O podcasting vai substituir a rádio?

«Many people predict that podcasting ultimately will replace radio. For instance, if you are traveling on subway, you usually cannot listen to the radio. Even if you can, the number of radio stations is rather limited. In the best case, you might be able to learn about world events, but not about, say, the features of new RSS readers.

Now imagine getting up in the morning and taking your mp3 player (or connecting it to your automobile audio player) and while on your way to the office being able to listen to the news published on your favorite website, just like you used to listen to the radio. The news segments were downloaded and synchronized with the player automatically when plugged into your computer overnight. Fantastic? No. Reality! This is the possibility that podcasting provides.

So, as you can see, podcasting combines the best of the two widespread methods of distributing information: Internet and radio. You can subscribe to the pieces (podcasts) that you are interested in and listen to them when and where you want.

Isn’t that the future of radio?»

fonte: «Podcasting – technology that can kill radio?», TechWhack, 18/07/07

2011, quando a Internet passar a ser o meio com mais publicidade nos EUA

«SPENDING ON INTERNET ADVERTISING WILL reach $61.98 billion, and will surpass newspapers to become the nation's leading ad medium in 2011, projects private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson in its 21st Communications Industry Forecast released today.

 

 

"We are in the midst of a major shift in the media landscape that is being fueled by changes in technology, end-user behaviors and the response by brand marketers and communications companies," says James Rutherford, executive vice president and managing director at VSS.

At the same time, the consumer migration to digital media--which require less time investment than traditional media counterparts (think 3-minute YouTube clips versus 30-minute TV shows)--has spawned a year-over-year decline in the amount of time consumers spent with media, VSS researchers say. The tally came in at 3,530 hours in 2006, a per-capita decrease of 0.5%. It's the first time since 1997, researchers say, that such a behavior has occurred. (...)»

fonte: «Internet Ad Spending Set To Overtake All Other Media By 2011: VSS»,MediaPost, Laurie Petersen, Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007

Jovens dos EUA vêem mais televisão (mas qual televisão?)

Jovens dos 18-24 estão a ver mais televisão do que há um ano, de acordo com um estudo agora revelado. Parece contraditório com a tendência de uso da Internet. Mas como explica um responsável pela empresa que fez o estudo «the reason our two trend analysts give is because of the programming itself. It’s not even a question of them giving up video games or talking on their phones. It speaks to more of the programming resonating with the audiences».

Além do mais, ver televisão é um conceito que tem de ser posto em causa. Uma coisa é ver televisão ao vivo, outra coisa é ver conteudos da televisão na Internet: «Watching TV live is considerably more of a social event for them than it is for you and me. It would be like every Thursday we’ll watch “Grey’s” at so-and-so’s place at 9. Yet they have no problem streaming shows. They all have broadband connections. And they’re also very comfortable with it. They also have more of a nontraditional schedule, so if they won’t be home or near a TV at certain times, they'll go online to watch a certain show.»

fonte: «Fact: College kids now watch more TV», Media Life Magazine, By Diego Vasquez Jul 26, 2007

Os meios tradicionais a salterem as fronteiras clássicas

«O Expresso está a preparar o lançamento de uma newsletter multimédia. "É uma forma de divulgarmos os nossos conteúdos multimédia", justifica Miguel Martins, editor multimédia do semanário da Impresa. "No nosso trabalho procuramos sempre transformar o mais possível esse conteúdo nessa perspectiva", diz o responsável. Conteúdos que serão posteriormente disponibilizados na newsletter que terá uma periodicidade semanal. O enfoque dos mesmos não será nas breaking news, mas sim "em conteúdos com um maior grau de intemporalidade", esclarece Miguel Martins.Mais de 300 foto galerias, 85 podcasts e 128 vídeos "incluindo os do Expresso TV" são os conteúdos multimédia actualmente já disponíveis. A newsletter será enviada para a base de utilizadores registados do Expresso que autorizaram a recepção deste tipo de conteúdos, o que representa cerca de metade dos actuais cerca de 180 mil registos, segundo adianta ao M&P Miguel Martins» («Expresso prepara newsletter multimédia», Meios e Publicidade, 9 de Agosto de 2007, por Ana Marcela)

«O grupo Renascença está a preparar a renovação dos sites das suas estações. "O site do canal Renascença está na segunda fase de desenvolvimento e o da RFM aparecerá totalmente renovado após o Verão. O mesmo acontecerá, depois com o da Mega FM", adianta ao M&P João Aguiar Campos, presidente do conselho de gerência do grupo Renascença."Vamos ter um site que está profundamente envolvido com a rádio, não é um canal alternativo", afirma António Mendes, director de programação da RFM. "No site iremos dar continuidade aos passatempos que desenvolvemos em antena sendo um reflexo do que está no ar", continua o responsável. O futuro site da RFM será um "mais dinâmico" que "irá envolver mais os ouvintes e a rádio do que o actual", acrescenta, preferindo, no entanto, não revelar mais pormenores sobre a forma como esse envolvimento será alcançado. A aposta no online do grupo radiofónico não se fica por aqui. A Página 1, um jornal online que actualmente já tem duas edições diárias, ao que o M&P conseguiu apurar junto de fonte oficial da empresa, irá ser igualmente objecto de "melhorias, no sentido de complementar a comunicação do grupo". Prevista está também a criação de novas edições online.» (fonte: «Renascença prepara renovação de sites», Meios e Publicidade, 9 de Agosto de 2007, por Ana Marcela)

A rádio tem futuro entre os mais jovens

De um (surpreendente? inesperado? suspeito?) estudo da Bridge ratings («The new study of 3314 kids between the ages of 8 and 12 [TWEENS]conducted during February/March and June/July 2007 indicates that though exposed to many of the new technologies their older counterparts have been, AM/FM radio still provides a high level of satisfaction.»)

- The truth of this study is that while many of today's 15-19 year olds are spending more time with their digital music players, cell phones and the Internet for the same experience their predecessors got from AM/FM radio, Tweens - those between 8 and 12, are still experiencing radio and loving it.

-The data suggests that radio still has a chance with the teens and young adults of five to ten years from now. (...) For the future of the radio business, radio still has potential among 8-17 year olds. Teens may be a more difficult transition since the radio industry has provided little in the way of content over the last 10 years to nurture teen listening, but this study proves that it isn't too late for Tweens to be nutured by radio.

Talvez o que mais surpreenda seja este quadro: «Tweens use of media hinges largely on access of that media during a typical day. As one might suspect, TV has the largest reach into this demographic - as does radio. 21% of the Tween panel has access to a cell phone daily with only slightly more gaining access to a device that will allow them to Instant Message or Text.

fonte: «Tweens are Radio's Future: Let's Treat 'Em That Way», Bridge Ratings, July 25, 2007

Digitalização faz poupar no tempo consumido com meios de informação?

«For the first time since 1997 consumers spent less time with media in 2006 than they did the previous year, as media usage per person declined 0.5% to 3,530 hours, due to changing consumer behaviors and digital media efficiencies. This is according to data released by Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), a private equity firm specializing in the media, communications, information and education industries.  (...) The drop in consumer media usage was driven by the continued migration of consumers to digital alternatives for news, information and entertainment, which require less time investment than their traditional media counterparts. For example, consumers typically watch broadcast or cable television at least 30 minutes per session while they spend as little as five to seven minutes viewing consumer-generated video clips online. »

fonte: «Research Reveals: US Consumer Media Usage Declines For The First Time In A Decade», Radio Ink, 08/08/07

"Ouvir" e "escutar" com o PPM (e a rádio musical)

Mark Ramsey suscita mais uma questão relevante, a partir de um comentário no seu blogue (a discussão é clássica, mas ganha nova actualidade com o PPM que não mede quem está a ouvir mas o que está sintonizado):

«"PPM," he said, "measures exposure, not 'listening.' The device 'receives' - and we use that as a proxy for the actual person holding the device." Now I will assume that the device is generally in the proximity of a listener as the "reception" is happening (true or not, a far better assumption than the one which says folks carry their paper Arbitron diaries with them wherever they go and fill them out as they listen). This distinction between "listening" and "exposure" is most practically one between "listening" and "hearing." And the consequences for this difference are profound. "Listening" is active. "Hearing" is passive.  "Listening," therefore, is an act of will. "Hearing" can simply happen without desire or intention or interest or preference. "Listening" is emotional. "Hearing" is passionless.»

Noutro comentário há quem diga que a questão é relevante para a rádio musical e não tanto para a rádio de palavra: «Talk radio follows completely different rules, especially in this case. As we continue to debate how to fix music radio, I think it is important to look at the success of talk radio, their personalities, and why they are thriving»

Um novo serviço de música on line

«Anywhere.FM is a new online music service that allows users to upload their entire music collections and listen to them wherever they have an Internet connection.

Since its launch last Thursday, the service has attracted more than 3,700 users who have uploaded more than 265,000 songs. It competes with Pandora and Last.fm, which was recently acquired by CBS. It is currently partnering with GarageBand.com, the independent online music service from Seattle's iLike.

Anywhere.FM also is similar to Melodeo's new music service, nuTsie, which allows people to access random mixes of their iTunes collections either on the Web or a mobile device.

At this time, Anywhere.FM co-founder Sachin Rekhi said their focus is to build "a digital music locker service that not only lets you play your music through any browser, but makes it really easy to share and discover music through friends." However, he didn't rule out the possibility of creating a mobile application to compete head-to-head with Melodeo.»

fonte: COOK, John, «Anywhere.FM goes after online radio», John Cook's Venture Blog, 06/08/07

Novos serviços de musica on line recorrem ao FM

«(...) And what about the similarity in names between Last.fm and Anywhere.FM? Rekhi admits that the names are "somewhat similar," but adds that a number of online radio stations are now using the "FM" letters. "We thought it was appropriate and speaks to the fact that we make your music accessible anywhere and allow radio stations in the form of Friend Radio," said Rekhi, referring to the service that allows users to listen to random mixes of songs from their friends' play lists.»

«A rádio está para a próxima geração como a máquina de escrever para todos nós»

«There's a reason Steve Jobs didn't put a radio in the iPhone. Radio is to the next generation -- what a typewriter is to all of us today. Or a console Philco radio. It's so yesterday. And for those of you who think -- no problem -- we'll someday offer up our terrestrial streams for mobile use, check with the next generation first. The entire concept of 24-hour radio is over with the next generation, too.

Look, baby boomers and Generation Xers will still listen, but if you were raised on the Internet, live every minute with your cell phone (hint, hint) and conduct your relationships online, you have little need for 24 hour broadcasting. (...) Radio is not in their lives the way it was in ours. If it was, Steve Jobs would have made iPhone or at least iPod radio capable.

(...) How can I say this delicately? Not only is iPhone a competitive threat to radio. It is the killer app. We've reached the tipping point. No doubt this first iPhone will be seen as primitive in years to come, but today it represents a form of new age consolidation in its own right -- consolidating an iPod music player, with a mini-computer, the Internet, photos, calendars and even a telephone. I love radio. Loved it then and really respect a lot of people who are toiling away in it now while their bosses are showing the world their ignorance. But I don't like when the honchos who run radio bury their heads in the sand. Clear Channel determining that the iPhone is not a competitive threat is ill-informed, misleading and dangerous to an industry that so desperately needs to find its future.

There is a future for radio people, but it's not on terrestrial radio. It's in the content business with the delivery system that the marketplace chooses. That delivery system is not likely to be a radio. And you can see how ridiculous an HD radio looks right now as well. (...)»

fonte: JERRY DEL COLLIANO, Inside Music Media, «Clear Channel: iPhone "Not a Competitive Threat" », 03/07/07

COLLIANO, Jerry del, «Clear Channel: iPhone "Not a Competitive Threat" », Inside Music Media, 03/07/07 [http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2007/07/clear-channel-iphone-not-competitive.html]

O iPhone é uma ameaça para a rádio?

«Clear Channel Executive Vice President Jeff Littlejohn who he quotes as saying that "the radio industry shouldn't worry about the high-profile launch of the iPhone" adding "it's not a competitive threat". (...) There's a reason Steve Jobs didn't put a radio in the iPhone. Radio is to the next generation -- what a typewriter is to all of us today. Or a console Philco radio. It's so yesterday.»

«(...) No, the iPhone is not? Should we also believe that advertisers aren't looking at online, that youth don't want something different, and that technology has a way of always going backwards? The radio industry is in trouble. Its leaders, again, are sticking their heads in the sand hoping it will all go away. (...) The comment about the iPhone not being "a competitive threat" has me wondering what's going through radio exececutives' minds today? Can they not read that the landscape has changed, that their value lies in the amount of time audience devotes to radio, and that that "time" is growing shorter each year? Mr. Littlejohn, there is a movement in progress. You're competing for the public's attention and not doing a very good job of keeping it. If radio is not part of the answer to placing everything a user wants in one unit - aka iPhone - it's destined to diminish at an exponential rate over the next ten years. Keep your eyes on TSL. There'll be no spikes in the future. The iPhone that I held in my hands amazed me! It has a friendly user interface, colorful easy-to-use icons, fast response. It is a computer with sidepockets for everything that affects my life, and it does not have a radio tuner.
It's not the iPhone that's radio's competition as much as the concept the iPhone represents. Those who are younger understand what's happening. The older ones who are running radio (and every other traditional media) need to understand the rules have changed. All media now comes in one container. As Mr. Littlejohn demonstrates through his comments, radio execs just don't see that they've been left out.» (fonte: «iPhone Changes the Rules for Radio Industry», Audiographics, 03/07/07

Net cada vez mais portátil (WiMax)

«From SiliconValley.com: "Notebook computers should begin reaching stores with the next generation of wireless technology — the long-range technology WiMax — by late 2008, Intel confirmed Friday.  "The Santa Clara chip maker this week began shipping a chipset — or package of chips — that includes WiMax to computer makers for testing, said Sriram Viswanathan, a general manager. It anticipates the product, called Echo Peak, will be available commercially in late 2008... "It will be built into portable computers and mobile Internet devices, making access to WiMax networks easier. Intel has delayed the release of the product several times."»

fonte: «high-power wireless net to be built-in in laptops, mobiles in '08», RAIN, 06/08/07

Número de ouvintes cai nos EUA

«Radio listening continues to decline. From the fall of 1998 to the fall of 2006, Arbitron found that the average number of listeners per quarter hour fell 6.6%, from about 19.7 million to about 18.4 million, according to the study, which updates a previous radio review done in 2002»

«(...) from de Fall of 1998 to the Fall of 2006, Arbitron reports that the average number of listeners per quarter hour has fallen from approximately 19.7 million to approximately 18.4 million, a drop of 6.6 percent. (...) while listenership declined slightly between the fall of 1998 and the fall of 2000, listener ratings held steady between the summer of 2000 and the early portion of 2005. During 2005, radio listenership appears to have taken another substantial dip. Between fall 1998 and fall 2006 the average annual decline in the average num 0.82 percent. Further analysis, which is beyond the scope of this report, is required to explain whether these changes in radio audience and industry concentration reflect any causal links. The causes of audience decline and industry consolidation may be varied. For example, declining audiences could be related to the availability of alternative products, such as satellite radio, Internet radio, and downloading of digital music»

Apetência cada vez maior pelo vídeo

«Os vídeos online são um dos mais recentes fenómenos a nível mundial e têm vindo a revolucionar a forma de utilização dos media digitais.O visionamento de vídeos em sítios do tipo do YouTube sofreram um enorme crescimento no último ano, mostra um estudo da Magid Media Futures A popularidade dos vídeos online, colocados à disposição dos utilizadores da internet, tem vindo a sofrer um crescimento exponencial nos últimos anos. Se em 2006 eram 9% os norte-americanos entre os 12 e os 64 anos que afirmavam recorrer diariamente aos vídeos online, esse número subiu para perto de 15% em 2007. Este foi o resultado de um estudo levado a cabo pela Magid Media Futures nos Estados Unidos, ao qual o M&P teve acesso. Também a análise do uso semanal do vídeo online mostra uma subida acentuada durante o último ano. Actualmente, a maioria dos americanos entre os 12 e 64 anos (52%) afirma recorrer ao vídeo online pelo menos uma vez por semana, enquanto que em 2006 a percentagem era de 44%.»

fonte: «Boom de vídeos online nos EUA», Meios e Publicidade, 31 de Julho de 2007, por Maria João Morais

A função que o video pode desempenhar: «(...)comScore reports that in May of this year, three-fourths of Internet users watched an average of nearly three hours of online video that month.  This translates to 132 million Americans watching streaming video, with YouTube leading the way.  And of those consumers, they average two videos a day. So what does this tell us about our content and our business?  Video needs to be a component of everything we do.  It needs to be integrated into our personality shows, whether it's via webcams or listener-submitted videos.  Events need to be covered with video to capture the excitement of station events, contests, interviews, etc.  The video age online has signaled increased interest in going behind the scenes to see what happens at stations.  It involves the listener in the process, and provides her with a unique/on-demand perspective. The online video revolution also should signal the need to acquire employees (jocks, promotion people, etc.) who have basic video editing skills.  We need to be thinking video in our hires, and making sure that our stations are staffed with employees who "get" the visual side of what we do.  Every time I visit a web site that uses "photo galleries" to cover an event (often too many pictures posted that are not edited and poorly/not labeled), it screams how out-of-date stations often end up looking to listeners. In the same way that walking into a home that last had interior decoration done in the '80s simply looks tired and dated, radio needs to critically assess its websites and total approach to how it presents entertainment.  Consumers are moving at a rapid rate as the comScore data illustrates.  TV and newspapers have hopped on the video bus and are doing their best to move forward.  Radio needs to get moving, too.» (fonte: Fred Jacobs, «Theater Of The Mind», Jacoblog, 7/08/07)

Novos operadores oferecem produtos concorrentes

Uma das tendencias de futuro é a banalização de operadores que, entre outros serviços, oferecem canais áudio - em concorrência com a rádio (que assiste, impávida mas não serena...). Agora é a National Gegraphic...

«LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - National Geographic Ventures, the media wing of the venerable science and exploration society, is launching a music and radio division to accompany its existing TV, film, magazine and digital units.The new enterprise comprises a record label, a music publishing house, a live-concert branch and a radio unit that will produce syndicated shows for over-the-air radio stations and Internet outlets, David Beal, the division's president, said on Friday. The radio venture is launching with several distribution partners, including commercial radio giant Clear Channel Communications, National Public Radio and leading Christian broadcaster Salem Communications Corp. Beal said specifics of those deals would be unveiled in the fall. "We'll be making an announcement very soon, which you'll see makes us very hungry for programming," he said. "It's more than a few hours, or a hundred hours -- it's a lot of programming." (...)»

fonte: «National Geographic launches new music, radio unit», Reuters, Aug 3, 2007

Ganhar mais dinheiro com os novos meios

A frase é de Triton Media President Mike Agovino:

"If we’re not making more money OFF the air than we are ON the air 10 years from now, we’re in trouble."

Mark Ramsey: «his absolutely correct perspective on what the future holds for Radio and how to navigate our way to success as our competition and clients dramatically change. Our industry is in the midst of transformation, and it is going to happen very, very quickly. Agovino walks through the steps you and your group should take NOW to surf these changes rather than getting swallowed up by them»

E há quem ache 10 anos demasiado tempo...

A nova relação entre música e rádio

«If you want to see the irrelevance of commercial radio to music fans, these two nights at Sydney's atmosphere-free barn would be enough. Two English bands - both two albums into their careers, both on their second tours of Australia - with relatively little presence on radio, sold out this 5000-6000 capacity room on consecutive nights»

 

A ideia de que o podcasting é uma oportunidade para a rádio

«The iPod Revolution has fueled the upstart podcasting phenomenon.  As more and more consumers add an iPod or similar device to their arsenal of media gadgets, the potential for content creation - and profit - become greater and greater.Jason Calacanis outlined the potential and the reality very nicely at Summit 11 last fall.  He reasoned that radio had the reach, the production values, and the sales skills necessary to create winning podcasts, and to eventually monetize them.To that end, around 15 companies - including NPR and Apple - have formed a new industry group, the Association for Downloadable Media.  The idea behind this coalition is to find ways to better produce, distribute, and market podcasts.  As we've seen in our own Tech Polls, those who have downloaded podcasts overwhelmingly say they'd be very or somewhat likely to endure a commercial in order to receive the content.  Ken Stern, NPR's CEO, has been a visionary in this area, vaulting their podcasts to industry-leading levels.»

Fred Jacobs, Podcasting (for Fun) and Profit, 3/08/07

O futuro da rádio será uma «experiência»

A propósito de um acordo entre a Sprint  (operador móvel norte-americano) e a Google («Under a revenue-sharing deal announced yesterday, Sprint would provide the WiMax technology, a wireless Internet connection for laptop computers and other portable devices that offers DSL-like speeds over a range of miles, as opposed to WiFi's range of several hundred feet. Google, in turn, would provide search capabilities and its already popular applications such as e-mail, instant messaging and online calendars, on Sprint's WiMax network»), M Ramsey especula: «(...) In fact, as this new Google/Sprint deal suggests, the availability of audio entertainment wirelessly and in real-time will permanently alter the very experience and definition of radio. (...) It's all about empowering the consumer to control his or her listening experience and dramatically enhancing the experience of radio by mashing up radio with IM and TXT and social networking and interactivity and pictures and video and dozens of other capabilities yet to be dreamed of.
The future of radio is to be much more than radio. Not simply what's on the radio. The future of radio will be more interactive than passive, more customized than homogenized, more visual and visceral. The future of radio will be an experience, not just a station.» («The future of radio will be an "experience"»)

(intro) Universitários dos EUA vivem (dormem?) com a Internet

PERANTE ISTO, é preciso fazer alguma coisa...

Pergunta Mark Ramsey, em função destes dados agora revelados, relativos a jovens estudantes com 18 anos ou mais, dos EUA:

95% own a mobile phone  

78% sent a text message in the past week

75% own a music player, such as an iPod

55% own a video game device »

«If [Internet] it's so integrated into other routines, to what degree is your radio station - or your station's website - one of those routines?»

(Por curiosidade, eis as previsões para os próximos anos quanto à adesão à Internet:

)