If they're just paying Pandora into a set of speakers, they can be liable for unpaid ASCAP/BMI/SESAC fees. There are several services such as Muzak (or whatever it is this week) and business XM/Sirius where the fees are part of the payment. Muzak has any number of formats, it's not just elevator music anymore.
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Is Terrestrial Radio Facing Its Judgment Day With Fierce Digital Competition?
- Thread starter Bongwater
- Start date
I was over at my daughter's place where she had Pandora on.
I am guessing it was not the paid premium service because they played commercials.
Interestingly they seemed to play just as many as my local terrestrial stations do.
I am guessing it was not the paid premium service because they played commercials.
Interestingly they seemed to play just as many as my local terrestrial stations do.
I see Spotify as simply music distribution but a large number of radio stations are also simply music distribution.
But even in that case the stations themselves create the playlists, which is different from what Spotify does.
Yes, it is different but I view that as a competitive disadvantage for terrestrial stations. They don't have a choice because the technology doesn't permit them to do anything else. Spotify and other online music services could program the same way but why would they?
They have actually hired some former OTA radio programmers to do it. What you consider a disadvantage, some see as an advantage.
They're hoping to charge extra for the service. It's easier to have someone else program your music.
One reason is the difference in royalties for on demand ("I want to hear 'Rappers Delight'") as opposed to a curated playlist that is random.
But if other online music services are like Pandora, they do program my music for me. They do so pretty reliably based on what I've chosen to listen to in the past. They know what I like. Terrestrial radio serves up what the programmer hopes I'll like.
Maybe. I'm just saying that Pandora, Apple, and Spotify have each hired former OTA program directors to come up with "curated" channels that they hope you'll pay money for. They wouldn't do this if they felt their original product was working.
Based on what I'm reading from Pandora's Tim Westergren, he really has a personal thing about attacking radio. If his product is so good, why not let the qualities of the product sell itself, rather than attacking the dying dinosaur? Unless the dinosaur isn't really dead.
I didn't know they hired OTA program directors but I'll take your word for it. I'm not really sold on Pandora's business prospects but I like their service. I just can't stop thinking that all of them, terrestrial radio, pandora, spotify and other online music services are stuck in the distribution business because they don't own the content they distribute. The only thing I'm sure of is that radio, TV and newspapers are just audio, video and text services. I don't care how I get them. I get ESPN via terrestrial radio, and an online app. They're the same to me. I like to listen but the distribution platform changes when I'm in the car, office or home. Same with music. The distribution method is just a matter of cost and convenience. Terrestrial radio has convenience going for it but how long will that last?
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That's really up to you. We don't own the platform, so none of us are married to it. We just have a license to use it.
That's right. I forget that sometimes. So terrestrial radio companies own neither the content, nor the distribution platform. Sounds like a tough business to be in.
What radio companies own is the presentation. And that varies from station to format to market. Quite often there's a disconnect between the product and the sellers. My biggest hurdle is overcoming the lack of product knowledge with sellers. They get hung up on the music, when that's not the product.
That's about as basic as selling gets. I used to tell salespeople that you really haven't sold until you've sold time on a station you personally don't listen to. In a way, it was easier because I could see it from the buyer's point of view.
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