D Story

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ESPN has just wrapped up a month-long audience measurement initiative as a "proof-of-concept" for a multi-platform measurement solution of audio/video/display media consumption from comScore and Arbitron.

The measurement initiative, Project Blueprint, polled data from radio, television, PCs, smartphones, and tablets. Launched last September (we reported on it here), the study ran in February.

ESPN has released some key findings now. Read more in TVNewsCheck here.

New Jersey's WFMU and Santa Monica's KCRW alike "have managed to weather a storm of media consolidation and survived an internet revolution that has completely altered the way we consume entertainment over several decades -- particularly in recent years, as unique voices have disappeared almost entirely from the radio dial."

That's from an Engadget.com piece on the two stations (along with a video segment), and it's a great read about two stations still creating wonderful radio in the digital age.

"It may well be the stations' willingness to embrace technology that has allowed them to survive -- and, arguably, even thrive -- while so many of their peers have simply faded away," the site's Brian Heater wrote.

Read (and watch) about WFMU's online Free Music Archive, KCRW's efforts in digitizing their vast library, and more, here.

We're certainly seeing lots of coverage and reaction to yesterday's unveiling of Apple's new iTunes Radio. You've probably come across a bunch yourself, but we wanted to steer you towards a few interesting pieces:

• Forbes' take is iTunes Radio will usher in positive expansion and growth for the record industry and Internet radio alike: Increased industry revenue; "mass acceptance" of music streaming; enhanced music discovery; and increased artist/songwriter royalties. Read the details in Forbes here.
   
• Music Industry Blog says while it's true Apple has probably taken the "conservative me-too strategic option rather than bringing new transformative innovation," the new service should be seen (mostly) as a way to sell iPads and iPhones. Once all our data is in the cloud, the blog argues, device storage capability isn't as important, and device prices will fall, thus Apple's slow approach. Read more here.
   
• A New Music Seminar panel in New York on Monday (which featured RAIN publisher Kurt Hanson, see more in today's issue here) featured several execs from companies who now find themselves in direct competition with Apple. Representatives of Pandora, Clear Channel, Spotify, and others welcomed Apple's entry as a validation of their own businesses, according to Billboard. Read more here.
   
• Similarly, Pandora issued a statement yesterday about iTunes Radio, saying it brings Apple "on par with other streaming music services that have added radio into their feature sets." Pandora pointed to its 13-year history with Internet radio as a focus, not a feature. Slacker CEO Jim Cady pointed out Apple's closed ecosystem, saying "Walled gardens don’t benefit listeners and Slacker believes in the importance of giving users true freedom to access their content." Read more in Hypebot here and here.

Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey told The New York Times that Apple is too "late in the game" to compete in Internet radio on the level of Pandora. That is, unless they unveil a product that significanlty, and noticeably, better than what other services offer.

He said, "It’s going to have to innovate. It can’t just be Pandora with an 'i' in front of it or Spotify with an 'i' in front of it."

Oracle Investment Research chief market strategist Laurence Isaac Balter sees things lots differently. He gives Apple the advantage of Spotify and Pandora owing to "deeper control of the iPhone software and hardware" (in The Times' words), and "more data about its customers... so it can make smarter music recommendations..."

User data and preferences can later be leveraged for a potential Apple television product, Balter told the paper. He said, "There’s so much of a white canvas here for Apple to paint on. It’s refreshing to see them start to think in this area."

Read more in The New York Times here.

More than a third (34%) of respondents in a GroupM Next study say they would immediately switch from their current Internet radio provider to a new Apple service, sight-unseen. Just barely under half (49%) say they'd at least be interested in checking out the still-unreleased Apple Net radio, dubbed "iRadio" by the tech press.

AdWeek reports, "The GroupM Next study concluded that Apple's radio service could be 'potentially disastrous' for its Internet radio competitors, because of the likelihood of current Internet radio users jumping ship to Apple's service." (We weren't able to find out anything about the one-thousand respondents. Were they Apple product owners? iTunes customers? Simply self-described Internet radio listeners?)

GroupM Next's Jesse Wolfersberger wrote, "Consumers express faith in a product experience that steps outside of Apple's mainstream product offering, based on brand name alone. Apple has the competition to thank — Pandora, iHeartRadio, Spotify and others — for delivering a marketplace and services that have gained adoption the world over... Should Apple decide to flip the switch on this product, it will be an absolute game-changer in the digital audio market, and likely another big win for Apple."

Read more in AdWeek here.