Motorola today officially announced its iRadio subscription music service that seamlessly moves from home, to car stereo, to wireless headphones - powered from the one device consumers never without: their mobile handset.
Motorola iRadio is initially launching with 435 commercial-free radio channels, already one of the widest selections of subscription music entertainment available. The service's unique delivery platform enables it to bring content portability together with acquisition and discovery of music. This creates a powerful new medium for artists and labels to directly connect with fans, and for wireless service providers to deepen relationships with subscribers.
"Motorola iRadio is truly a revolution in digital radio - offering more choice, higher audio quality than satellite radio, and features that allow listeners to identify and purchase the music they like" said Mike Gaumond, vice president and general manager, Motorola Digital Media Services. "Today, we've taken a giant leap beyond traditional and Internet-delivered radio by introducing a single service that incorporates incredible choice, the discovery of new music, impulse acquisition, and seamless portability."
Motorola is demonstrating the iRadio service at the 2006 International CES (Booth #8545, Central Hall) on a variety of music-optimized Motorola devices, including the recently announced ROKR E2.
Seamless Portability
One Device You Are Never Without. 700 million mobile phones were sold worldwide in 20051, making the mobile phone a ubiquitous hub to distribute music, talk and other digital content. Motorola iRadio unifies content that has historically been segmented across different devices and mediums, such as traditional radio, MP3 players, Internet radio and car audio.
Listen Wherever You Are. Using Bluetooth wireless technology, a user's customized choice of content moves automatically from the phone, through the car stereo, across the home stereo system or on-the-go. When a call is received on the phone, the music is automatically paused, resuming after the call has been completed.
"Motorola iRadio lets us deliver top-rated talk content and custom music channels to listeners wherever they are throughout their day," explains Jeff Littlejohn, executive vice president at Clear Channel Radio. "Whether they're underground in a subway tunnel or traveling outside their local radio market, they can still take along their favorite Clear Channel Radio content. We believe iRadio is an important addition to the choices now available to consumers and the service has our unqualified support."
Motorola offers optional Bluetooth accessories to extend iRadio, including stereo headphones for on-the-go use, an adapter for a home stereo, and a wireless car kit compatible with virtually all car stereos from major manufacturers such as Pioneer, Alpine, Sony and Kenwood.
"Motorola has really raised the bar for consumer choice and portability," said David Del Beccaro, president and CEO of Music Choice. "We're thrilled to be a part of this radio revolution."
Bringing Together Music Discovery and Acquisition
Unparalleled Choice. Motorola iRadio's initial 435 commercial-free channels cover genres and styles that break the mold of competing radio services. Consumers can personalize their radio listening by choosing from a comprehensive selection of musical styles, including:
- Over 40 styles of Rock, from Grunge to Heavy Metal to Hair Bands to Classic Rock
- Twelve different Jazz stations, from the fusion sounds of Miles Davis to the smooth stylings of Lee Ritenour and David Sanborn
- Individual artist channels, such as 12 stations featuring the music of Nashville's top Country stars
- Genre channels for every decade since the 1900's
- Specialty channels spotlighting specific themes such as 1 Hit Wonders, Rockin' Cowboys, Just Broke Up, and Angry Women
Expanding Selection. Unlike other radio services, iRadio's proprietary technology frees it from bandwidth limitations. This means the service can offer a nearly unlimited selection of channels, and new ones can be added without removing older ones. Motorola currently has a number of new channels in development to expand iRadio the service offering even further.
Get Heard. The Motorola iRadio platform also allows independent artists, radio personalities and talk show hosts to create their own iRadio channels. The Motorola iRadio Get Heard Network provides a digitally protected distribution channel for music and spoken word artists to expand their audiences and to be discovered by new listeners.
New Options for Monetizing Content
Direct Connection Between Artists and Fans. Motorola iRadio establishes a more personal connection between artists and fans. Listeners can go far beyond the Top 40 to discover new genres and artists. Labels now have a new, low-cost forum for introducing music or reviving long forgotten songs from the back catalog.
Legendary multi-platinum musician Graham Nash, who will contribute music and interview material to an upcoming Crosby, Stills, and Nash channel, noted that "Motorola iRadio is a fantastic new way for us to reach our fans with our music. We can improvise, and experiment, and let the people decide what they like to listen to."
Another exclusive independent artist channel is produced by Academy Award-winning writer, actor, director, and musician, Billy Bob Thornton. "Motorola iRadio is the best thing to happen for variety in music since Jimmy Hendrix opened for the Monkees," said Thornton. "This is radio like it used to be, like it's supposed to be."
Name That Tune. Listeners can bookmark an individual song by simply pressing a button on their phone or car stereo, making it easy to recall the name of a long-forgotten favorite or to discover a new artist. Artist, album and song information along with offers to purchase downloads, CDs or even concert tickets will appear on the iRadio "Wish List" viewed on the computer.
Secure Playback. Motorola iRadio's proprietary rights management technology offers content owners and artists an advantage. Using the single-play model of radio, labels can introduce consumers to new content and be protected from piracy and unauthorized file-sharing.
