Back in late 2002 and the first half of 2003 I was working to bring internet radio to my main client, Coors Brewing Company. I never got out of the shop with the idea. Although I did manage to set up a beta station–KTIG–for Integer, the agency that employed me at the time.
Given my interest in the medium, this Ad Age story about Bacardi picking up the internet radio ball really grabbed me.
Bacardi is launching an ad-free global radio station to be broadcast 24 hours a day via the Internet and cellphones. The spirits marketer claims the venture is the world’s first brand-funded online and mobile radio music offering.
Called Bacardi B-Live, the initiative is expected to extend the brand’s association with music beyond regular events. It will launch in the U.K. next month and roll out internationally throughout the year.
Bacardi is aiming for 300,000 registered listeners within three months of the launch.
At present, there does not seem to be a way to listen other than via one’s cell phone. When this station, and many others like it (that have yet to be launched), are listed in the iTunes directory and require no proprietary player, the format will have arrived.
