Add Your Own Twitter Hashtags -- Buy Songs from iTunes & Amazon

NEW Feature - Add Your Own Twitter Hashtags

You requested it, and now it's here! You are now able to log into your Radio Control Panel and add your own hashtags to the automatic Twitter update for song tweets, so your followers can be kept up to date with your playlist. Our system automatically adds "#nowplaying #listenlive" to the end of your tweets, unless you prefer to display custom hashtags, like your own slogan or station name. This is especially useful in branding your station. Any custom hashtags will be added automatically to the end of each song update tweet.



You can take advantage of this feature by first making sure you're setup to use our DCS in order to display your song data (if you need to set this up, please submit a ticket here), then make sure you connect your Twitter account via your Radio Control Panel. If you're all setup, just go to the yellow "SONG AND MEDIA OPTIONS" button in your Radio Control Panel, then scroll down. You will see a field to enter in your own custom hashtags.

NEW Feature - Buy Songs from iTunes and Amazon

Your listeners can now choose whether they want to buy songs from either iTunes or Amazon. Anytime a user clicks to buy a song, a message will appear right on the Cirrus™ Player that will ask them which store they want to purchase the song from, then it will take them to the store they chose.



This gives your listeners a choice. Some may prefer Amazon over iTunes, and vice versa. Just make sure you're setup for DCS to display song data, then make sure you have the 'buy song' feature toggled on in your Radio Control Panel, under the yellow "SONG AND MEDIA OPTIONS" button.

Again, we always welcome your suggestions and comments to help make our Cirrus™ Player better for you and your listeners. Feel free to send any suggestions or comments to info@securenetsystems.net!

NEW - Stream Live Video Right on Your Player

Now you can stream live professional-quality video from your Ustream Channel right on your desktop player, as long as you're on our latest Cirrus™ Player. All you have to do is setup a Ustream account, if you don't already have one, then go to your Radio Control Panel to add your Ustream Channel ID. It's that simple!

You can provide live videos for your listeners right on your player anytime you wish, accessible via the menu, as shown below:


Here's a step-by-step on how to add this to your player:

Log into your Radio Control Panel.

From your control panel's 'RADIO STREAMING' section, choose your station from the drop-down menu.

Choose the green 'DESKTOP PLAYER' tab.

Select the 'ADD YOUR USTREAM VIDEO FEED'


Toggle the 'ENABLE USTREAM ON DESKTOP PLAYER' button to the 'ON' position, and enter in your Ustream Channel ID in the box to the right.


Save your settings.

You will now find a Ustream icon on your player's menu (after refreshing your player). When a user clicks on the icon, it will mute your live audio stream and automatically start playing your live video within the player. Click here to view a live demo of the Ustream integration on the player.

If you have any questions or need to upgrade to our Cirrus™ Player, feel free to open a support ticket here.

Say Hello to Our New v5 iOS App - Now Available!

Introducing... The New v5 iOS App

Our newest iOS app has just been released! This version has way more features, a user-friendly interface, and a sleeker layout. We've made our v5 iOS app similar to the v5 Android app to provide your listeners with continuity and consistency across all platforms. This version is optimized for all devices! Click here to upgrade your existing iOS app or submit a new one - free of charge. Please note: you must have an active Apple Developer account for us to submit the app (you may register and pay for one here).
 

Here's a breakdown of all features:

• Ability to choose one of six background images (dark speaker, light speaker, plasma, water, crowd, and lazer) 
• Branded with your station's logo 
• Display of what's currently playing 
• Ad Delivery Network  
• Multi-tasking 
• Update station logo, info/bio, and turn features on/off anytime via your Radio Control Panel
• Interactive cover flow style playlist
• On-screen lyrics 
• 'Buy song' for the current song that's playing
• Website and social networking site links
• Social sharing ability for listeners to share your station 
• Alarm clock that listeners can set for the stream to start up automatically
• Sleep timer that listeners can set for the app to exit upon expired time (featuring radio, surf, rain, rainforest, or white noise -- help your listeners fall asleep soundly)
• Mosquito zapper that emits a high frequency tone that repels mosquitoes (perfect for outdoor parties -- this sound is inaudible to humans and can be played while the stream is playing) 

The features are accessible by the slide-out menu. Many of the features can be turned on or off via your Radio Control Panel. You are able to update your station logo and station info, making it easy for you to edit your station info and programming on the fly -- all done through the green 'Mobile Apps' button in your Radio Control Panel.

Click here to upgrade your existing iOS app or submit a new one - free of charge. Please note: you must have an active Apple Developer account for us to submit the app (you may register and pay for one here). 

Recap of Securenet's Trip to NAB in Las Vegas Last Weekend

2013 NAB Show in Las Vegas

The annual NAB trade show, produced by the National Association of Broadcasters, was held in Las Vegas this past weekend. The NAB show is the largest, and most talked about B2B event for media and entertainment professionals. They all come together at the NAB Show for creative inspiration and next-generation technologies to help breathe new life into their content.

This past week dealt very exciting news for Securenet Systems and its many clients around the world as we visited Las Vegas to catch up on the latest happening in the world of radio and online radio streaming. Two of our VPs, Diego Baeza and Jarrod Mains, attended the day-long RAIN Summit at the Las Vegas Hotel and Convention Center that precedes the NAB. There they heard the many panelists and guest speakers discussing the tremendous growth of online radio streaming and what it means to the industry and the listeners. Here are some of the observations made by our attendees in the field to share with you.

Diego Baeza stated, "We saw confirmations of streaming heading into cars for sure. More and more car manufacturers are gearing up for the massive jump to online streaming, complimented by terrestrial radio. Every panelist, no matter which side of the fence or industry, all agreed on one unanimous thing: streaming is not going anywhere, and you need to be doing it now. From hardware and software based firms, metrics firms, to marketing firms, and even the royalty aggregators all agree that streaming is here now and is the wave of the future." Diego also went on to say that, "I also saw a lot on monetizing radio with online advertising. Advertiser budgets are only increasing, so it's important to utilize your online stream as a revenue generating tool."

Jarrod Mains added, "The RAIN seminars/panels were great insight on all the latest digital radio buzz. Many of the major players in streaming and radio were there. Hearing what the radio industry is talking about, the latest trends, buzz words, etc. was a fantastic experience and gave us lots of new ideas and a renewed focus. Some key trends were discussed, lots of talk about digital advertising both on the mobile side and online. Many of the managers on multiple panels brought up how so many people use their cell phones to wake up these days and stressed the importance of stations having an alarm clock feature on their mobile apps so that made us feel good since we already offer that ability to our stations via our free apps. I found the 'International Trends in Online Audio' panel especially interesting as we do not hear what is going on overseas as much so it was great to see other countries are making strides in the digital landscape as well."

Overall, the trade show ensured that online streaming isn't going anywhere, and that there will be a huge jump in all things streaming - cars, mobile devices, radio boxes, etc. It's always great to hear about how well online streaming compliments terrestrial radio, and how streaming is just another tool to reach your listener base.

Internet Radio Listeners Average 12 Hours a Week

The Infinite Dial 2013: Navigating Digital Platforms 

Arbitron/Edison just released their yearly report called "The Infinite Dial 2013" on Tuesday. The study provides estimates of emerging digital platforms and their impact on the media landscape based on self-reported consumer behaviors and attitudes. Online radio continues its growth trajectory reaching new highs for weekly usage and time spent listening in the past four years. During the same span of time, AM/FM Radio has grown to 243 million weekly listeners and time spent listening has remained approximately two hours a day.

Here are some key points in the report:

Weekly online radio listeners report listening for an average of nearly 12 hours per week, compared to nearly 10 hours per week in 2012.


Monthly online radio audience reaches approximately 120 million Americans, and the percentage of those who have listened to online radio in the last month is projected to jump from 39% in 2012 to 45% in 2013.

Weekly online radio audience reaches one in three Americans, and the percentage of those who have listened to online radio in the last week is projected to jump from 29% in 2012 to 33% in 2013.

One in five Americans have used their cell phone to listen to online radio in their car, and the percentage of cell phone owners who have ever listened to online radio in a car by listening to the stream from a cell phone connected to a car stereo is projected to jump from 17% in 2012 to 21% in 2013.

You can see the importance of streaming based on the findings in the report. You already know that online streaming is not going anywhere, but up. Make sure you're actively promoting your online streaming and mobile streaming to ensure that you're keeping up with the overall increase in online radio. You can download a full copy of "The Infinite Dial 2013" in your Radio Control Panel, under the "Tips and Tutorials" section on the main screen. 

Streaming Revenues Now Surpass $1 Billion In the US

Streaming Revenues Now Surpass $1 Billion In the US

According to revenue statistics shared with Digital Music News by label trade group RIAA, it includes everything from Spotify to Pandora to YouTube to Sirius XM Radio. Anything that falls under 'access' instead of 'ownership,' ad-supported or subscription. "Collectively, [access services] went from just 3 percent of total industry revenues in 2007 to 15 percent in 2012, totaling over $1 billion for the year," an executive from the group shared.

The more exact total, according to the RIAA count, is $1.033 billion.  On the subscription on-demand front, the group counted 3.4 million subscribers, averaged across the year... Click here to read the rest of the article.

BMW Adds iOS-Based Mobile Audio Streaming To Cars

BMW is taking a leaf out of Ford's book, adding mobile app powers to its in-car digital entertainment system.

The German car maker has just made deals with Audible, Glympse, Rhapsody and TuneIn to bring their content directly into BMW Apps-enabed vehicles and let the car's console control the apps running on iPhones.

The deals mean audiobooks, streaming music and Net radio will be much easier--and presumably safer--to use in compatible cars, and adds Glympse's location sharing powers to the mix. Glympse was recently added to Ford's Sync app integration system.

  

Digital-connected cars are a fast-growing market. Companies like Apple are patenting well ahead of introducing new tech to the market. (Source: Fast Company)  

US Music Streaming and Subscriptions Grow

Whilst overall recorded music revenue was down 1% for 2012 in the US, streaming and subscription services grew significantly, accounting for 15% of total record business revenue, according to a new report released by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 

The growth across music streaming and subscriptions also pushed the share of digital revenue further past the halfway mark in relation to total recorded music revenue - standing at 59% for 2012, marking 8% year-on-year growth. Click here to read the rest of the article. 

New Traffic Player App Available on Cirrus™

New Traffic Player App Available on Cirrus™

We have just added a new Player App to the Cirrus™ Player, a traffic map. Now your listeners are able to see current traffic updates via your player anytime they want. All traffic is updated instantly and displayed in real-time. It defaults to the listener's location to show trafficked roads and areas under construction. Give your listeners the convenience of up-to-date traffic information right on your player -- another app that extends listener dwell time. This app is easily managed via your Radio Control Panel. You can turn this feature on/off anytime. Click here for a live demo.






If you have any suggestions regarding the Cirrus™ Player apps, or have comments and/or feedback, please let us know by emailing us at info@securenetsystems.net.

Check Us Out on Alexa.com

Check Us Out on Alexa.com
Check us out on Alexa.com and see how well we rank in the US and worldwide. If you have never heard of Alexa.com before, they are the number one website traffic ranking service on the web. We currently rank 22,612 globally and 6,587 in the US (the lower the rank, the better) which makes us the fastest growing streaming provider out there.

If you love our services, we would appreciate it if you could go to our listing page here and submit an honest review of our company! Once on the page, just click the circled area above to write a review.

Securenet Systems Announces World Expansion with New Datacenter Location

Deerfield Beach - March 15, 2013 - Securenet Systems, Inc., the world s 2nd-largest and fastest-growing streaming provider for radio, announced that they have expanded their international footprint by adding a new datacenter location to their network, making it their third world location. Securenet Systems has recently doubled bandwidth capacity, making them one of the least-expensive streaming providers on the planet. With the addition of the Roubaix, France facility, they are better located to serve regional clients. Now co-located on the EU mainland on a 2,000 GB/sec backbone, it gives them the ability to provide faster and better services to the European, Mid-east and N. African markets via the EU's largest backbone.

"Adding new server locations to our ever-expanding network ensures that we have the footprint to serve clients around the world the fastest possible streams, regardless of location and access," stated Korey Verlsteffen, Securenet Systems' Chief Technical Officer. "We are also in the planning stage of further deployments," he went on to say, "with our eye on several other key geo-points around the globe."

Securenet Systems currently operates several high-speed networks that provide its streaming customers with the fastest and most reliable streaming service available. Securenet Systems also offers one of the most robust streaming platforms for radio, with features and tools designed to maximize listener time and create new media revenue for its stations. Tons of interactive features, free mobile apps, and a high-paying advertising network are just some of the benefits enjoyed by its customers around the globe.

Securenet leads the streaming field with their new Cirrus™ Player, utilizing the German-engineered Fraunhofer HE-AACv2 codec for CD-quality listening. Whether its music or talk radio, Securenet Systems provides the highest quality streams using the latest encoding technology from one of the world s finest research organizations. By integrating the Fraunhofer codec into their custom-made studio encoder, they ensure that your stream sounds as good as ever. 

Located in Deerfield Beach, FL, Securenet Systems serves thousands of radio stations in over 40 countries and every US State, offering a range of Internet-centric services to the radio industry, including high-speed streaming in HE-AACv2, royalty accounting, mobile listener apps, ad network revenue sharing and much more. Securenet Systems operates its own data centers on both the east and west coasts of the United States. An Affiliate Reseller Program is available worldwide for companies and individuals interested in partnering with Securenet Systems to refer business.

For more information on Securenet Systems' latest radio streaming features, please visit www.radiostreamingservices.com, call toll-free (866) 568-9402 or email info@securenetsystems.net.

Why We Didn't Use HTML5 for the Cirrus Player

HTML5 - Why Not?

HTML5 has been a buzzword flying around the Internet for quite some time now. We've had many people ask if our new Cirrus™ Player would be built using HTML5. Although it seemed like a good idea at the time, we decided that it was best to avoid that route. Then after, we found out that Facebook scrapped HTML5 for their iOS app after 2 years of research and implementation since there were serious performance issues with it. Firefox OS is repeating the same mistake of trying to use HTML5 for their OS. This week, we sat down with our CIO, Nick Csakany, as he discusses why we didn't use HTML5 for our Cirrus™ Player and, instead, decided on a Flash-based player.

"HTML5, a relatively recent technology, holds great potential when it comes to offering expanded support across platforms and devices. When we drew the specifications for our new v5 player, a significant effort was put into analyzing the benefits of HTML5 as it pertains to this specific application, at this point in time, and keeping in mind the still large number of computers with older browsers which do not support (in part or in whole) the HTML5 underpinnings for live media streaming. Flash, on the other hand, has a more widespread support across desktops, and using it as the media streaming component (in an otherwise strictly-validated HTML player) ensures a much farther reach than HTML5 at this time.  

Having ascertained the pros and cons of each technology, including the fact that HTML5 does not offer a native way to stream the high-quality HE-AACv2 on mobile devices, a decision was made to offer the best possible experience to each listener in part, regardless of how the player is accessed - smartphones and tablets benefit from native apps, optimized to take every bit of advantage from their capabilities (such as high-resolution graphics for high-DPI - or retina - displays, for instance), while desktop players are backwards-compatible even with browsers from 5-6 years ago due to Flash's wide footprint.

Interestingly enough, this is not unlike the path Facebook has taken with HTML5 - after 2 years of development, it was decided it was not the optimum way to build their apps at this time.

I would like to end by assuring you that we like HTML5, and believe in its potential going forward; it's just that "right here, right now", Flash for desktop players, in conjunction with native apps for mobile, offers a more sensible way of reaching a greater share of listeners."