According to a report by AccuStream iMedia Research web-based music radio services generated 4.85 billion total listening hours in 2007, a 26% increase over 2006.

The report breaks down listenership by month and hourly usage and includes listening share by site and brand.

According to the report, AOL’s Shoutcast was the top site for Internet music radio, claiming 48% of total listening hours for the year. The next popular brands were Clear Channel Online, Yahoo Music, AOL Radio Networks and Pandora.

• The Internet music radio ad market was worth approximately $92 million in 2007, including $80 million in audio ads; that’s a 194% increase from 2006.
• About $12-$15 million was generated through video ads placed within radio sites.
• The top ten radio sites still captured over 90% of total listening hours monthly.
• Total listening hours averaged 404.2 million hours per month, compared to a 320.5 million hour average in 2006.
• Clear Channel Online had 6–8 minutes per listening hour dedicated to ad inventory

Technorati Tags: Internet radio, web radio, streaming, Shoutcast, AOL Radio, Pandora, Yahoo Music, Clear Channel, AccuStream iMedia Research

Internet radio is in trouble. New rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) may force many independent Internet radio stations out of business due to increased royalty fees. This includes Web 2.0 Internet radio companies like Last.fm and Pandora, although since Last.fm is in the U.K., it may be able to escape these fees.

Kurt Hanson’s Radio And Internet Newsletter (RAIN), does a really good job of breaking down the proposed rates and what webcasters may pay.

In an opinion piece by Bennett Lincoff, he says that the battle is between the record labels, backed by the RIAA, and the webcasters. While webcasters may succeed in lowering some of the fees, he says that the RIAA will impose other burdensome requirements if they bypass Sound Exchange. He writes:

However, in exchange for direct licenses at reduced fees, the record labels will demand certain non-financial concessions from webcasters. These will include, for example, that webcasters not stream music as MP3 files or in any other file format that cannot be configured to prevent unauthorized downloading of the music being transmitted. Webcasters will also likely be required to employ filtering and other DRM technologies.

Bonus: Read Lincoff’s White Paper–in PDF format–on a way to help save Internet radio.