Today Radio Ink reported that Pandora is being dropped from Toyota’s dash display. The report was based on an email sent to Toyota Entune users by the carmaker. Is this dire for Pandora? Should radio be celebrating? No. And no. I own a late model Toyota and I received that email. First, anyone who is forced to suffer Toyota’s miserable Entune entertainment system knows it’s easily the worst thing about their Toyota which, fortunately, can be easily circumvented by accessing t

So the FCC is contemplating the relaxation of radio ownership rules. Some broadcasters want to own more stations under one roof in order to compete with more platforms attacking radio from the fringes. Central to this issue is what radio “is” now. In order to regulate something you need to know what it is and what it isn’t, right? Here’s a fact: Radio is not an industry of towers. It’s an industry of content and listeners and advertisers. Spotify, Pandora, and podcast platfor

It’s informed speculation at this point, but the story goes like this: By the end of this month, Spotify is expected to make some hardware announcements, and there’s a good chance that one of those announcements will be designed to bring the platform closer to more cars. Obviously anybody with a smartphone and bluetooth can conceivably use Spotify in their cars, but the platform is notoriously laborious – indeed, that’s the whole point of Spotify: Getting exactly what you wan

Yesterday I published a piece that argued two things: First, the decline in streaming for broadcast radio stations is real – it’s a trend, not a blip. Second, that decline has consequences not only for your streaming strategy but also for the strategy of spreading your radio brands across every new platform under the sun (“Alexa, I mean you!”). So what do you do? Here’s what I think you have to do. And not just you, but everyone who comes at digital from a place that has not,

Pandora’s prospects: Gloomy. And… Can simple-priced generics topple your favorite brands? Plus, rants and raves about the role of desire in every decision you make, and why it’s time to stop making “an IMDB for podcasts.” It’s episode 67 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below: And if you’re reading this by email, click here for the audio. Sample

There is a sense of inevitable satisfaction in the idea that we can get from digital platforms exactly what we want whenever we want it, right? We lean forward with Netflix and find precisely what we want or what Netflix tells us we will like because of what we have watched previously. We want that one song from Spotify, and so we find it and listen to it. We want to create a Pandora station that sounds just like one of our favorite artists so it hews as closely as possible t

If you’re waiting for a new music format – a knight in shining armor – to save your flagging ratings, then you will be waiting for the rest of your professional career. Because there never will be one ever again. What’s the next big new format? Radio has been asking that question forever. Most recently, the answer was Classic Hip Hop. Is it the next big thing? Maybe not (from Radio Ink): If you listened to Radio One CEO Alfred Liggins on his earnings call you might come to th

Lizzie Widhelm is Pandora’s Senior Vice President of Ad Product Sales & Strategy where she spearheads the team that brings advertising products to life and to market. At this Q&A from hivio, the audio future festival, Lizzie talks about the evolving Pandora platform and how it’s changing its sales strategy to meet the future head-on. Here are some of the questions we cover: Why is this evolution of Pandora so important? How is the new shape of Pandora likely to be different f

hivio – the audio future festival – begins THURSDAY at 1pm SHARP, and you can watch the whole thing stream LIVE. This is the only live-streaming event designed to reveal the future of the audio information and entertainment industry. If you can’t be in the room with us, then you should watch from work or home. And onstage we have interviews with and presentations from the movers and shakers in the space, including: Anya Grundmann, NPR VP Programming & Audience Development – t

So people are freaking out about the new Edison data indicating that consumers – that’s you and me – switch stations 22 times in an average commute. …unless you’re my beautiful wife, in which case you switch stations 2200 times in an average commute. Is that number (the 22) shocking? I don’t know why. Anybody who has ever been in a car has seen this firsthand. I know we want to imagine that no advertiser will ever figure this out, but hey, advertisers know this already. They

So what does it mean when the radio industry headlines lead with debt-burdened iHeartMedia and this: iHeartMedia Battles Angry Creditors as Bankruptcy Looms. What does it mean when the next headline is about Cumulus, and this quotation: “Q4 and 2015 results dismal as radio’s decline shows no signs of stabilization.” What does it mean when CBS announces their plan to spin all of their radio assets while at the same time vowing to boost revenue $3.75 Billion by 2020 based on ev

There are events for radio and online radio and digital and local revenue and commercial and public and Christian broadcasters, but there’s no event for people across the audio space to gather together in one place at one time. Audio is one medium, and hivio, the audio future festival, is that one event. I’m proud to announce that tickets are available for the fourth annual hivio audio future festival – in Los Angeles on June 2 and 3, 2016. Who’s on the stage? We have a confi

A recent study set out to determine the difference between hearing music aloud and together with others (the way radio tends to be consumed) versus hearing that music alone (e.g., via earbuds or headphones). The study, sponsored by Sonos and Apple Music, came to this conclusion (reported in Mashable): With music being played aloud, families reported spending 13% more time together and were in closer proximity to each other (20% more of the time). That second stat may have som

It’s back! It’s hivio, the audio future conference. What is it? One of the coolest events of the year, hivio brings together more than 100 of the most influential people in audio and media for two days of candid, unscripted conversation. This is not your father’s NAB (no offense intended, NAB). Amazing thought-leaders and provocative presentations. No boring panels. No celebrity keynoters. hivio is LIVE in LA on June 2 and 3, 2016 at the Andaz West Hollywood. Tickets and more

Do consumers want radios built into their mobile devices so they can save on precious bandwidth? In other words, does the use of audio streaming itself push bandwidth past available data caps? Is audio a “data hog”? Is there a consumer problem here? I have previously argued that audio streams are, in fact, fairly economical. Even if you do all of your streaming audio consumption without the benefit of Wi-Fi, you’d need to stream about 4 hours on Pandora every day to hit a 2-g

How can terrestrial radio partner with online radio for the benefit of both? That’s just one topic tackled by Duncan Orrell-Jones, CEO of Slacker Radio. In this Q&A from hivio, the audio future festival, Orrell-Jones outlines Slacker’s business strategy and how it contrasts with the strategies of more familiar names like Pandora or Spotify. Slacker’s emphasis is on building a state-of-the-art radio experience and pursuing unique deals in partnership and distribution. Some of

Beginning later this month, Pandora becomes the exclusive streaming home for the uber-popular Serial podcast. And starting next year, Pandora adds Serial’s sister radio show/podcast This American Life (on what can only be a non-exclusive basis). I’ve been thinking about the consequence of this announcement, and here’s the best I can come up with: It’s good PR for Pandora in an otherwise quiet time It’s great news for Serial, which gets to add an all-new distribution partner w

You’ll never guess how much music matters to Millennials! And… What happens when Stars ARE the Network? It’s episode 29 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Plus, Playboy says “goodbye” to nudity, Meryl Streep thinks there aren’t enough female movie critics, and there’s actually something called “Paranormal Date.” Brand authority Tom Asacker and Media Strategist Mark Ramsey go inside what’s really happening in media. Listen

Every time there’s some new innovation out there which enhances the choice set available to consumers who want to hear audio entertainment or information, a chill runs up the spine of every broadcaster, because with such a large fraction of listening, radio seems to stand more to lose than to gain from the expansion of choice. Without question, new choices squeeze existing options. Indeed, given the growing number of distractions available to consumers across every platform –

Recently, Seth Godin penned a great piece on ad blocking. Yes, I know – you can’t block the ads on your local radio station. That’s the beauty of a linear, non-digital programming stream. Hooray! But actually, people block radio ads all the time. Every time a consumer switches stations or switches from radio to a platform that is not radio it’s to hear something that is not on right now, because often what’s on right now is a commercial. And for digital audio the problem is j