Posts Tagged ‘Slacker’

Internet Radio’s Weekly Audience Jumps 30%: Arbitron-Edison Study

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Posted 11 Apr 2012 — by Tom Taylor
Category Internet Radio, Media, Radio Industry, Technology

By Tom Taylor

The following article comes from Tom Taylor’s newsletter, Taylor on Radio-Info.

Headline of the latest Arbitron-Edison “Infinite Dial” – a 30% jump in weekly online radio audience.

Internet Radio - Arbitron - EdisonThis is the 20th edition of a study of new media that dates way back to 1998, when there wasn’t even an accepted vocabulary for some of the behavior. (Arbitron used to refer to streaming radio listeners as “streamies.”) The latest data confirms the rapid rush toward broadband at home (now in 70% of homes), increasing reliance on the Internet (46% say it’s “the medium most essential to my life”), and the adoption of smartphones. Arbitron’s Bill Rose and Edison’s Tom Webster also take pains to point out that old media isn’t going into the dumpster. One of their bullet points – “Heavy usage of one medium is not necessarily associated with less time with other media.” Americans’ average daily time with AM/FM radio is 2 hours and 7 minutes. For heavy Internet users, it’s 2 hours and 14 minutes. Even heavy TV users, who gulp down 7-8 hours a day of tube time, use radio an average of one hour and 56 minutes. There’s other stuff that points to increased media time by Americans. “Digital device users are slightly more likely to have listened to AM/FM radio in the past week.” Bill Rose says “ten years ago, people were using seven hours a day of radio/TV/Internet. Now it’s eight hours and 18 minutes.” Overall, digital has increased “the ubiquity of media.” Check the just-released Infinite Dial “Navigating Digital Platforms” study on the Arbitron website here or the Edison site here. Here’s more — Read More

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Pandora (NYSE:P): Arbitron Says Don’t Mix and Match

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Posted 20 Dec 2011 — by Tom Taylor
Category Internet Radio, Media, Radio Industry

By Tom Taylor

The following article comes from Tom Taylor’s newsletter, Taylor on Radio-Info.

Arbitron says – Don’t compare its numbers to those of “Internet music services”

Pandora (NYSE:P)Pandora (NYSE:P), true to the original Greek myth, has opened up a box-full of controversy with last week’s report titled “Pandora increases listenership in top radio markets.” It began issuing listening estimates from the top 10 radio markets in July, showing market-by-market AQH ratings. There was a followup release in September, but the December 13 release was the first one that added cume ratings to AQH ratings. Suddenly, the metrics are starting to look very “radio”-like. As Arbitron says (without naming Pandora), they “use the same labels and descriptions as Arbitron radio estimates.” TRI believes that’s the context for yesterday’s extraordinary release that Arbitron calls “a clarification…about whether Arbitron’s radio audience estimates are equivalent to those derived from Internet music services’ in-house server log files.” Its answer – with 10 bullet points – is “no.” Arbitron’s now hearing a dull roar of protest from its own paying clients about something strange out there. By sheer coincidence, Triton Digital yesterday announced its new “Webcast Metrics Local” service, breaking down its national monthly numbers for local radio markets. Again, TRI believes that the unnamed trigger for Arbitron’s “clarification” wasn’t Triton Digital, but Pandora. (There’s a story coming up soon about the Triton Digital service.) So what’s Arbitron saying about these “Internet music services”? Read More

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Harman’s (NYSE:HAR) Aha Radio to Announce Deals with Five Automakers at CES

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Posted 15 Dec 2011 — by Amy Gilroy
Category Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Internet Radio, Radio Industry, Sirius XM (SIRI) News, Technology

Aha Radio Screen

By Amy Gilroy

Aha RadioWe already expected to see more of Harman’s (NYSE:HAR) Aha Radio in-car car-app system in aftermarket radios at CES next month. And now Harman says we’ll be seeing the system eventually in over 20 percent of new cars.

Harman announced Wednesday its Aha business unit has won contracts with five premium car manufacturers who’s identities will be announced at the CES show next month. These are Aha’s first OEM partnerships.

Aha claims to make apps in the car as easy to use as AM/FM radio.

Its handful of new car partners will use Aha’s cloud-based platform to bring Internet content into new autos starting in 2012. Read More

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Pandora (NYSE:P) Shows Growth in Triton Digital’s September Internet Audio Rankers While SoundExchange Distributes Millions in Royalties

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Posted 26 Oct 2011 — by Tom Taylor
Category Internet Radio, Media, Radio Industry, Sirius XM (SIRI) News

By Tom Taylor

The following article comes from Tom Taylor’s newsletter, Taylor on Radio-Info.

Another growth spurt for Pandora in Triton’s September Internet audio rankers.

Triton Digital - Internet audio rankersAnd is there an “iHeartRadio” effect for Clear Channel (PINK:CCMO)? You can perhaps see it in the “Session Starts”, analogous to cume. #1 Pandora’s (NYSE:P) growth was particularly noticeable in “Average Active Sessions”, akin to broadcast radio’s AQH. Pandora showed with about 799,000 Active Sessions in August, and now 885,078 in September. Its “cume” figure of “Session Starts” swelled from 316 million to 343 million. #2 CBS Radio (NYSE:CBS), which includes Yahoo Launchcast (NASDAQ:YHOO) and AOL Radio (NYSE:AOL), dips in both Active Sessions and Starts. (AOL Radio is in the process of leaving the CBS family and joining Slacker, but was still included for September.) #3 Clear Channel, with a big push behind iHeartRadio, is up in Active Sessions (from 122,000 to about 133,000) and Starts (from about 41.3 million to 48 million). #4 is Citadel, soon to become counted together with Cumulus (NASDAQ:CMLS), and basically flat. #5 is Slacker, which is up in Active Sessions and particularly Starts (from 14.7 million to better than 15.6 million). The rest of the top ten: #6 Entercom (NYSE:ETM), #7 EMF (K-Love/Air 1), #8 ESPN Radio, #9 Cox and #10 Cumulus. Read More

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Aha Radio Adds Slacker to Car Radio

Posted 12 Sep 2011 — by Amy Gilroy
Category Consumer Electronics, Internet Radio, Radio Industry, Sirius XM (SIRI) News

By Amy Gilroy

Aha RadioAha Radio, a free service in two Pioneer radios, has teamed up with Slacker Radio to offer Internet radio in an easy to use interface while driving.

Slacker radio stations and millions of songs will be available to drivers, who can access favorite preset stations via touch control in a simplified interface.

Slacker also gives you 150 pre-programmed genre stations that will be added to Aha’s current mix of news, traffic, Facebook and Twitter feeds plus other apps like Yelp!, again, via touch screen and audio.

Unfortunately, the current Pioneer radios that are Aha-ready will not work with Slacker when Aha adds it this fall. Slacker requires the hardware maker to include “heart” and “ban” buttons similar to Pandora’s thumbs up thumbs down buttons, which are not included in the Pioneer radios, said Aha’s Robert Acker. He suggested that next generation Pioneer radios could be compatible. Read More

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Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) And The FCC Decision: When Are Price Increases Coming?

Posted 29 Jul 2011 — by Demian Russian
Category Media, Radio Industry, Sirius XM (SIRI) News

By Demian Russian

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI)With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Memorandum Opinion and Order filed yesterday, July 27th, 2011, Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) has now been given the all clear by the FCC to raise its subscription prices and is no longer bound by the three-year pricing condition contained in the Commission’s July 25th, 2008 decision approving the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. into a single Satellite Radio service provider.

We find on this record that the evidence does not support at this time the extension of the price cap beyond the period the Commission imposed in the Merger Order and the condition will therefore expire on July 28, 2011.

– Federal Communications Commission

Along with its decision, the FCC noted how the audio entertainment marketplace has changed in the three years following the Sirius and XM merger, noting that “new audio services have emerged as viable consumer alternatives, including smartphone Internet streaming applications that can be used in mobile environments such as automobiles equipped with user-friendly interfaces.” It noted that Internet radio service provider Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE:P) has demonstrated “remarkable growth” in the three years following the merger. Rhapsody, Slacker, Last.fm and iHeartradio were also mentioned as audio entertainment alternatives. In addition, the Commission reported that automakers Ford, Toyota, MINI, GM, Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai were in the process of introducing Internet-based streaming services in their vehicles. Furthermore, the Commission also noted that “data suggests HD radio has increased since the merger.” Read More

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Gabelli Analyst Brett Harriss Upgrades Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI): $3.25 PMV for 2015

Posted 06 Apr 2011 — by Demian Russian
Category Analyst Coverage, Media, Sirius XM (SIRI) News

By Demian Russian

Gabelli & Company - Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI)Gabelli & Company analyst Brett Harriss upgraded Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) today from a HOLD to a BUY rating. Rather than put a 12 month price target on the equity, Harriss sees the stock trading on future growth and points to a 2015 PMV (Private Market Value) of $3.25. Harris sees Sirius XM having pent-up pricing power and believes that the company could initiate stock buybacks in the second-half of 2012, subsequently returning ~$6 billion in capital or 55% of the company’s ~$10.9 billion market capitalization by 2015.

Since inception in 2000, Satellite Radio has never increased its subscription price despite the addition of new content. Sirius customers are loyal: 1.9% monthly churn is low compared to other subscription businesses and did not spike through the recession. With a relatively modest subscription price, we think SIRI can raise prices without significantly impacting consumers’ budgets.

– Brett Harriss, Gabelli & Company

Harriss notes that while Sirius XM has never increased its base subscription price, except for implementing music royalty recovery fees, the company has “substantially improved its content offerings,” noting the additions of Howard Stern, Opie & Anthony, and major league sports programming. He calculates that if Sirius XM were to have raised prices in tandem with inflation of ~2.5% over the last 10 year period, their base subscription would be around $13.50, as opposed to that of ~$10.40 currently — equating to a ~$3.00 premium. In contrast, he points to other subscription based businesses which have historically raised prices at single digit rates annually.  Read More

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Sirius XM Radio’s (NASDAQ:SIRI) Competition: Pandora Subpoenaed in Federal Investigation

Posted 04 Apr 2011 — by Demian Russian
Category Media, Radio Industry, Sirius XM (SIRI) News

By Demian Russian

PandoraWith Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) also utilizing the Internet and mobile apps as a distribution platform, along with its satellites, it’s important for investors to keep an eye on Sirius XM’s competition in the Internet radio space. According to an updated SEC filing, Internet radio service provider Pandora has been served a subpoena in a federal investigation regarding the sharing of personal information by smartphone apps, specifically apps which operate on Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platforms.

While Pandora states that they are not a “specific target” in the investigation and that they believe that other subpoenas have been issued on an “industry-wide basis,” reports of other subpoenas relating to this specific federal investigation have yet to surface and be confirmed. While Anthony Campiti, developer of the popular Pumpkin Maker mobile app, did receive a subpoena requesting information, he stated that he could not recall who issued the subpoena or if it was related to this investigation. In an SEC filing regarding the company’s IPO plans, Pandora noted in the risk factors section that the company could potentially be subject to ”fines by credit card companies and loss of our ability to accept credit and debit card payments” as a result of allegations/claims that the company violated laws and regulations related to data security and privacy.  Read More

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Sirius XM’s (NASDAQ:SIRI) Competition: Internet Listening Growth Slows Down — Even Pandora

Posted 25 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Media, Radio Industry, Sirius XM (SIRI) News

By Tom Taylor

The following article comes from Tom Taylor’s newsletter, Taylor on Radio-Info.

Pandora Hits a Caution Flag in the Ando Media Rankers

PandoraThere’s a post-holiday pause, it seems. Pandora’s Average Active Sessions (equivalent to radio’s AQH) are flat for the month of January. Session Starts actually fell from about 236 million in December to 218 million, for “domestic” (U.S. only) listening in the 6am-8pm weekday period. Until this latest report, Pandora had shown relentless growth in Active Sessions – 448,000 in July, 486,000 in August, 493,000 in September, 556,000 in October, 585,000 in November, 642,000 in December. But the January figure is 643,446.

Certainly Pandora founder Tim Westergren’s got some phenomenal stats about registered users as he pursues the rumored Initial Public Offering. It will be a sexy stock issue. But the month-to-month stuff in the Ando Media rankers is interesting. How about Pandora’s fellow online audio sources?  Read More

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Does Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) Survey Give Expansion Insights?

Posted 17 Mar 2011 — by Brian Newman Rayl
Category Sirius XM (SIRI) News

By Brian Newman Rayl

Sirius XMSirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) may be looking to expand their internet radio offerings further, according to a survey that has been received by some subscribers. The survey asks question regarding various internet radio companies, including Pandora, Slacker, Clear Channel’s (PINK:CCMO)  iHeart Radio, and CBS’s (NYSE:CBS) Last FM to name a few. The survey asks you if you have ever heard about these companies and if you have used them recently.

Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) List of Internet Competition

What is peculiar about the survey is that out of all of the companies on the list, the only competitor that brings up more in depth questions is the selection of Pandora as an alternative listening choice. Upon selecting Pandora, the survey gives another set of questions asking what it is that you like about Pandora, what you dislike about Pandora, and which service you feel provides the greatest choice in music. It asks that you rank a list of ten items in order of importance as your reasons for using Pandora. Read More

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Hello, Pandora: “Personalized” and “Interactive” Radio Coming to Cumulus (NASDAQ:CMLS)

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Posted 15 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Media, Radio Industry

By Tom Taylor

The following article comes from Tom Taylor’s newsletter, Taylor on Radio-Info.

Clear ChannelClear Channel’s (PINK:CCMO) Bob Pittman wants that ability out of the CC acquisition of Thumbplay (which interestingly had Bain Capital as an early backer). Many groups are thinking about ways to offer a competitor to Pandora and Slacker Radio, and Cumulus (NASDAQ:CMLS) boss Lew Dickey says that combining his company with Citadel gives it “the necessary scale to invest in technology-based initiatives including ‘personalized’ and ‘interactive’ radio.”  Read More

Some Internet Radio Firms Grow — Some Shrink

Posted 04 Feb 2011 — by admin
Category Media, Radio Industry, Sirius XM (SIRI) News

By Tom Taylor

Pandora’s potential IPO gets powerful friends in new board members Peter Chernin and Barry McCarthy.

Chernin is the former President/COO of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) and Chairman/CEO of the Fox Group – one of Rupert Murdoch’s most trusted executives and a real media industry leader. Until December, McCarthy had been the Chief Financial Officer at Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) for nearly a dozen years, and he worked at Music Choice, Credit Suisse First Boston and Booz Allen Hamilton before that. Those two men bring a ton of experience and credibility to Tim Westergren’s company, which now has a claimed 80 million-plus registered users. Pandora is still privately-held, but is widely believed to be considering an IPO (initial public offering). With Chernin and McCarthy on board, that’s going to be easier – and maybe bring a bigger payoff.

Two-year-old Goom Internet radio slashes its staff.

GOOM RadioIt just laid off a bunch of format programmers and others in what looks like a budget-driven retrenchment. Former Clear Channel (OTCBB:CCMO) exec Rob Williams and former CBS radio (NYSE:CBS) exec Drew Hilles were among the early leaders of Goom, modeled after a French online service that promised users the chance to really assemble their own radio stations – with production elements as well as music. Goom even rented the former Z100 space in Jersey City, keeping the radio vibe going. But the newspage at Radio-Info.com talked to Shareese Hurt, the Pop & Teen Radio programmer – and she’s out, in a downsizing move. So are Alternative & Rock programmer Matt Schwenker, Hip-Hop & Urban programmer Will2Be, and Hot A/C programmer Brian Lanz. Ditto for Artist Relations manager Danielle Avissar, and Marketing and Community Relations Director Giselle Yankovich. Goom’s VP of U.S. operations Jeff Z is still there.

Online music service Rdio (no “a”) gets $17.5 million in new funding.

rdioIt was created by Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, which automatically earned it a whole bunch of attention in Silicon Valley and beyond. But as the San Francisco Chronicle asks, “Does it have a chance?” Rdio debuted last Summer with a $10-monthly all-you-can-eat menu, and it offers some social networking features that it hopes will differentiate it from competitors, as well as from the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes download world. But the rent-your-music business model is still developing, and the Chronicle’s Matt Rosoff says Rdio “has a long way to go to catch up with Rhapsody”, which has 700,000-plus subscribers. And one of these days, Europe’s Spotify may finally land on U.S. shores. The $17.5 million in new funding for Rdio is a re-fill from co-founder Zennstrom’s Atomico fund, and from Mangrove Partners. Read More