Zimedia TV 6: Amazon's new Kindle line, Amazon Instant Video, Apple, Pandora, Spotify, Bing and Google

Pandora and the Evolution of Radio

To stay relevant in our lives, media must evolve. We’re seeing it now on four levels: news, communication, commerce and entertainment.

The way we get our news is changing, from print to web and apps. We communicate and interact daily on Facebook. We shop online more than ever before. We’re entertained not by video-rental stores but by Netflix and Hulu. The radio dial we used to turn is now a digital dial.

Shifts in consumer behavior force media to evolve. Today that shift is toward personalization.

Pandora, the leading Internet radio service, is the evolution of FM radio. Its customized radio plays songs it knows we’ll like – it learns our tastes – using Pandora’s Music Genome Project.

Pandora announced Tuesday at the International CTIA Wireless 2012 conference in New Orleans that it has surpassed 150 million registered users, nearly 52 million of which are active listeners. It is now one of the most-used online services in the United States.

In April, Pandora users clocked 1.06 billion listening hours, an 87 percent increase over the same time last year.

Audience measurement and consumer research company The Media Audit revealed last week that Pandora is the No. 1 listened to station in Los Angeles, beating out KIIS-FM.

The Media Audit found that Internet radio has reached 20 percent saturation; which means there’s still plenty of room to grow. Among 18 to 34 year olds, the saturation – or market presence – hits 36.6 percent.

Ways to Tune In:  some of today’s popular destinations for music

• Pandora: Personalized Internet radio service that creates stations based on your favorite artists and songs. Pandora offers free andpremium Pandora One, which features ad-free listening for about $3 per month.
• Sirius XM: Subscription satellite radio service starting at $14.49 per month featuring more than 140 channels including 71 commercial-free music channels plus news, talk, sports and more. You’ll need a Sirius or XM radio to use the service, unless you opt for an online-only subscription for about $13 per month. Sirius XM is also available in select vehicle models.
• Spotify: On-demand music. Enter an artist and play the tracks you want to hear. Spotify also features genre-specific stations and the new Playlist Radio. Free on desktop or laptop computers – but to play on mobile devices or tablets Spotify Premium ($9.99 per month) is required.
• Slacker: Slacker plays songs based on your favorite artists or tracks, in addition to genre-specific stations. Slacker has a free level and two premium options: Slacker Plus ($3.99 per month) and Slacker Premium ($9.99 per month), with Slacker Premium featuring on-demand music like Spotify.
• Songza: Songza sets itself apart with its Music Concierge featuring situation-based music, from Waking Up, to Unwinding After a Long Day, or even A Sweaty Dance Party.
• Others: Grooveshark, Rdio, MOG, Rhapsody

According to the annual Infinite Dial study released last month by Arbitron and Edison Research, weekly Internet radio listening jumped more than 30 percent in the past year. The study includes streaming AM and FM stations.

Pandora listeners hit 22 percent of people 12 years and older who’ve listened in the past month, up from 16 percent last year, according to the same study.

New car tech is catching up, too. Including “Infotainment” systems that connect to Internet radio services like Pandora and satellite radio service Sirius XM. Pandora is available in 48 vehicle models across 18 brands and an array of aftermarket multimedia systems.

Cars with built-in iPod sync and audio jacks enable a driver to either wirelessly sync a device or plug it in, playing the audio through the car’s stereo system.

More than 70 percent of Pandora’s listening hours were from a device other than the computer, the company announced Tuesday. This correlates with the growing number of mobile devices and users accessing the Internet – and Internet radio – away from the computer.

In the past two years, smartphone ownership has tripled. The percentage of people who’ve listened to Internet radio by connecting a mobile device to the car stereo has experienced a 50 percent increase in the past 12 months, reaching 17 percent, according to Arbitron and Edison Research.

More than half of users between 18 and 24 years old have listened to an iPod or mp3 player in the car as their main source of music. One in five is streaming Pandora, according to a separate study by Arbitron and Edison Research.

In-car listening is the biggest area of potential growth for Internet radio services. In the next five years, Internet radio will gain more ground in the car. It’s only a matter of time before the technology hits the streets and moves along the adoption curve.

Turning the dial

Like television and newspapers, radio is evolving by adapting to shifts in the way we live – and listen.

The consumer’s desire for personalized media is driving the shift. We’re responsible for the changes that are occurring. It’s happening because we asked for it. Companies like Pandora and Spotify exist because they noticed it before the others, maybe even before we noticed it. 

Consumers told them what they wanted; and they were listening. They responded with services that are transforming the radio landscape.

“Mobile connectivity has allowed us to deliver on our mission of providing people with music they love…” said Pandora President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Kennedy. 

“The continued growth of Pandora shows that personalized radio is fundamentally changing the way people listen to music.”

Radio Today...and Tomorrow

I worked in the radio industry from 2008 through 2011. In that time, I had my finger on the pulse of both traditional radio as well as new radio offerings both online and via satellite. Current trends are only the beginning. The radio of the future will blow it all out of the water.

Since my time in radio, I have continued to follow radio trends in both traditional listening on the dial, online radio like Pandora and Slacker as well as satellite radio service SiriusXM. Like all other media, radio is evolving. But there are still needs that these new radio services -- even Pandora -- aren't fulfilling.

This week, I thought I'd revisit the radio landscape and project on what radio might look like tomorrow.

Local, terrestrial, radio is still dominant as far as listening is concerned, reaching 93% of Americans age 12+ each week, about 241 million weekly listeners. Online services like Pandora and Slacker are attracting a fair amount of listeners -- but lack one thing that make terrestrial radio successful: ubiquitous in-car access.

According to recent data, nearly 70% of radio listening is done in-car, according to research company GFK MRI. That's a glaring need that Pandora and Slacker aren't yet fulfilling.

Until Internet radio services like Pandora and Slacker enter the automobile, they will lag far behind terrestrial radio.

Sirius and XM merged in 2008. Soon thereafter the company introduced its new logo.

SiriusXM Radio has also capitalized on the in-car experience, though a subscription to SiriusXM is required. SiriusXM hit 20 million subscribers near the end of 2010. Still a small percentage compared to terrestrial listeners and behind even Pandora and Slacker according to reports.

SiriusXM also offers SiriusXM Internet Radio, for an additional fee to all satellite radio subscribers. At first, the online catalogue included only select channels. When SiriusXM introduced a new channel lineup this month, SiriusXM Internet Radio made available all of the channels of the satellite variety plus a few Internet-exclusive channels. Could a separate, standalone, online-only subscription model help SiriusXM build its user base?

Another element to the success of terrestrial radio and SiriusXM is its live and local content. Something SiriusXM certainly recognizes. All of its music channels feature live hosts. And they've shown interest in adding localized content with Weather and Traffic channels. It's something they seem to be interested in developing further.

In fact, SiriusXM recently added three local ESPN Radio shows. According to Marcus Vanderberg of Media Bistro, SiriusXm will pick up ESPN New York’s Mike Lupica Show and Michael Kay Show along with ESPN Chicago’s Waddle and Silvy. 

"Whether it’s the Bulls’ run through the playoffs, Yankees and Mets baseball, or another local team making headlines, there is a constant sports buzz in these two cities," Steve Cohen, SiriusXM’s SVP of Sports Programming, was quoted on MediaBistro.com.

"That makes for excellent sports talk, and we’re thrilled to be able to offer these great shows to all of our listeners, allowing them to follow the local story lines all year long,” Cohen said.

UPDATE: Before posting, I learned that SiriusXM has now made available a separate, standalone SiriusXM Internet Radio Subscription for $12.95 per month. A subscription to the satellite radio service is no longer required for SiriusXM Internet Radio. Per SiriusXM, users can listen on PC, Mac or  smartphone "with apps available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and compatible Blackberries and Android devices." I'm not exactly sure when this standalone subscription was introduced but this was the first I noticed it. This is important for two reasons: 1) a Sirius/XM compatible radio is  no longer required for the service; 2) When 3G (or 4G) enters the automobile, Sirius/XM will be well equipped.

Slacker introduces Slacker Premium Radio

Last week, Slacker introduced Slacker Premium Radio in an effort to break new ground -- becoming more than just a Pandora alternative -- giving more choice and personalization to the listener.

"The new radio should be able to give people more control of what they have," Slacker CEO Jim Cady was quoted in Radio Ink.

Slacker Premium Radio offers songs, albums or artists on-demand. Now Slacker is not only competing with Pandora but also services like Rdio, which offer large, on-demand music libraries with a paid subscription. Search for an artist/band and hear all available content on-demand.

In addition to Slacker's free radio, like Pandora, Slacker offers ad-free streaming of both personalized and genre-specific channels (like terrestrial radio stations).

To likely differentiate itself from Pandora and move in on the ground of terrestrial radio and SiriusXM, Slacker introduced ABC News to its Slacker Plus subscription. ABC News is also available in its Premium plan.

According to Slacker CEO Jim Cady, Slacker now has 26 million listeners and 8.5 million songs in its library. Pandora had reported some 60 million listeners in the latter half of 2010, a figure that Slacker CEO Jim Cady laughed off. It's not clear how either company is tracking or counting its listeners.

Today's Options for listeners:

• Traditional/Terrestrial Radio genre-specific listening, free for both AM/FM stations and online streams. *Ad-supported
• HD Radio like terrestrial radio, HD radio is subscription free but requires the purchase of an HD radio. HD has yet to take off due to the necessary purchase of an HD Radio (which does not stand for high definition) and the relatively  few stations that have an HD channel. *Ad-supported
• SiriusXM slowly becoming a force in radio landscape, thanks in part to its inclusion in a number of vehicles. A subscription to SiriusXM is required (starting at $12.95 per month). *Subscription- and ad-supported dual-revenue stream
• SiriusXM Internet Radio introduced in 2006, SiriusXM Internet Radio now features all of the channels of the satellite variety plus a few Internet-exclusive channels. Now available as a separate subscription ($12.95 per month). Available to current subscribers for an additional $2.99 per month. *Subscription and ad-supported
• Streaming Radio local radio stations offer online streaming to listeners near and far, also subscription free. *Ad-supported
• iheartradio a collection of 750+ local radio stations online from more than 150 cities.
• Pandora personalized radio as well as genre-specific stations, Pandora is the most publicized Internet radio service and is available on many devices. Pandora offers a free plan and an ad-free subscription plan called Pandora One ($3 per month). *Ad-supported, but also ad-free subscription
• Slacker like Pandora, Slacker offers personalized, subscription-free listening as well as an ad-free level ($3.99 per month) and the new Slacker Premium Radio ($9.99 per month) featuring unlimited on-demand music and ABC News. *Ad-supported as well as an ad-free subscription plan
• Rdio services like Rdio feature unlimited on-demand listening via mobile, computer and phone. Rdio is ad-free and costs $4.99 per month. *Subscription-supported

Radio tomorrow - the future

Pandora and Slacker will lead the way, forcing automobiles to incorporate Internet Radio capabilities in vehicles via 3G connection. Opening up our vehicles to 3G and Internet Radio will not only benefit services like Pandora, Slacker and possibly SiriusXM Internet Radio but also local traditional radio, as it is becoming the norm for terrestrial stations to offer Internet streaming.

As you can see from the radio options above -- from traditional radio to Pandora, Slacker, SiriusXM and on-demand services like Rdio -- the options for listeners today are plenty. Tomorrow they'll be even greater. So we'll need an in-car solution that can handle all that ear-poppin' goodness.

In my opinion, car tech is getting ahead of itself a little bit with what some are calling Infotainment Systems, or complete, connected car dashboards displaying as much information and entertainment as some home entertainment setups. Some Infotainment systems are well done, others are just overkill.

The adoption curve is steep enough. But companies are moving forward with Infotainment Systems in vehicles, some with 3G connections. I tend to believe we should keep it simple and cost effective to increase the number of drivers who have access to these units. Not everyone will see a need for these or, even if they do, be able to afford some of them. Here are a few companies that are getting it right by focusing more on the music and less on a computer in your car.

I started a mock-up of the perfect in-car unit -- focusing on enhanced music offerings via 3G connection with terrestrial radio, HD Radio, SiriusXM, Pandora, Slacker, Auxillary input and USB -- Until I saw what some leading companies are up to. Then I figured I'd put their work on display.

Unlike some complete, Infotainment units, these appear to be more simplistic and accessible to the masses. There's another reason terrestrial radio is still the most-used audio plaltform: it's intuitive; and built-in.

Microsoft created a pretty slick unit with Kia. The UVO by Microsoft and Kia, first introduced at the 2010 CES. However, the UVO had no inclusion for Pandora or Slacker. At least in its initial launch.

"Features of UVO include advanced speech recognition; a 4.3-inch full-color display screen; and MyMusic, a jukebox-type function that enables drivers to shuffle between music sources including personal music folders, an MP3 player, or AM/FM and satellite radio."

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Also introduced at the 2010 CES was MyFord Touch by Ford. Which includes Internet connectivity and Internet radio, specifically Pandora.

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Not to be outdone, Toyota has developed a unit that syncs a smartphone with the car dashboard, connecting to the 3G network through the phone. The Toyota Entune.

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The future for radio is as bright as ever with new services like Pandora and Slacker adding personalization and innovation to an already exciting industry. Watch for our favorite services to offer more choices and content in the coming year; and get ready for Internet Radio in your car via 3G. Because that's when Pandora and Slacker will truly shine, for it's where we spend much of our radio time and -- from an advertiser's standpoint -- where we are most receptive.

Pandora, Slacker and the radio landscape

Internet radio services like Pandora and Slacker radio are building momentum, following in the footsteps of conventional radio by offering subscription-free radio supported by advertising.

But don't let all that buzz fool you. Though the Internet radio services are getting the press, conventional radio is alive and well -- still the most used audio platform among consumers.

Because there's one thing that's holding Pandora, Slacker and streaming radio back: in-car listening. Terrestrial radio will continue to rule the air until 3G or 4G access is the norm in automobiles.

Let's take a look at the numbers. Pandora clocks in at a reported 60 million listeners at the end of 2010. Sirius XM, 20 million. Conventional radio? Each week in 2010, an average of 241.6 million people listened to conventional radio. So that's 60 million for Pandora, 20 million for Sirius XM. 80 million to 241 million. Let's even add Slacker's 10 million, reported at the end of 2009. So that makes it 90 million combines listeners among Sirius XM, Pandora and Slacker to 241 for conventional radio.

Like all media, conventional radio must evolve. And it is, by moving its signal online. Streaming an AM/FM radio signal is becoming a must for traditional radio stations. The future of local radio, I believe, is online. And streaming over-the-air broadcasts is the logical bridge to that point.

Internet Radio(also called web radio, streaming radio, net radio, e-radio)

Pandora is crushing the internet radio competition. A reported 60 million listeners at the end of 2010. Ando Media recently released its Internet Audio ranker for January, which lists the top-20-performing Internet radio stations. Pandora came out on top, with more than 643,000 listener sessions for the month of January. Next in line was CBS Radio with just over 161,000. CBS Radio's network is nearly 200 stations covering news, sports, talk, rock, pop, oldies, and adult contemporary, many of which are streaming AM/FM stations. Slacker ranked No. 5 out of the top 20, with just under 36,000 average active sessions in January.

Average time spent listening per session for internet radio, however, comes in below its conventional radio counterpart.

Most likely because of the means of distribution: the Internet. Whereas AM/FM radios are nearly ubiquitous, Internet-radio devices are rolling out but still missing a vast majority of the automobile industry, where much of radio listening takes place.

Pandora clocked in at an average time spent listening for each session of .85 hours. CBS Radio at .90 hours. Bonneville Corporate had the highest average time spent listening, coming in at 3.42 hours.

Conventional radio average time spent listening per session is roughly 3 hours during the weekday and 5 hours for each session over the weekend.

As in-car units become more readily available and a factory standard, watch for average time spent listing to increase substantially for Internet radio.

Pandora

Pandora makes things easy for listeners: subscription free and on nearly every device you own.

Pandora got its start on the computer. But the company is making even bigger leaps away from its traditional home on the PC. Pandora is now available on smartphones, tablets, televisions and a select number of automobiles.

According to a published report from Advertising Age, more than 50 percent of Pandora listening accomplished on devices other than the PC.

Pandora offers two ways to listen, as well as a third ad-supported brand radio.

Ways to Tune-in to Pandora

1. Create your station: select artists you like and Pandora will choose songs it thinks you'll enjoy based on your interests.
2. Genre stations, pick your format: very similar to conventional radio, with a different format for each station including rock, pop, R&B, hip-hop, country, etc.
3. Brand radio. Advertisers compile a mix and a pop-up banner appears on the computer screen, with a heading along the lines of "Listen to Subway Radio," or whatever the advertiser. Another way advertisers are blurring the lines between ads and content.

Pandora does offer an ad-free option. Pandora One is $3 per month, billed $36 annually, to stream its music commercial-free. Pandora One also offers unlimited skips whereas the free version allows 12 skips per hour. "Skips" allow you to skip the current song and move on to the next.

Slacker

Slacker CEO Jim Cady will be a keynote speaker at radio's digital media conference, dubbed Convergence 11, May 18 and 19 in Mountain View, Calif. Slacker is the next hot thing on the music street.

Much like Pandora, Slacker offers two ways to listen: create your station or pick a music genre/format.

One advantage Slacker has over Pandora, and the reason I've been listening to it more than Pandora, is its partnership with ABC News. I'm enjoying my 14-day free trial of ABC News in my custom station, with news breaks at the top of each hour.

The company also recently announced a deal with ESPN which will give Slacker users access to ESPN Audio content including Mike and Mike In the Morning, SportsCenter, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, as well as top news stories and sporting events.

Slacker also offers an ad-free subscription option. Slacker Radio Plus is $4.99 per month billed monthly or billed annually at $47.88 ($3.99 per month). Slacker Radio Plus, in addition to commercial- and banner-free listening, offers unlimited song skips, complete lyrics and ABC News breaks at the top of each hour. As well as a cache feature that allows users to, after creating a station, save the playlist for offline use.

Slacker Premium Radio was introduced after Radio Plus and features even more radio goodness including lyrics, on-demand access to songs, caching and playlists. Slacker Premium Radio is $9.99 per month.

SiriusXM Satellite Radio

Since their start in 2001, Sirius and XM Satellite radio have both required in-car or at-home units that must be purchased from SiriusXM or authorized third-party developers. Subscription rates start at $14.95 per month.

Sirius Satellite radio and XM Satellite Radio completed their merger in 2008. The services still operate independently as to receive both Sirius and XM, subscribers must pay more for the "Sirius Everything Plus the Best of XM." Otherwise you'll get the Sirius lineup or the XM lineup, with some crossover but still different stations and sports leagues and sports/talk personalities.

After the merger and since the end of 2010, Sirius XM subscribers total 20 million. Sirius XM operates on a dual revenue stream, with monthly subscriptions in addition to advertising on its News, Sports and Talk stations. Its music-only stations are commercial free.

Update: After the merger, SiriusXM has introduced new pricing plans: Internet Radio, Sirius/XM Select, Sirius/XM Premier (Depending upon which radio the user has purchased).

SiriusXM Internet Radio is an Internet-only subscription for $14.49 per month, with more than 130 channels streaming. No unit is required.

SiriusXM Select  is an in-car or at-home subscription featuring 130 channels -- requiring a Sirius Radio unit -- that comes in at the same price of $14.49.

Sirius Premier, with 140 channels, will set you back $17.99 per month. For both in-car or at-home plans, users have the option to add SiriusXM Internet radio for an additional $3.50 per month.

My take on digital and social media

I was asked to guest lecture an advertising course at Penn State University on Monday, Jan. 24, 2011. In preparing my presentation, I figured I'd use this blog as my whiteboard. Kill two birds with one stone, as they say.

Besides I'm always looking for ways to be more efficient, like drinking and driving planning my work schedule in advance.

So here it is, the outline to my presentation, which will focus on digital media, dip into social media and center around technology including a few recently announced items from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

My take on social media

The most exciting aspect of social media or even digital media -- music, TV, internet -- is that we have no idea how cool our world will be tomorrow, how connected we'll be, how new gadgets will effect our lives.

The way Facebook  has impacted us, integrated itself into our everyday actions and has become part of our everyday lexicon has changed the world. Connected us like nothing before it. Facebook launched in 2004. Since its adoption, hundreds of other copy-cats have emerged. What will be the next Facebook? The next world-changing innovation?

Then take Twitter, created in 2006, is the hottest little thing next to Facebook. Twitter's micro-blogging service has exploded among celebrities and sports stars, has filled a niche that Facebook doesn't. Pro athletes are announcing moves on Twitter before the reporters have the story. Celebrity tweets are quoted daily in the news.

Twitter has successfully evolved into a full-fledged news outlet, from the sources themselves.

What to watch in digital media

Two trends to keep an eye on: 1) Music, particularly how we listen to radio at work, in the car and at home; 2) Television.

Music: Radio, Pandora & your Fridge.

Over the last 10 years, the way we listen to music has changed substantially. Terrestrial radio is still the most-listened to medium. Terrestrial radio reaches nearly 93 percent of people over the age of 12 in a given week. Some 240 million people listen to radio via the radio dial. Compare that to Sirius XM, which just hit 20 million subscribers. Pandora, which began in 2000, has 75 million subscribers.

But even the way we listen to good ol' terrestrial radio has changed. Local radio stations, like the one I work for, are streaming online and have mobile phone apps, in addition to the recent addition of FM Tuners on iPods and other mp3 players.

And that's just FM radio.

Pandora is making even bigger leaps away from its traditional home on the PC, on nearly every type of electronic device we own. In addition to the PC, Pandora is connected to smartphones, automobiles, tablets and televisions.

According to a published report from Advertising Age, more than 50 percent of Pandora listening is done on devices other than the PC.

Including a new device: refrigerators. That's right, the Fridge. Samsung has just announced a Wi-Fi enabled refrigerator with Pandora.

Pandora, by the way, is an advertising supported medium. Much like terrestrial radio, Pandora offers its services for free, then sells ads to all of its listeners. This free, ad-supported model is what has driven terrestrial radio since its first ad, and it's what has taken Pandora from near bankruptcy four years ago to nearly ubiquitous in media. It's also what will drive the change in TV.

Pandora does offer $3 monthly (or $36 annual) fee to stream its music commercial-free, but the majority of users opt for free ad-supported listening, considering it a fair trade-off.

One more thing on streaming radio. According to the Radio Advertising Bureau, streaming radio represents only 4 percent of radio listening. So the future of radio may be streaming, but it's not there yet.

Television: What's your favorite channel?

First of all, what is "TV"? Is it the product? The Show? Or is it the distribution vehicle, Comcast? DirecTV?

I say it's the product, the show. And I predict a big change on the horizon in the way we watch TV. We’ve already experienced the start of it with Netflix, Hulu, GoogleTV, Boxee Box, etc and devices like SlingBox, which slings your paid content to other sets and devices outside of your home. But I think this trend will explode in 2011 or early 2012. TV isn’t dead, it’s just evolving.

Television doesn’t live in box anymore. Well, it still kind of does, but that box is hooked up to the Internet. Connecting our HDTV sets to the world wide web syncs our Televisions to an array of programming and applications. Programming like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Vudu as well as applications (apps) that vary depending on the manufacturer, product and model. Samsung’s apps include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pandora, Blockbuster, ESPN, AP, USAToday, Yahoo!, Skype, and many more, all on your TV.

Samsung, in my opinion, is leading the way in Internet Apps. Internet@TV, as Samsung calls it, is available on certain models of Samsung TVs and Samsung BluRay Players. Samsung's Internet@TV apps include: Netflix, Hulu Plus, Break, Blockbuster, Daily Motion, TED, Vudu, Social TV including Facebook & Twitter, AccuWeather, AP News, ESPN Score Center, Facebook, Twitter, Geek Squad (a Best Buy channel, one of the first sponsored apps), HSN, MLB.tv, Pandora, Samsung ESPN Next Level, Skype, Yahoo News, and more.

This shift, in the way we will someday watch TV, provides an opportunity similar to Pandora, ad-supported and relatively free to use. Hulu was one of the first to adopt the free, ad-supported content. And they've now extended that same plan to Hulu Plus.

The only difference being Netflix, Hulu Plus and internet apps require a device to stream the content to your television. So the cost is upfront. Netflix and Hulu Plus also have subscriptions, starting at $7.99 per month.

Netflix has yet to incorporate advertising. But it's doing quite well without it so far, leading the pack when it comes to at-home video streaming.

Internet apps are essentially TV Channels, like ABC, Fox or ESPN. Only they're on our schedule, not the networks.

Internet apps, including Netflix and Hulu Plus, are the future. They'll soon change TV forever.

Because a movement is slowly building. But consumers will still have to drive it.