"Struble Says Don't Be Afraid of Pandora in Fords"
"HD Radio advocate Bob Struble says Internet radio cannot and will not replace over-the-air broadcast radio. The president/CEO of iBiquity Digital writes in his latest column. He noted announcements at the recent International CES about Internet radio provider Pandora and its deals with Ford to be included in the Sync communications platform as well as with Alpine and Pioneer to be on their navigation systems. But, Struble says Pandora in Fords does not spell doom... Though a dominant theme at the show was a pervasive and converged Internet — and radio should be concerned — it can adapt, he says. Internet radio is a valuable and powerful service, but network usage requirements will not allow it to support mass-market listening."
"Does radio need to worry about IP-delivered audio?"
"Back in September, Radio World published a column titled 'The Problem Isn’t Demand, It’s Bandwidth' by veteran broadcast engineer, Frank McCoy. The title was a bit of a non sequitur, because of course if there was no demand, bandwidth wouldn’t be a problem... He arrives at this 'comforting' conclusion by comparing the bandwidth required by IP audio streams in a real-world situation vs. available bandwidth, finding that IP audio just won’t scale up enough to be a threat to radio broadcasters. The exercise is interesting, but it would be a mistake for us to draw much comfort in it – at least if your goal is to stop worrying about other platforms. Here’s why."
"How Pandora can become the New Radio"
"Pandora, on the other hand, is all value-add... Radio must to be pushed into devices which don't already contain them, while Pandora can be pulled in - by audience or consumer demand. If you make cars or electronic gadgets, which will you respond to faster, push or pull? The largest concern you should have is that Pandora's entry into the auto market - something I view as inevitable - has the potential to create a complete substitute for your (music-oriented) radio station. And this will happen much faster than you think."
"Pandora's New Revenue Strategy--Impact on Radio"
"Given Pandora's success, how might this impact the radio industry?.. Probably not immediate, but the long-term affects of Pandora's competition will be felt... Quick story--I'm a college professor in the media area. I'm teaching a management course this term, and recently I asked my class how many had heard of HD radio. One student raised their hand out of 24. When I asked how many had heard of Pandora, all but two students raised their hand."
"CBS buys Last.fm - and what it means"
"What is Last.fm, you ask? It's a popular social network built around musical tastes... It is inevitable that radio - or aspects of radio - will become personalized. Instantly, the value of a huge 'variety' of channels or stations will be obliterated. Because ultimately nobody wants a hundred diverse channels or stations. They want THEIR one or two or three diverse channels or stations. A hundred stations is what you provide when technology limits you from doing better... Bad news for HD Radio. Bad news for Satellite Radio."
"Slacker iPhone app now available, users go wild"
"All for free, on your iPhone. The definition of 'radio' is changing right before our eyes. And listeners know this. One review on iTunes calls the Slacker iPhone app the first killer radio app... not only does the Slacker app set the bar, but it changes things completely. Another reviewer says that words cannot express how awesome this app is, while yet another states that SiriusXM is in trouble."