BRS

Radio (and other industries) will soon be able to register web addresses using ".Radio.am" and ".Radio.fm" domain extensions.

BRS Media has announced it's launching the new Radio Global Domain extensions (Radio GLDs) ".Radio.am" and ".Radio.fm" next month, which the company says are "designed for Bootstrap Start-Ups, Small Office/Home Offices (SOHO) Entrepreneurs, Social Media Ventures, Streaming Enterprises and Traditional Broadcasters worldwide, while at the same time encouraging originality in expanding the RADIO global domain space."

BRS Media was an "industry-specific domain" pioneer, launching the top-level domans (TLDs) .FM and .AM more than 15 years ago. It also operates the popular Web-Radio directory of Internet radio streams.

BRS Media is a co-sponsor of RAIN Summit West, this Sunday at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton). The RAIN Summit is a co-located event of the NAB Show. Read more from BRS Media here.

You may recall last month our roundup (here) of the four groups applying to control the proposed ".radio" top level domain. One of those groups, the European Broadcasting Union, has now reportedly joined the "Governmental Advisory Committee" (GAC) of ICANN, the body that actually decides who'll get the domains.

Obviously, on its face, this would seem like a conflict-of-interest. At least one EBU's rivals for ".radio" feels the same way. In a letter sent to GAC Chair Heather Dryden, BRS Media BRS Media chairman/CEO George Bundy stated, "No other GAC Members or Observers are a direct applicant for a generic Industry specific string like .RADIO that is contested," remarked . "This will give the EBU an undue advantage..." 

Bundy's letter continued, "We believe these activities to be a direct Conflict of Interest, by the European Broadcasting Union within the New TLD Application process. Since the EBU has already been accepted to the GAC, we must request that the Chair recommend, the European Broadcasting Union recuse itself from the New TLD process by withdrawing its applications immediately."

Read the BRS Media press release here.

As you know, RAIN Summit West is this Sunday, once again a "co-located event" of what looks to be an eventful NAB Show. And as always, there are lots of big announcements made in the days before and at the convention. Here are a few RAIN readers should find interesting:

• BRS Media Inc., which administers the ".fm" and ".am" top-level domains (TLDs), has submitted "an extensive, comprehensive and detailed" application to administer a new ".radio" TLD (in other words, web addresses like "ClevelandRocks.radio"). Read more here.

  BRS Media Chairman & CEO George Bundy will make a Pecha Kucha presentation about existing "industry specific" domains and ".radio" at RAIN Summit West (see today's lead story).
   

• Triton Digital has updated its Advertising Platform, featuring the ability to target for pre-roll and instream ads by listeners' specific mobile device or country (or many other pre-specified custom criteria). Clients can also more easily forecast delivery to mobile-only listeners and see real-time campaign results. Read more here.

  Triton Media Group President/CEO Neal Schore will make a POV presentation at RAIN Summit West, and Triton's Robert Favre and Michael Becker will be panelists.
   

• Liquid Compass and AdsWizz will unveil new features for Liquid Compass' LC Pro 2.0 streaming player (here), designed to increase both ad opportunities and interactivity. The new features include a "portable" "Now Playing" widget, custom couponing ("daily deals"), custom polls (surveys), on-the-fly advertiser "takeovers" of the player, and client controls to more quickly customize the look of the player. Read more here.

  Liquid Compass CEO and founder Zackary Lewis will make a POV presentation at RAIN Summit West.
   

• Abacast has announced its "Personalized Live Radio" service, combining broadcast radio's "live and local" content with music-personalization features found on Net-only radio services (e.g. Pandora). The new PLR integrates Abacast's "Cloud-Based Insertion" to insert custom content and ads; ad campaign management; and a "song personalization engine." Abacast plans to make PLR in Q3 of this year. Read more here.