Off to Austin…and some digital delivery highlights…

Greetings friends and welcome to March!

We have two important things to get to today and that’s our SXSW plans as well as some news about digital delivery.

We have announced our SXSW party which will be Wed 3/16 from Noon-6pm at Klub Krucial on E. 6th (next to Emo’s) with Dom, Hooray For Earth, Young Adults, Eugene Mirman, Girlfriends, The Good Natured, Funeral Party, and The Seedy Seeds! Please RSVP for the party here: http://firstcontact.eventbrite.com

We’ll be all over Austin all of next week so be sure to follow us @piratepirate to know where we’re at, what we’re seeing, and where all the action is. If you want to follow along at home we’ll be posting photos all week on our tumblr at: http://pirateplayground.tumblr.com

In non-SXSW news we’ve had an exciting time so far this year with our digital delivery initiative (read more here ). We have had hundreds of stations downloading albums already. For the sake of comparing apples to apples we’ll look at all of our 2/15 adds:

PJ Harvey – 277 downloads
Chikita Violenta – 187 downloads
Jamaica – 186 downloads
Viva Viva – 153 downloads
Yellowbirds – 151 downloads

As expected PJ Harvey had the most downloads, and a number so large that it is a real great sign that downloading promo copies can work. What’s even more encouraging is that even brand new bands that have never gone to radio before like Viva Viva and Yellowbirds can still have over 150 stations download their album to consider for rotation. What that means is half the panel is still reviewing each new release, which is likely similar to the amount that actually get opened and listened to if we mailed out 300 CDs.

We’ve had a ton of great feedback from stations, labels, bands, etc and we’re extremely optimistic. So many stations have already hopped on board and embraced the system, and for the few who haven’t we’re working with them and doing research on how to better serve them but still avoid the high costs of sending promos. In addition to the typical zip of mp3s we used to offer we’ve started offering more info (bio, track list, artwork, links, clean/dirty tracks, etc.) in the packets. We’ve also made all of our adds each week downloadable in one folder (read: click once and download all 3-4 albums) and we are starting to add WAVs of singles when we have them and are considering more of that as well.

Already sick of downloading albums? In addition to the huge gain we’ve seen in usage of our own downloads page, we’ve started another very exciting service which we think will make things even easier for stations. Effective last week we have been automatically populating the Backbone Student Radio Network with all of our new music. Each week we’re adding new files, and for stations that opt-in they are getting new music delivered right into their database without any downloading, ripping, processing, etc. It’s a seamless process for the station and they can still choose to add/pass on any songs they like/dislike.

In addition to adding new music to the system, we have begun to add produced content too, starting with the Beady Eye radio special that FMQB produced and Cheryl Waters hosted. Our plan will be to continue to add radio specials, weekly shows, produced podcasts, etc to the system so that stations have a ton of new content to add to their rotation all the time. Stations in the network will also be able to share their own shows, so over time if there is a great punk show on one station, some other station could air it when they have no live DJs if they want more punk on their airwaves, and so on.

Our long term plan is to make the system open source so that any label, promoter, artist, etc can go in and add their music to the system so that any of the stations in the network can have immediate access to all new music without all the trouble of opening packages, downloading music, ripping music, etc.

We want to thank our test station, KXZY, who has successfully had new music delivered into their system without having to lift a finger:

“The new auto-delivery service is perfect for college radio stations like us. We receive about 40 CDs through snail mail everyday, along with hundreds of emails each week from promoters on new releases and upcoming bands. So it can be a daunting task for any music director, especially when you have just one. The auto-delivery feature is a step in the right direction for internet radio. Listeners want music as soon as it is released (or earlier) and the only way to compete is to make the system automatic. It still, however, provides us with the means of screening new music and placing the songs we want in our rotation. The system is really a means to keep everything in one organized location.” – Josh Robinson, KXZY General Manager

Any stations who are interested in more info on Backbone please let us know. If you’ll be at SXSW they’ll be at the trade show broadcasting live and giving demo’s. If you cannot be there, we’re more than happy to set you up with a web-demo and/or a free-trial so you can see how easy their system is.

To track us down in Austin, ask us questions about digital delivery or Backbone, or just to say hi, hit us up anytime at radio @ piratepirate dot com.

See you in Austin!
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