European Internet radio service Radionomy, which enables users to program - and potentially monetize - their own stations, unveiled a redesign and U.S. launch on Tuesday.
Founded in 2008 in Belgium, Radionomy is an ad-supported free platform that boasts 13 million monthly unique users. Unlike its most immediate Stateside competitors Pandora and Slacker, Radionomy is entirely composed of user-generated playlists: All registered users can program their own dedicated stations, including between-song banter, jingles and interviews, and can upload their own music in addition to choosing from the platform's 80,000-song catalog.
Most interestingly, citizen-programmers receive a cut of their station's ad revenues once it exceeds a certain listenership. Ads by Google Radionomy is browser-based, though VP of business development Thierry Ascarez noted that most listening occurs on external players such as iTunes. Ascarez says the site has 6,000 active stations, the most popular of which are devoted to Mozart, Bob Marley and lounge music.
"What's unique about Radionomy is that there is no algorithm," Ascarez said. "There are always passionate people behind every playlist." Radionomy recently opened its U.S. offices in San Francisco, having raised more than USD 4 million in funding earlier this year.
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