Strategic New Media has formed a partnership alliance with LDR – Listener Driven Radio USA to launch a unique new software programme which enables listeners to have greater control over the music they want to hear. The software is currently in use at Virgin Radio France and several networks in America.
Built on the concept of “crowd-sourcing,” listeners can use internet access, their iPhone or smart-phone, to provide input into what plays next music on their favourite music platform. LDR offers the audience a voice to shape the overall music output of a brand, in real-time, regardless of whether the output is an analogue or digital live personality, streamed or voice tracked show.
Following its recent development as a division of Strategic Media Solutions, newly formed Strategic New Media has wasted no time in announcing this second strategic partner alliance as part of the company’s new digital media roll out offering.
LDR’s innovative software enables listener real time interaction via Mobile, Widget (embeddable on any site), a station web site, and Social Networks including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Listener responses drive the on air, digital platform, or streamed programming via a series of specialised music scheduling parameters set up by the station’s Content Director.
Principles of Listener Driven Radio, David Rogerson, Daniel Anstandig, and Lee Zapis, today announced the local release of the new Listener Driven Radio software, enabling Asia Pacific broadcasters to become ‘crowdcasters'(SM). Now, using LDR, listeners can effectively become a ‘Music Director,’ engaged with their favourite music radio brands wherever they go.
Strategic New Media’s Managing Director, David Rogerson has told radioinfo:
“Listener Driven Radio is the first application that marries the consumer’s wants with the PD’s desires. What’s even better for today’s cost conscience media businesses is that our customisable LDR software components integrate cross platform sales and marketing campaigns while embedding them in various touch points of the software’s interaction with listeners. Already clients like Virgin Radio France are realising its benefits.”
LDR architect Daniel Anstandig says:
“This is a new way of programming radio and growing your brand-community. It’s the first time that the power of what we call ‘crowdsourcing,’ engaging the opinions and votes of your station’s reach in real-time, has been harnessed this way for radio and its programmers. We’re confident that this new real-time feedback loop will benefit listeners and shareholders alike.”
Commenting on the software’s design, Lee Zapis describes LDR as “something we’ve developed that allows the listener to truly take control and engage with their radio and music preferences. Many of us in broadcasting have been concerned about the competition we face from the internet, digital, and social networking channels. LDR diminishes those concerns and takes what’s best about the Internet and puts it to use inside your business operations across programming, marketing and sales.”
The unique widget based software within the LDR technology allows a broadcaster to constantly absorb listener input, song votes, comments on
music, and automatically adapt programming output as listener input is received. LDR does this while also automatically feeding social networks like Twitter, to aid increased listener tune in.
Traditional radio broadcasters can now exploit what once was the strength of their competition by using the LDR software which sits comfortably across all platforms of the company’s business.
Listener Driven Radio or “LDR” is a timely new digitally diverse model for analogue and digital radio in Australia and the Asia Pacific Region paralleling the local industry’s launch and development of a variety of formats on digital platforms, while also strengthening their AM and FM services.
Listener Driven Radio generated high U.S. broadcast industry response after this year’s launch in July. It triggered an immediate fully subscribed first-phase roll-out, positively impacting the North American, UK and European radio markets in a short period of time. Initial sign ups include Virgin Radio and RFM in France, B96/Minneapolis, Mix 103.1, and The Joy-FM network in the United States, and a number of affiliates.
The LDR software is available to all Australian, New Zealand and Asia Pacific, digital/DAB Plus, and internet radio stations. Contact: David Rogerson: +61 2 9532 1299, [email protected]
A virtual demonstration of LDR is available at the link at the bottom of the page.
(Disclosure: Founding editor of radioinfo, Steve Ahern, is a partner of Strategic New Media.)