Spreaker and iHeartRadio Talk

Spreaker announced on their blog that they have combined forces with US radio giant Clear Channel to supply a wave of speech talent (like you and I) to the new  iHeartRadio Talk service which will compliment the, already very popular radio app, iHeartRadio music service which has surpassed 30 million registered users and 175 million downloads. More details to follow…

Podcast Audio Branding

In this podcast episode Izabela and I announce that we’ll be changing the audio branding on the Music Radio Creative podcast. Izabela will sit down and have a “podcast audio branding session” with me on next week’s episode. Not least of all because a very important person’s name is currently missing from the podcast intro jingle!

We’re Speaking At New Media Expo 2014

We were also delighted to announce that we’ll be speaking at NMX 2014 in Las Vegas! More details about what you can expect from our session to come. If you can make it and haven’t already booked a pass do so now to get early bird prices and if you can’t make it you can always purchase a virtual pass and watch all the exciting sessions on blogging, podcasting and web TV from the comfort of your own home.

What is Spreaker?

Spreaker is a broadcasting studio that fits in your pocket.

That’s how Spreaker Founder and CEO Francesco Baschieri summed it up. Spreaker was founded in 2009 and has offices in San Francisco and Berlin. We discovered on the podcast that they have now surpassed 2 million users!

How Did Spreaker Start?

Francesco and a group of founders were brainstorming ways to improve the internet radio experience. They quickly realised that many online stations were all about non-stop music and there was not much talk, humour, interaction or even a DJ between the tracks on air. Spreaker set out to change this and make it easy for anyone to start a radio show with absolutely no technical knowledge required.

Why Use Spreaker to Broadcast Live or Podcast?

Great integration with professional broadcasting tools such as SAM Broadcaster. Excellent sound quality (currently 128 Kbps which is the rate the Music Radio Creative podcast has always used). It’s free to get started with the chance to upgrade and get advanced features and analytics.

Who Is Spreaker For?

It’s not just for radio hosts, podcasters and DJs anyone can use Spreaker as a platform to share audio. The limit is only your imagination and what you’d like to do with the tools. They recently had a huge spike of usage in Egypt after recent events broke out there and previously it has been used to spread messages during the Arab Spring in Libya. Anyone can set up a free speech account and start using Spreaker.

Can I Play Music? Who Covers Licensing?

Music royalties online are very difficult to get to grips with. There are some services online that tell you they cover music licensing but this may be only for specific geographic regions meaning if you have listeners tuning in online from outside these regions you are breaking the rules unless you geolock your stream to be totally compliant.

Spreaker made the decision not to cover royalties and encourage anyone broadcasting to ensure they are creating their own content (like talk), using royalty free music or that they are licensed themselves.

How Many Users Are There On Spreaker?

Spreaker recently went over the 2 million mark for registered users and it’s increasing at a rapid rate of 7,000 new sign ups per day!

iHeartRadio and Spreaker

Francesco was delighted to tell us more about the partnership between Clear Channel and Spreaker on the podcast (find the audio at 13 minutes 53 seconds in). Clear Channel, the biggest radio company in the United States (and most likely the world), who own around 850 radio stations in the US plus stations in Australia and New Zealand have a popular web application called iHeartRadio which is also integrated to many car dashboards.

Spreaker has become the official way of submitting user generated content to iHeartRadio’s new talk platform iHeartRadio Talk. If accepted you’ll rank alongside some of the biggest radio personalities in the world.

How Do You Get Accepted On iHeartRadio Talk?

Content is king. Create compelling shows and episodes on Spreaker and apply to iHeartRadio by clicking the big red button. Your show will then be reviewed by the programming team at Clear Channel and you’ll be notified of success via the Spreaker platform. You also need to make sure your show meets basic standards such as having a good image and description and that you are not breaking any copyright laws – decent  audio quality will also be helpful in getting accepted.

Spreaker Web & Mobile Apps

iPhone allows you to broadcast using your voice, add sound effects, music and jingles too. The iPad app takes this even further and allows you to interact with listeners on Spreaker as a kind of audio social network. You can chat with others, search shows, follow audio content creators and more. You have a mixing console on the iPad which is even larger than the iPhone. The web apps still run using flash but Francesco gave us a peak into the future and mentions a possible HTML5 mixing desk console coming to the web version of Spreaker soon. They are also working to improve the Android app and create a brand new Spreaker app for the Windows Phone. Mobile is the future.

What’s The Future Of Radio?

Spreaker has a vision to allow anyone to create their own audio content, podcast or radio show from anywhere in the world. What used to cost many thousands for professional studios to be built can now easily be replicated on a reasonable budget in your own living room. People will be entertained by great content tomorrow just as they are today but the distribution method will become more and more easy and accessible.

How Do I Start A Show On Spreaker

Visit Spreaker now, sign in with Facebook and get started. It’s free and no technical knowledge is required! If you’re using Spreaker make sure to leave a comment on this episode and tell us about how you’re using Spreaker.