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AccuStream Research: Internet Music Radio and Track Plays Chart 4.8 Billion Listening Hours in 2007

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 12:00 CST

Music radio online (live streaming channels and individual track plays) generated 4.85 billion total listening hours in 2007, up 26.1% over 2006, according to a new research report by AccuStream iMedia Research.

The report, Net Music Radio 2007--2010: Listening Hour Analysis by Site and Brand, breaks out monthly and annual hourly-based usage, growth rates from 2003--2007, listening share by site and brand, plus forecasts through 2010.

Total listening hours averaged 404.2 million hours per month (excluding downloaded music), compared to a 320.5 million hour average in 2006, including leading music subscription services such as Napster, Yahoo Music and Rhapsody.

The report contains finalized '07 revenue estimates for streaming audio and video advertising sold against usage.

The medium's visibility with advertisers has improved, in part due to online commitments made by terrestrial brands such as Clear Channel and Citadel Broadcasting, but nevertheless remains concentrated, with the top ten sites capturing 90+% of total listening hours monthly.

Shoutcast (owned by AOL) remains the top platform/destination in the music radio segment, with 48.4% of total listening hours for the year, followed by Clear Channel Online, Yahoo Music, AOL Radio Networks and Pandora.

The two leading subscription services combined captured approximately 4% of listening hour share in 2007.

Internet Music Radio ad billings came in at $80 million in 2007 for audio ads, up 194% over the $26.9 million comparable in 2006. Adding another $12--$15 million generated through video ads placed inside music channel environments, the market was worth approximately $92 million in 2007.

A comparison of reach and revenue between terrestrial radio and online radio/music track plays suggests an online market with fully valued potential of approximately $525 million annually.

Based on billings of $92 million and 25% of inventory sold, the market achieved 17.5% maturity in 2007, and forecast to reach 26%--29% in 2008.

Clear Channel Online, with experienced cross platform sales personnel, has been among the most assertive brands allocating avails against listening time, with 6--8 minutes per listening hour dedicated to ad inventory.

AccuStream iMedia Research (http://www.accustreamresearch.com) publishes research on Internet audio, video, advertising, streaming media subscriptions, UGV, download media and CDN telecom.

Source: Business Wire

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