WOR Launches Online Format With Monthly Fee

Will listeners pay for online radio? Will they pay if they can influence the content and not have commercials?
Buckley station WOR in New York is online with a format called “The Best of Everything,” a stream that lets listeners customize what they hear in exchange for a monthly fee.
The service uses RCS iSelector, an Internet scheduling engine announced earlier this year. “It has the blessing of all the major record labels and is 100% DMCA compliant,” said RCS President Philippe Generali. “As you start listening and interact with the player, it learns and remembers your musical tastes to create your specific music mix, different from any other listener’s stream.”
Listeners obtain an online player from the WOR Web site for $4.95 a month. The fee covers streaming costs, database management, record label and music publishing company fees. Buttons allow listeners to play specific artists more, less or not at all. The first 48 hours are free. Listeners also can buy songs.
WOR VP/GM Bob Bruno created the format. “It’s targeted to the adults who think that radio has forgotten them,” he said in a statement from RCS. “You’ll hear everything from Mariah to Motown to Mozart, from Sinatra to Springsteen. There are nods to country, Broadway, jazz and rock a little”. Info: www.wor710.com and www.rcsworks.com.