Music Apps Taking Center Stage – Will Sirius XM Participate?
How important are apps on smart phones to the music industry? Apparently important enough that Billboard Music has introduced The Music App Awards, the highlight of the Music App Summit in San Francisco on October 5, 2010. Sirius XM has some apps of their own, and at a minimum their Android app would qualify for at least one award.
Music applications are among the most popular types of apps downloaded on today’s smartphones. But which are the best of the best? Which new music apps created in the last year are setting the stage for tomorrow’s successes? Billboard’s Music App Awards is the first app awards program answering these questions by showcasing and celebrating the best and most innovative new music apps defining the space today.
The Music App Awards serve as the core of Billboard’s Mobile Entertainment Live!: The Music App Summit , Oct. 5 in San Francisco, held in conjunction with CTIA’s Wireless Enterprise & Applications. All applicants will receive discounted admission to the conference. Finalists will be featured in a Billboard article listing the best apps of the year, have the opportunity to demo their app onstage and be given free demo space in the exhibit area. Winners will be chosen by an independent panel of influential industry experts and awarded their prize on-site.
Awards will be given out in the following categories…
- Best Artist-based App: Apps created specifically for an individual artist
- Best Music Streaming App: Apps that allow users to stream, download or otherwise enjoy music, such as Internet radio or on-demand.
- Best Music Engagement App: Apps that lets users engage in music in various ways, such as music games, music ID services, etc.
- Best Music Creation App: App that lets users make their own music.
- Best Branded App: App that best incorporates a sponsor with music capabilities to promote both the sponsor’s message and highlight the music.
- Best Touring App: App created in conjunction with a specific tour or festival.
Billboard’s editorial team will select three finalists for each category, and an independent panel of judges will pick the winners.
Whether Sirius XM has entered is unknown, but it would present an interesting way to gain exposure for the company. There are certainly a lot of good apps out there, and the winner will get some great exposure. Sirius XM has a heavy reliance on the automotive sector for gaining subscribers, but smart phones are a fast growing segment for consumers to access their audio entertainment. Some of the statistics on the number of music apps that get downloaded are quite impressive.
If Sirius XM hasn’t entered, but plans to, they have less than a week to do so.
[via Billboard Events]
Position – Long Sirius XM Radio
Concerning the Business model –
This is sick. Absolutely sick!
Greer: And let’s talk Pandora. They have obviously gotten a lot of traction with the mobile and iPhone markets. They just announced that they now have 60 million registered listeners. They had an estimated 50 million in revenue last year and an estimated $30 million of that went to paying royalties, so obviously they are paying a hefty chunk of that in royalties.
http://www.fool.com/investing/.....hreat.aspx
The model is just so bad right now.
Since this is very similar to the internet radio for pc’s and laptops which has existed since 1994 we are probably going to see the exact same path for radio apps for phones.
Pandora hit hard and early. There will be hundreds of thousands of radio companies making apps just like hundreds of thousands of internet radio stations were created for the web. With no barrier to entry fragmentation will mess with the business model just as it did on the internet. Remember Broadcast.com being bought by Yahoo for $5 billion during the first run in the 90s? Where are they now?
Internet radio is a tough tough business. Forecasts are, between the iPhone and Google’s Android, there will be over 1 million apps available within 2 or 3 years. How may of those will be radio apps? Who knows? Fragmentation is following the internet’s move to mobile.
Spencer –
Question is this almost DOUBLING of internet royalty rates negotiated in summer 2009 still in effect? This really puts the whole model in worse shape that it is now going into the future —
“The new rates range from eight hundredths of a cent for each song streamed in 2006, up to 15 hundredths of a cent in 2015”
http://gigaom.com/2009/07/07/p.....companies/
I’m totally on board with Spencer about the competition. Whether it be the apps or the new hot topic of streaming music. To just put your head in the sand and say we’re the best is kind of like what the american auto makers did while the foreign auto makers took share. The public will make the final decision and could care less how much cheerleading or shares we own. I want sirius/xm to win. My hope is that Malone and the tec guys at Direct TV are working on a way for audio on demand just like they have video on demand. The Sirius/XM StreamBox Channel. How many people would pay extra for any song,anytime. This would make Pandora sweat.
How about addressing EBITDA instead?
What I have seen here is basically an all-out endorsement of internet radio without any attempt to look at the business model.
I’m sorry, but if you look at this from a business model there is no argument to be made. Spence may love posting about internet radio. Pandora may have 60 million registered users. That does not make the internet radio business model a good model. My argument internet radio is one of the worst radio business models I have ever seen.
50 million in 2009 revenues with 60 million registered users? And 60% of the revenues going to royalties with royalty rates rising? That’s not 60% of profits that I read in the article, that is 60% of revenues!
Before anybody starts making internet radio a panacea of radio – Look at the business model.
The way I look at it, we can have everything under one roof. When I read why people prefer Pandora over sirius/xm I try to think of ways maybe sirius/xm could offer somthing similiar to competing services and charge a few dollars extra a month to get those on the other side to come on over to sirius/xm.
To do and add-on internet service for existing subscriber that would increase ARPU and reduce churn sounds like a very good idea. In fact Sirius already does it.
Whether they need to make that add-on service more like Pandora is open to debate. I have tried Pandora and much prefer Sirius’ internet service. But of course other subs may feel differently.
Cannibalizing existing sat subs for internet service that has a less desirable business model would of course be horrendous. Add-on services certainly make sense.
The key point that I believe is being missed by all is internet radio as a standalone business has a ton of holes in the model. And that has to be addressed in any internet radio discussion. It’s a poor business model.
I’m not talking about internet radio. I’m talking audio on demand. If you’ve experienced video on demand through your cable or sat tv provider you know it’s wonderful tec. I’m just thinking about the next wave and music in the clouds;i.e.streaming music is next.
I believe that ythe concept streaming music in the clouds is basically iTunes without downloading the music to the computer or the phone. You purchase the song and it is stored by the service not by the individual.
From the articles, Google it is looking to get into the music store business to compete with iTunes. And streaming from the clouds may be part of that.
I seriously doubt Sirius will ever get into the retail business like Apple does and Google may do. iTunes is not radio – Clouds or no clouds. To start up a retail business would wreak havoc on their radio margins and be a huge huge risk. Radio is what Sirius does.
I certainly hope Google competes with iTunes and I believe they will.
It sure would be a shame if sirius has the ability to offer audio on demand and let others lead the way. Radio content and audio on demand is a double knock out. Maybe I’m dreaming.
My personal opinion – Sirius will team up with Google just as they do with Apple’s iTunes to allow consumers to tag or immediately buy a song they hear on their Sirius smartphone app.
Sirius is radio not retail.
Good talking with you. I am hoping the business models become more a part of the discussion. As Mel said on numerous interviews – this isn’t just about sub numbers. It’s about revenues and expenses.
With all the talk about internet radio, a discussion of internet radio’s business model is much needed here.
Good talking to you also. We all want the same thing and thats for sirius/xm to reach it’s full potential. The main themes seem to be debt, shares outstanding,tecnology and marketing.People smarter than me and closer to the front lines are hopefully making the right decisions.
My main concern is content, distribution and EBITDA.
I forgot to mention, I would really like to read some thoughts from Spencer on Spotify. It is absolutely huge in Europe and from everything I read it is supposed to be a Pandora killer when it comes to America soon.
Spencer what do you know about Spotify. I don’t know much about it but I would like to hear more.
Artist to Fan apps are the way forward the Mobile Backstage is great for networking and content bundle. Both Dizzee Rascal and You Me At Six are signed up. http://www.mobilebackstage.com
Mobile apps are essential in bridging the gap between artists and fans. Mobile Backstage recently completed successful live trials with international hip hop star Dizzee Rascal, popular power pop emo outfit You Me At Six, and acclaimed post-hardcore rockers Enter Shikari. Any serious artist should consider taking a look:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....qWt6PCpcbI