VEVO

We've written about The Echo Nest before (here), and company executives have spoken at RAIN Summit events in the past. Fortune has published a profile of the company that offers a simple explanation of how The Echo Nest assembles what it calls "The Knowledge" -- its collection of data points on millions of songs that it licenses to leading online music services like Spotify, iHeartRadio, MOG, and Vevo.

The article suggests The Echo Nest's stance towards "openness" (it hosts "music-app 'hack days'" and gives "developers free access to its technology for noncommercial experimentation") "is making it the 'mothership' for entrepreneurs looking to 'create new musical experiences,' explains David McKinney, a coder in Australia whose experiments led to the creation of an investor-backed startup called Discovr."

Read the Fortune article here.

Portland-based company Vadio creates video channels out of a radio stations' audio streams. The service plays the music video (from YouTube of Vevo) of the song currently playing on a radio station. And during commercials, stations can display logos and positioning statements. Vadio can also incorporate in-studio webcams and is aiming to add more video ads, including pre-rolls, reports RadioInfo.

All said, it provides online users the option to "watch" radio instead of just listening.

Vadio already has two stations using its service (Seattle's Hot AC Star 101.5 KPLZ-FM and 99.9 Real Country WHFB-FM in South Bend, IN) with "many more" set to go live in the new few weeks, says Vadio's Bryce Clemmer. KPLZ PD Kent Phillips tells RadioInfo page views have increased eight-fold and time spent on the site is up 30% since adding Vadio. 

You can find more coverage from RadioInfo here.

Earlier this year web video service vevo relaunched its site with a number of new, web radio-like features (like Echo Nest-based recommendations and instant playlist generation; RAIN coverage here).

Since then, the number of videos streamed by user has increased by 70% and Facebook sharing has grown 100%, according to Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff.

The Next Web has more coverage here.

Online video service VEVO (the second largest such site after YouTube) has added new features that should sound familiar to fans of personalizable web radio. "It makes the experience more competitive with Spotify and Pandora than before, with the added benefit of videos," in TechCrunch's opinion.

Among the new features:

• Integration with music intelligence platform The Echo Nest to offer personalized music video recommendations.
• Integration with Facebook to offer custom playlists based on Facebook likes and activities.
• Integration with iTunes to create a playlist filled with videos by users' most listened-to artists.
• VEVO now plays music videos continuously, making it "more of a long-play" service, TechCrunch writes (here).

(We should note that, for whatever reason, RAIN couldn't find or wasn't offered any of the Facebook, Echo Nest or iTunes features on VEVO's website).