iTunes Radio will launch (in the United States only) on 18th September 2013. What are the standout features and what does it mean for traditional radio?
iTunes Radio Features
You Can Buy New Music Direct From iTunes
You’ll be able to discover new music you’ll like by listening to iTunes Radio and there will be a feature that will allow you to go ahead and buy the tracks direct from the iTunes store. This will be a decent income stream for iTunes Radio.
Advertising on iTunes Radio
Advertising will most likely be the primary source of income for iTunes Radio and one of the reasons it is launching in the US first with brands such as McDonald’s and Pepsi. As more advertising deals are secured worldwide iTunes Radio will undoubtably roll out to Western Europe, Australia and – in particular – the UK.
Ask Siri About Music
You’ll be able to ask Siri to “play more like this” or “who sings this?” Great for enhanced music discovery. Siri will be your on demand DJ!
Curated Playlists
It is our understanding that playlists will be curated by real human (DJs) as well as Apple’s fancy computer algorithms that base music choices on your likes and dislikes.
Who Owns A Music Playlist?
There has been a recent case on ownership of the order in which tracks are collected inside playlists. Dance label Ministry of Sound is seeking an injunction that would force Spotify to remove playlists using its name or tracks in order from their compilations.
iTunes Radio vs. Traditional Radio
1. Playlists Are Dead
Advanced computer algorithms based on artists, songs and albums beat human intervention and creation of playlists for many. This has been the model for traditional radio since its inception but now listeners can access all the music they want to hear on demand and even skip tracks they don’t like on iTunes Radio
2. Create Great Content
You’d better be creating great content between music tracks if you’re a music radio station – that’s all radio has left.
3. Radio Is Instant & Live
This is a great plus of traditional radio but services will soon exist that will give you real time local weather and traffic. A good opportunity for announcers and voice artists to be early adopters of new technology as talent will be needed to read this information. iHeartRadio is already doing something like this (limited to the US only).
4. Mood Based Music
Music based on the mood you’re in. Technology that can detect our activity, feelings and emotions (Apple M7 processor, fitbit, Withings Pulse) will dictate music you hear. Spotify has been rumoured to be looking into this kind of integration.
5. Listening Becomes Easier
The Apple Podcasts App, Stitcher and other on demand services bring internet radio, music and spoken content to the masses. How do you listen to podcasts? What would be your ideal way of consuming content?
Adobe Audition Won’t Play
Jim Munchbach from The Social Business Podcast left some voicemail feedback about Adobe Audition (he can’t get it to play anything on one of his devices). I give some possible solutions including checking audio inputs and outputs and performing a hard reset on Adobe Audition.
Exciting New Things At Music Radio Creative
We announce these exciting new developments at MRC:
- Izabela is working on eBooks with script writing tips. The first edition will be for podcasters – get details first by joining our email list.
- Exclusive radio imaging libraries from Big Fish with royalty free sound effects and music beds are now available from MRC.
- We were talking about producing great podcast promos on The Audacity To Podcast with Daniel J. Lewis recently.
Finally, at the end of the podcast we give you a preview of our new podcast audio branding. What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know!
hi mike
i love podcast and the new audio is fantastic for your podcast and please can you make it a radio jingle as well as a podcast jingle
Thanks Liam. We’re really excited to get the new music and sung jingles fully rolled out into the podcast sound. The track you heard today is just one of a couple more we’re having developed.
The answer is yes. These jingle templates would work extremely well as a radio jingle too!
hi mike i think you use the audio you played on the podcast on the end as it will ha the url of the website
please can you let me know when they are ready as i would like to sample them all
thank you
You can be sure we’ll get them on the podcast the moment we have them ready to roll Liam 😉
Great show.
I concur Steve. That is a truly great blog post. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Mike Russell is the man! He’s my go to guy for all things audio production. I’m a relative new listener and subscriber to MusicRadioCreative.com, but he’s already increased my knowledge of radio, VoiceOver and audiobook production a hundred fold!
I’m old school – born into an analog world and trying to survive in this new, digital universe. Got my start in radio as a broadcaster as a college student. This was nearly thirty years ago when vinyl, carts, reel to reel and splice editing were the tools of the trade.
I’m pretty tech savvy. So, I’ve kept up with the new tools, but knew only the basics of using Adobe Audition even though I was using it when it was called CoolEditPro before Adobe saw its brilliance and snatched it up. Mike has taught me how to really leverage software I’ve been using the better part of a decade now.
His podcast is entertaining, educational and always stays relevant. I especially like the recent discussion with Isabela Russell (thanks for the free MRC content BTW) on “What iTunes Radio Means For Traditional Radio.” Sorry, Isabella, I have to side with Mike on this one. Technology has already changed radio.
As a current terrestrial radio professional, I can tell you that the “old media” companies are watching their backs. They’re trying to stay relevant in the states with websites/apps like Radio.com and iHeartRadio.com. But these sites/apps are only streaming traditional radio. It’s a passive experience in a business that has become increasingly interactive.
These “old media” companies can’t let go of their tendency to tell listeners what they should be listening to. In my humble opinion, that business model is going to bury them eventually. iTunes Radio, Spotify and Pandora are their nails in their proverbial coffins. Broadcasting is on its death rattle, but narrowcasting is just a toddler at this point. Keep up the great work!
What an amazing comment Trey. Thank you so much!
Thanks for supporting my technology is changing radio argument. I agree that it will be interesting to watch how things will rapidly change over the coming months and years.
Thanks again for listening 🙂
Mike – Great show, on iTunes Radio. Our station and stations have been on iTunes for nearly 8 years in the Radio Category. It is a definite change in the over the air Radio Market. Keep up the good work
Thanks Eric – the new media revolution is coming 😉
🙂