Internet radio audience measurement is any method used to determine the number of people listening to an

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

. This information is usually obtained from the broadcaster's audio

streaming server Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

Icecast Icecast is a streaming media project released as free software maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. It also refers specifically to the server program which is part of the project. Icecast was created in December 1998/January 1999 by Jack Mof ...

, Nicecast, and SHOUTcast are examples of audio streaming servers that can provide listener statistics for audience measurement. These numbers often include information such as listeners'

IP addresses An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...

, the media player they are using, how long they listened, and their computer's

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

. This approach differs greatly from

terrestrial radio Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

audience measurement.

Demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

and

psychographic Psychographics is a qualitative methodology used to describe traits of humans on psychological attributes. Psychographics have been applied to the study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. Two approaches to ...

information cannot be easily collected due to geographically diverse nature of typical Internet radio audiences.

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

, a

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

company in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

which collects listener data on terrestrial radio audiences, has begun collecting listener data for Internet radio stations based on a panel of 200,000 users. The statistics collected from those users is then projected against the estimated 52 million actual Internet radio listeners. DigitalRadioTracker.com (DRT) has developed a proprietary system that monitors Internet Radio as well as select Terrestrial FM, College & Non-Commercial radio compiling the airplay of songs around the globe. They monitor 5000+ radio stations. DRT Reports provides users with detailed information of when, where and how often songs are being played on the radio as well as what version of the song (vital for remixes and mash ups). They offer free weekly charts for Top 200, Top 125 Independent, Top International, Top 50 Pop, Top 50 R&B/HipHop, Top 50 Country, Top 50 Christian/Gospel, Top 50 Adult Contemporary, and Top 50 Rock. Another company named

Triton Digital Triton Digital, LLC, formerly Triton Media Group, is a digital audio technology and advertising company based in Los Angeles. The group was formally owned by E. W. Scripps Company which sold Triton to IHeartMedia in October 2020. The company works ...

, a

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

company in the

also measures worldwide Internet radio audience. It uses actual data collected from streaming servers rather than estimated data. StreamAnalyst is a web-based service (SaaS) that generates audience statistics reports for Internet radio and other streamed contents. NeuroMedia Software, also offer CasterStats, a cloud based analytics as well as an on-premises version that can combine audience of podcasts and also radio on TV. The tool is currently in comparative studies such as CIM RSM and the Danish Podcastindex.

References

External links

Icecast Cross-Platform Streaming Media ServerNicecast Mac OS X audio broadcasterSHOUTcast audio streaming
{{DEFAULTSORT:Internet Radio Audience Measurement Internet radio