AListRadio.net
Maybe I’m not normal. In my living room, I don’t have a radio. I do have a little office area, with a desk and a computer, and a nice amp/speaker setup to go with it. So tonight, I was playing on the Wii with my son (and by playing, I mean losing to), and then eventually, I played with my woman (and by played, I mean finally felt worthy because I won).
Anyway, just before I had left the desk area to play Godzilla Unleashed, I got an IM from alistradio on AIM. See, one time I was tracking down DJ Bobby Trends for a possible feature on one of our client sites, Birthplace Magazine, and I came across AListRadio.net, an online “radio” station where Trends has a couple of shows. I got on their IM list and they always shoot an IM when it’s time for a new show. So I logged in, to jam a little while I got my head served to me by the Prince of Nintendo over here.
Basically, ALIstRadio allows DJs, some very well known, others moderately so, to rock a show for 2-hour timeslots, with live audio and video streaming to the net. The night I first listened, I checked Bobby Trends show and he had on Uncle Murda and Mickey Factz. The combo of these two alone was something you wouldn’t normally get on commercial radio, and the whole AListRadio structure struck me as an interesting experiment in the internet radio world.
I remember IMing the show, and they apparently kept my IM, and whenever a show is on, they will IM whoever is on their list that a show is on. Simple, but effective, and it got me back logged in tonight, during the Wii session.
Since it’s focus was hip-hop, R&B and associated genres, I found myself logging on from time to time when I was only near a computer, not a radio, and wanted some enjoyable background music, like tonight. I remember months ago after first stumbling upon AListRadio, I told an associate about it, basically saying, “This AListRadio is on to something. Mark my words.”
I still believe this. They have a decent amount of (usually) 2-hour long shows, and seemingly more ads on their site lately, with the promise of a “new website coming soon”. And for two hours tonight, they kept me noddin’ my head (thanks and shouts to DJ Dennis Da Menace, DJ Big Ben and DJ Reymo), with no commercials and only minimal amount of buffering delays. So nicely done.
Ah, but this is a blog about marketing, not rating internet radio sites. And we tend to point out the problems. So what are they?
Well, I am a producer, remixer, semi-well-known, pretty plugged-in, a guy who gets roughly 320942887587 emails and tweets and IMs and flyers and smoke signals and telepathic messages about all things hip-hopish, and yet I have not seen or heard much about AListRadio, except through my own haphazard e-stumbling. It just seems as if no one really seems to know about this site, and it is not being talked about. There are a bunch of “broadcast” tweets from those associated with the show, but a cursory twitter “poll” shows maybe 2/20 tweets are actually someone NOT affiliated with the show, talking ABOUT the show. Overall, a buzz marketing fail so far.
I noted that it seems as if Funkmaster Flex might has recently joined the ranks. This will surely increase awareness, it seems as if Flex can promote any of his side projects when on air on NY’s Hot-97. Eventually, this NY audience awareness will trickle throughout the decidedly worldwide web.
It just boggles me that right now, while I have been watching/listening for the past two hours, there did not seem to be more than 15 listeners at any time (if the little counter on the site was accurate). Really? 15? That’s all??
Personally, I think this website is an awesome find for hip-hop heads. Live mixing DJs, on at most times of the day, with no commercials, uncut versions of songs, industry guests, no HD or satellite charges, and it may even stream to cell phones (will test this soon).
But where is the iPhone app?? Where is the buzz? I mean (pardon my non-journalisticness), but this cat Reymo was, as they/we say, killin’ it! And only 12 people in the WORLD are tuned in to this? Is AOL radio’s hip-hop channel better than this?
Advice? Well, for one, it is very NY-heavy with talent, and overall sound (except of course for the specialty shows, classics, latino shows, etc.) so that could be a problem reeling in listeners from other areas, where NY-styled hip-hop is in the minority. But even with this limitation, the site is really still a best kept secret. Here’s a couple quick things that I/we would think about doing to increase engagement (if, hypothetically, we were involved somehow, hint hint, wink wink, lol).
MORE INTERACTION! Like I said before, the station will IM-blast out that they are on air with a new show. That’s fine, I don’t mind it, since I kinda-sorta opted in my IMing THEM at one point. Let’s assume for the sake of example, that no one will mind being contacted by the show. Here is the transcript of my “conversation” tonight:
MannyFacesNY: Manny Faces still on the checkin yall got me locked in tonight.. club style in my living room lolalistradio1: LOLMannyFacesNY: L.I. Home of mad trees. Not weed. Actual trees.alistradio1: lol
MAKE ‘EM FEEL SPECIAL! The reason why radio stations ask for the 100th caller and 329743875934 people call in is because EVERYONE WANTS TO BE ON THE RADIO, or in this case, shouted out and acknowledged by the “station”. The shoutout is cool, but interacting on IM would go a long way to help create evangelists who will spread the word about the station to their friends. “They are mad cool, will shout you out, IM with you and everything!” It’s a way of making listeners a part of the show, something they could never get from their local station.
There are other things that can be done (more video time for the ‘friends’ in the room, i.e., the very cute female on the DJ Dennis The Menace show would hold the attention of many of the likely-male surfers, myself included! Multiple video angles also perhaps…), but I’m waiting for their new website to debut before revisiting this. I would love to see a more informative UI, maybe one side showing the video feed, one more for announcements and info to be displayed. Song info? DJ info, links, etc. Maybe a public chat alongside…
REPEATS? Ok, it’s 12:05, and the ’station’ is off-air. Some music is playing, but no indication which show or DJ, if any. Just a crawl of upcoming show times, information that exists already on the site (and ARGH, I just heard a song that I never heard before, and have no clue who it is!!!) Well at least. why not repeat earlier shows? I think there is something interesting in watching a video feed of these guys doing what they do, and I would guess others do too, so why not re-play the day’s earlier shows after midnight, to help hook the night owls?
PR. Well, this is easily a story. It is probably fit for mainstream coverage, entertainment, business, radio world, internet, tech… Basically, I should be hearing about this from other sources besides a couple tweets or IMs a week from those involved.
In any event, I realize it’s still a start-up, and still on the come-up. But I truly believe that with some attention to stronger interactivity and a few other marketing, buzz-inducing efforts, this site could quickly become a cornerstone in the internet radio world, something that no one has really conquered yet, and do so with minimal expense, even without the technological enhancements. This site is exactly the kind that can explode through proper buzz and word-of-mouth.
The bottom line is that I’m calling this site a winner in advance. I think there is a lot they could be doing to get there faster, but then again, some of these things might already be in the works. I look forward to seeing this online entity evolve, I think they are expertly taking something old, and mixing it with something new, no pun intended. They may just live up to their tagline, and end up really being one of the the only net stations that matter.
Check them out at www.alistradio.net or on AIM, screen name: alistradio1.
Hey, and tell ‘em Manny Faces sent ya. I’m trying to get a show on there, it might help my cause 
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[...] Since it’s focus was hip-hop , R&B and associated genres, I found myself logging on from time to time when I was only near a computer, not a radio, and wanted some enjoyable background music, like tonight. I remember months ago after …More [...]