StreamGuys announces that Whisperings Solo Piano Radio is its first customer to deploy the company’s new interactive HTML5 player. The player gives mobile listeners without a Flash player a simple way to access the free Whisperings stream, while also delivering a much richer broadcast experience through integrated metadata support. The integrated metadata gives free stream listeners a synchronized stream with high-quality music and visual information including artist names, song titles and album titles — as well as live links to purchase music through artist sites. Site owner and independent musician David Nevue notes that this richer experience, along with simpler playback on mobile devices, is important to attracting new listeners and retaining audiences in an increasingly crowded and fragmented marketplace.
“Whisperings launched at a time when there was no other online listening option for solo piano music,” said Nevue, himself a solo pianist and composer. “There are many more options today and it is important that new listeners are greeted with a live stream rather than a message to download an app or a plug-in. The HTML5 player works across all devices so visitors don’t have to work to access our stream, while also offering a modern Pandora or iTunes Radio-like experience with artwork, details and buy links.”
Nevue also sees this enhanced experience as an opportunity to interest more listeners in Whisperings PureStream, his commercial-free subscription service that offers an expanded artist roster, customizable playlists and more. Whisperings has long used StreamGuys’ RevenueStream software platform for secure, password-protected subscription controls and conditional access that ensures only subscribers can access the stream. His long-term satisfaction with StreamGuys for content delivery and stream protection played a significant role in his decision to integrate the new HTML5 player.
“I have always thought of StreamGuys as more of a partner than just another company I work with. They provide outstanding customer service and a willingness to find solutions to obstacles,” he said. “StreamGuys has also offered flexible, affordable services to meet my changing bandwidth needs over the years, and they have been receptive and responsive to my requests regarding capabilities of the HTML5 player. They have delivered a multiformat streaming solution with this player that also offers new ways to explore revenue generation for the free stream.”
Nevue’s above reference is to live dynamic advertising insertion, which StreamGuys supports within its HTML5 player via pre-rolls, mid-rolls and post-rolls. He also expects to use the player as an alternative choice for his ad-free PureStream service at a later date.
StreamGuys launched its HTML5 player last month as part of its strategy to ensure that broadcasters, audio publishers and service providers can reach consumers across many fixed and mobile devices. The company is in the process of rolling out its HTML5 player for other customers in the US and abroad.