We have the pleasure of announcing that we have officially removed any revenue restrictions from the Live365 packages for all broadcasters!


As of 02/14/2022, all Live365 customers in the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada, across packages, are free to run their own advertisements and sponsorships. This was one of the most requested features from our broadcasters. We’ve worked hard behind the scenes to make this possible and are excited to see the new ways our broadcasters craft their stations around this new feature. 


We've created this short article to answer the frequently asked questions about this change.


FAQ


Do we still need to run the 4 minutes of ads per hour for Live365?

  • Yes, if you are on a With Ads package, then you must continue inserting 4 minutes of our ads for every hour as per the terms of enrolling in a With Ads package.

Is Live365’s ad insertion solution still in effect?

  • Yes. If you wish to opt-out of the Advertising Revenue Share Program, you can upgrade to a No Ads package.


Is there a specific way I should tag my third-party advertisement files?

  • Yes. Please use the metadata tag Ad Break in the "ARTIST" field of the track to denote your ads.


What media type should I use for my third-part advertisement files?

  • Depending on how is your Media Library organized, you may use any of the following: Promo, ID, Talk.
    You should not use Music or Advert.


How will this affect the package price?

  • No changes have been made to the package prices or subscription levels. 


Do we still get the same incentives if the ads from Live365 are heard on our station?

  • Yes, the terms of the Advertising Revenue Share Program have not changed in this regard.


How does this affect my station if I pay for a no ads package? Can I move to the with ads package and save myself some money by putting my own ads in?

  • These are two separate concepts. To reduce your costs of licensing coverage and royalty reporting, you can consider our lower-priced packages, which are our With Ads packages. (Note that if you are on a With Ads package, you must insert 4 minutes of our ads for every hour.) If you don't want to insert our ads on your station, you can subscribe to a No Ads package, which represents the normal full price of our services. 
  • The With Ads packages save you money because you are agreeing to participate in the Advertising Revenue Share Program, meaning you agree to insert our ads for 4 minutes of every hour.
  • What has changed is that you are now able to insert your own ads on any subscription level of ours, which is something that you previously could not do. Moving to a With Ads package will save you money if you are open to inserting our ads.



Can we produce our own ads and run them concurrently with yours and place spot breaks wherever we want and at any length we want?

  • Yes, you can produce your own ads. You can play these ads of your own as frequently as you want and they can be of any length as long as the metadata is correct according to our specifications. As long as you are inserting the 4 minutes of our ad triggers, you are welcome to insert your own ads as you see fit.