Week in Review

Welcome to April’s last Week in Review. This week we will be looking at some lighthearted innovations that are going on; from Channel 4’s super targeted adverts to a crisp packet that plays music! Read on to discover how the myth that shorter podcasts are the most popular has been debunked and why Apple have launched a new “Up Next” feature.

Channel 4 Puts Users’ Names in Ads

Channel 4 has announced a new video-on-demand advertising format. The format will enable brands to incorporate the first names of viewers into their ads. The ‘world’s first audio personalised TV ads’ use first party data from All 4’s 15 million registered users to target them by ‘talking’ directly to the user. “The most attention-grabbing word for anyone to hear is without doubt one’s own name, so to be able to offer advertisers the chance to speak directly to our millions of viewers is […] an immensely powerful marketing tool” said David Amodio, digital and creative leader at Channel 4.

Listeners Want Longer Podcasts

Data presented at the NAB Show showed that 84% of podcasts with more that 100,000 downloads were more that 51 minutes long while just 9.9% were less than 30 minutes. This research suggests that the ideal podcast length may in fact be longer than we think. This debunks the myth that shorter length podcasts are more popular than long-form shows.

Apple Music Launches ‘Up Next’ Developing Artist Program

Apple Music announced a new “Up Next” feature for Apple Music. The feature has been designed to promote “Music’s Next Generation” and highlights a new artist each month. The initiative kicked off this month with artist 6lack (aka Ricardo Valdez) to promote his latest album, FREE 6LACK.

Crisp Packet Plays Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Soundtrack

Doritos and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 have partnered up to create a crisp bag that you can plug your headphones into and listen to the film’s soundtrack. The bags will feature a headphone jack so you can get connected. The packets will also have a rechargeable cassette deck-like control panel that lets you sift through the entire track-list with ease.

This Week in Review will be taking a look at two brand new radio stations. One targets tradespeople and the other allows users to create and upload their own radio show. In other news, more and more radio stations are using dashboard displays as an advertising platform. Additionally, internet ad spend in the UK has surpassed £10bn!

Radio Stations Using Dashboard Displays as Ad Frontier

More and more radio stations are putting adverts in the messages that scroll across the dashboard display on car radio receivers. Most stations have been using Radio Data System technology to display artist and song info or the station’s name and logo. However, for savvy operators, such as Beasley Broadcast Group and CBS Radio, the technology is being used as a form of marketing. Broadcasters can use RDS technology as both a station-branding platform and a growing sales tool.

Fix Radio is Giving Away Free Bacon Butties as a Marketing Strategy

New radio station Fix Radio, which will launch this Wednesday (26/04/2017), will give away 20,000 bacon butties over the first 40 days of broadcasting. The station, aimed at tradespeople, will provide “music and cheeky banter” according to the owners. Three branded bacon butty vans will visit 1,400 building sites serving free hot food and promoting the new station.

UK Internet Ad Spend Passes £10bn

Despite the masses of advertisers who have pulled money from YouTube amid concerns that their ads were appearing next to offensive videos, internet advertising spend has surged above £10bn in the UK last year. Companies have more than doubled the amount they spent on mobile video ads. The overall trend is for growth. Last year’s increase, the biggest since 2007, was fuelled by a boom in mobile ad spend. Ad spend rose by 51% to £3.9bn.

Upload Radio Plays Users Generated Content

Upload Radio, a new radio station, which launched today, allows users to create and upload their own radio show. The digital radio station gives podcasters, individuals and also businesses the opportunity to buy an hour of airtime to broadcast anything they want, withing Ofcom guidelines. Upload Radio will be available on DAB in Surrey, Wrexham and Gloucester, and each area will follow their own schedule. At the moment, Upload Radio charge a small fee of £20 for an hour-long show for each area. This gets the show broadcast on DAB Radio once and then it’s available online for 30 days after broadcast.

This Week in Review will mostly focus on streaming. RIAA have reported that streaming has generated the majority of the music industry’s revenues for the first time ever! Furthermore, Spotify are giving more flexibility to artists by signing a new deal with UMG and Kanye West’s album is the first ever to go platinum entirely from streams! We will additionally be covering Google’s advertising scandal.

Google says YouTube ad safety is unrealistic

Google have continued trying to calm advertisers who have pulled money from its YouTube platform amid concerns their ads were appearing next to offensive videos. Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, described the situation as a “small problem”. He says it has only affected a very small number of adverts. Although Google are working towards improving safeguards, according to Schindler, Google can never guarantee 100% safety for its brand partners.

New Spotify Deal will Allow Album Exclusives on Premium

Spotify has signed a new, long-term, deal with Universal Music Group. The deal will give Universal artists greater flexibility, according to Spotify. “Starting today, Universal artists can choose to release new albums on Premium only for two weeks, offering subscribers an earlier chance to explore the complete creative work, while the singles are available across Spotify for all our listeners to enjoy,” said Daniel Ek, chairman and chief executive of Spotify.

Streaming Generates Majority of Music Industry’s Revenues for First Time

According to RIAA’s latest annual report, in 2016, for the first time ever, streaming music platforms generated the majority of the U.S. music industry’s revenues. Revenue grew 11.4% in 2016 to $7.7 billion. The primary driver of that growth was a doubling of paid streaming music subscriptions. This marks the biggest increase since 1998.

Kanye West’s Album is the First Ever to go Platinum Entirely from Streams

Kanye West’s album, The Life of Pablo, released in February 2016, is the first ever album to achieve platinum certification just based on streaming performance. The album reached 1.5 billion streams in the US. The Life of Pablo was also available for sale on West’s website. However, downloads contributed to only 0.7 percent of its first-week units. Therefore, the platinum performance was reached without the download numbers.

This Week in Review will mostly focus on the trends and patterns in audio consumption. The music industry has finally increased it’s music sales figures. Furthermore, Pandora and Spotify have been compared with users showing which is the most satisfying streaming service. We will also be taking a look into the future of internet ad spend as well as Google Duo’s brand new feature.

The music industry has finally broken out of its $7 billion rut

The RIAA has released the 2016 U.S. recorded music sales figures. The figures have shown that total revenues are up 11% from 2015 and now stand at $7.65 billion. The top source of growth has shown to be on-demand streaming. 2016 marks the first year that on-demand streaming services have surpassed digital downloads.

UK Internet Ad Spend will Surpass £17.5 billion in 2017

New forecasts from Zenith have shown that global internet ad spend is predicted to grow 13% to reach US$205 billion this year. UK ad spend is set to surpass £17.5 billion. Internet advertising will protract 36.9% of all advertising expenditure; up from 34% in 2016. Zenith have also said that 2017 will mark the first year in which more money will be spent on internet advertising than traditional television advertising. Furthermore, Zenith has forecast that within two years social media ad spend will reach US$55 billion. This will overtake spend on printed newspapers, which will total US$50 billion.

Pandora Vs. Spotify Study

Bridge Ratings have released a satisfaction study focusing on Spotify and Pandora. Their study showed that Spotify currently has 155 million active users, which is 74 million more active users than Pandora’s 81 million. It was also interesting to find that only 50% of users who have used Pandora for 1-2 years were ‘highly satisfied’ with the streaming service. Compare this with Spotify, where 90% of users who have used Spotify for 1-2 years found the platform highly satisfying. 

Google Duo Adds Support for Audio-Only Calls

Google recently announced that their standalone video-calling app, Duo, is no longer just for video calls. The video-calling app have introduced a feature of audio-only calls. The feature aims to allow people to stay connected with their family and friends when video calling is not the best option. Duo audio calls will work well on all connection speed and will not use up too much mobile data. The feature is currently only available in Brazil but in the coming days will be available to users around the world.

Happy Monday! This Week in Review will be focusing on Google’s scandalous advertisement placement as well as what Panoply are doing to engage their listeners. Furthermore, we will take a look at some good news for iHeartMedia and the future of the connected car; with digital radio in cars predicted to double by 2021 and also the lauch of in-car data hotspots.

Google apologises to the advertising industry for placing ads on extremist videos

EMEA chief of Google, Matt Brittin, has issued an apology to the advertising industry. He has had to apologise because brands have been finding their ads placed next to controversial content on YouTube. Brittin said that Google will be accelerating a review of the issue after seeing more ads placed on extremist videos. He also states that “for some of the advertiser it’s been a handful of impressions, pennies not pounds”. Google is looking for three different areas to address advertisers’ concerns – policies, controls and enforcement.

Digital Radio in Cars Predicted to Double by 2021

PwC have predicted that nearly 4 million new vehicles fitted with DAB+ will be sold by the end of 2021 in Australia. Projections show that nearly 60% of new vehicles sold in Australia in 2021 will have a digital radio. This is nearly double the number of current new vehicles fitted with the technology.

Chevrolet Introduces Data Hotspot For Cars

Chevrolet is turning its vehicles into data hotspots, which will allow drivers unlimited data in their cars for just $20 a month. Anyone in a connected Chevrolet with therefore tap into a “high-speed Wi-Fi hotspot”. The concept was announced by General Motors three years ago, when they also announced a partnership with AT&T, so that all future Chevys will be shipped with networking technology included in the car.

iHeartRadio Celebrate 100 Million Registered App Users

iHeartRadio have hit 100 million registered users for their app. The company have reported that their app has been downloaded over a billion times and has 85% brand awareness among consumers. iHeartRadio also claimed to have seen a 30% increase in podcast listenership. iHeartRadio President Darren Davis said “A hundred million registered users is an amazing milestone […] with the official launch of our new on-demand services, we are able to offer even more iHeartRadio features for our listeners who want to enhance their radio experience.”

Panoply Listeners get to Decide which Podcast Pilots Become Regular Series

Podcast company Panoply have found an excellent way to engage their listeners by launching the Panoply Pilot Project. The project asks listeners to select new shows to turn into a full season. Listeners can offer feedback on each show and also vote for the ones they want to hear as a regular series. Users can vote by subscribing to PanoplyPilots on iTunes or visiting their webpage!