MySpace lança-se na música

«Social networking giant MySpace has made agreements with three of the four major label groups -- Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony BMG -- to form MySpace Music, spinning off the existing MySpace Music site into a separate joint venture. The service will offer free, ad-supported audio and video streaming, sales of digital-rights-management-free downloads, and a Jamba-powered storefront for mobile music. (...) "Today represents the beginning of a new chapter in the story of modern music," said MySpace co-founder and CEO Chris DeWolfe. "We're proud to announce the marriage of the world's biggest collection of music content to the world's most popular music community. Millions of diehard music fans and artists already call MySpace Music home. By partnering with these industry leaders, our vision for MySpace Music as the definitive platform for unlimited artistic expression and unrestricted user experience is finally being realized."MySpace, Labels To Launch New Music Service, radio ink, 3/04/08

«MySpace is slow, burdensome and full of advertising -- the wrong environment for the demanding and tech savvy next generation. (...)4. The labels and MySpace (owned by Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp) will split revenue from downloads, merchandise, concert tickets, advertising, etc. Such a deal -- for them. Nothing special for the consumer but pennies off an iTunes download and millions of songs they can listen to (but not own for free) on their computers. Sounds like the record industry version of win-win to me.»

«-- downloads will be DRM-free; video and audio streaming will be ad-supported

-- e-commerce will include merchandise and ticketing

-- the mobile storefront will be powered by News Corp-Verisign JV Jamba, think ringtones,. 

-- Roll out will take place over months

-- As expected, Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) are on board.»

«Only problem is, the MySpace generation also intersects with another club -- the iPod generation -- and going against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) won't be a simple task for Rupert Murdoch and his social-networking empire. (...) Taking the crown from Apple isn't feasible, but I'll assume News Corp. isn't really gunning for Apple so much as it is attempting to ensure that MySpace remains a major player in social networking» MySpace wants to tune in to music profits Posted Apr 4th 2008

O que é que a rádio deve fazer para sobreviver

«Part of that “engage the consumer” business is to make sure that radio’s available on “every mobile phone, PDA and mp3 player within five years.” The Emmis boss says “we have to be there, we have to be 360 degrees, everywhere our customers are.” Many Nokia and Sony phones around the world already come equipped with radio, and Jeff says in this country, “We believe it’s a perfect solution to the WARN Act” about emergency notification. There are “discussions with the American cellular industry” about making radio standard in phones. As for iPods: Jeff says a radio unit is already a best-selling accessory for the iPod. (Nobody asked about AM radio, by the way: it’s got a less-certain path to inclusion in future devices.) Smulyan insists that radio “isn’t hiding from new technology, we’re driving it.»

fonte: Taylor on Radio-Info, Wanted: Some backbone, 3/04/08

A rádio nem perdeu muito (EUA)

«(...) radio’s reach has declined less than 3% in the decade between 1996 and 2006. (You certainly can’t say that about newspapers or network TV.)»

fonte: Taylor on Radio-Info, Wanted: Some backbone, 3/04/08

Metade dos jovens britânicos têm perfil social

«(...) Most sites, such as Bebo, MySpace and Facebook, set a minimum age of between 13 and 14 to create a profile but none actively enforce the age limit. Ofcom's survey of 5,000 adults and 3,000 children found 49% of those aged between eight and 17 have a profile. (...) "Social networks are clearly a very important part of people's lives and are having an impact on how people live their lives," said James Thickett, director of market research at Ofcom. He added: "Children's lives are very different from what they were 20 years ago. Social networks are a way of creating a social bond." (...) The three leading social networks, MySpace, Bebo and Facebook, all say they remove profiles of users that are found to be too young on their sites.»

fonte: Children flock to social networks, 2/'4/08, By Darren Waters BBC News website

O estudo da OFCOM: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/02_04_08_ofcom.pdf 

A industria insiste: o problema é de percepção

«“We’re like water, like electricity – people love us, but they don’t think about us very much.” Jeff Smulyan acknowledges that radio’s got its challenges – though it’s “not newspaper”, as I’ll explain in a moment. But he thinks “our biggest problem is one of perception.” Meaning that American use radio all the time, but don’t think about it. Part of that “engage the consumer” business is to make sure that radio’s available on “every mobile phone, PDA and mp3 player within five years.” The Emmis boss says “we have to be there, we have to be 360 degrees, everywhere our customers are.” Many Nokia and Sony phones around the world already come equipped with radio, and Jeff says in this country, “We believe it’s a perfect solution to the WARN Act” about emergency notification. There are “discussions with the American cellular industry” about making radio standard in phones. As for iPods: Jeff says a radio unit is already a best-selling accessory for the iPod. (Nobody asked about AM radio, by the way: it’s got a less-certain path to inclusion in future devices.) Smulyan insists that radio “isn’t hiding from new technology, we’re driving it.” But there were direct challenges from the audience during the Q&A » (Radio-Info.com, «Wanted: Some backbone», 3,04,08

Um canal de musica na net; RDP

"A rádio pode continuar viva se se modernizar." Quem o diz é Guilherme Costa, presidente da RTP, que ontem anunciou o lançamento da Rádio Lusitânia. Este canal, composto apenas por música portuguesa, já está a ser emitido, exclusivamente na Internet. E este é apenas o primeiro passo nesta plataforma, já que a RDP quer lançar, até ao final do ano, mais duas novas estações na Net. (...) Com emissão 24 horas por dia, o canal está disponível em http/radiolusitania.rtp.pt, e vai passar música portuguesa, especialmente os clássicos nacionais que marcaram os últimos 40 anos. (...)Jorge Alexandre Lopes salienta ainda que a Rádio Lusitânia terá programas, mas sem horário fixo. Além disso, o site tem a "identificação do que está a tocar, do que tocou e o que irá passar num espaço de duas horas", diz o responsável. Considerando que "a Internet é uma plataforma de aliança natural com a rádio", Rui Pêgo, director de programas da RDP, revelou ao DN que a empresa quer lançar, até ao final do ano, mais dois canais neste segmento, "um de cidadania e outro, cujo tema está ainda por definir".  Rui Pêgo explicou ainda que a estratégia da estação pública para a Internet passa por apostar em três vectores: "Os canais estratégicos (onde se insere a Rádio Lusitânia), os canais de oportunidade e os canais da marca (conteúdos do grupo produzidos por encomenda, como já acontece com a TAP". No segundo caso, trata-se de rádios criadas especificamente para um evento. Por exemplo, a RDP está a pensar lançar "uma rádio para o Euro 2008 e outra para o Rali de Portugal", conclui.

fonte: «RDP aposta na Internet e lança Rádio Lusitânia, Maria João Espadinha, DN 3/04/08

Um hit na rádio? Ponham 'rádio' na música...

«That’s it. Simple as that. Put the word “radio” in the title or the chorus, and your chances of airplay go up by a factor of ten. I spent close to 20 years in the radio industry - and trust me: it’s more true than anyone would like to admit.

In fact, it’s fair to say that a bad song with the word ‘radio’ in it stands a better chances of being selected for airplay than a good song without. I’m sure you can think of a few examples»

Os jovens e a rádio: conveniência e não conteúdos

«The survey also found that younger listeners, 18-34, are more likely to mention convenience (46 percent) than content (24 percent) when they say why they value radio. »

CBS integra conteúdos da LastFM

«A staggered rollout of CBS Radio’s webstreams to Last.FM is underway and includes all formats, including music, news/talk and sports. The announcement follows last month’s agreement that saw AOL tapping into CBS Radio for content, and Last.FM CEO Felix Miller hopes it will lead to more collaboration» (2/04/08)

«Now, the company is starting to inject its presence within Last.fm, acquired last year by parent CBS Corporation for $280 million.  On Tuesday, the parties confirmed that all 140 CBS Radio stations will soon be streamed within Last.fm.  A radio player will offer the range of stations for US-based Last.fm users, a selection that includes WCBS-FM (New York), KROQ (Los Angeles), WXRT (Chicago), and WVEE (Atlanta).  Content from the stations will also be "scrobbled" into the personal profiles of Last.fm users. 
The move is part of a broader initiative to integrate the merged properties.  "The content and distribution power between these brands is incredible, and we're tapping into that strength to greatly expand our digital footprints while significantly improving the user experience on all our platforms," explained Felix Miller, chief executive and cofounder of Last.fm.» (Digital Music News) 

«What's being missed in this announcement but is very much between the lines is this: CBS Radio listeners will be able to create customized versions of their favorite CBS stations online. Undoubtably, KROQ (for example) will soon enable you to create "myKROQ, powered by last.fm." This will usher in an era where there is no such thing as a "station stream," per se, since the stream will vary based on the tastes of the listener that "programs" the stream. There will be as many "streams" as there are listeners interested in hearing them, each branded by your station. Further, it's only a matter of time before this capability is shopped to groups outside CBS - by last.fm and others. For your consideration, what does "radio" mean when one station can have infinite flavors?» (Mark Ramsey)

Excesso de oferta, excesso de escolha; necessidade de organizar (50 mil estações)

«Cox, CBS and Clear Channel stations will now appear on RadioTime’s online RadioGuide, an aggregated directory that provides links and content from 50,000 stations worldwide. RadioTime CEO Bill Moore says they're trying to take traditional radio and "make sure it’s competitive.” How they're doing that in today's Inside Radio»

Podcast não descola

«despite the prevalence of MP3 players, only 13% of people over the age of 12 —some 32 million — say they have ever listened to podcasts, that is, downloaded audio or video other than songs from the Internet for later consumption.

That may have more to do with the process than the content. The two-step process required to hear podcasts — accessing and downloading — may be the reason the digital platform has not caught on. According to Bridge Ratings, the main reasons people skip podcasts are because they just are not interested (46%) or they think it is “too complicated” (39%).^{(25. Bridge Ratings Group, “Digital Media Growth Projections – Updated 4/25/07.”}Not surprisingly, younger audiences showed more interest in the technology. More than half (52%) of those who have ever listened to an audio podcast are under the age of 35. (Arbitron, “The Infinite Dial 2007: Radio’s Digital Platforms,” April 19, 2007.)

State of the news media 2008

54% dos 12-17 (EUA) têm um LAD (42% no ano anterior)

The audience for MP3 players continues to grow at a brisk pace. As of early 2007, nearly a third of the American public (30%) over the age of 12 owned an iPod or other MP3 player, up from 22% the previous year (Arbitron, “The Infinite Dial 2007: Radio’s Digital Platforms,” April 19, 2007) Small, sleek and portable, MP3 players were most popular with kids. More than half (54%) of 12- to 17-year-olds owned an iPod or other type of MP3 player at the beginning of 2007, up from 42% the previous year. (state of the news media 2008)

A queda na audiencias da rádio EUA

Weekly Radio Reach

Percentage of the Population 12 and Older, 1998-2007

Source: Arbitron, “The Infinite Dial 2007: Radio’s Digital Platform,” April 19, 2007 fonte: Audience, By the Project for Excellence in Journalism, State of the news media 2008

LENHART, Amanda e MADDEN, Mary (2005),Teen Content Creators and Consumers, Pew Internet & American Life Project

Teen Content Creators and Consumers

Mais de metade dos jovens 12-17 dos EUA produzem conteúdos

«More than half of all online teens who go online create content for the internet. Among internet-using teens, 57% (or 50% of all teens, roughly 12 million youth) are what might be called Content Creators. They report having done one or more of the following content- creating activities: create a blog; create a personal webpage; create a webpage for school, a friend, or an organization; share original content they created themselves online; or remix content found online into a new creation.» fonte: Amanda Lenhart e Mary Madden,Teen Content Creators and Consumers, Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2005, pag 1

«Overall, one-third (33%) of online teens report sharing their own artwork, photos, stories, or videos with others via the internet.» (pag 2)

À procura de um modelo de negócio

«the large record companies are also seeking to turn the Internet to their advantage by exploring links with new companies that are trying to exploit a niche in the on-line market. These are subscription-based companies, and include firms such as Listen.com, Fullaudio, OD2, DX3 and Rhapsody. Their business models vary: some permit downloading and burning, while some are merely streaming or jukebox type services. All these companies are reliant upon signing licensing deals with the major companies to ensure that they have content to offer in exchange for their monthly subscription fee. Global Records has signed numerous deals with such subscription companies, and is adopting a wait-and-see strategy to determine which business model proves most effective» (Leishon, 2005: 191)

 In August 2003, Listen.com became a subsidiary of RealNetworks, Inc., the global leader in digital media services and software for consumers and businesses

LEYSHON, Andrew, WEBB, Peter, FRENCH, Shaun, THRIFT, Nigel and CREWE, Louise (2005). On the reproduction of the musical economy after the Internet, Media Culture Society 2005; 27; 177-209

O optimismo dos responsáveis das rádios portuguesas com o digital

«António Mendes(...), o director de programas da RFM, estação do grupo Renascença líder de audiências em Portugal, conclui que “a rádio está viva”. “Sente-se que há uma muito menor preocupação com aquilo que antes era percepcionado como ameaças (IPods e todas essas ferramentas) e uma forma mais inteligente de ver a coisa, que é “como é que a rádio pode integrar todas as novas tecnologias?'”, explica o responsável. Uma opinião igualmente partilhada por Nelson Ribeiro (...) diz o responsável da estação generalista, “o digital vem trazer novas oportunidades para a rádio e temos de aproveitá-las»(...) Pedro Ribeiro encara de forma positiva.(...) A rádio tem o enorme desafio de se adaptar ao mundo digital não tendo medo desse mundo digital, porque o meio rádio é o que tem mais a lucrar em termos de possibilidades de expansão e de diversificação de oferta para os ouvintes com a adopção do mundo online”, defende. (...)  Pedro Tojal(...) “Aqui [na NAB European Radio Conference] percebe-se que, ao contrário do que se passa em Portugal, a rádio não está a cair, mas sim a encontrar novos caminhos para evoluir”,(...) Nelson Cunha não hesita em colocar o digital no reino de oportunidade para o meio rádio. “É obviamente uma oportunidade para a rádio”, diz o director de programação da Mega FM, (...) “O digital é o futuro e a rádio tem de olhar para o digital muito mais como um aliado do que como um adversário. Se não o fizer perde a guerra, porque as coisas estão a evoluir nesse sentido quer na rádio, quer na televisão”, começa por dizer José Mariño,(...)»

fonte: O fim da rádio FM? Meios e Publicidade 19 de Novembro de 2007, por Ana Marcela

Acabam os ouvintes; vivam os consumidores

Apartir do momento em que os conceitos de consumo passivo e activo se desenvolvem, mas sobretudo de que já não há - com a internet -apenas ouvintes, telespectadores ou leitores, deveremos falar de consumidores.

Há diferenças entre os teens(13-18) e os tweens (8-12)

«the study, “Kids on the Go: Mobile Usage by U.S. Teens and Tweens,” includes “insights from more than 5,500 teens and tweens and dissects how these demographic segments are engaging with mobile and traditional media.”

"In addition to the differences between adult and youth media consumers, there's an important gap between the media behaviors of teens and tweens," said Herrmann. "This report, which includes insights from more than 5,500 teens and tweens, dissects how these demographic segments are engaging with mobile and traditional media."
 

Teens vs. Tweens
• 48% of tweens spend less than one hour per day online, and the majority use online for gaming.
• 81% of teens spend more than one hour per day online, and the main usage is for email.