvimentos deste caso.

«It looks like its back to the "Future of Rock and Roll" again for Cincinnati's popular alternative webcaster WOXY.
A post on the WOXY message boards last week from LaLa founder and Internet entrepreneur Bill Nguyen expressed interest in reviving the recently-defunct WOXY, ostensibly as a complement to LaLa's existing CD trading business.
A "town hall" meeting last night confirmed rumors as Nguyen met with former WOXY staff and various WOXY supporters to discuss their vision for bringing WOXY back (...) fonte: RAIN, http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/092606/index.asp

«Clear Channel Radio has announced the launch of a national roll out of mobile radio programming. New York’s Z100 will stream live radio and new features directly to cell phones across the country. The mobile service is provided by Cingular Wireless and DKNY Jeans is the first sponsor of Z100 Mobile. Subscribers of Z100 Mobile can interact directly from their phones to listen to streamed and on-demand content including podcasts of celebrity interviews and other segments. They can also find the title and artist of the last 10 songs played on-air, make a request directly to Z100 and receive a text message alert 15 minutes before the song is played, get free station wallpapers for their phone, rate listener-submitted photos and obtain real-time reports on local traffic.

“With Z100 reaching 2.5 million listeners each week, and 50 million consumers subscribing to Cingular Wireless, we are creating one of the largest audiences for any radio or mobile phone application in the US, thereby monumentally expanding Clear Channel Radio’s mobile content portfolio,” said Jeff Littlejohn, executive vice president of Distribution Development for Clear Channel Radio. “By connecting listeners to their favorite radio stations via cell phone, and adding interactive features, Clear Channel Radio has found an additional platform to deliver on-demand entertainment to, and drive listening among its active, on-the-go audiences across the country.”  Clear Channel Radio expects to launch similar programs on up to 100 more of its radio stations within the next year.»

fonte: «Clear Channel Radio Launches National Mobile Content Program», Radio Ink, 7/09/06

Era uma das mais conhecidas e elogiadas experiencias de rádio na net, sobretudo pelo que significou: era uma rádio hertziana que passou ao on line (já tratada aqui)

Acaba de anunciar que vai fechar:

«The Future of Rock and Roll" will end in two weeks. Managers of WOXY.com, the Internet-only radio station launched 26 months ago, will cease operation Sept. 15. (...) Bryan Jay Miller, 32, general manager, said the Internet station could not overcome distribution limitations and the lack of advertising revenues to maintain the four-employee operation.  "Internet radio is very cool, but you're still tethered to a computer for the most part. iPods, AM/FM radio and satellite radio are very portable," says Miller, who started at WOXY-FM in 1993."That impacted our advertising growth," he says. (...)

fonte: «WOXY.com to pull plug», Cincinnati Enquirer, September 1, 2006, JOHN KIESEWETTER

RAIN: «Exclusive to RAIN, Bryan Jay Miller adds: "Our problem has never been producing engaging, unique radio. We've been doing that for 26 years. The problem, almost from the very beginning, has been in making the Internet radio distribution and advertising model work for us as a standalone operation.
"On the upside, I'm very confident in the ability for WOXY.com's programming to really work with a more widely accessible and potentially different distribution medium or as part of a larger media play that can leverage what we're doing. There is a need for what we do, and our rabid community and listeners can attest to that. The bottom line is that we'd love to find a new home for what we do and a buyer or a business partner that can make that happen. No one wants to see this disappear." (1/9/06)

«NPR will create a major digital music service to extend the significant role that public radio stations, networks and producers currently hold in music discovery and create a unified place to showcase all genres on present and future media platforms.

This project is tentatively scheduled to roll out in the first half of 2007. It will address growing audience interest in on-demand and non-traditional settings to find music content, and to maximize the enormous music assets of local and national public radio.

"From the start, music in all forms has been a cornerstone of public radio. NPR, public radio producers and our station colleagues are recognized as important music presenters and curators for the public, wherever they are," said Ken Stern, Executive Vice President, NPR. "While this role began with traditional program broadcasts, we have pioneered innovations - independently and collaboratively - including a modular music production and acquisition program service, NPR Music online, live streaming concerts, podcasts and, most recently, digital radio multicast channels. The digital music discovery arena is a new and barely-explored one, and a logical place for NPR and the public radio system to take a leadership role."»

fonte: NPR, 30/8/06, NPR DEVELOPING DIGITAL MUSIC SERVICE

excerto da carta:

«Broadcasters are concerned with the future and viability of Internet streaming of free over-the-air radio broadcasts. Internet streaming offers listeners an innovative and convenient way of accessing radio broadcasts, and it will be a significant source of entertainment, news, and information for our listeners as we move into the digital age. We are committed to securing the future of this new and growing platform for the distribution of free, locally oriented radio.»

fonte: Radio Ink, «Rehr Writes Senators Regarding Internet Streaming Of Terrestrial Radio», 25/7/06

Agora com a Coca Cola...

«Coca-Cola and Clear Channel Radio have recently announced a partnership that will focus on branded venues and streaming concerts. The action begins in Dallas, where two venues - the Tab Energy Lounge and Full Throttle Garage – have opened their doors. Each location, which accommodates a small crowd, takes its name from a high-energy drink from Coca-Cola. Dallas area Clear Channel Radio stations will offer giveaways to various mini-concerts, and the action will also be streamed on station websites. Similar rollouts are expected in other cities across the United States»

fonte: Digital music News. Coca-Cola, Clear Channel Radio Partner on Streaming Concerts, 25/7/06

«As Classical programming continues to become more scarce across radio dials, a community of enthusiasts and experts is moving online to fill the void.

Laurel Ornish, a veteran Classical music supporter and one-time on-air personality at WRR-FM in Dallas, is part of this resurgence of the popular format on the Net. Ornish says that, "since the deregulation of radio in 1996,... most classical-music radio stations around the country... have had their formats switched to something more mass appeal."

Ornish claims that after much research, she found that demand for the format had not disappeared. Instead, she saw the move away from classical music as more of a corporate decision instead of a popular one. As a response, Ornish launched ClassicalTexas.com to attract fans of the format that she was convinced were still passionate as ever about classical music.

Ornish says that after attending presentations on streaming technology at an NAB conference, she was convinced of the potential of this medium to "step in and take up the slack with niche formats, such as classical and arts, that were going by the wayside in terrestrial radio."

ClassicalTexas.com offers a number of interviews with prominent classical music personalities conducted by Ms. Ornish herself that are available for listening on the Net or for download as a podcast. There is also a 4-hour program of music curated by Ornish and powered by Live 365 that is available to stream from the ClassicalTexas site. »

fonte: RAIN, http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/071106/index.asp

«(...) Media futurist Gerd Leonhard, while addressing delegates at the RadioAsia2006 conference in Singapore last week, said that audience growth now lies in interactive services and broadcasters had to be quick to capitalise on this phenomenon.

He said technological advancements allowed users to create and even send their own content through the Internet, which has become more of a social medium and a cheap and effective means for them to find new music and content.

Mr Leonhard emphasised this point by saying that in just a few years, podcasting had outgrown the number of radio stations globally, as there were currently only some 30,000 radio stations in the world as compared with about 47,500 radio station podcasts.

“The people formerly known as listeners are getting involved and even co-creating content. They once were just receivers. Now, they are senders. They can now interact with you and make their own contributions,” he said.

Mr Leonhard also warned radio broadcasters if they did not provide on-demand content that can be recorded and stored by users, they risked losing 50 percent of their market share. (...)»

fonte: «Media futurist: Radio broadcasters must go digital and interactive, Unesco website, 30-06-2006

Overall, 40 percent of Internet radio listeners surveyed have tuned in to a specialty site, with 26 percent saying they listen to their local stations on the Web and 22 percent reporting their listen to out-of-market stations' streams. (...)

fonte: «Study Finds Listeners Prefer Specialized Internet Radio Sites», FMQB, 29/6/06

Online success

The personalised radio scheme is expected to build on the success of the BBC's online radio services. In March, the corporation said people had listened to 20 million hours of BBC content online, using everything from live streams to downloaded programmes. The most requested shows include BBC Radio 4's long-running soap opera The Archers, and Chris Moyles' BBC Radio 1 breakfast show. In May, audiences downloaded 4.5 million BBC podcasts. In his speech, Mr Thompson said the corporations' governors would decide on whether podcasting would become a permanent service later this year. The decision will be based, in part, on a study of how the BBC's podcasts affect the commercial sector (...)»

fonte: «BBC to offer 'personalised' radio», Tuesday, 4 July 2006, 12:57 GMT 13:57 UK (via Pontomedia)

A aposta da Clear Channel, o maior grupo de rádio dos EUA, na internet está a provocar uma série de alterações, a nível do investimento e também das receitas. Há mesmo quem lhe chame, mais do que uma empresa de rádios, uma companhia de internet...

«The radio company's network of Web sites collectively were among the top five most-visited online music sites in May, according to comScore Media Metrix, ahead of Apple's iTunes and MTV.com after a year of steady growth.

The company said it is building a strong range of national and local advertisers for its online services, with food and beverage, including Oreo and Hershey's, the most prevalent brand group advertising.

Other sectors which have shown strong support for online ad opportunities include auto and telecommunications advertisers, Clear Channel said, including Dodge, Ford, Comcast and Verizon.» (fonte: «Clear Channel grabs Web share with music videos», reuters, 19/6/06)

A Sirius cumpriu a promessa e passou a ser possível ouvir Howard Stern fora do satélite - mas só para assinantes da Sirius (ou seja, no continente norte-americano). aqui

«The unprecedented observational research tracked the real-time media use of 350 people, recording their actual activities every 15 seconds. The results show that the Web is now clearly a mass media -- ranking right alongside other major media when it comes to reach and duration of use. And when it comes to at-work media use, the study found that the Web clearly dominates (with 54.6% reach, compared to television's 21.1%), and is the only medium that ranks among the top two at both work and home»

fonte: «Online Publishers Association Media Usage Study Shows The Web Now Rivals TV In Reach And Extends The Impact Of All Media», Internet Ad sales, 6/6/06, http://www.internetadsales.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=7706

Parece um projecto ambicioso - e que pode mudar o rumo do negocio da musica digital, a partir desta notícia da Billboard Radio Monitor:

«Silicon Valley company has asked the FCC to allow it to use—free—a band of radio spectrum for a free high-speed wireless Internet network that would cover most of the country and be supported by advertising.
M2Z Networks, formed by Silicon Valley venture capitalists, believes that its proposed venture would hasten broadband Internet use and lead to lower prices by spurring competition with cable and telephone giants that currently dominate the Internet market.
In its proposal, filed with the commission earlier this month, M2Z said it would need 20 megahertz of radio spectrum to send and receive wireless signals.
Traditionally, the fed auctions off sections of the radio spectrum to private companies to use for such transmissions as wireless Internet signals, mobile phone calls and broadcast TV.
In its 127-page filing with the FCC, The New York Times reports that M2Z said that the spectrum it sought was not scheduled for auction and could end up going to waste because it might not be easily used for other functions, like transmitting cell phone calls. But the spectrum would be enough to deliver the company's proposed free Internet access at 384 kilobits a second, about six times the speed of dial-up.

fonte: «VentureCap Firm Proposes Free Internet Using Radio Spectrum», Billboard Radio Monitor, May 23, 2006, By Chuck Taylor

Aqui pergunta-se: «Free Internet for All?»

São cada vez mais interessantes os serviços que a rádio na internet possibilita - distanciando-se da rádio hertziana: «Toda semana, o site da Guarani FM traz as letras e a tradução em português dos sucessos internacionais mais tocados na rádio». É engraçado e funciona bem.

(obrigado E.)

Outro exemplo: "Ever have a song stuck in your head, but can’t remember what it’s called, or even who sang it?  "If you at least know how it goes, try this astonishing Web site, suggested to me by a reader: It’s SongTapper.com. "Basically, you tap your Space bar in the rhythm of the melody notes–'Lu-cy in the sky-yyyy, with di-i-a-monds' or whatever–and, incredibly, the site guesses which song you meant.

"In my very few tries, it did amazingly well. (It also offers a link to the iTunes music store so you can hear 30 seconds of the actual song for free, to confirm its wisdom.)" Read the entire post at David Pogue's blog, Pogue's Posts.»

«A young Cambridge company developing modules for internet radios has signed a breakthrough deal which will see its technology included in the suites of some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. Reciva has entered into an agreement with The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, owner and operator of The Peninsula Hotels, to introduce Reciva internet radio products into the company’s hotels. Installation of customised radios will begin with selected suites in The Peninsula New York and The Peninsula Chicago, followed by all guestrooms and suites at The Peninsula Tokyo, which is scheduled to open in 2007. Reciva’s technology uses Wi-Fi to connect to the thousands of radio stations broadcasting over the internet. A content browser on Reciva radios allows users to navigate live and on-demand broadcast radio by country and genre to select radio stations from anywhere in the world»
fonte: «Luxury hotel chain picks up Reciva», Business Weekly UK, Ben Fountain, 17 May 2006

To participate now, create a 1067needshelp.com creator account and you can begin giving us your input. Thanks in advance for your help and creative feedback! It's all about you... take control.... It's your station!!!!»

«The panel also featured audience participation that displayed the type of innovation typical of the Internet radio ad landscape. Spacial Audio's Rockie Thomas, a moderator from an earlier panel, argued that Webcasters have "basically been approaching [advertising] too much like a terrestrial product" with ad spots that are too long for the Net radio audience»

fonte: http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/050306/index.asp

«From Digital Music News: "Mercora will soon power a new online radio offering from NME.com, part of a deal announced Tuesday. NME.com,  a Time Warner Inc. company, will deliver a beta version of its MyNME Radio service  at the end of this quarter. The UK-based offering will tap into a Mercora architecture that resembles a streaming P2P file-sharing service. Mercora allows users to stream the personal collections of various members, and listeners can search for user-generated stations that contain specific content.

"Record labels have eyed Mercora suspiciously, especially given its close affinity to P2P-style sharing... Meanwhile, the NME deal is likely to expand the concept audience considerably... Kevin Heery, director of Digital Development at Time Warner subsidiary IPC Ignite, [said], 'our partnership with Mercora will provide this community with the ultimate music social network experience.'"

fonte: "Leading Uk music mag prepares own online radio service"

Regardless of where the value play is, the company is clearly pushing an involved music agenda. Part of the opportunity, according to Lombard, lies in an alienated consumer that still craves great music. "We are connecting with customers that no longer have a music experience," Lombard said, who pointed to a "disenfranchised consumer". That means stepping outside of mainstream hits, and allowing for greater music discovery. "Ours is a focus that goes beyond the top 40, and we are digging deep to try to find good music," he said.

«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

« 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."»

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»

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»

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.

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 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

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

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

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 $9.99 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 $3.00 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 $7.99 per month compared to Rhapsody's 100 channels for $9.99. Compare the channels offered by each one to make your best decision».

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

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

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.»

Um estudo mostra que a Internet se está a afirmar como fonte de informação privilegiada. O que tem duas consequências de sentido contrário: por um lado significa uma desvalorização da rádio como meio informativo; por outro, a rádio - on line - pode e deve aproveitar para ocupar o «espaço vago»: ouvir a rádio enquanto se navega na internet (e isto remete para uma constatação: pode ser a rádio a afirmar-se como fonte de informação privilegiada na internet; em vez de se demitir de concorrer nesse campeonato, a rádio pode ser uma boa web-fonte)

iSeeRadio will demonstrate its IP broadcasting and advertising product for radio stations at the NAB show. iSeeRadio says it enables stations to broadcast live interactive video and audio through a customizable media player. The Continental Vista Broadcasting Group Inc. company says iSeeRadio’s advertising features include sponsorship banners; interactive ads in Flash, static or video formats; and ads targeted by demographics or geography, and e-commerce. iSeeRadio recently expanded its relationships with Clear Channel and Budweiser. The company is exhibiting under its parent company's name, WhiteBlox.»

(fonte: 'See' iSeeRadio, RWO,2006-03-29)

Já aqui se falou no Roku, um aparelho que recebe, em qualquer parte da casa, webradio, libertando-a do computador e dos fios.

Agora é o Wall Street Journal que se deixa impressionar:

«Many folks would rather listen to Internet radio in rooms where their computers don't live, or where they'd rather not lug a laptop. To do so today, you have to buy a device that transmits music from a computer to remote speakers... None of these devices includes its own built-in speakers...

"But, this week, we tested a new Internet radio product that's totally self-contained and requires almost no setup. It doesn't depend on a computer to bring in Internet radio, but does the job itself, wirelessly connecting to your broadband service, just like a computer does. And it doesn't require an external audio system. It has its own built-in subwoofer and speakers, just like a traditional radio. It even looks like a traditional radio, but it does much more.

"This new product is called the SoundBridge Radio, and comes from Roku LLC. It's due to hit store shelves in a few weeks at around $400, which includes a remote control.

"By including speakers, Roku eliminates the intimidating extra step of fiddling with wires to attach the device to a separate sound system. With its own sound system, the SoundBridge Radio can also function as an alarm clock, and it can receive your local AM and FM stations over the air, in addition to Internet radio.

"And, even though it doesn't require a computer for radio, the SoundBridge can pull music off your computers wirelessly and play it. It can even play music stored on a SecureDigital memory card.

"In addition to playing roughly 100 preprogrammed Internet radio stations, the SoundBridge Radio also detects and plays music from all libraries within range of your wireless network — without having to install any special software on your Windows or Mac computer...

"To add your own Internet radio stations onto the SoundBridge Radio, you must use a convoluted method involving iTunes. This summer, Roku plans to upgrade its software so as to include many more preprogrammed stations on each device... (...) (fonte: RAIN)

A BBC vai mudar a sua oferta na net, de modo a personalizar os conteúdos e permitir compras individuais.

«The BBC has outlined plans to redesign its online offering for an era of on-demand TV and radio, and personalised web services (...) "Audience needs are changing. They want to consume media on their own terms, anytime, anyplace, anyhow," Mr Highfield told the audience at the Microsoft Mix06 conference» (dica NetFM)

«Internacionalmente, um dos primeiros registros de rádio na rede [Os dados referentes à primeira emissora na internet são demasiadamente desencontrados. Não há registros oficiais dos governos internacionais e nacional a respeito de emissoras no www] se deu em maio de 1997, na Espanha. A Radio Cable foi a primeira emissora daquele país presente na internet.»

fonte: «RÁDIO NO CIBERESPAÇO – INTERSEÇÃO, ADAPTAÇÃO, MUDANÇA E TRANSFORMAÇÃO», Raquel Porto Alegre dos Santos Alves, Intercom

De acordo com Carmen Gómez Mont («La radio en la convergencia de las nuevas tecnologias», in Revista mexicana de Comunicación, nº 65, setembro-outubro 2000, pág 45) as três espécies diferentes de rádio na rede são:

1) A estação propriamente radiofônica que busca traduzir matérias em linguagem digital e que existe previamente em ondas hertzianas. É o caso da CBN7, aqui no Brasil; da BBC de Londres8 e da Rádio França Internacional9, para citar alguns exemplos.

2)  aquele que nasceu na própria rede, é embrionariamente digital. Um exemplo desse tipo de emissora é a espanhola Rádio Cable10, que, pioneiramente, iniciou suas transmissões em 17 de maio de 1997.

3) a rádio pirata que luta para ter voz no ambiente eletromagnético e que encontra na internet o espaço ideal para a expansão livre, sem temer à censura e à perseguição dos órgãos regulamentadores. Exemplos: a mexicana Pirata Web3, estação hospedada no servidor da Universidad de Guadalajara, e a RádioPirata11 de Taubaté (SP), hospedada no portal IG.»

«RÁDIO NO CIBERESPAÇO – INTERSEÇÃO, ADAPTAÇÃO, MUDANÇA E TRANSFORMAÇÃO», Raquel Porto Alegre dos Santos Alves, Intercom

(esta classificação parece-me errada - o terceiro exemplo não tem justificação para se distinguir do segundo - e esquece os serviços de audio que começam a aparecer, como se fossem rádios classicas, mas geridos apenas por computador) 

«o rádio na rede não vai substituir o rádio hertziano. Muito pelo contrário, ambos existirão concomitantemente e as emissoras se vêem, agora, obrigadas a gerar “algo mais” ao usuário»

«RÁDIO NO CIBERESPAÇO – INTERSEÇÃO, ADAPTAÇÃO, MUDANÇA E TRANSFORMAÇÃO», Raquel Porto Alegre dos Santos Alves, Intercom

LaunchCast: http://launch.yahoo.com/launchcast/setup.asp

 "Nielsen//NetRatings... announced today that the number of active broadband users from home increased 28% year-over-year, from 74.3 million in February 2005 to 95.5 million in February 2006. Broadband composition among the U.S. active online population has seen vigorous growth during the past three years, increasing at least ten percentage points annually and hitting an all-time high of 68% for active Internet users in February 2006...

"Overall Internet penetration in the U.S. has stabilized over the past few years, reaching 74% at home in February 2006... Since February 2003, the average PC time per person among active Web users has increased approximately five hours from 25 and a half hours a month to 30 and a half hours a month."

Fonte: Nielsen ratings; 14/3/06

Pandora offers streamed recommendations based on expressed listener preferences, and matches core musical attributes to serve up new gems. That system may appear brainy to some, especially those that are more comfortable with actual deejays and more traditional radio formats. Elise Nordling, music director at SomaFM, pointed to the important companion role that radio plays. Deejays do more than just pick songs, they often build a bond with listeners. "People want company," she said. Meanwhile, music industry consultant and KCRW commentator Celia Hirschman pointed to the importance of nurturing listener relationships, which are created by establishing trust and maintaining a high level of programming integrity. "The quality of the music is important," she said. Addressing the recent Eliot Spitzer payola probe, Hirschman wondered if big terrestrial giants will ever change. "Radio stations are less likely to work with independent promoters, but the net effect is unclear," she said. Pointing to a format that is focused on big advertising, Hirschman noted that mainstream radio "will probably still go with heavily powered major label stuff," mainly because they are fearful of alienating advertisers and listeners with unfamiliar, new sounds».

«Radio Morphs, Next-Generation Listener Emerges», Digital Music News, 15/3/06

Filadélfia:

«From the San Jose Mercury News: "Philadelphia on Wednesday announced details of its deal with EarthLink Inc. for the construction  of a high-speed wireless network that will span the city, including provisions for EarthLink to pay for computers, training, and subsidize Internet access for low-income households...

"The 135-square-mile network is expected to be completed next spring. The contracts call for EarthLink to rent space on 4,000 city light posts for its equipment, and pay the city $74 annually per light post — for a total of nearly $300,000 a year. EarthLink also agreed to give Wireless Philadelphia 5% of its access revenue.»

Era uma vez uma rádio chamada Y100, com programação alternativa em Filadélfia, que o seu proprietário, o grupo Radio One, decidiu reformatar.

Quando isso aconteceu, faz agora um ano, os seus animadores abandonaram a rádio e recriaram a Y100 na internet. Estão a assinalar um ano de emissões. De borla!

* sobre o narrowcasting

Além do satélite norte-americano, a Deloitte diz que vão aparecer os serviços a pagar através da internet como tendência para 2006. Depois de ler este caso fico com muitas dúvidas de que seja uma tendência para 2006...

«A rádio seguirá o caminho percorrido pela televisão, à medida que o seu modelo de negócio evolui, deixando de depender da publicidade para passar a contar com a subscrição ou assinatura, revelou ontem um estudo da Deloitte sobre as principais tendências da tecnologia, media e telecomunicações para 2006.

Esta novidade na rádio vem proporcionar maior flexibilidade aos clientes e abre novas oportunidades para os operadores.
De acordo com o mesmo estudo, serão lançados novos mecanismos de distribuição do meio radiofónico, tais como serviços baseados na internet. Neste momento, existem já 12 milhões de assinantes norte-americanos de rádio por satélite e prevê-se que este mercado registe um crescimento de 35% até ao final da década».

(informação oficial, retirada da FNAC; dica: NetFM)

A propósito da decisão da rádio on line Woxy passar a ser paga, a Radio and Internet Newsletter especula sobre os caminhos que a rádio on line terá de tomar. Com esta conclusão: só com conteúdos alternativos, diferentes, novos é que a rádio on line poderá sobreviver (entendendo aqui rádio on line como aquela que vive independente da emissão hertziana): «Is what you're doing something that could only work  in an online environment and something that takes advantage of the medium? If so, go for it. If not, you may belong in the analog world." »

Mais do mesmo: «"Think about it: Could Videobomb, Pandora, Last.FM, Digg, Slashdot, MySpace and eBay exist offline? Of course they couldn't! Could WOXY exist offline? Um... duh! Of course it can: It's called 'radio,' and it's been with us for around 100 years now. Sure, being online offers a few minor perks for a station like that, but overall, it ain't doing something that couldn't be done with older technology and, I might add, more conveniently. Until we've got ubiquitous Wi-Fi, taking Internet radio on the go is kind of tough. And even if we did have ubiquitous Wi-Fi, the quality of a good connection is still going to be less than the quality of a bad FM radio. It's just the way things work»

"The first-ever full year of online radio measurements is in, and it shows that the medium's audience nearly tripled during that time. Arbitron Inc. and comScore Media Metrix found average quarter-hour audiences increased 177% from October 2004 to October. The report covers the three original subscribers to the service: Yahoo!'s LaunchCast Radio, America Online's Radio@AOL Network and Microsoft's MSN Radio and Windows Media Network. Live365 joined the ratings in January 2005, and during the next 10 months experienced a 67% increase in its weekday individual listeners. Clear Channel's online radio station, which began in June, recorded a 14% rise in individual listeners.

(Online radio audience triples, Hollywood Reporter, Feb. 03, 2006, Chris Marlowe; via Obercom)

A experiência pandora.com continua a entusiasmar aqueles que a descobrem 

«Pandora.com, an inventive "Internet radio" website that generates music streams — "stations" — based on one’s favorite artists or songs.»

(mas apenas continua acessível nos EUA: "At this time we are only licensed to offer Pandora music services to residents of the United States. Audio streaming regulations differ from country to country, and we are working on acquiring the proper licenses so we can legally offer Pandora outside of the United States. We require your zip code to confirm that you are a resident of the United States"; a solução para os que quiserem experimentar - e vale a pena - é introduzir um qualquer código postal de cinco numeros na caixa que pede «zip»)

O assunto já tinha sido desenvolvido aqui, mas parece ser cada vez mais interessante:

"Illicit downloading of shock jock Howard Stern's shows increased fivefold Thursday after the Los Angeles Times reported on the broad availability of bootlegged versions of his Sirius Satellite Radio program on Internet file-sharing networks.

"The genie's out of the bottle," said Aram Sinnreich, managing partner of Radar Research, a Los Angeles media consulting firm.In 2004, Sirius hired Stern on a five-year, $500-million contract in hopes of wooing new subscribers to its $12.95-a-month satellite radio service. He helped deliver more than a million new subscribers before he even took to the microphone Jan. 9.

But almost immediately, pirate radio stations in New York and New Jersey began rebroadcasting the show on unclaimed FM radio frequencies, and websites began streaming it online without permission.

Sirius was quick to take legal action and, in an ironic twist, to seek help from Stern's longtime nemesis, the Federal Communications Commission.

Internet file-sharing sites, which allow potentially millions of computer users around the globe to exchange audio recordings, represent a challenge that comes as no surprise to Sirius. In recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, the company acknowledged that piracy could "harm our business."

The extent of that harm is still not fully known. Mark Ishikawa, chief executive of BayTSP, a Los Gatos, Calif., company that monitors online piracy for the entertainment industry, described the surge in downloads Thursday as "waking the sleeping giant."

"Ilicit Downloading of Stern's Show Soars Fivefold", LA Times, 3/2/06, By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer

Lembram-se do projecto Visual Radio?

Pois há aqui um concorrente interessante; make your audio visual!

Neste artigo da PC Mag ("Everything Kills the Radio Star", 14/9/05, de Lance Ulanoff) fala-se em duas fases da rádio na net; a primeira, logo após a explosão da net ("In the early days of the Internet, radio stations were among the first media outlets to try putting their content on the Web. Station after station around the country added a little link to its rather amateurish Web sites, offering live, streaming audio of their broadcasts. The quality was, as I recall"), e a que se vive agora:

"The fad fell victim to rising expenses: No one wanted to pay for the bandwidth costs, and radio execs were hard-pressed to prove to advertisers that their message was reaching more people online. What's more, the Internet was allowing local stations to encroach on each other's territory, making a mess of the FCC's rules for where local radio stations could broadcast (in place mostly to avoid actual interference between two stations on adjacent bands).

Within a year or two, I found it virtually impossible to find any decent commercial radio stations online. I could always find small-market ones but not my favorites.

Today companies like Clear Channel, Infinity Broadcasting, and NPR have all rethought their strategy. Of course, it's no longer about trying new things. This new interest in broadcasting online is all about survival. (...) The number of online radio stations has jumped into the thousands, and the list is full of commercial stations you know and love. It's also easier to find stations and manage your choices, since we no longer have to choose from a number of proprietary players. Quality is also much improved, thanks to better compression technologies and broadband."

Estes números revelam que a Internet superou a rádio e os jornais entre as preferências dos nipónicos, já que apenas 3,5 por cento dos inquiridos souberam do acontecido pela rádio e 3,2 por cento pela imprensa. »

«Web bate imprensa e rádio no Japão», 2000-05-31 14:50:00, Casa dos Bits

Enquanto uns ainda dormem (não imaginando o que aí vem), outros demoram a acordar (esperando para ver) e outros se recusam a acordar ("isso não vai dar nada"...), a NPR marca a agenda da rádio na internet.

Esta inicitiva é disso exemplo:

"This weekend, National Public Radio (NPR) continues its popular Online Concert Series with a performance featuring Colin Meloy and Laura Veirs. The series, which marks its one year anniversary with the acoustic set, has become a popular source for both legal and free content. The concerts are streamed live, then offered as free downloads in the NPR archives. So far, there are 17 programs in the archive, ranging from favorites like the White Stripes to the more obscure Calexico. In between, the NPR archives offer a mix of acts as disparate as James Brown, The Shins, and Sigur Ros. Specific songs from the set will also be positioned within the All Songs Considered weekly podcast series."

Uma actualização interessante de Paula Cordeiro sobre um tema já tratado pelo menos duas vezes neste espaço, o projecto de dar imagem à rádio ("Visual Radio"):

"A Visual Radio já está disponível na Finlândia, Singapura e Tailândia e tem já estações de rádio interessadas no sistema na Alemanha, Suécia, Reino Unido e Estados Unidos, faltando apenas o operador de telecomunicações para disponibilizar o serviço. Na Turquia, está previsto que o serviço comece a funcionar ainda este ano.
Este sistema resulta de uma parceria entre a Hewlet Packard e a Nokia para disponibilizar um serviço complementar às emissões em FM, com conteúdos no telefone, sincronizados com os que estão a ser transmitidos pelas ondas hertzianas, possibilitando consultas várias sobre o artista que se está a ouvir, acesso a notícias, trânsito e estado do tempo, a par com a apresentação de conteúdos promocionais e publicitários, bem como a possibilidade de fazer compras" ("Convergência multimédia: ouvir o jornal e ver na rádio...", NetFM)

a Pandora e a Last.FM

"Last.fm is great.  It requires a number of things from you.  First, that you listen to a lot of music on your computer.  If you don't there is no way for last.fm to capture your music listening data.  Second, that you download the plugin so that they can in fact capture your music listenting data.  And third, that you are interested in an online social experience for discovering music." (via Pontomedia)

A internet permite à rádio:

- resolver o problema da limitação dos emissores (a rádio mais local passa a emitir para todo o mundo);

- resolver o problema da limitação administrativa de frequências (pode haver múltiplos canais com múltiplos serviços);

- resolver o problema da gestão de tempo (a rádio deixa de ter “apenas” 24 horas para gerir todos os conteúdos; os programas deixam de estar associados a uma determinada hora, podendo ser ouvidos quando e onde o ouvinte quiser; deixa de ser necessária a repetição de programas na antena; existem na net);

- resolver o problema da precaridade da mensagem (antes a rádio era instantânea e irrepetível, quem não ouvia na íntegra perdiao essencial, não percebia ou percebia mal; com a net pode ouvir quantas vezes quiser e até gravar e guardar);

http://www.pandora.com/ é um projecto de rádio on line (apenas nos EUA) - pretende criar canais personalizados em função dos gostos (aproximados) dos que o consultam (por artistas ou géneros), a que chamam rádios. "Just tell uson of your favorite songs or artists and we’ll launch a streaming station (...)". Existe a versão gratis, com pub, e a paga (livre de anúncios).

Mas será isto rádio?

O que é que é preciso para que seja rádio? A voz? Não estamos, antes, a falar de canais de distribuição de música?

Ou o paradigma actual da rádio está mesmo a mudar e no futuro este microcasting (rádio a la carte, com serviço personalizado) será a marca distintiva da rádio? 

ACT com o contributo de Edgard Costa: "Se aceitarmos que rádio é: " ... um sistema de comunicação usando ondas electro magnéticas que se propagam pelo espaço", e que as redes wifi, cada vez mais distribuidas pelas grandes cidades, também utilizam estas ondas para transmissão de dados, e que estes dados hoje podem ser programas de rádio (enquando emissora) então isso também é rádio, bem como a rádio é digitalizável. Uma vez que se completar o processo de digitalização de todo o tipo de informação, (Livros, TVs, Rádios, etc) tudo será uma coisa só. O que distringuirá uns de outros será mesmo só a linguagem pois o meio será um só.

A escrita analógica e a escuta em hiperligação

Mais um exemplo: contratou James Brown para um concerto em exclusivo na internet! E depois estará em mp3 e em podcast

Pormenores: "National Public Radio (NPR) has just tapped the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, for a special live streaming event. The radio network, which has already streamed exclusive performances from a long list of well-known groups, will deliver the Brown performance on npr.org on Wednesday, December 28th. The Godfather will perform from the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, a longtime host to countless superstars and breaking acts. The James Brown performance will be available as a downloadable MP3 on Thursday, and select songs will be included in the "All Songs Considered" podcast. Previously, NPR has offered streams and on-demand content from the White Stripes, Sigur Ros, Sinead O’Connor, Death Cab for Cutie and David Gray.

The James Brown webcast and on-demand offering are part of an ever-widening media footprint for NPR, which now stretches far beyond the core terrestrial radio audience. The group is certainly not alone in its ambitions, though NPR has been quite successful leveraging its brand equity online and across new formats like satellite radio. Meanwhile, NPR has made an impressive move into podcasting, and the “All Songs Considered” podcast consistently ranks highly on aggregators like iTunes and Yahoo. Overall, the public radio network has an enviable following among higher-end, educated listeners, many of whom are glued to a member station during commutes or at the office."

Um exemplo a seguir pelas rádios:

"The move is another example of how content providers are repurposing their material for the web, something that has taken on a new dimension following the introduction of the video iPod. What makes the project particularly unique is that the BBC is encouraging users not just to watch these iconic moments in history, but to create something else with them."

A BBC explica-se aqui.

Retirei estes dadosde uma notícia do DN de 3/12/05 ("Publicidade do portal Cotonete cresceu 30%") e que penso não ter regsitado neste espaço até agora:

"Estudos recentes indicam que, nos EUA, a publicidade online feita desde 2000 suplantou já o investimento em outdoors e representa o equivalente a 80% dos valores registados nas revistas, embora os cibernautas mostrem cada vez mais propensão para ignorar ou mesmo bloquear  as formas convencionais de pubÍicidade na Internet.

Também em Inglaterra, a publicidade online suplantou, no ano passado, por uma reduzida margem de 0,1 %, o investimento feito na rádio tradicional. Os 968 milhões de euros gastos em anúncios na Web representaram 3,9 % de quota do mercado britânico"

Impossível? Nada é impossível...

Duas empresas (uma norte-americana e outra holandesa) acabam de lançar a versão norte-americana do WebRadio, um aparelho inventado a pensar nos que queriam ouvir a missa na rádio mas não sabiam mexer no computador ou lidar com o "streaming". Portanto, este não é um aparelho a pensar em jovens amantes de gadgets ("geeks"), mas em todos aqueles que por uma razão (aquela, por exemplo) ou por outra (simplicidade...) se querem libertar do computador ("This device is part of a growing trend of freeing Internet content from the shackles of the computer", dizem os seus responsáveis. O aparelho (rádio?) também permite ouvir podcasts pelo mesmo sistema.

Qual? "Users plug in their device to their home network, office LAN, or regular telephone line and connect to the PenguinRadio central database of radio stations and podcasts from PodcastDirectory.com. The radio automatically connects to the Internet and commences streaming media from broadcasters and podcasters around the world. Within seconds, the device coupled with PenguinRadio's database of stations can be operating."

Um dos responsáveis de uma das empresas envolvidas no WebRadio faz esta previsão: "one day every radio will work this way". "Internet radio devices will be as common as FM in a few short years, and there will be a large market for radios of all styles and price ranges."

Informação via Radio.About, «New "Web Radio" Retrieves Webcasts, Podcasts Without a Personal Computer», Corey Deitz, 2/12/05. 

Aqui está a história da Magnatune, uma resposta individual às limitações que a indústria discográfica impõe a criadores alternativos.

O autor conta como chegou à constatação que tinha de encontrar uma alternativa, até porque, para além dos custos com a música, a rádio é "mainstream": "Radio is boring: everyone I know is into interesting music, yet good music is rarely played on the air. I'm into everything from Ambient, Industrial, Goth, Metal to Renaissance, Baroque, Tango, Indian Classical and New Age (and many other genres!), and so are many of my friends. Yet, these genres are barely visible in record stores, and totally absent from the airwaves. Radio is mostly about Country, Pop, and Rock, with a little bit of dull, safe classical thrown in".

John Buckman decidiu então criar a sua própria editora, a que chamou Magnatune: "The goal is to find a way to run a record label in the Internet Reality: file trading, Internet Radio, musicians' rights, the whole nine-yards. "

(obrigado Eduardo)

Luis Santos, do Atrium, aponta um caminho de sobrevivência da rádio, baseado na internet.

O pretexto dele são os numeros de programas da BBC ouvidos na net:

"A Rádio talvez seja o meio de comunicação mais exposto ao risco de desaparecimento. Ele são os podcasts, ele são os serviços acrescidos dos telemóveis, ele são as TV’s temáticas em ciclo contínuo (mais a sua crescente portabilidade).
Aceito que assim seja. Que o risco exista. Mas - parece-me - só estaremos perante uma situação terminal se ninguém se aperceber da mudança necessária para sobreviver.
A BBC aponta o caminho...e é um caminho de tranquila existência e de reafirmação do lugar da rádio.
O ’radio player’ da BBC assinalou a passagem da barreira dos 250 milhões de downloads. Só em 2005 foram descarregadas 134 milhões de horas de programas - o equivalente a mais de 15 mil anos de emissão contínua."

À pergunta do Luís, sobre se há lugar para a rádio no futuro tecnológico, eu respondo que sim: Há e passa (também) por aí.
Uma rádio como produtora de contéudos, que também podem ser distribuídos pelo FM ou AM, mas não só. Pela Net, pelo DB, pelo satélite, pelos telemóveis. Uma rádio como grande portal de conteúdos que cada um pode seleccionar, gerir, acondicionar, programar de acordo com os seus interesses/disponibilidades. Chamar-se-á ainda rádio?

com podcast!

"NPR Prepares Two Streaming Concert Broadcasts

National Public Radio (NPR) is now putting the final touches on two streaming music concerts. The first will feature Iron and Wine, who will be performing along with Calexico on Wednesday. The second will feature Sinead O’Connor with Sly & Robbie, who will put on a show December 6th. Both will take place at the Washington, DC-based 9:30 Club, a longtime staple for underground, up-and-coming bands. NPR will position the audio webcasts as online-only events, part of a series that now has 14 performances under its belt. The webcasts, produced under the All Songs Considered banner, were originally launched in January of this year. Once the streams are completed, fans will be able to access the performances on-demand. Additionally, users can also download the entire Iron and Wine with Calexico set, and several songs from the concert will be offered in a special NPR "All Songs Considered" podcast. That is part of a platform diversification strategy being pursued by the public radio network, which is now available across satellite, online, and terrestrial radio outlets. Collectively, the streaming audio concerts have drawn 800,000 listens, and concert-related NPR pages have been viewed more than 1.75 million times. Previous performances have included Wilco, The White Stripes, The Shins, Sigur Ros, David Gray, Lucinda Williams, Secret Machines, The Kings of Leon, Bloc Party, The Decemberists, Interpol, Bright Eyes, Son Volt, My Morning Jacket and Death Cab for Cutie."

(O site da Radio Academy apresenta isto como uma novidade. Não percebi se é a mesma coisa que a TSF, por exemplo, tem ao disponibilizar os ultimos noticiários, se é allgo mais complexo, mas aqui fica a informação:

"Virgin launches on-demand news bulletins
Virgin Radio has become the first UK commercial radio station to make news bulletins available online throughout the day. The latest daytime news bulletin are available at www.virginradio.co.uk, enabling listeners to hear the latest headlines and news stories across the day whenever they log on.

Mais aqui:
"Virgin Radio launched this free service in response to listener demand for additional news. On July 7th 2005, Virgin Radio’s online listening figures rose by 20% as the UK public tuned into the station as a trusted news source for the latest developments on the London bombings. The station reacted quickly to provide a 10 minute rolling news service ensuring listeners were kept in touch across the course of the day."

Esta notícia ("La cadena pública británica BBC permitirá descargar a través de Internet sus programas de radio y televisión a partir del año próximo, según ha anunciado el director general, Mark Thompson. La BBC se sitúa por delante de otras cadenas públicas europeas sobre todo en Internet, medio por el que apuesta fuerte... Gracias al sistema ’MyBBCplayer’, los telespectadores que tengan ordenador podrán acceder a los programas emitidos en los últimos siete días y descargar los episodios que se hayan perdido de sus series favoritas...) merece algumas notas:
- não diz se o serviço será gratuíto (dá ideia que sim, mas...);
- mostra que a lógica do podcasting tinha mais virtualidades do que parecia;
- significa um maior aproveitamento das potencialidades oferecidas pela internet;
- finalmente, é uma forma da rádio - e da televisão, claro - se afirmar com conteúdos que possam interessar. Nesta luta pela ocupação do espaço de atenção do consumidor, todos os trunfos que - neste caso - a rádio tiver nunca serão de mais.

Uma nota ainda: concordo com Jorge Silva. A RTP/RDP anda a dormir (e a concorrência não aproveita...)

Desenvolvimentos desta informação:«De acordo com o responsável da BBC, este plano faz parte dos esforços para expandir os tradicionais media da estação britânica. Thompson referiu também que, se a BBC não passar de uma tradicional estação de TV e rádio, provavelmente não vai conseguir ter direito, no futuro, aos fundos públicos de rádio e televisão.
Mark Thompson reconheceu ainda que as exigências dos espectadores são cada vez maiores, o que muda o conceito de "broadcasting".»