Last call: Music 4.5 Smart Radio event tomorrow

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Here's what the event is about ...

Over in the US, Pandora has more than 70 million active listeners, and is seen as the market leader of the streaming-radio market, but the competition is fierce from newcomers as well as existing services developing new streaming radio or personalised internet radio products and apps.

Ranging from Apple’s iRadio, Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio, Last.fm, Songza, Sirius XM, Tunein, Last.fm, Slacker Radio, and Spotify using free mobile radio to convert users to its on-demand service, the market is expanding - and confusing.

What engages people? Strip out the tech, what is left?
Without the right content there is no business, no revenue.

Musician and composer Jonathan Segel, formerly with Pandora, says: “So the argument here should be: how much is one spin out on broadcast radio worth, versus how much one spin on internet radio is worth, for the songwriter. The internet stream goes to one person. The radio broadcast goes to many.”

What is the value of radio content? Is there a specific and intrinsic value to radio content? Is ‘traditional radio’ sustainable in the light of the increasing number of digital personal radio services, some amounting to no more than curated playlists?

Is it a case of ‘Drivetime DJ’ and ‘Breakfast DJ’ and forget the rest?
Are digital music services also aiming to entertain, inform and keep company?

How important is content, context and live connection versus distribution, access points and distribution technology?

What are the new content formats developing, and how are they being paid for?
Spot advertising, subscription, partnerships, promotions, and sponsorships – is there a sustainable business model, taking into account the music royalty structure, for the fiercely competitive internet radio? How to monetize the long-tail of internet radio? What do the new generation of branded content and transmedia monetisation models look like?

Full details at the Music 4.5 site:

If you're interested in going you can get a 10% discount by using the code: PALMSOUNDS