We’ve been following the Federal Communication Commission’s latest open Internet proposal, and like my colleague Paul Riismandel, I’m skeptical about it. FCC Chair Tom Wheeler’s plan seems tailor made to forge a two-tiered Internet in which the big ISPs pick winners and losers via priority access “fast lane” deals. The big question for us around […]
Just dribbles and drabs of news in the world of social media radio this week. Here are a few items: Michigan’s The Morning Sun reports that a recent high school graduate of that state has developed an application called “Selocial.” The app allows you to take a picture and then attach 15 minutes of music […]
The blog EV Grieve is reporting that streaming radio station East Village Radio will cease operations next week. According to the blog, live programs will conclude on Friday, May 23. DJs at the New York City station learned of the news last night. EV Grieve writes, “…the 11-year-old Internet radio station with a tiny storefront […]
This is a tough week to be Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the FCC. This Thursday he has an open meeting where he plans to present his Open Internet proposal to the full Commission. As details have come to light a very broad coalition of companies, organizations and legislators–from 150 tech firms like Netflix and Google […]
Late last week the news broke that Apple is buying Beats Audio for $3.2 billion. As most observers have noted, this is an unusually large acquisition for Apple, which tends not to buy companies that already have such prominent brands, for so much money. With the Beats acquisition Apple gets a successful audio company selling […]
Pandora is now experimenting with channels sponsored by Kleenex, Taco Bell, and Sketchers. These are called Promoted Stations. Here’s the dope straight from the source: “Listeners that are part of the beta launch will have these stations auto-populate, one station at a time, in the ‘Stations You Might Like’ sections of their playlists. This allows […]
If you like finding songs playing anywhere in the world with RadioSearchEngine.com, then you might enjoy a radio app that is free for Mother’s Day weekend. Songbot is a nice-looking app for iOS that works quite smoothly, with quick search and streaming. It’s normal price is $4.99. Android users can try XiiaLive, which is typically […]
I am wandering about Grooveshark this week, and there is much to enjoy. Here are some broadcast channels well worth exploring: Film Scores Too. A very nice continuous stream of movie and personal soundtrack tunes. Very good choices. As I write the room keepers are playing Italian soundtrack composer Ludovico Einaudi’s Una Mattina, a gorgeous […]
Latest Sprint buzz: the carrier may try to acquire T-Mobile. This follows Sprint announcing that it will offer six months of Spotify Premium to “all new and existing postpaid Sprint customers” who are on one of its “framily” plans. This is good news, except that if you take advantage of the aforementioned offer your carrier is Sprint. […]
Minnesota Senator Al Franken is one of the stronger Congressional advocates of network neutrality. He is also a firm opponent of communication industry consolidation, as well as a former radio host. On Tuesday Franken sent a strongly worded letter [PDF] to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler about the Commission’s proposed Open Internet rules. He does not […]
