Mike Spinella
Photo By: Fredy Perojo
Music on the Internet has become big business from digital download sites like iTunes to Amazon.com to the ever-growing Internet radio universe. There’s no doubt that terrestrial radio remains one of the key places to break hit music, but make no mistake…nowadays millions of people discover new music via the world wide web. One of those key places is AOL Music, a key portal for music discovery and general music listening boasting an audience reach that exceeds 23 million people. With that in mind we recently caught up with Mike Spinella, Director of Industry Relations for the AOL Music Network to get some insight.
Spinella has had quite a journey since his days as an intern with RCA Records. Prior to that he had spent time as a DJ and promoter. He’s also booked touring and local bands in the New York area. He first joined AOL Music and gained experience as a programmer before being promoted into his current position as Director of Industry Relations where he coordinates and manages relationships with labels, artists and managers in all facets of the industry. This includes booking and conducting artist interviews for AOL Music Live, Sessions, The DL, 3×3, 16 Bars, as well as The Interface, a weekly podcast that he founded and hosts. In addition, he’s responsible for programming and editing content across AOL Music’s Spinner, TheBoombox and PopEater sites. Mike is a founding member of AOL Music’s Spinner.com, the web’s highest trafficked Indie music site, where he currently serves as an editor and curates Spinner’s RPM feature. It’s safe to say that Mike Spinella’s world is AOL Music.
Recent research tells us music on the Internet and Internet radio is booming. How is AOL positioned in the platform?
AOL Music is number one in the music category for all of 2008 and we are currently the only music site with over 20 million unique visitors (23.049 to be exact – closest competition is MTV Networks with 17.696). More impressive is our page views. In August alone, we garnered 614 million PVs. In terms of year-over-year growth, we’re up 33 percent in page views and 11.2 percent in unique visitors.
In addition, over the last year, AOL Music has tapped into the passion points of music by launching genre specific sites for users who enjoy Indie Rock, Country and Hip-Hop. We have created the most comprehensive music experience on the web by combining genre specific sites with compelling content.
AOL Radio, in particular, has always been core to our overall AOL Music offering. Recently we’ve added song skipping, local terrestrial stations and iPhone access. AOL Radio is integrated into our day-to-day programming and tightly wrapped with AOL Music editorial. AOL Radio has something for everyone including stations programmed by Daft Punk and DJ AM, along with all artist stations ranging from Metallica to Mariah Carey. Additionally, we have hyper focused stations that offer listeners targeted programming from everything from Minimal Techno to Dirty South Hip-Hop to Opera.
What is your research telling you about how and when people are using their computers to access music?
AOL Music has experienced steady growth in 2008, largely due to our ability to super serve our consumers with sites like Spinner and the Boot that are positioned to target specific audiences as more and more people turn to the Internet to learn about new music.
AOL really placed itself on the map in the music industry when it launched its “First Listen” feature. How has that platform evolved over the years?
Since First Listen, we’ve really invested in targeting audience specific sites where new music exclusives are almost a daily occurrence. Spinner.com for example puts up a song for free download each morning, serving as a discovery mechanism and getting our audience to learn about new music driving purchases and ticket sales. We have also launched a new site called TourTracker.com that provides users a way to “track” where and when an artist/band is playing live. This way when users download an MP3 and like what they hear, they can easily find out when the band/artist is going to be playing next.
How interactive is the audience regarding feedback on artists and songs?
Our audience is very active, both in email feedback and comments on our blogs. Our strong and vocal community is a very valuable part of our programming as our audience comes first and foremost every day.
What’s been the most surprising stat you’ve seen about how people are using AOL to stream music?
We often see artists we get behind early, like Tegan and Sara, really resonate with our overall audience and top our charts without mainstream support in the marketplace. In addition, AOL Music gives new, breaking artists a platform to impact culture.
Tell us about the AOL recent partnerships with CBS Radio and how it has enhanced the overall AOL experience?
With the CBS partnership, we launched a new player that includes song skipping, song history and more presets in addition to all of CBS’ terrestrial stations and an iPhone application. Our partnership with CBS radio is helping us to find ways to make Internet radio accessible from anywhere not just one’s computer. Plus users can find whatever genre of music they are looking for on AOL Radio. In addition we have our sister site, SHOUTcast.com which is an additional radio resource finding almost any genre imaginable.
AOL Sessions was an innovative initiative concept showcasing talent in a stripped down environment. Will we see the Sessions platform expanded?
Sessions has been our core franchise through the years, highlighting today’s most relevant talent. Since that launch we’ve also expanded into a new in-studio program called ‘The Interface,’ which takes a tastemaker approach to highlighting lesser-known talent that is in Spinner.com’s realm, encouraging discovery to purchase. The Interface played host to Amy Winehouse‘s first ever U.S. performance and featured Feist long before the iPod advert.
What do record labels need to understand when it comes to servicing and promoting AOL with new music?
Servicing has not been an issue. Having an abundance of music to enjoy and tee-up to our consumers is extremely exciting every day.
What are the criteria to get songs into rotation on AOL radio stations?
Pop focused stations are, to a degree, influenced by charts and sales, while niche programming is based on quality and expertise. Ultimately, our listeners decide what stays and what goes and with their real time feedback, each music director has a true indication on how the audience is reacting to each track that we introduce. Again, our sister site, SHOUTcast.com, is a great way for small and indie radio stations to bring music to the world wide audience (SHOUTcast.com is a free Internet radio directory).
Video has become an important application at AOL music. Are consumers telling you they want more video or video specific platforms from AOL?
We have found that video without context doesn’t always translate. We have really focused on surrounding our video content with compelling editorial and quotes from artists giving them a reason to want to consume the video. There is an endless sea of content out there so a filter and context is essential.
What does AOL music do better than any of it’s competitors?
AOL Music has really been able to focus on music audiences, not just a mass audience. As programmers, we realize that consumers have specific tastes and are looking for content and editorial based on their tastes and mindset. The AOL Music network incorporates an Urban focused site (www.theboombox.com), a site with a deep focus on Country (www.theboot.com), a Pop-culture site (www.popeater.com) and a tastemaker site that targets passionate music fans (www.spinner.com). Beyond super-serving these audiences, AOL Music provides a filter and context alongside all of the promotions. AOL Music also offers a touring site called TourTracker.com that is tightly integrated into the day-to-day programming allowing our audience to find tour dates, purchase tickets, comment on shows and create buzz with the site’s built in heat index.
Are there any exciting enhancements on the horizon for 2009 that you can share with us?We will continue to focus on building our international music sites like Spinner.com, along with some other initiatives that are not ready to be shared with the world.
*** QB Content by Bob Burke ***
