science

Internet radio audience measurement

Internet radio audience measurement is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Internet radio audience measurement rather than just read about it. In short: Internet radio audience measurement is any method used to determine the number of people listening to an Internet radio broadcast. This information is usually obtained from the broadcaster's audio streaming server.

Key takeaways

Internet radio audience measurement belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Internet radio audience measurement to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Internet radio audience measurement from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Internet radio audience measurement is any method used to determine the number of people listening to an Internet radio broadcast. This information is usually obtained from the broadcaster's audio streaming server. Icecast, Nicecast, and SHOUTcast are examples of audio streaming servers that can provide listener statistics for audience measurement. These numbers often include information such as listeners' IP addresses, the media player they are using, how long they listened, and their computer's operating system. This approach differs greatly from terrestrial radio audience measurement. Demographic and psychographic information cannot be easily collected due to geographically diverse nature of typical Internet radio audiences. Arbitron, a research company in the United States which collects listener data on terrestrial radio audiences, has begun collecting listener data for Internet radio stations based on a panel of 200,000 users. The statistics collected from those users is then projected against the estimated 52 million actual Internet radio listeners. DigitalRadioTracker.com (DRT) has developed a proprietary system that monitors Internet Radio as well as select Terrestrial FM, College & Non-Commercial radio compiling the airplay of songs around the globe. They monitor 5000+ radio stations. DRT Reports provides users with detailed information of when, where and how often songs are being played on the radio as well as what version of the song (vital for remixes and mash ups). They offer free weekly charts for Top 200, Top 125 Independent, Top International, Top 50 Pop, Top 50 R&B/HipHop, Top 50 Country, Top 50 Christian/Gospel, Top 50 Adult Contemporary, and Top 50 Rock. Another company named Triton Digital, a software company in the United States also measures worldwide Internet radio audience. It uses actual data collected from streaming servers rather than estimated data. StreamAnalyst is a web-based service (SaaS) that generates audience statistics reports for Internet radio and other streamed contents. NeuroMedia Software, also offer CasterStats, a cloud based analytics as well as an on-premises version that can combine audience of podcasts and also radio on TV. The tool is currently in comparative studies such as CIM RSM and the Danish Podcastindex.

References

External links Icecast Cross-Platform Streaming Media Server Nicecast Mac OS X audio broadcaster SHOUTcast audio streaming

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Internet radio audience measurement

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Internet radio audience measurement claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Internet radio audience measurement before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Internet radio audience measurement ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Internet radio audience measurement

In research: Internet radio audience measurement appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Internet radio audience measurement in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Internet radio audience measurement is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Internet radio, Radio audience audit, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Internet radio audience measurement outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Internet radio audience measurement in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Internet radio audience measurement means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Internet radio audience measurement out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Internet radio audience measurement in simple terms?

Why does Internet radio audience measurement matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Internet radio audience measurement?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Internet radio audience measurement.