DIGITALRADIOTRACKER TRACKS INTERNET RADIO SPINS
Posted on November 30, 2016 by bucketskeen
By, Wendy Day from Rap Coalition
A few years ago, I suddenly began getting these weekly emails out of the blue from DigitalRadioTracker. I was excited because they offer valuable chart information for internet radio spins, a growth area I was closely watching. Some of my friends in the music industry have started their own internet radio stations and many others have launched internet radio shows. Additionally, I receive many interview requests and spins for my artists at internet radio. My concern with internet radio has always been that it’s next to impossible to know how many listeners are reached or how many times a song is played.
DigitalRadioTracker tracks 5,000+ radio stations worldwide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Although most are internet radio stations, they’ve also included some terrestrial, college, commercial and non-commercial stations. This gives access to a good balance of radio beyond the traditional terrestrial FM stations that BDS or Mediabase offer. I can affordably purchase reports for projects (mine or the competition’s) to see the number of spins they are getting or have gotten historically, in what areas, on what stations, and how much total audience was reached.
DigitalRadioTracker has proven extremely effective for use in planning tours, promotional campaigns, soliciting performances, and directly targeting a specific marketplace. Breaking new artists or gaining awareness for new projects for any artist is extremely challenging and without feedback and data, it becomes nearly impossible. I’m able to purchase individual reports about my artist or similar artists to see which cities and areas have the biggest supporters.
Since internet radio is less encumbered by “pay for play” than traditional radio, it signals that these markets contain an organic and authentic following of fans who have discovered the music on their own. For more established artists, it confirms where and when the spins are occurring. This information can be used to plan both domestic and international tours or to book shows in the area where there is increased activity. DRT Reports from similar sounding artists shows which areas can be easily penetrated to expand the artist’s fan-base because there are obviously potential fans there.
The DRT Reports, which are sold individually or in bundles at a discounted price, break out the station, its location, the day the song was played, the time of day it was played, which version of the song was played and the total audience that the song reached that week. There is also a choice of reports from the past going back 8 weeks for my artist or any artist or song I choose to analyze.
After doing some research on this radio tracking company headquartered in Houston, TX, I realized DigitalRadioTracker has the ability to track all songs, even alternate versions of songs such as remixes, live versions and versions with or without featured artists. This is unique to radio tracking. Each report breaks down each version of the song and where it was played. Upon signing up for free at DigitalRadioTracker.com, I was able to purchase three different types of reports for each song I wanted:
• Weekly Overview DRT Reports show the day and amount of spins per day at each station
• Comprehensive DRT Reports detail the day and time of each spin at each station as well as which version was played
• Historical DRT Reports illustrate the 8 week overview of spins per day at each station
Today, there are approximately 41,000 internet radio stations around the world according to Internet-Radio.com (https://www.internet-radio.com). In June 2016, the US government reduced the licensing fee by half for internet-only broadcasts to $.0007 per stream. Performance fees were dropped from 9% to 8.8% and charges for webcasting at non-commercial radio stations stayed at $.0002 per stream.
For a station with 2,000 listeners playing 15 songs per hour, the math looks like this:
• 15 x $.0007 = $.0105 per listener/hour
• $.0105 x 2000 = $21 for 2000 listeners in an hour
• $21 x 24 = $504 per day
• $504 x 365 = $184,960 per year
The fee exceeds the gross revenues of every internet radio station. “It even exceeds the additional revenues made by traditional (terrestrial) stations that also broadcast on the Net. Even the lower rates ($.0002/stream) charged to non-commercial broadcasters are far higher than nearly all of them can afford,” according to Linux Journal (http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6218).
While SoundExchange tracks these stations and collects the mandated fees from the stations to then pay the artists from those fees, I can’t imagine they can easily chase all of the internet radio stations in the US. I can see where a DigitalRadioTracker Report would come in handy to collect artists’ fees from SoundExchange since it accurately tracks the spins of music by artist and by song. Since it’s their mandate to collect the fees, the artist is due the money.
DigitalRadioTracker has been a wonderful addition to the music industry for artists, managers, record labels, singers, producers, songwriters, publishers and anyone who wants to track songs played at Internet radio, college radio and some terrestrial stations. The DigitalRadioTracker system logs every song played 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without fingerprinting or any special encoding. Unlike other tracking companies, DRT offers a risk-free guarantee! If a song has not received any spins, you get a credit to use towards another song. DigitalRadioTracker specializes in monitoring radio airplay by broadcasters of the following genres such as:
• CHR/Pop/Top 40
• Urban-Hip-Hop/R&B
• Country/Americana
• Rock/Alternative
• Gospel/Christian/Inspirational
• Adult Contemporary
• Jazz/Blues/Fusion
DigitalRadioTracker tracks songs internationally and offers weekly charts in each musical genre. The charts can be found at DigitalRadioTracker.com or you can sign up to receive them weekly via email. They are also posted on Instagram at @DigitalRadioTracker, on facebook.com/DigitalRadioTracker, on Twitter @DRTradiotracker and at http://NationalAirplayCharts.blogspot.com/.
http://digitalradioreport.soundexchange.com/2015q4/
SoundExchange
DIGITAL RADIO REPORT - Q4 2015:
Breaking Barriers (and that’s just a start)
We made history at SoundExchange. In 2015 digital performance royalties reached $802.6 million, the largest annual distribution to recording artists and rights owners ever. Annual distributions increased four percent compared to 2014, when we paid recording artists and rights owners $773.4 million. Fourth quarter 2015 distributions also increased compared to the same period a year ago, reaching $211.4 million, a 16 percent increase over the $182.8 million we paid in Q4 2014.
While the figures are impressive, our efforts are defined by more than just record-breaking numbers. Our work on behalf of artists and rights owners is driven by the understanding that we can never stand still.
We made history in 2015. We have even bigger plans for next year.
SoundExchange 2015 Payments - $802,600,000
Our largest Q4 payment to date $211.4 MILLION - Paid in Q4 2015
$182.8M (Q4 2014) - $211.4M (Q4 2015)
The SoundExchange Effect
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) in December announced the new sound recording royalty rates for webcasting through 2020 in the “Web IV” proceeding. Judges set per-performance rates for commercial services at $0.0017 per non-subscription performance and $0.0022 per subscription performance for 2016. Increases or decreases to this rate will be based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CRB is also beginning the rate proceeding to determine performance rates for SiriusXM’s satellite radio service for 2018-22 and for “pre-existing subscription services” that provide music to cable and satellite television.
With so much activity surrounding performance royalty rates, it promises to be a busy 2016. At SoundExchange, we believe the CRB’s Web IV rates are too low and fail to reflect the rates that would be established by a fair market, and we are considering all options – including an appeal. We also will be vocal participants in the process to set rates for satellite radio and pre-existing subscription services. The fight for fair performance royalty rates never ends. We will do all we can to ensure that recording artists and rights owners receive fair compensation for the use of recordings no matter where or when those recordings are used. It may be a New Year, but our strategy remains the same – standing up for recording artists and rights owners… every day.
Digital Radio’s Top Streamed Artists, Breakout Artists, and Tracks of 2015
Music had another banner year, with both established and breakout artists offering music lovers a wide variety of styles and genres. As we do every year, we are releasing our list of the most-streamed artists and tracks of 2015. A few of rock’s long-time superstars once again edged their way up the list of Digital Radio’s Top 20 Streamed Artists, joined by newer breakout artists.
SoundExchange Paid Out a Whopping $773 Million in 2014:
As subscription services dominate public debate, new revenue figures show that Internet and satellite radio are making a huge imprint on the U.S. record business. Last year's digital performance royalty distributions by SoundExchange rose 31 percent to $773 million and have climbed 207 percent over the last four years.

Another way to appreciate SoundExchange's ascension is to look at annual growth in dollar terms. Last year distributions grew $183 million, up from $164 million in 2013 and $134 million in 2012. The rate of growth may have slowed -- 31 percent last year compared to 46 percent in 2012 -- but the dollar increase has increased.

To put SoundExchange in perspective, consider its distributions of the first half of 2014, $323 million, were considerably higher than the royalties earned from subscription services, according to RIAA's mid-year report. The retail value of subscriptions was $371.4 million. Assuming subscription services paid 70 percent of revenue, rights owners would have collected $260 million.
Related
• SoundExchange Financials Show Fewer Unclaimed Royalties, Persistent Data Problems
• SoundExchange Payouts Reach Record High in Third Quarter
The impressive growth reflects the growing influence of the performance rights organization that collects and distributes royalties for Internet radio, satellite radio and cable radio. Distributions totaled just $36 million in 2007, the year before Pandora launched its popular iPhone app. The organization hit the $100-million mark the following year and surpassed $250 million in 2010.
SoundExchange has grown mighty with the help of popular services like Pandora and SiriusXM Radio, which have 76.5 million active users and 27.3 million subscribers, respectively. New services are especially popular among younger consumers. A new Edison Research survey found listeners aged 13 to 17 spent more time listening to streaming audio every day, 64 minutes, than to AM/FM radio, 53 minutes.
Internet Radio's Audience Turns Marketer Heads Despite small audience, internet radio ads have a special appeal to marketers:
The internet radio audience is growing thanks to shifts in consumer listening behavior from terrestrial radio to streaming stations, according to a new eMarketer report, "Internet Radio: Marketers Move In." Users are embracing internet radio on a growing range of devices, from PCs, smartphones and tablets to automobiles, connected home appliances and other gadgets.

Internet radio is monetized primarily by advertising, but the industry is a small player within the digital advertising ecosystem. Growth forecasts for internet radio advertising, though positive, are more modest than for other categories of digital ad spending.
Still, advertisers are eager to attach their brands to internet broadcasting and other music-streaming properties. There are several reasons for this, among them: the appeal of associating a brand with a particular genre or artist; the extent to which internet radio is driven primarily by ads; and the appeal of in-steam audio ads, which are harder to avoid or skip than other forms of digital advertising.
In 2013, the number of US internet radio listeners will grow by 11.1% to 147.3 million. Expansion will continue for the next several years, though rates will taper off to single-digit percentages.

As the internet radio audience grows, the landscape of revenue models is changing rapidly. There are services that offer free, ad-supported subscriptions, ad-free access for monthly or annual fees, and subscription-only services.
Still, most of the dollars that fuel the internet radio industry come from advertising, followed by a smaller percentage that stem from subscription fees.
eMarketer estimates that internet radio ad spending in the US will reach $970 million in 2013 and grow to $1.31 billion by 2016.

These figures are benchmarked from the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), which defines digital as follows: "All revenue derived from the [radio station] website including banner ads, tile ads, pop-up ads, internet/web streaming and dedicated streaming advertising, ecommerce, text and email messaging, other mobile media, and web-affiliate relationships (local or national)." The RAB also includes HD radio in its definition of digital.
Even if growth in internet radio continues, streaming services face significant monetization challenges. Licensing costs are high for services like Pandora and Spotify and could rise further as laws expire and contracts come up for renewal. Furthermore, the ad inventory on these services is limited. Subscribers see no ads at all, and users who opt for free, ad-supported tiers generally do not tolerate heavy ad loads.
To overcome these obstacles, streaming services will need to continue growing their audiences, diversifying into new venues and innovating novel ways to work with marketers.
The full report, “Internet Radio: Marketers Move In” also answers these key questions:
• How many people are using internet radio services, and how are they using them?
• What are the key audience and revenue metrics of the leading services?
• Why are marketers embracing internet radio despite the industry’s limited size?
• How is the internet radio industry addressing monetization challenges?
This report is available to eMarketer corporate subscription clients only. eMarketer clients, log in and view the report now.
Check out today’s other articles, “Advertisers Deploy, Optimize Video Content” and “Russia's Digital Ecosystem Shaped by Market Nuances.”
- See more at: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Internet-Radios-Audience-Turns-Marketer-Heads/1009652#sthash.1q1S8vSI.dpuf
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