When Yahoo! First came up with it’s Messenger Music LAUNCHcast internet radio, I was totally awed by the number and genres of station available. The proposition was really unique in the sense that users could also click on the link to the lyrics of the song, info of the album / artiste and more, which truly adds new and exciting dimensions to “sound”. While I am not sure how the cross-sell ratios are, the killer app, really is the convergence of platform for brand engagement on Yahoo!Messenger (along with branded and interactive IM environments, etc). The whole thing is a great idea but somehow I felt that there’s still a bigger commercial potential that’s yet to be tapped. I mean, when you see how apple just gobble up the market with iPod and iTunes, I can’t help but feel that there’s been some missed opportunities by Yahoo!
To some, missed opportunities means getting out and starting over. Three former CEOs of Apple’s rival, eventually left their respective gigs at iRiver, Musicmatch and Rio only to join forces to start a business together. Slacker, is a MP3 device that streams customizable online radio channels / stations or play lists to users. Their proposition is basically making it even more simple for people to get the music they like. Rather than making an effort to search and load the songs you like, Slacker delivers the tunes to user’s devices, If they like what they hear, they can request for more of the same or “ban it” from ever coming on again and on the downloadable software player version, you can view music videos, album art, etc.
The future of radio 2.0 will be more interactive, more engaging, more visual, more like a better TV.
visuals from cnet.com and gizmondo.com:
visuals from cnet.com and gizmondo.com:
