Radio gets personal

X-fm, a UK based radio station is taking listening participation to a new level. Via there websites they are allowing listeners to construct playlists which will then voted on by both the shows producers and listeners, the winning playlists are then aired over their traditional broadcast.

This fundamental shift for it's listeners adds a new level of participation and engagement, which has traditionally been a lean back medium.

Personal music services on the web are nothing new. Pandora has for the past two years been successfully serving personalized music channels to listeners through their dedicated website.

But there is a change with the entry of Dizzler, a search enabled music and video player.

Nothing new in this concept, their method of promotion is though. Dizzler hands over control of the application and where it resides to users. Simple MySpace exports allows simple creation of their favorite play lists for both video and music to then embed them and the actual player within their personal pages.

Relevance

Vistiors are then able not only able to listen to these, but enter and search for their own favorites leading I am sure to enhanced propagation of the player through the community.

Sales opportunities for both the records that are being listened to for download and relevant targeted marketing promotions, both on screen and through other methods make this a great route to the youth market through the use of internet marketing.


There are many content search and control websites available today with similar functions and technology, the key now is their positioning and associations.

Mine

By allowing user control in both the content played and then also allowing this to enhance personal sites and pages Dizzler and sites such as MyWaves recognize it is no longer good enough to offer these services in standalone webfront ends, the social aspect plays a key role in their success and acceptance. They are using the power of the crowd to market their technology.