Radio Reborn - Embracing Broadcast In An Interactive Way
by Kevin Glennon,

Introduction

A furious debate occurs daily ­ which is a better medium: broadcast or interactive? Countless hours, calories, and gigabytes of bandwidth are expended along the way.

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This paper doesn't choose sides. Rather, it shows how broadcast radio can be used creatively as an interactive offering, and not as something fighting interactive for space. The two media work brilliantly together, and provide a total much greater than the sum of their parts.

If there are any terms or technologies in this paper with which you are not familiar, please read my article "The Top 10 Things To Know In 2005" available for free on my web site (click on the author's name, above), or don't hesitate to contact me personally.

Overview

Yes, It's Radio In A Game!

You're driving along in the virtual world of "Grand Theft Auto." The virtual radio station starts playing the same song again for the third time. You get bored, and decide to switch to another station. You've heard everything on that station, too. You see, the games that feature "radio" stations nowadays are simply playing pre-recorded shows. Four months after buying the game, they're the same old recordings.

Checking your watch, you see it's almost 7 pm, and realize your friend Sam's radio show is about to begin. You hit a few buttons, and switch over to his In-Game Radio (IGR) station. The music's new, and it's much better there for the mission you're working on in the game, anyway.

Yes, Really! Radio IN The Game!

Many games feature original music. Unfortunately, many games also take so long to complete that you end up hearing the same music perhaps too much. You may have liked the original music at first, but now months later, it's driving you nuts.

In-Game Radio offers not just a solution to that problem, but a whole new universe of game music. IGR is literally a series of "radio" stations from which to choose. Whether you're driving along in "Gran Turismo," or plodding along in your spacesuit in Halo 2, you'll have the ability to listen to the live music and new programming you want to hear.

How It Works

The Radio Engine

IGR is a free software download that you install on your computer or gaming system. It runs in the background, and is integrated into the programming of your games. As a gamer, you simply type in a command or hit a button, and you access the radio control panel. In moments, you change stations, and go back to your game. Where games have already built in station-changing abilities, you simply use those.

The Web Site

The IGR web site is the place gamers go for the best video game sound in the world. Each gamer logs in to her free account, and sets up her preprogrammed stations. Gamers have the ability to read the play lists of radio stations, as well as participate in discussion groups about them.

Best of all, the IGR web site publishes information to help gamers find new stations. Every day, gamers can see stations listed by genre. They can see which stations are getting the most airplay. They can even access a "home page" for every station, where station managers can describe their broadcasts, and say a bit about themselves.

The Site and the Engine

Gamers have six preprogrammed station slots. They assign each slot to a particular station, and they're done. As soon as they go back to their games, the IGR sees these new changes, and starts playing the selected radio stations immediately.

The Radio Stations

This screen shot from a part of the IGR web site shows how it is easy to use, and ordering selected stations is a snap!

A Radio Explosion

With IGR, anyone with access to a microphone and Internet access can become a radio DJ. Users simply record their show as podcasts, and upload their files to their web site. Using RSS (Real Simple Syndication), these podcasts are found by the IGR music server. For more aspiring DJs, shows can be broadcast live using traditional streaming audio technologies. All of the instructions and software necessary to link up to the IGR music servers will be provided for free.

Don't Forget About The Big Guys

Of course, the big radio stations will also be included in the IGR system. When having a tough 3 on 3 game in "NBA Street V3," the boombox on the side of the court isn't just playing good music, it's playing the actual radio station you listen to when on the courts yourself!

Tackling Tough Issues With A Breeze

Metrics

The wonderful thing about IGR is that every time a show is downloaded or streamed to a game system, it's logged in the database. In real time, media executives can see what programs gamers are listening to, but more importantly, anonymous information about the users.

The IGR site will show executives what stations are most popular with men making $100k or more, and women who live in urban environments. Unlike traditional radio, where there isn't an exact figure to show how many listeners actually had their radio stations tuned to a certain frequency at a certain time, IGR shows precisely who listened to what programming.

Opening New Markets

As soon as IGR is installed, whole markets are instantly opened up. Studies have been showing that people most frequently listen to the radio in the car. For those who use public transportation, radio is not something they listen to often.

By putting radio in the games, these consumers are reconnected with radio. In reality, it gives broadcasters and advertisers more time with the consumer. In addition, it opens up new markets, and creates new media opportunities, as there will be more "radio stations" upon which to advertise.

Copyright and Content Woes

Protecting the copyrights of owners and artists is a big issue in the modern interactive arena. That an Average Joe can download a free program and start broadcasting songs without compensation to the artist or publisher frightens many interactive executives.

The IGR site offers multiple "filters" for participating game companies. This means that game companies can choose to allow only radio stations that have valid Performing Rights Organization (PRO) licenses. They may choose to block any stations that include adult content.

The IGR web site will have information for all users on how to obtain Interactive

Licenses from PRO's. It also makes very clear in the Usage Agreement that users are responsible for policing the content of their stations. Users who do not follow the User Agreement will be barred from the site, and thus barred from playing their stations on any games.

About PROs

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) represent hundreds of thousands of music artists and professionals worldwide. The appropriate license through a PRO allows radio and interactive producers the ability to legally play copyrighted music. For more information on PROs, please visit their respective web sites at:

The American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP): www.ascap.com
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI): www.bmi.com
Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, Inc. (SESAC): www.sesac.com

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2005 - Republished with Permission