Trends for Internet Radio Industry
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I'm a little brain-fried, so pardon me if this thought is convoluted: Internet radio is gaining listeners, and it's exposing new artists in the process. I say this with confidence after spending time going over results from a couple of RRadio Network surveys. Collating data is about as boring as analyzing data, and both are more exciting than drawing graphs to represent the findings. Hence, my brain is fried. But, here's what it's cooked up.
A short while ago we read in radio industry trades that broadcast radio was a leader in bringing "new music" to the audience. (I looked for articles on this report but failed to uncover the specifics.) It's a claim that helps terrestrial seem important to newly signed artists and bolsters the belief that radio is a promotional tool for the labels.
Some of the data that I've been staring at comes from asking online radio listeners where they uncover new music. The question used was a fill-in: "Lately, I've been finding new music on..." The survey respondents were given the choice of broadcast radio, internet radio, satellite radio, file swapping, legal music service, and other.
A funny thing happens when you crunch these numbers. It shows that a substantial number of the internet radio audience give internet radio the nod as their key "new music" source - 77.1% to be exact. Only 7.7% say that, of late, they've been finding new music on broadcast radio.
This same question was asked of RRadio Network's online radio station audiences in 2005. In April of that year, 24.8% said that broadcast radio was leading them to new music. And, of these online radio station listeners - two years ago - 54.1% reported internet radio was where they found "new music."
All other choices (satellite radio, file swapping, legal music service, and other) also dropped in the percentage of people using them to find new music between 2005 and 2007.
Study the chart and consider that online radio has, in just two short years, run away with the perception that it's delivering new artists (to people who listen to internet radio).
This is a strong argument for internet radio stations to take to their next meeting with the people who decide royalty rates for music.
If "new music" is being discovered by online radio listeners by such a vast margin, it means that the internet radio industry is effectively promoting that music.
And the SoundExchange argument, that internet radio has no bearing on promotion, evaporates as hot air.
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