Ruh roh. That is the sound eliminating from Pandora’s stock price, which has taken a major beating within the wake of 2 separate announcements previously week. First of all, Clear Channel and Echo Nest have teamed as much as produce a self-proclaimed “Pandora killer,” with a brand new technology enabling IHeartRadio users to construct out customized radio stations right at the app. As you’d expect, folks may be capable of construct a custom playlist “based off the choice of a single seed song or artist, both online and on cell phones,” and it will be featured when the app relaunches in beta form this week. In related news, Echo Nest has also concocted a Pandora-esque streaming radio feature to be used inside the Spotify app; it is a gem called Echofi, and in the event you surf right down to the source link, you can give it a whirl. Type in one artist, mash go, and watch as Spotify is launched and related music is spun until you opt you’ve heard enough. Here’s to competition… right?
For the primary Time Ever, Users Can Hearken to the Nation’s Top Live Radio Stations and Create Custom Radio Stations, Multi function Free, Fully-Integrated Service
Offers Custom Stations With More Songs, Better Music Intelligence, More User Control and Deeper Social Integration Which are Commercial-Free In the course of the End of the Year
Beta Version Available Today to iHeartRadio Fans on Facebook
Manhattan, NY – September 8, 2011 – Clear Channel Radio, the leading media company in America with a better reach than any radio or television outlet, today announced the beta release of the brand new iHeartRadio.
The brand new iHeartRadio brings users a best-in-class customizable digital listening experience, one that combines the proper of both worlds to deliver everything listeners want in a single free, fully-integrated service: Greater than 800 of the nation’s preferred live broadcast and digital-only radio stations from 150 cities, plus user-created Custom Stations which offer listeners more songs, better music intelligence, more user control and deeper social media integration.
With 50 million listening hours a month and 34 million downloads of iHeartRadio mobile apps, Clear Channel is already one of the vital popular digital music destinations.
As portion of Clear Channel’s commitment to social media integration, from today until September 14 fans can access the beta by first ‘Liking’ iHeartRadio on Facebook (facebook.com/iheartradio) after which going to iheartradio.com. Beginning September 14, users can experience the beta by going on to iheartradio.com.
Reinventing the Digital Radio Experience: Real Radio plus Custom Stations Featuring More Songs, Better Music Intelligence, More User Control and Deeper Social Media Integration
The latest feature of the hot iHeartRadio beta is the facility for users to create their very own personalized Custom Stations by simply entering an artist or song – and iHeartRadio does the remainder. These Custom Stations offer users a few industry-leading features, including:
More Songs – iHeartRadio listeners can draw from an immense catalog of greater than 11 million songs and 400,000 artists – greater than 10 times the selection of songs offered by Pandora. In general, iHeartRadio’s library contains more albums than Pandora’s does songs.
Better Music Intelligence – iHeartRadio’s music intelligence capability combines a classy technology solution with millions of dollars’ worth of ongoing consumer music research and the expertise of Clear Channel’s leading radio programmers to provide users the right custom radio experience available.
More User Control – By adjusting an easy onscreen ‘control slider,’ iHeartRadio users can ‘tune’ their Custom Station to play the music catalog’s more familiar songs – or adjust it to a discovery mode to play a greater diversity of artists and music. A “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” feature allows users to denote song preferences to further personalize their Custom Stations.
Deeper Social Media Integration – iHeartRadio’s innovative user Profile Pages and social media tools show users what songs their friends have recently listened to and the songs and artists they prefer, which serves as one other means to larger discovery in addition to a deeper, more meaningful listening experience. Listeners may also share songs and stations by posting to Facebook and Twitter.
Other key features of iHeartRadio’s Custom Stations are:
· “My Stations,” so that you can act as a bookmark allowing users to avoid wasting their favorite real and custom stations and simply access them with a single click; “My Stations” stay in sync between the net and users’ mobile devices for speedy access at home and at the go;
· No monthly cap on listening hours;
· Custom Stations can be commercial-free until the top of the year.
And as always, iHeartRadio’s live radio stations allow listeners to tune into their favorite programming in spite of where they’re – including music, talk, news, comedy and sports – from Clear Channel’s greater than 800 stations, and provides exclusive content from popular local radio DJs plus top syndicated personalities like Ryan Seacrest, Elvis Duran, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Steve Harvey, Glenn Beck, Jim Rome, Bill Handel and Delilah.
The hot iHeartRadio would be available for the iPhone beginning on Monday, September 12; the app can be compatible with the iPad and iPod Touch. Android and other platforms will follow within the near future. iHeartRadio’s current mobile app lets listeners take their favorite live stations and DJs with them wherever they go, and is out there on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Android, Windows Phone 7, Mac, and PC.
Clear Channel will release the official New iHeartRadio on the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on September 23 and 24. This two-day music event, which sold out in ten minutes, is hosted by Ryan Seacrest and could mark the largest live concert festival in radio history. It features a rare line-up, including Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Coldplay, Kenny Chesney, The Black Eyed Peas, Steven Tyler, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Jane’s Addiction, Nicki Minaj, John Mayer, David Guetta, Rascal Flatts, Bruno Mars, Sublime with Rome, Kelly Clarkson and special performances from Usher and Sting.
“With the recent iHeartRadio, we took something that was already amazing and made it even better,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms for Clear Channel. “The hot iHeartRadio will reinvent the digital radio experience by offering the innovative features that listeners want essentially the mostsome of the most – live real radio plus the power to create Custom Stations, multi function integrated service. And we released the hot iHeartRadio beta on Facebook in order that our most passionate fans may be the first to experience the hot product.”
“The information behind our new user-created Custom Stations is unparalleled,” Pittman continued. “Clear Channel is uniquely ready to combine the certainty and fervour of industry-leading radio programmers, a unprecedented library of songs and unique, best-in-class algorithms; we also continue to speculate millions of greenbacks in ongoing consumer music research and technology, which pays off in our unmatched personalized music-matching experience. The result is a digital radio product that gives fans the head live stations plus user-created Custom Stations with more songs, more user control, deeper social integration and more opportunities to find new music – multi function easy-to-use, seamless product.”
“The recent iHeartRadio advances our technique of being everywhere our listeners expect us to be, with the right services and products,” said John Hogan, President and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. “It also serves our partners within the music industry by increasing our commitment to new music and music discovery and should provide our advertising partners with another powerful vehicle to improve their marketing plans.”
Hogan added, “The approaching iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas lets us get the word out about this new service quickly and on a scale that hasn’t ever before been utilized for a media product launch.”
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