CBS Radio properties lead the September "Internet Audio Top 20" from Ando Media

That’s based on what Ando is now calling “Average Active Sessions”, where CBS leads Pandora by about 230,000 to 205,000. But Pandora, which has just joined the Ando lineup, is #1 in another new Ando measurement, called Session Starts. In that category, Ando has about 60 million compared to about 47 million for the CBS family that includes AOL Radio and Yahoo LaunchCast. These results are all from another new Ando feature, the “domestic” (U.S.-only) ranker. The #3 player by both Average Active Sessions and Session Starts is Clear Channel Radio Digital. It has nearly 120,000 Average Active Sessions and about 14 million session starts. After that, ranked by Average Active Sessions, it’s Citadel, Entercom, ESPN Radio corporate, Cox Radio, Interactive One, EMF Corporate (Christian K-Love/Air 1) and Greater Media. See the latest Ando Media results from September back to May, here.

Pandora adds Facebook & Twitter sharing – and has plans for cars, too

The internet music service is expanding, adding to its toolbar a feature allowing users to share music via Facebook and Twitter. With a simple click, users can now post songs to their Facebook page where friends can listen to samples in their news feed. Using Twitter, there will be a link to a page featuring the song or station you shared. While Pandora can be heard in a car now using an iPhone and an auxilliary jack, that may change soon. Pandora founder Tim Westergren tells AOL, “Half the people using Pandora on an iPhone are listening to it in their car.” The company plans to “embed Pandora in the dashboard,” allowing an internet-capable car radio to run the Pandora app. There is no timetable on when a Pandora car radio will be released. Pandora currently adds 65,000 new registered users daily, and over half of those are using mobile devices. Read the AOL story.

Livio teams with National Public Radio to create an NPR Wi-Fi radio

It’s not your father’s NPR anymore. The makers of a radio to carry Pandora now produce a Wi-Fi radio that makes it easy to find NPR programming. It’s possible to locate any NPR station, and there’s the ability to stream NPR podcasts, according to CNET. The radio, expected to cost $200, will save your favorite internet stations using its “My NPR” feature, and even comes with a remote control. Livio is taking pre-orders now for an expected November release.

A court victory for Yahoo Launchcast Internet radio - it's not an "interactive service"

That’s good news for CBS Radio, which powers Launchcast, as well as for Pandora and similar services that let users create their own custom radio stations. The New York-based Second Circuit Court of Appeals says Launchcast doesn’t have to pay licensing fees to copyright holders – just the license fee set by the Copyright Royalty Board. In simpler terms, the court doesn’t consider them a retailer of music, comparable to iTunes or other music sellers. Reuters reports the story, which should hold big implications for webcasters. They now have more confidence about their business models. The plaintiffs in the case were labels such as Sony’s Arista Records, Bad Boy Records, BMG Music, Capital Records, Motown and Virgin Records America. No immediate indication whether they'll ask the Supreme Court to take up the case. The “New Generation Radio” Board at Radio-Info is starting to talk about it, here.

Radio's Stimulus Package

Friday morning’s “Radio Stimulus Package” panel gave the National Assn. of Broadcasters Radio Show a string of last-day-firecrackers as panelists urged broadcasters to stop living in the past and to recruit younger talent to what Edison Research president Larry Rosin called “an industry of old men.” Noting that the still-legendary KHJ Los Angeles had dropped Top 40 nearly three decades ago, FigMedia’s Bill Figenshu announced, “KHJ is dead, long live the boss. The boss is the consumer.” And Jacobs Media’s Fred Jacobs said he had decided to no longer go to radio reunions: “We need to move on,” he said.

RAIN Summit Draws SRO Crowd, Focuses On Emerging Businesses

Radio entrepreneur Kurt Hanson struck an optimistic tone, predicting a coming renaissance for the radio industry, during the RAIN Summit East seminar Sept. 24 at the Hard Rock Café in Philadelphia. Factoring in newer delivery methods, including Internet radio, Hanson said radio listening is higher than it has ever been. Hanson, the publisher of the Radio and Internet Newsletter (RAIN) and founder/CEO of AccuRadio, hosted the half-day session in conjunction with the National Assn. of Broadcasters Radio Show. It drew a standing room only crowd of more than 150 to hear several panels and product presentations, including those from new companies Jelli and Listener Driven Radio, as well as the performing rights organization Sound Exchange.

Goom Radio: The Radio-Info Interview

After four months of heavy publicity, the U.S. version of Goom Radio arrived in late July. Launched last year in France by Emmanuel Jayr and Roberto Ciurleo, former executives at Top 40 network NRJ, Goom followed a similar path here, tapping CEO Rob Williams, previously market manager of Clear Channel/New York (after more than a decade with Clear Channel and its predecessors) and head of programming Tim “Romeo” Herbster from the MD job at CC’s WHTZ (Z100) New York.