Via NetFM:
"Nos E.U.A surgiu um projecto que garante a máxima personalização musical para os seus utilizadores. O Pandora garante um serviço personalizado de rádio a partir do DNA de cada música. Para isso, usa um programa que pesquisa os gostos musicais de cada indivíduo ao mesmo tempo que, como anuncia, o DNA musical, descobrindo as características de cada música para estabelecer a melhor relação possível". Mais aqui.
"Canadians are dancing in the streets as sales of MP3 players more than tripled in Canada between June 2004 and June 2005. According to the latest NPD Group researchon the consumer electronics market, growth of MP3 players far outpaced the gains by the second and third fastest growing categories, which were flat-screen televisions (LCD and plasma) and digital SLR cameras, respectively.
While the Apple iPod is the dominant player in this active category, there is opportunity for other brands to build market share, as research suggests that brand name is not the top purchasing driver for Canadian consumers. Pricing, followed closely by product features were deemed more important to consumers than brand name.
NPD research also identified two distinct consumer groups among Canadians: those buying MP3 players for themselves (47 per cent) and those purchasing the players for others as gifts (47 per cent). Those who purchased MP3 players for themselves were more likely to be male (63 per cent) between the ages of 18-34 (60 per cent). The top-ranked purchase drivers for this group were features (47 per cent) and pricing (45 per cent). Brand name influenced purchase decisions only 28 per cent of the time.
Consumers who purchased MP3 players as gifts tended to be female (54 per cent) between the ages of 35 and 54 (66 per cent). The primary recipients of the MP3 gifts were teenage children under 18. Like the previous consumer segment, good value at a good price were more important than name brand in the decision making process. Moreover, 17 per cent of consumers within this group did not remember the name of the brand they purchased and 30 per cent said that they would have purchased an alternative brand if the one they were looking for had not been available.
The MP3 market has grown at an incredible rate over the last year, but with only 40 per cent of Canadian households in possession of a digital music player, this market is still in its early stages of development, said Pam Buckley, Senior Account Manager, NPD Group. With so many brand-neutral consumers buying MP3 players as gifts, there is a strong indication that additional marketing on the part of manufacturers would help educate this consumer group on the brands and attributes currently available.
With such a dramatic increase in the number of MP3 players purchased in Canada over the last 12 months, research also indicates that online stores like iTunes or PureTracks will likely experience a corresponding increase in song downloads."
(via Obercom)
(via Obercom)
"Após um longo período de crescimento sustentado, a rádio enfrenta nos últimos anos uma diminuição da taxa de aumento das suas receitas.
Esta conclusão surge no âmbito do Relatório Radios leading Indicator publicado pela Arbitron que, além de fornecer uma análise da evolução da rádio nos Estados Unidos, apresenta uma avaliação dos impactos dos indicadores de audiência nas receitas do sector. Os detalhes acerca da metodologia podem ser consultados no documento.
Ao longo dos anos 90, a taxa de crescimento das receitas da rádio ultrapassou a da maioria dos restantes meios. Além disso, de 1998 a 2000, o negócio da rádio obteve um crescimento inédito, que foi consistente nas várias regiões do país.
No entanto, em 2001, este crescimento estagnou, consequência directa da recessão sentida em todas as áreas de negócio devido aos impactos do 11 de Setembro na economia americana. Apesar de ter recuperado da crise logo no final de 2002, as receitas da rádio têm crescido a ritmos cada vez mais lentos desde então.
Não obstante, a Arbitron conclui que a rádio, pelas suas características (nomeadamente a portabilidade e a capacidade de segmentação que proporciona) se adapta às necessidades actuais dos publicitários, prevendo assim uma aceleração da taxa de crescimento para breve.
Por outro lado, é de realçar que a conjugação dos dois principais indicadores de audiência de rádio nos Estados Unidos, a audiência média e o tempo médio de audiência, não aponta num sentido único para o futuro da rádio. Enquanto que o número de pessoas que se ligam à rádio permanece relativamente estável desde 1999 (cerca de 94% dos americanos ouve rádio a cada semana), existem sinais de que o tempo dispendido com a audição está a diminuir (em 1999, cerca de 21 horas por semana; em 2004, cerca de 19 horas e meia).
Via RadioAbout:
"Arbitron Inc. and comScore Media Metrix have released the online radio ratings for July 2005.
These measured online networks reached 6,756,100 million listeners according to the July comScore Arbitron Online Radio Ratings.
Yahoo Music, American Online's AOL Radio Network, Microsoft's MSN Radio and WindowsMedia.com, and Live365 (operating as the Ronning Lipset Radio Network (RLR)) had an estimated 6,012,700 million listeners age 12 and older.
(Note: Cume audiences for the RLR Network and Clear Channel Online Music and Radio can not be added because doing so would count people who listen to more than one network twice. The cume estimates for all online listening eliminates this duplication.)
While persons 25-54 represent fifty-one percent of the total United States population, according to the July ratings, in online radio, this demo represents seventy-two percent of all listeners to these networks.
Skewing younger midday, while persons 18-49 represent fifty-five percent of the entire U.S. population, this demo represents eighty-five percent of all midday online listeners.
In addition, the RLR Network shows a 1.06 rating point in Women 25-34, the first time an Arbitron comScore rated online network has achieved a full rating point for a key demographic.
The July report of the comScore Arbitron Online Radio Ratings service rated America Online's AOL Radio Network; Yahoo! Music; Microsoft's MSN Radio and WindowsMedia.com; Clear Channel Online Music and Radio, and Live365 during an average broadcast week in the month of July.
Ratings for all services can be viewed below.
Persons 12+ Average Weekly Audience - July, 2005"
DAB, DRM, AM, FM/RDS e onda curta. Quando chega o satélite?
Parece impossível, mas pelos vistos há sinais nesse sentido.
Este relatório, do World Dab Forum, diz que sim...
A mistura tem lógica? Parece sim...
Pelo menos é o que diz este texto.
O original está aqui.
"digitalradiotech.co.ukadvises people NOT to buy DAB hi-fi tuners or micro systems as the audio quality on DAB in the UK is very poor and much better audio quality is available on the digital radio stations carried on Freeview, digital satellite and cable."
nos últimos seis meses e 16% esperam comprar um novo receptor no próximo ano (Obercom).
O estudo está aqui:
Excerto:
"More people have taken up digital radio in the past six months than when DAB sets first came on the market three years ago, with a further 16% of adults expected to buy sets next year.
According to the Dart survey by Ipsos Media, in the past six months 9% of adults have bought a DAB set compared to only 5% six months ago.
If the current digital radio take-up continues, 16% are likely to buy a DAB radio in the next year, with nearly two-fifths of existing owners planning to add to their collection.."
"The forecast predicts that by the end of 2009 there will be around 20 million DAB digital radios in UK homes, up from 1.2 million at the end of 2004".
O estudo é da Digital Radio Development Bureaue fala num crescimento de mais de 40 por cento na penetração doméstica desta tecnologia nos próximos cinco anos.
São previsões impressionantes de que deixo aqui ficar o essencial:
"Annual Volume: The biggest growth is expected to come in products such as boomboxes, hi-fi systems, personal (handheld) radios, clock radios and the in-car sector.
* Annual volume of Hi-Fi systems will grow from a forecast 302,000 in 2005 to 1.448 million in 2009
* Boomboxes will go from 147,000 in 2005 to 831,000 in 2009
* Clock radios jump from 72,000 in 2005 to 868,000 in 2009
* Personal radios go from 69,000 in 2005 to 461,000 in 2009
* Personal radios with MP3 take a massive leap from just 11,000 in 2005 to 480,000 in 2009
* In car retail goes from 15,000 in 2005 to 366,000 in 2009
* Car manufacturer radios goes from 15,000 in 2005 to 702,000 in 2009."
New York Times
July 28, 2005
Revolution on the Radio
By GLENN FLEISHMAN
Plug a set of headphones into a radio tuned to an FM jazz station. Hear the hiss at the bottom of the range and the fuzz at the top. Remember why you like compact discs.
But don't be impatient: wait eight seconds. An "HD" light appears on the tuner. And now the bottom drops out. The hiss turns to silence. The stereo channels separate, opening a cramped room into a performance hall. And the high fuzz is now crisp high notes from a trumpet or Ella Fitzgerald.
You have just heard terrestrial digital radio. Or you would have - if you could get your hands on a receiver.
Satellite digital radio has captured the attention of consumers and investors with its billions spent and millions of paying subscribers. But a quiet digital revolution has hit the AM and FM dials as well: more than 450 stations in the United States now broadcast one or two digital channels alongside analog ones. At least 2,000 of the more than 12,000 stations in the country are committed to adding the format.
The technology to make this happen - called in-band on-channel, or IBOC - hides digital signals at low power in the spaces between stations. Only one company's technology has been approved by the Federal Communications Commission: HD Radio from iBiquity Digital. (IBiquity says HD does not stand for high definition - or anything else.)
Digital AM sounds like present-day stereo analog FM. Digital FM not only improves fidelity and stereo reception, providing a dynamic audio range approaching that of a compact disc, but also makes use of enough bandwidth to allow multiple channels.
An HD Radio tuner takes eight seconds to lock onto and start playing a digital stream; the analog broadcast seamlessly switches into richer audio, providing a demonstration of its improved quality.
Unlike satellite radio, digital AM and FM are free to listeners. But only a few tens of thousands of car tuners equipped to decode the signals have been sold in the 18 months since the first product was shipped, according to Dan Benjamin, a senior analyst at ABI Research in Oyster Bay, N.Y. Home tuners are just reaching the market.
How Digital Radio Works
IBOC uses a part of the spectrum just outside the frequency used for a radio station's conventional signals.
HD Radio is capable of great range with a small fraction of the power of analog radio. In a test by National Public Radio and WNYC-FM, a 57-watt transmitter on the Empire State Building reached almost all of WNYC's coverage area, with a population of 16 million, according to Mike Starling, NPR's vice president for engineering.
The technology sends multiple streams of data over very narrow frequencies to solve the problems of analog AM and FM reception. The streams are separately received, synchronized and assembled by the radio tuner.
In AM, this avoids having signals fade in short tunnels and will prevent noise from electrical motors. "It gets rid of the majority of problems with AM radio," said Thomas R. Ray III, director of engineering for Buckley Broadcasting and WOR-AM, a commercial talk-radio station in New York that has added digital transmissions.
With FM stations, multipath reflection can be controlled with HD Radio, avoiding audible echoes from signals bouncing off buildings. "You don't get that sort of 'fumth-th-th-fumth' sound," said Stephen Shenefield, director of product development at Boston Acoustics, an audio equipment manufacturer.
FM radio has a larger spread of unused spectrum, and National Public Radio and public radio stations successfully pushed the F.C.C. to allow multicasting, or multiple digital channels of different quality for existing stations. The F.C.C. allows a second digital channel with a waiver; up to five channels may be permitted in the future.
What's On
Public radio produces much more programming than its member stations can broadcast: 300 hours a week, Mr. Starling of NPR said. NPR is now offering five full-time music streams to stations for HD Radio multicasting as well. "If we had more shelf space, we could do more format focusing," Mr. Starling said.
KUOW-FM in Seattle broadcasts what it calls KUOW2, a full slate of reruns of local and network programs with a dedicated host.
Commercial broadcasters, too, are taking note. Clear Channel, which owns 1,200 stations, says it is committed to taking 95 percent of its stations in the top 100 markets digital within three years. Among the attractions is HD Radio's ability to deliver data streams alongside audio. The system can already carry program-associated data, like a song title, artist and album name. But the capacity exists for much more.
Robert J. Struble, chairman and chief executive of iBiquity, noted that the text of advertising messages could be synchronized to display on a radio's readout as a related commercial was broadcast. Other uses include traffic updates for car navigation systems and private commercial data transmissions.
A future version of the technology will feature a data uplink that could let stations have a "buy now" button for songs. "There's no better place to make an impulse purchase than when I'm sitting in traffic," Mr. Struble said.
HD Radio has the potential to limit access to certain channels by receiver serial number, much as with satellite digital radio, so that specific programming could be delivered for a fee.
Mr. Starling mused that the "buy now" button might read "pledge now" for public radio stations, and that a station could allow only listeners who donate funds to tune to a digital channel free of fund-raising during pledge drives.
How to Listen
HD Radio was limited to car receivers from its retail introduction in January 2004 until June 2005. The earliest HD Radio manufacturer, Kenwood (kenwoodusa.com), now has 40 models compatible with a $399 HD Radio adapter; other makers have a few products released, but a flood is in the pipeline. A representative of Visteon, a major automotive systems supplier, said automakers could offer HD Radio as an option in the 2006 model year.
Yamaha (www.yamaha.com) released the first home radio in June, its RX-V4600 ($1,900), a home entertainment centerpiece. In tests of all Seattle-area FM HD Radio stations using the Yamaha unit, the results were breathtaking. Tuning in secondary multicast channels, however, required use of the remote control and was awkward.
Three companies plan simpler tabletop tables, each of which will add multicast digital stations sequentially: turning the dial will tune through those secondary stations.
The Radiosophy receiver docks in a speaker unit; together, the two parts cost $259 direct from the company, including shipping. Radiosophy expects to offer a car adapter kit later. The receiver includes analog and digital optical outputs. The company (www.radiosophy.com) expects to ship the product in September.
The Recepter Radio HD ($499) made by Boston Acoustics (www .bostonacoustics.com) has a single built-in speaker and a satellite speaker to produce stereo audio. It is also a clock radio, and has stereo input and multiple outputs. The radio should be available in late August.
Polk Audio has built HD Radio into a more elaborate all-in-one entertainment system that includes a CD and DVD player and speakers, and multiple inputs and outputs. The $599 unit, called the I-Sonic, is also equipped for satellite XM Radio through a plug-in module. Polk Audio has delayed shipping until late in the year (www.polkaudio.com).
No one in the industry expects to replace a billion analog radios overnight. Even Mr. Struble of iBiquity put the most optimistic date for an analog shutdown as 12 years from now, though he thought that was unlikely.
Still, there are already listeners, however few. "The last time we had to shut down the HD - off for any reason - we had eight phone calls," Mr. Ray of WOR said. "People wanted to know why."
it is the first digital radio which can receive the main European radio systems: DAB, DRM, AM, FM/RDS and short wave
"Hybrid radios set for take-off
Text of editorial analysis by Ian Piper and Chris McWhinnie of BBC Monitoring Media Services at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam on 12 September
Radio listeners are soon to be offered a new type of radio which can play and record both digital and conventional radio. The new generation of such radio sets was demonstrated in Amsterdam at the IBC, International Broadcasting Convention, by the Digital Radio Mondiale, (DRM), consortium.
They were first unveiled last week at a Berlin consumer electronics show. Peter Senger, DRM chairman and chief of Germany's international radio station Deutsche Welle, said that it is the first digital radio which can receive the main European radio systems: DAB, DRM, AM, FM/RDS and short wave.
DRM is intended to replace long wave, medium wave and short wave broadcasts with a more reliable and higher-quality service for an audience which has largely moved to FM. AM is perceived as low quality because of interference and low fidelity.
The sample radio sets are the product of collaboration between the DRM consortium, Texas Instruments and RadioScape.
More programmes
What started as discussions between international broadcasters is now almost ready for the general public.
"We have been pregnant for seven years and have now given birth", said John Sykes, the BBC World Service's digital radio project director.
Currently, 40 European broadcasters send more than 500 hours of programming daily using the system. The choice is limited but ever-increasing: Radio Luxembourg has just relaunched an English service using DRM.
The BBC World Service also started a DRM radio service for Europe and even Deutsche Welle has committed to the phasing-out out of conventional short wave in favour of DRM. There are opportunities for more stations. World Radio Network, which packages radio programmes from abroad is to trial a London-wide DRM service and regional services for Europe beamed from Bulgaria. "London will provide a rigorous test environment," said its managing director, Gary Edgerton. "If it works in London it will work anywhere."
Infinity's All News Podcasters: All Nine Online
Sep. 06, 2005
By Tony Sanders
Infinitys nine all news AM stations are now offering podcasts. In most cases, the podcast offerings from each station are extensive, however WCBS-AM New York and both KNX and KFWB in Los Angeles have limited on-demand audio offerings.
WCBS-AM's "Yankee Rewind offers the station's post-game Yankees baseball show. The station also offers a set of streaming programs on its Hear it Fast Web page. Infinity news flagship WINS provides the rest of the podcast offerings from the groups New York news outlets.
KYW Philadelphia also provides an extensive menu on its podcast page, which debuted in late August. WINS launched on Aug. 5.
The KFWB podcast page is currently limited to three programs: Whats for Dinner with Melinda Lee; Mario Martinoli on Dining and Lifestyle Minute with Anthony Dias Blue.
Likewise, the podcast page for KNX Los Angeles is limited to five programs: Whats for Dinner with Melinda Lee (also at the KFWB site), Eye on Computers with Jeff Levy, a set of four exclusive interviews with Michael Jackson, a program titled Character Counts, Josephson on Ethics and a special Farewell to Columbia Square.
Each of the remaining four all newsers present an extensive helping of downloadable audio programs.Those stations are: KCBS San Francisco, WBBM Chicago, WBZ Boston and WWJ Detroit.
(é uma coisa a sério!)
Um excerto:
"A podcast, as anyone under 25 can tell you, is an audio recording posted online, much like a short radio show. ("Podcasting" is a pun on "broadcasting," implying, of course, that you listen to it on your iPod or another music player.) The beauty of a podcast is that it's free and you listen to it whenever you like. And there are more than 7,000 podcasts "on the air" right now, on every conceivable topic. Their quantity and variety already dwarf what you can find on regular radio.
What makes podcasting a national dinnertime conversation these days, though, is that anyone can make one. You just need a microphone, a sound-recording program, and the tutorials that have already appeared at many points on the Web, including apple.com/podcasting.
Yes, some are corporate broadcasts, repurposed shows from traditional radio shows. But the real fun is finding the homemade ones, the amateur attempts made in somebody's basement with a laptop and a microphone. These can be unpolished and quirky, with plenty of dead air and "ums," but that's their charm. Podcasts, in other words, are the audio version of blogs - the Web logs, or daily text postings, that made up last year's hot dinnertime conversation."
The biggest U.S. mobile service companies are considering selling phones that can play songs and some have plans to deliver music to phones over the wireless airwaves, in a bid to boost revenue as phone call prices drop.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cell phones may become the new way for the iPod masses to download and listen to music in the coming years, but wireless companies may not see much of a boost to their profits from selling such services.
The biggest U.S. mobile service companies are considering selling phones that can play songs and some have plans to deliver music to phones over the wireless airwaves, in a bid to boost revenue as phone call prices drop.
Analysts expect Cingular Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile service, to reveal plans on Wednesday to sell a new Motorola Inc. (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) phone that comes with iTunes, the music store software from Apple Computer Inc.(AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , whose iPod player dominates the portable digital music market.
At least initially, Cingular is expected to let users transfer songs to the phone from computers rather than through wireless download services.
POOR PROFIT MARGINS FOR SONGS
Despite all the excitement about wireless song purchases, such mobile music is likely to deliver much poorer profit margins than wireless carriers are used to from phone calls or other services such as ringtones, one analyst said.
"There's very little room for profits from the full over-the-air download market," said Yankee Group analyst Linda Barrabee who believes music industry players could benefit most
from these new types of services.
The No. 2 and No. 3 U.S. mobile services Verizon Wireless (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , and Sprint Nextel Corp. (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research) have already said they are planning mobile music download services.
Pricing these services could require a tough balancing act between profitability and creating widespread demand since iTunes, Apple's high profile digital music service, charges only 99 cents a song, analysts said.
Sprint has said it believes wireless customers, which already pay as much as $3 for ringtones, will pay more for song downloads on-the-go than for downloads to their computer.
Já tinha abordado, neste espaço, a hipótese de os Leitores Digitais de Musica se compatibilizarem como alternativa à rádio no único domínio que lhe era, até agora, exclusivo: o carro!
Esta notícia dá conta da aposta da Apple em ligar os seus iPods aos rádios do carro (e como vem dos Estados Unidos, a realidade de que falam já não é a do rádio FM mas o satélite).
"IPods On Wheels Could Cut Into Demand For Satellite Radio
As reported by Reuters, Apple Computer this week outlined plans to expand its iPod music players into cars, raising concerns that the move could cut into the growing demand for satellite radio.
Apple, which already cut a deal with BMW, announced it’s teamed with Acura, Audi, Honda and Volkswagen to integrate iPod products into their car stereos for 2006 model lines. They expect more than five million vehicles will ship with iPod support in the US next year.
As for industry reaction to Apple’s plan, XM doesn’t think iPod in autos is threat.
"These are two very different offerings, both of which have been embraced by millions of consumers," said XM spokesman Chance Patterson.
"XM is unique because we have hundreds of programmers delivering millions of songs plus live news, live sports and talk directly to subscribers," Patterson added.
Sirius Satellite Radio, meanwhile, declined to comment.
"If the iPod feature is cheaper and allows you to download music you already own, some car buyers might decide they’re not going to take satellite radio," said Gordon Wangers, CEO of AMCI, a California-based auto marketing consulting company.
"It could be a slight threat to satellite radio but I would expect they’ll coexist," commented Kit Spring, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus and Co., noting that listening to a radio is a more passive activity than using an iPod and that radio has live content."
("excerto da Revista Veja de 2 de março de 2005, edição 1894 - em textos de referência)
"Comercialmente, as rádios enfrentam o seu quinhão de problemas. Há anos seu faturamento estagnou-se na casa dos 4% do bolo de recursos de publicidade. Em desvantagem na disputa por verbas com a televisão e outros meios, as emissoras vêm buscando uma nova estratégia, que é a formação de grandes redes. As maiores delas são a Gaúcha Sat e a Jovem Pan, que controlam mais de 100 rádios cada uma. Há duas semanas, a Bandeirantes também atingiu essa marca. A empresa, que já detinha mais de noventa emissoras, acaba de incorporar mais seis, dentre as quais algumas das mais ouvidas em São Paulo, como a Nativa e a 89 FM. As redes são vistas com reserva por alguns especialistas, que acreditam que elas podem pasteurizar a programação musical das FMs. Esses temores, no entanto, têm sido desmentidos pela realidade. "As redes perceberam que têm de dar espaço para os noticiários e os locutores de cada região para não sofrer reflexos negativos na audiência", diz o publicitário Paulo Gregoraci, do Grupo de Mídia São Paulo. De fato, o rádio tira boa parte de sua força da relação de proximidade com os ouvintes de uma localidade ou região. É isso o que explica o sucesso de um programa como Dona da Noite, que vai ao ar pela rádio Itatiaia, de Belo Horizonte, e por outras 37 afiliadas da rede. Especialista em aconselhamento amoroso, o locutor Hamilton de Castro acalenta os insones mineiros há 29 anos. "Minha voz faz companhia aos ouvintes", diz ele, que já foi padrinho de mais de 800 casais que se conheceram no programa ou durante os bailes e excursões que organiza."
(excerto da Revista Veja de 2 de março de 2005, edição 1894 - em textos de referência)
"Cinqüenta anos depois do fim de sua era de ouro, o rádio parece estar reencontrando o seu vigor. Ele está presente na casa de nove em cada dez brasileiros, é influente na cultura e na política, tem enorme apelo sobre os jovens e ultimamente renovou sua capacidade de revelar estrelas para o showbiz. De acordo com o Ibope, mais pessoas sintonizam o rádio do que assistem a televisão diariamente na Grande São Paulo um quadro que se repete na maior parte das metrópoles brasileiras. O número de emissoras não pára de crescer no país: são mais de 6.000, soma inferior apenas à dos Estados Unidos. Numa pesquisa recente com jovens de todo o Brasil, 89% apontaram o meio como sua segunda fonte de entretenimento, logo atrás da TV e à frente dos encontros com os amigos. Isso de segunda a sexta. Nos fins de semana, a situação se inverte: os jovens preferem ouvir rádio a ver televisão. A popularidade com a garotada explica, em boa medida, por que o rádio recupera o seu prestígio e volta a fazer estrelas."
de Rogério Santos:
"Os ouvintes terão ao seu dispor, em breve, um novo tipo de rádio, capaz de sintonizar estações convencionais (analógicas) e digitais. A nova geração de receptores foi apresentada pelo consórcio da Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) na convenção internacional de radiodifusão, que acaba hoje em Amsterdão. O DRM coloca-se como meio de substituir as emissões em ondas longas, médias e curtas, prestando um serviço de maior qualidade que o oferecido em FM/RDS (que também substituirá, bem como o DAB). Actualmente, há 40 emissores na Europa, com mais de 500 horas de programas diários usando DRM, casos de Radio Luxembourg e da BBC World Service. Também a alemã Deutsche Welle está a preparar-se para entrar no DRM. E diversas estações comerciais manifestaram a intenção de se juntar a este grupo. Os aparelhos resultam de uma colaboração do consórcio DRM com a Texas Instruments e a RadioScape. Neste momento, os fabricantes são Morphy Richards, Roberts Radio e Sangean.
Claro que isto está a acontecer na Europa do Centro. E em Portugal? O consórcio DRM vai lançar este tipo de receptores brevemente, a pensar nas compras de Natal. Embora não haja preços oficiais, calcula-se que um aparelho custe à volta de 250. Isto é um pouco abaixo da nova consola de videojogos, que anunciei há pouco tempo atrás. A juntar à febre dos televisores LCD e plasma, os consumidores têm muito por onde escolher para as suas prendas de Natal. Espera-se que o dinheiro estique!"
(com esta ligação para a BBC)
Um relatório sobre a música portátil no japão alertou-me para uma realidade em que não acredito, por pensar que é passageira, mas que existe e não pode ser ignorada. "Mobile Music". O que é isso? Basicamente, os toques e músicas nos telemóveis (e não tanto o mercado dos downloads ou da música digital, via internet.
Uma citação deste relatório:
"Polyphonic ringtones were pioneered in Japan on i-Mode, and today mobile music in Japan represents a totally new Billion Dollar per year."