Online Radio

Adapting to what editorial director Bill Werde called " new music experiences ," Billboard magazine announced Wednesday that it will begin incorporating YouTube streams into the data used to determine its Hot 100 singles chart. The change goes into effect with this week's tally, topped by Baauer's viral-video hit "Harlem Shake. " Last week, the song wasn't even on the chart, marking only the 21st time a song has debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, according to Billboard's Gary Trust . YouTube said "Harlem Shake" (in its various official incarnations)

Who says computer guys don't rock? When hard-rock station KNAC was sold and became a Spanish-language station in 1995, Orange County fans of muscle-flexing power ballads and head-thrashing tunes were left hanging. Gone were the hard-livin', hard-playin' personalities like Long Paul, Nasty Neil and Eveready Ed. But thanks to the Internet, nothing ever truly dies. Online radio has been grabbing listeners, generating a lot of excitement and, said KNAC.

Pushing the boundaries of music on the Net, Grand Royal Records--home of the Beastie Boys--is the first established record label to use a cutting-edge MP3 streaming technology to promote its artists. Launched last week, the Grand Royal Radio show (http://www.grandroyal.com/grRadio.html) relies on a new Web tool called Shoutcast. Developed by Arizona-based Nullsoft Inc., Shoutcast lets anyone stream MP3 files--both legitimate and pirate--for free over the Net.

Launch Media Inc. cut its staff by 26%, or 60 employees, just before announcing a sharp drop in quarterly results. The company also disclosed that it has nearly completed a deal with an undisclosed investor to obtain $5 million in funding. Santa Monica-based Launch distributes music through personalized online radio stations and CD samplers, which it supports through advertising and licensing fees. Those fees fell to $3.

GameSpy Industries, the Costa Mesa-based entertainment portal with investment backing from Hollywood heavyweights Richard Wolpert and Michael Ovitz, will launch a sweeping online radio site that promises to be the world's largest Internet tuner. RadioSpy (http://www.radiospy.com) allows a computer user to find a station--streaming in Real Audio, Windows Media Player or Shoutcast--by clicking on the genre of music he or she likes.

Online radio Web sites KNAC.com and GrooveRadio.com are about to get some sister stations. The heavy metal and dance music sites have been acquired by Enigma Digital, a Santa Monica Internet music start-up that will announce today that it plans to launch three more online music communities by the end of March. Curbserver.

British pop group New Order debuted its new album, Get Ready, on AOL Time Warner's Spinner.com Internet radio service, weeks ahead of its Oct. 16 release to retail stores, in what analysts said was a significant move. The online promotion reflects the recording industry's growing momentum in its effort to offer albums to fans via the Web--a move that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. New Order's music label is AOL Time Warner's Reprise Records.

Another conference for those interested in the convergence of music, new media and the Internet is Webnoize '99, which happens in Century City through Wednesday at the Century Plaza Hotel & Towers. Among those attending are Rob Glaser, chief executive of Real Networks; Anthony Bay, Microsoft's vice president for streaming media; and Jay Samit, senior vice president of new media for EMI Recorded Music. All three executives will give keynote speeches during the three-day event.

To get people hooked on its Rhapsody subscription music service, RealNetworks Inc. plans to let them listen for free -- up to a point. The company unveiled Tuesday an advertiser-supported online music service, dubbed "Rhapsody 25," along with several new wrinkles in the existing version of Rhapsody. The new service gives registered users 25 free plays a month from Rhapsody's online jukebox, and it lets them send songs to their friends.

The Justice Department has intensified its antitrust investigation of the music industry's licensing practices, demanding that industry organizations and online companies submit a slew of documents related to Internet music services. The department recently began sending out "civil investigative demand" letters, hunting for evidence of collusion by record companies and affiliates to impede competition. The recipients of the letters include the Recording Industry Assn.