A new study by streamSerf reaches an incredible conclusion that will shock you. Well, maybe not:
Internet radio stations play more artists than broadcast stations.
And the Afghanistan election was rigged. And that kid's family faked his balloon ride.
As streamSerf's research reports, "It is stunning to learn that Internet radio's list of unique artists is greater than broadcasts radio's by 3600%."
Actually, it's not very stunning when you realize that broadcast radio is bought and sold via the power of ratings which means stations generally have to play music that people know.
But this "study" points to the long tail impact that Internet radio can have, and why broadcasters should be looking at online airplay trends. There's a lot to be learned about artists and fan demand – another form of research.
For example, who is Armin Van Buuren? Well, he's the 7,811th most played artist on broadcast radio, but he's #6 on the Internet list.
So, I looked him up, and it turns out that he's a 33 year-old Dutch trance producer, and his show "A State of Trance" claims to have 30 million weekly listeners across 40 countries (well ahead of Rush Limbaugh). Wikipedia notes that if Van Buuren's numbers are correct, his show is the most listened to in the world.
Be that as it may, the Top 10 comparisons between the most-played broadcast artists and Internet artists are worth a look, and in some cases, aren't a whole lot different from one another:
With the exception of Daughtry, every top 10 artist on broadcast radio is in the top 100 on Internet radio. And the rankings for the Black Eyed Peas, the Beatles, the Stones, Zeppelin, and Green Day are pretty close.
Conversely, most of the biggest Internet radio artists also rank very high on broadcast radio stations.
Except for Armin.
Maybe radio broadcasters could learn something from Internet radio programmers. And maybe they're not all that different from us.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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