JELLI RADIO FAQ'S

What is Jelli?
How does Jelli work?
How is Jelli like a game?
How will National Jelli work?
How will Local Jelli work?
What are the technical requirements of Jelli?
What will Jelli Radio cost?
What about Country or Urban Jelli?
Is Jelli Radio an exclusive program?
When will Jelli Radio be ready to go?

What is Jelli?

Jelli is a new format for radio that re-defines how listeners interact with music. It combines the power of video games, social media, and music into a radio broadcast that empowers and engages the listener. THEY create the playlist by playing an online game on the radio station’s website.

Jelli launched its web service about a year ago, and the first version for terrestrial radio went on KITS (Live 105)/San Francisco in June of this year.

How does Jelli work?

For your listeners nothing has changed. They just turn on the radio and enjoy listening to great music, with the only difference being that their friends and fellow listeners are picking what they hear. For those who take part online or via their cell phone (coming soon), they are part of the game, voting up songs they like, voting down songs they don’t like, bombing songs they hate, and rocketing songs up the queue for songs they love.

Once users log on to Jelli, they are presented with a page showing the current song playing, a chat box to discuss the station and music, the next three songs in line to be played, and then all the rest of the songs in the queue to be played. In this one snapshot, users can see what songs are scheduled to play next. They can then use their own votes and “power ups” to change the order of songs being played.

The easiest way for a listener to impact the playlist is to vote songs up and down. The upcoming songs queue is updated every second, so listeners see the impact of their votes in near real time. Songs they vote up will move up the queue and songs they vote down will move down the queue. This direct connection between the listener’s actions and the chance of a song getting played is unique to Jelli. Unlike request shows and platforms, every user of Jelli knows that he or she has a direct impact on the future of music that will or will not be played.

The impact of voting comes to fruition when the current song on the air ends. One second before the previous song ends, the song in the first slot on the song queue is chosen for aiplay. Up to the last second, users can sabotage or vote up this song, trying to stop it from playing or guaranteeing that it makes it on the air.

In addition to voting a song up or down, users have a limited number of personal powerups—“rockets” and “bombs.”

“Rockets” are used for songs a user would like to see play on the air without having to wait for it to get enough votes to work its way up to the top ten or twenty. Rockets send a song directly to the number four position in the queue. At that point, the song will need others to vote for it to get on the air. However, utilizing a rocket is a concrete example of the power they have on the playlist. The song THEY chose is only three slots away from getting on the air.

“Bombs” are similar to rockets but do the opposite—they take a song’s vote total and lower it to zero. This allows listeners to completely remove songs they hate from the song queue. Unlike Rockets, bombs can be used on the song at top position of the queue, so a song that is scheduled to play in two seconds could be bombed off the playlist one second before it is scheduled to play. For listeners not used to having any say on the radio at all, it is hugely empowering.

As Rockets and Bombs are so powerful, the numbers are limited every day, and the number you get each day is dependent on how active you are with the radio station. Heavy listeners get more rockets and bombs.

In the future, look for new “power ups,” including things like a way to dedicate songs to other listeners.

How is Jelli like a game?

When users take part in Jelli, their goal is to get their song on the air. Their first experience gives them a taste of their control over the playlist—they watch as songs they like move up the playlist when they vote. Soon, however, they will realize that even if they Rocket a song it will take more to get that song played. This is where the game comes in. Active users will vote down and even bomb songs in front of their own song, in the hope of getting their song to the top of the queue and on the air. Often this isn’t enough, since it is a large community, so users will then utilize their own social skills and chat with other participants in the chat window to rally support for their song.

The experience of voting up the song you like while removing competitors and socializing with allies has all the components of a contemporary social game like Mob Wars, Farmville, and others.

How will National Jelli work?

There will be two continuous, 24-hour feeds of Jelli Radio available via satellite, a rock version and a pop version. Radio stations can take any segment of either feed for their own local use. You can utilize Jelli as cutting edge request show, a full daypart, or even a 24/7 format. National Jelli is available to fill any potential use by a radio station.

Each National Jelli version will be complete with imaging, the automated host

“T-Bone” who announces users who get their songs on the air, and a system of relays that will allow customization/localization by the affiliated stations. Stations will also have a national version of the online and mobile (coming soon) Jelli platform with custom elements and integrated with their own website.

The music libraries for National Jelli are being managed by some of the best in the business: Jacobs Media for Rock Jelli, and Joel Salkowitz for Top 40 Jelli. Jacobs and Salkowitz will also provide input to the formatting, and direct the production of the imaging. The libraries will be mass-appeal yet broad enough to give listeners the excitement of choosing from lots of songs for airplay.

How will Local Jelli work?

Local Jelli is a customized implementation of Jelli that takes the Jelli platform and gives total control to the local radio station. The local station uses their own local Jelli server that integrates with the local station so that all aspects of Jelli can be customized, from the music that users can vote on to the imaging and production. Additionally, the local web platform is more customized than National Jelli.

Many elements of National Jelli are also available to Local Jelli affiliates, including imaging and production workparts provided by TM Studios, national contests and promotions, and game engagement via Jelli’s cutting edge text-to-speech personality, T-Bone.

What are the technical requirements of Jelli?

National Jelli audio will be delivered entirely by satellite, on a receiver provided by Dial Global. The radio station will be provided with a Jelli web page, with space in the header for local station customization. The Jelli interactive pages will be hosted and maintained by Jelli, but will be linked from the radio station’s website. A common, fast internet connection will be required for this.

Local Jelli will require a Jelli server, provided by Dial Global as part of the license fee. This will be installed and supported at the local level and requires a fast internet connection. The Jelli interactive pages will be hosted and maintained by Jelli, but will be linked from the radio station’s website.

What will Jelli Radio cost?

National Jelli is available on a barter basis.

Local Jelli is available with a combined cash license fee and a barter requirement.

Please contact Triton’s Solutions Group for pricing details.

What about a Country or Urban Jelli?

While we plan on rolling out more formats via satellite in the future, you can currently program your own version of Jelli via a Local Jelli implementation, programming your own music in any mix you like.

Is Jelli Radio an exclusive program?

Jelli Radio is exclusive by format on a market-level basis. There will be only one Top 40 and one Rock station in any given market that is an official affiliate of either Satellite or Local Jelli.

When will Jelli Radio be ready to go?

National Jelli will be available for launch in mid-January. Local Jelli will be available on a limited basis in early December, with full availability in January, 2010.