From the article:

Among respondents who recall social media prompts in advertising, digital ads (61%) and television ads (58.7%) are most effective at driving interaction with a brand’s social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These are followed by print ads (52.4%), radio ads (41.5%) and outdoor ads (39.4%).

Of the more than 2,500 consumers involved in the survey, two-thirds (65.4%) have at least one social media account for personal use. Facebook (53%) is the most popular followed by Google+ (25.6%).

From the article:

“These figures show just how significant streaming now is in the UK, with more than 4 billion streams over the past year it’s now an essential way of consuming music,” said managing director of Deezer UK Mark Foster.

Spotify’s head of Label Relations Europe Kevin Brown added: “The huge number of streams that have been delivered in the first year of the Official Streaming Chart is proof positive of the huge and growing popularity of music streaming, and celebrates the contribution that services like Spotify are making to the music industry.

From the article:

A Listen Now feature uses Google’s analytics powers to pick out tunes and artists that it thinks a listener will enjoy. It looks at their past listening habits and, over time, figures out what someone likes and what they will probably skip. The Listen Now view shows a grid of music stations as well as albums.

“It’s as laid back as you want to or as interactive as you want it to be,” said Chris Yerga, Google’s engineering director for Android.

As I recently drove down Rt. 18 in Whitman, Mass. I passed the Toll House Inn, where everyone’s favorite, the Toll House Cookie, was invented. I was listening to a great Pandora channel in my car, and it got me thinking of how two of my favorite things relate. Turns out, May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, so let’s take a semi-sweet look at how digital music is like our favorite Toll House Cookie.

Everybody loves a good cookie in moderation. But what about when they’re in abundance?

It seems just a few months ago there were only one or two digital audio services “that mattered.” They offered a sandbox of eight-hundred thousand to a couple million tracks that you could configure and play with limited only by your imagination. Mouths watered, eyes bulged and ears popped. Audio released our unconscious inner program director. Listeners now got a vote. They could have a hand in or be the sole hand stirring the musical drink. Let there be rock. The take-up on these propositions was great regardless of whether the model was ad-supported or subscription-based.

It was almost Pavlovian. Cookie? Yes please. Who could say no?

Well, now you’ve got your choice of cookies — and they’re all good for you too. Familiar favorites Pandora, Rhapsody, Slacker and Spotify are now joined by the likes of Microsoft and Twitter to say nothing of the traditional radio companies moving into the digital realm. Rumors are swirling of many other big tech players entering the scene hot on their heels. Some of these new services offer catalogs well north of ten-million tracks. Wow. That’s a lot of chocolate chips.

It poses an interesting question: Now what? We’re moving from scarcity to abundance. All cookies are delicious. How do you choose in the Cookie Bazaar? What distinguishes one from another? What separates the good from the great?

How warm they are.

All cookies are good, but warm ones are great. Nobody can resist a fresh-baked warm cookie. They’re delightfully messy, rich in texture, full of aroma, and packed with psychological flavor. Name one event ever made worse for having warm cookies. Can’t.

Whether you’re playing with 800 thousand or 14 million tracks, there comes a point in time when you want to hear a human voice or you’ll be lost in the library. Not Crazy Eddie. Not banal chatter. Just a human voice. That’s the warming effect.

From the release:

“We’re relying on our smartphones and mobile technology now more than ever,” said Noah Shanok, CEO of Stitcher. “We’re a nation on the go, and we want access to our favorite radio shows and music at a time that’s convenient for us. With the latest advancements in streaming technology, apps like Stitcher put entertainment right at your fingertips.”

“We are elated to be members of NARM and DMO”

NARM, the trade association for the business of music, strives to bring together all facets of the industry, including physical, digital, and mobile outlets as well as gaming, applications, merchandise, video and other ways music is monetized, and digitalmusic.org is the home of NARM’s digital initiatives. Together, they advocate, educate and organize on behalf of the entire digital music ecosystem. As a member, Triton Digital will be alongside companies such as Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and Microsoft.

“At NARM, our goal is to advance the promotion of music by providing our members with insights and education to support their business models,” said Jim Donio, President of NARM, “Triton Digital is a key addition to our organization, as they are a major technology provider to a number of our established members. We are thrilled to welcome them aboard.”

“We are elated to be members of NARM and DMO,” said Mike Agovino, Chief Operating Officer of Triton Digital, “We are in exceptional company and look forward to working as one to shape and transform the digital music industry through innovative technology and meaningful connections.”

About NARM

Established in 1958, NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) is the trade association for the business of music, providing the central platform for the discussion of industry‐wide concerns, spearheading the implementation of initiatives to promote music commerce, and advocating for common interests. Members include companies and individuals from all aspects of music distribution, including physical, digital, and mobile outlets as well as gaming, applications, merchandise, video and more. NARM members have access to a variety of conferences, virtual seminars, networking opportunities, information and education resources. NARM is a nonprofit organization based in Marlton, New Jersey. Visit us at www.narm.com.

About digitalmusic.org

digitalmusic.org is the home for the digital initiatives of NARM, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, the trade association for the business of music. NARM provides the central platform for the discussion of industry‐wide concerns and spearheading the implementation of initiatives to advance the business. While primarily focused on physical formats for much of its history, NARM has expanded its mission in the past ten years to include all facets of music commerce. This includes physical, digital, and mobile commerce partners as well as gaming, applications, and other emerging revenue models. DMO is governed under the by‐laws of NARM, by NARM President Jim Donio, the NARM Board Of Directors, and directly by digitalmusic.org Co‐chairs Christina Calio (Microsoft Entrainment), Kevin Arnold (Sony Music Entertainment) and Bill Wilson, NARM VP of Digital Strategy & Business Development. Topics and actions for each individual work groups are determined by the individual work group leaders.

About Triton Digital

Triton Digital is the leading digital service provider to traditional and online radio with a rapidly expanding roster of media clients emerging from the television and print space. Our infrastructure, applications, and innovation are powering digital audience and revenue growth for clients around the globe. Our platform makes digital content extensible, personal, social, and profitable. Triton Digital is a portfolio company of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., a leading global investment management firm.

A surprising survey insight included the fact that both advertisers and agencies preferred 3(rd) party online data as the #1 source of audience targeting data over 1(st) party social media, 1(st) party custom, and 3(rd) party offline data for both direct response and branding campaigns. This result confirms that the audience targeting ecosystem continues to rely on accurate and actionable 3(rd) party data pools to power effective audience targeting campaigns.

“Despite the ongoing debate on 3(rd) party cookies and data, it is clear that all parts of the digital advertising ecosystem – advertisers, agencies and platforms, increasingly rely on, and prefer the efficacy and reach of, 3(rd) party data,” stated Khurrum Malik, Chief Marketing Officer of eXelate.

Key highlights from the eXelate and Digiday State of the Industry survey include:

— Audience targeting continues to grow with more than 80% of advertisers
and 90% of agencies, ad networks, ad exchanges and DSPs utilizing the
capability

— Over 60% of advertisers prefer 3rd party online data for audience
targeting, followed by 1st-party CRM data

— Over 80% of the ecosystem reports that audience targeting is an effective
marketing strategy

— 3rd party online data is the highest ranked data set for both direct
response and branding campaigns for both advertisers and agencies,
outperforming 1st-party social, custom and CRM data, as well as 3rd-party
offline data

— More than 69% of respondents report they plan to increase their
audience-targeting budgets, with an average budget increase of 38%

“Digital marketing and media professionals want higher-performing campaigns that deliver measurable and improved ROI. Audience targeting continues to play a critical strategy for achieving these goals. Targeting audiences with an accurate, actionable, and agile 3(rd) party data set enables marketers to reach potential customers with highly relevant messages,” stated Mr. Malik. “With over 80% of the ecosystem having a positive view of audience targeting effectiveness, we expect continued investment in audience targeting, especially 3(rd) party online data sets, across all platforms in both direct response and branding campaigns.”

The research also highlighted increasing momentum for platform-centric audience targeting. Smartphone and tablet platforms were utilized for audience targeting by greater than 50% of respondents – fast approaching the 75%+ for PCs. Full survey results can be found at eXelate.com.

About eXelate

eXelate is the smart data company that powers smarter digital marketing decisions worldwide for marketers, agencies, platforms, and publishers. eXelate’s smart data platform provides accurate, actionable, and agile data and analytics on online household demographics, purchase intent, and behavioral propensities. Through the collection of trillions of directly measured online data points and distribution partnerships with information leaders such as Nielsen, Nielsen Catalina, MasterCard Advisors, Bizo, and more, eXelate makes online, offline and custom modeled data sets actionable across 500M online consumers worldwide. As members of the NAI, IAB, trustE, Council for Accountable Advertising, OPA and Evidon’s Open Data Partnership, eXelate is a leader in privacy compliant advertising practices. For more information, please visit http://www.exelate.com.

Original Release

From the article:

Mobile streamed audio listening accounted for 56% of all audio consumption in March. That compares to 46% for March 2012, says Triton.

Overall, Pandora still tops listening data for March with 905.7 million session starts and 1.85 million “Average Active Sessions.” Clear Channel comes in at #2 (with 138.6 million starts and 309, 871 active sessions) with Slacker #3 (34.7 million starts, 74,705 active sessions), followed by Cumulus in the #4 position (19.5 million starts, 71,531 active sessions) and CBS Radio at #5 (21.5 million starts, 70,842 active sessions.)

From the article:

While Google is said to have agreed to pay a minimum per-stream rate for the audio service, just like Spotify does, it only wants to pay on a revenue share basis for the YouTube part. The record labels, however, want both parts of the service to have a minimum per-stream rate.

“We’re looking into creating a subscription platform that could bring even more great content to YouTube,” the company said in a statement following media speculation.

From his article:

Digital reputation takes time to build and radio can see the exploding digital revenues in market after market. Meanwhile my sister-in-law recently asked me why radio station websites are so stupid. When I asked her why she thought they were stupid, she said they offered nothing for her. She sincerely didn’t understand why there was – in her words – no value on the websites of her favorite radio stations.

Times are changing. If we stay in the 20th century, radio’s value will fade. If we change with the times by making sure that value to listeners and value to advertisers is “up front” and easy to see across the board, we will connect more often with m-o-n-e-y. We’re 13 years into the new century. Don’t leave money on the table. Think of ways to build on what radio does best: Local. Do that and you will grow relevance and new revenue. That’s just a fact.