Pandora: Music Giant and Influencer
Aug 14, 2012 Uncategorized
Here on Blair Stover Music, music goes everywhere: the office, the gym, at home, etc. Yet no matter how many music sites are out there, Pandora still remains a favorite when it comes to simple, easy ways to listen to music online. Pandora says that there is a listener born every second. Is that really the case?
The music-streaming giant has had its foot on nearly every throat in the world and it is ready to release a 1000-page report from the SEC stating that fact. Of course, there are plenty of other small start-ups that are on the move and ready to strike down “Goliath” but is it going to happen, seriously?
While it remains doubtful that anyone can topple Pandora’s reign, here are a few facts about the music giant to keep things interesting.
1. The company stated that they streamed nearly 4 billion hours of music last year alone.
2. Even though Pandora is all about music, they feel the need to get into other areas of media as well. That’s right, look forward to sports, news and talk content soon.
3. Pandora’s mobile app was downloaded a massive 50,000,000 times in this past January alone. It looks like the mobile world is the future for Pandora.
4. In 2010, Pandora had a positive revenue of $39 million. In the first ¾ of 2011, it had a $90 million. How’s that for a turnaround?
5. Pandora pays out most for content.
6. You may not believe this but the site only plays about a minute of advertising an hour for its users.
7. Google accounted for 11.4% of the site’s advertising costs.
8. The three largest shareholders take up 55% of the company’s payouts.
9. Ever since Pandora began, the company has earned 8 billion thumbs (Pandora users know what that means).
10. Again, it seems that there is a user born every second… amazing.
Tags: Google, iPhone, Mobile application development, Music, Pandora, Pandora Media, Radio, Spotify, Streaming media, Streaming Music
Be Sure to Take Earphone Precautions
Jul 17, 2012 Music
If you are a Blair Stover music fan, you know the amazing feeling of experiencing your favorite songs through earphones. The music is crisp, you get a surround sound effect and block out all external interruptions.
But if you are not careful when using your headphones, it could lead to problems. As your mother probably told you, turning your earphones up too loud can lead to hearing problems. This is because the earpiece is positioned right inside, or on top, of your ears. If the volume is too extreme, it could lead to permanent damage to your ear drum.
Some mobile phones will alert you when the volume of your music is up too loud. Take the warning seriously and turn it down out of the warning’s danger zone. If your phone does not do this, or you use another device to access your music, you can install an app to alert you.
Also, you will want to take breaks from listening to music through headphones. If you do not take frequent breaks, your ears adapt to the loud sounds, making the music seem quieter than it is after some time. Also, use the best equipment you can. Utilize good quality music files, use good quality head phones and a fine music player.
Remember that while you have earphones in, you are closing off one of your senses to outside stimuli. This could leave you more accident prone. If you are in public, determine when it will affect your safety. Anytime you are using earphones in public, keep the volume lower so that you can hear the outside world.
Tags: Audio, Bluetooth, Consumer Electronics, Ear, ear drums, Electronics, Headphones, iPhone, Music, noise, Shopping
iPhone “Bump” App Now Can Share Music
Dec 22, 2010 Music
Sharing music over iPhones has now become easier thanks to Bump. The contact sharing app now allows users to listen to the favorite music of their friends. All they have to do is to “bump” their iPhones together and they’re ready to go!
Previously, the technology permitted two people to swap contact details and social networking profiles by gently bumping their handsets. As Mark Hachman of PCMag.com said:
“Bump has been previously integrated into PayPal for both the iPhone and Android, although the iPhone version appears to be more advanced. Version 2.0 of the app let users send calendar invitations, connect on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and even maintain a persistent ‘bump’ connection without the need to be physically next to one another. It also added unlimited photo and contact sharing.”
The latest version of the popular app has applied the same idea to music. You can now share all kinds of music with Version 2.2 of the Bump iPhone app. And yes, it’s completely legal!
To do this, just choose a song stored in your iPhone and “bump” to share it with another user. The actual music file isn’t shared; the song is streamed from YouTube. You can also listen to a preview on the Apple iTunes Store before purchasing the song if you like it. Chinese and Korean languages are supported.
“We think Bump is the simplest and easiest way to tell your friends about songs and artists you love,” concluded Bump Technologies Inc. CEO David Lieb. So begin bumping now and fill your life with music.