TuneIn Pre-Roll Ads -- Becoming a Problem for Internet Broadcasters?

[CTListener]

I have heard the future, and the (your favorite team) won.

I need this feature for when Vermont finally legalizes sports betting!

 

[vw86]

How do you "fast forward" live radio? If it's being broadcast in real time, that's what you hear. Surely there is no way to ignore the science behind the concept of time and hear the next song before the station even plays it!

It acted as a DVR style feature for whatever you were listening to. You could rewind a live station stream up to about 30 minutes but then fastforward back to any point in time in the 30 minute window until you caught up to the live stream

 

[TheBigA]

I seem to recall that such a function requires a different, more expensive music royalty payment.

I looked at up, and those functions qualify the service as "interactive" streaming:

Just like a permanent download, interactive/on-demand streams (e.g. Spotify) of sound recordings generates master use royalties that is passed along to the distributor, who then pays the label (less any applicable commissions).

 

[JeeperOne]

My opinion is that it's a terrible platform for a station to be on. Mid-roll ads are jarring, and they suggest your competitors in a "you might also like..." section.

They provide services like RadioDNS and Alexa inclusion as selling points, but stations can do that themselves, although it requires some technical know-how.

Not sure how useful of a tool it is for station discovery, as you're listed as one among thousands.

Are the pre and mid-roll ads profit-sharing with the station/content creator?

The Bonneville stations here in Denver promote Audacy more than they do TuneIn as they're on BOTH (Gee I wonder why...Hmm)

 

[MVB13]

Anyone else notice that TuneIn is being a little too aggressive with the pre-roll and mid-roll ads for internet broadcasters?

We've discussed it a bit over on an internet broadcasting Facebook group, but TuneIn now plays pre-roll ads on every play through every app they are compatible with, including their own app and website, Alexa, Sonos Radio and Apple Music.

Keep in mind, internet broadcasters are paying $249 per quarter to have their station on TuneIn.

I get double ads at the same time on my Samsung.

 

[Casey]

Pre-roll ads injected by Tunein likely will harm listening numbers for broadcasters in the long run. Especially because the selection of ads is extremely limited and can lead to fatigue. Tunein also likely doesn't care as those ads are likely worth a lot. Really, their business model is ingenious. Charge $7-$10 per month to remove ads they inject into someone else's content. They do have some of their own content, but for the most part are not footing the bill of the actual streaming costs or licenses. They are just the audio player with a directory users can browse and see even more ads (unless they pay).