This is the latest in BIA/Kelsey’s new Media Bytes series. On a periodic basis, BIA/Kelsey associate Mitch Oscar drills down and draws meaning from new products, events and corporate moves in the digital media world. An excerpt is below and the full report can be viewed or downloaded (free) here. 

The Beat Goes on: Apple Music

by Mitch Oscar

At its annual developers conference, Apple unveiled Apple Music, which will offer music streaming across the entire Apple Music Library as well as 24 hour live radio and special connectivity between musicians and fans.

The Apple Music service will be available in over 100 countries for a fee of $9.99 per month. This snapshot offers a description of Apple Music and a broad view of streaming music services: the opportunities and challenges they bring to the radio ecosystem (i.e. advertising models, audience measurement and digital music licensing).

Highlights:

— Radio advertising revenue has hit a plateau over the last several years.
— Development of new audience engagement metrics for streaming music services and all digital audio platforms need to evolve beyond traditional display ad click through and time spent.
— Streaming music services are proliferating, introducing both ad supported and subscription modeled platforms.
— Integration of streaming audio services into ad agency workflow systems, such as Media Ocean and Strata, are helping media buyers and planners understand the ad supported audio distribution landscape, which will improve marketing plans.
— Streaming music services continue to introduce and experiment with new advertising value propositions.
— Programmatic radio buying platforms have been introduced into the traditional radio arena.
— Revenue derived from sales of music related product has been reduced to less than half compared to a decade ago: $15 billion (2003) vs. $7 billion (2013). Music labels are scrambling for answers. Streaming music services may provide a solution.

View the full report (free)