Update: XM/Sirius Merger

The proposed merger between satelite radio giants Sirius and XM is still under review, but may be nearing a ruling from the Federal Communications Commision. One main facet of the proposal is whether or not the merger would create a monopoly, which antitrust laws deem illegal. Given that Sirius and XM are two of only a handful of satellite radio providers, it would seem as though the merger would create complete dominance in the industry. On the other side of the coin, satellite radio in its entirety may not be considered its own industry, but rather one relatively small portion of the radio industry as a whole. Satellite radio does in fact make up a very small portion of the whole radio market, and both companies are currently losing money. If the merger does not go through, both companies have stated that they will survive on their own and continue conducting business as usual. The Radio Business Report (RBR) makes their opinion known by saying "We'd strongly argue that the services are unique, and since their continued survival as competitors is not an issue there is no reason to grant a government-sanctioned monopoly."

After analyzing a combination between XM and Sirius, one would conclude that the sheer amount of different channels would surely dessimate the competition due to the mega-companies seemingly endless amount of content. Mark Ramsey argues that the number of channels availible on a radio service has nothing to do with its power. He states, "The issue has nothing - nothing - to do with how many channels you have. This is an old school understanding of a new media world."
No matter who weighs in on this situation, the only opinion that really matters is that of the Federal Communications Commision. They will most likely see the situation differently from the Radio Business Report and allow the merger to proceed, to the delight of both XM and Sirius. If merged, the two would be able to pool their resources and offer aggregated content, as well as eliminate their main competitors, which is a win-win situation in any business environment. Mark Ramsey believes that the merger will be approved. In fact, he adds that the merger won't have as big as an efect as most people think.

Sources:
http://www.hear2.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_radio

RIAA vs. Downloaders

Ever since the age of peer-to-peer file sharing programs began (i.e. Napster), there has been an ongoing conflict between illegal downloaders and the regulatory organizations who try to impede them. Over the years the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been relentless in their persuit to seek out offenders- investigating businesses and universities across the country and handing out lawsuit after lawsuit. The battle over downloading undoubtedly has an effect on the radio industry. The more people are able to download free music, the less likely they are to subscribe to a radio service like Sirius, XM, or HD.
The RIAA targets offenders by putting surveillance on peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading software, and monitoring the use by various users. Once a user is targeted, using their username as an identifier, the RIAA's technicians can track them to their computer using their IP address. The IP address is a unique address that computers use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network. To initialize the battle with downloading at the workplace, the RIAA sends letters to the upper management of the company. The letters outlines the possible fines they could face, as well as a list of the ways they can help prevent illegal downloading at the workplace. A CD is also included, which contains a logged list of material, dates, times, IP addresses and users in question of copyright violation. The letter says "In short, your computer network and resources are being used to illegally distribute copyrighted music on the Internet. We strongly urge you to take immediate steps to prevent the continued infringement of our members' sound recordings on your corporate network." University campuses are also a hotspot for RIAA investiagation. Countless students across America have incurred lawsuits from the RIAA involving illegal downloading and copyright infringement. Many of these lawsuits can reach tens of thousand or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. This has gone on for years, but now some states are starting to speak out on the issue.

The Attorney General of Oregon State has now blocked many attempts by the RIAA to spy on university students. The state and University refuse to cooperate, saying "We do not think the university can be compelled to produce investigative work for the recording industry." This has been one of two huge blows to the RIAA in recent weeks. The other involves EMI's announcement that it will begin scaling back its funding of groups like the RIAA.

Sources:
www.afterdawn.com/ news/archive/3893.cfm
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2204762/state-oregon-blocks-riaa-spying

New Trends in Radio Advertising

We should also take time to examine how radio is changing in terms of its advertising content. Although it is hard to pin down the all the strategies of the countless brands advertising on the radio, there are some overlying trends that are worth taking a loot at. One recent element of advertising that seems to be falling in popularity, according to Brandweek, is the use of taglines, or slogans- especially during the upcoming holiday season. “It used to be on the list of deliverables,” said Mike Wolfsohn, vp/executive creative director at Ignited, Los Angeles. “It was mandatory.” Now-a-days we are seeing more and more companies abondoning heavy use of taglines, if they use one at all. Starbucks, Samsung and Converse all lack taglines, while Pizza Hut and M&Ms make use of them only very rarely.



But why? The tagline seems to be a crucial staple to advertisements in order to create consistent brand messages and to boast the brand's main focus or philosophy. The fact is, many companies seem to be using taglines incorrectly, according to Brandweek, and can often detract from the effectivement of an advertisement. Taglines can be seen as safety nets for fears that the rest of the ad campaign isnt communicating. Taglines that are vague and watered down in order to be catchy or different often lose their meaning and mitigate the ad's message. Experts are not saying everybody should stop using taglines, but that a company should only use them if it is in a way that is strong and meaningful.

How do you get a slogan to stick? Landor & Associates’ managing director Allen Adamson says " It’s not just coming up with five catchy words. It has to be the right promise, with the brand living up to it, expressed in a sticky, unexpected way, and then you have to spend money and stay with it for the long haul.” The message you are trying to get across should be woven through all communications made by the company, and it should be in the very essence of the brand itselff.

Sources:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003677226
http://www.hear2.com

Radio on the iPod?

Apple's iPods have been incurring technological advance with every new generation of the device. This entails the addition of new features such as video capability, photo storage, touch screens and internet access. Many are speculating as to whether or not these devices will add a radio feature. It seems as though Apple would have the capability of implementing a radio frequency reciever. However, when an Apple representative was questioned about this, it became apparent that Steve Jobs and his company have no intention of such a thing. He said that Apple had no immediate plans for a 'radio-type' function on its players because "Steve considers traditional radio to be a an old technology and he doesn't want to 'taint' his cutting edge technology. On the other hand, the iPod's internet access can now facilitate audio streaming, which is perfect for internet radio stations like Pandora. This could mean that internet radio stations could becomne increasingly popular amongst the public due to the vast popularity of iPods. If people wanted to hear something other than what they had stored in their devices, they could easily go to pandora.com or anothe rinternet radio site and stream this audio. Companies like TVersity (www.tversity.com) have devoted their websites to portable device streaming.

At this website, you can stream not only audio, but also video content. Heres how it works. How it works

1. Add your home and Internet media to TVersity
2. Organize it, tag it and create playlists
3. Access it from your TV and other devices

Social (Music) Networking

As mentioned in the previous post, Last.fm is an Internet radio website as well as a social networking site. This post will embellish on the recent trends of social networking aspect of online music. There are many social music sites that allow you to upload songs, listen to your music, share it with your friends and compare playlists. Some of the more notable websites are Last.fm, Ezmo.com (which was made available to the U.S. market just recently), uPlayMe and iLike.





Here is a detailed list of the various things you can do on these music sites.

Upload: Upload songs individually - to import your entire iTunes, Windows Media Player or Winamp library.
Listen: Listen to the music via an online music player - log in to your account from any computer and listen to your music using a cool and user-friendly interface.
Share: Invite friends to share your music - friends can then stream your entire music library on any computer.
Playlists: Share iTunes playlists with friends.
New Music: Get music picks and free MP3s to match your tastes.
Concerts: Get notified when your favorite artists are playing near you.

The socail networking craze, marked by the new wave of Web 2.0, is cleary affecting the internet music industry. Users now have a new reason to explore new music- comparing and communicating with their friends, peers, and even strangers online. People no longer have to look to the big broadcast networks for content. They can get recommendations and playlists from online communities easier than ever before. This type of radio and music sharing will most likely be deleterious to the popularity of traditional music formats, and even more advanced formats like HD and satellite. The radio industry undoubtedly entails a wide range of competitors, which offer different advantages and different advantages. Each segment/format of the industry must work to find these advantages and exploit them in the best way possible.

Sources: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071024005801&newsLang=en
www.ezmo.com
www.ilike.com
www.uplayme.com

Radio Personalization

One of the trends that will shape the future of radio is personalization. As we have already seen in Pandora's internet radio strategy, consumers find value in being able to program their own radio stations- in terms of what types of artists and genres they want to hear. Larger broadcasting companies are beginning to realize this, and are taking steps towards integrating the concept.

Recently CBS broadcasting aqcuired Last.fm, which is an internet radio and social music networking site. CBS is trying to expand its online radio offerings, which they did for a sizeable price of $280 million. According to Mark Ramsey, CBS is going to incorporate Last.fm into their own radio stations to offer customized versions of their mothership. He says that "You'll see Last.fm integrated in all of CBS's radio websites which, for the first time, will enable customized versions of the analog stations you love - and whatever else your heart desires."


With all these consumer-tailored stations flooding the airwaves, more traditional "variety" stations will dwindle in value. Radio listeners will have their handful of personalized stations, and that will be all they listen to. People will no longer need hundreds of stations (which is bad news for satellite and HD radio). When this type of radio emerges, what we thought was "new radio" may become "old radio." However we don't know for sure when this will happen and to what degree. Still it will be interesting to see how it progresses.

Sources: http://www.hear2.com/2007/10/recently-apples.html
http://gigaom.com/2007/06/01/lastfm-cbs-280-million-hedge-for-its-radio-biz/