Music streaming service iHeartRadio ticked over to 207,000 registered users in April, according to the first round of results Australian Radio Network (ARN) has shared.
The platform, which launched nine months ago, has also received 308,000 app downloads.
iHeartRadio’s registrations grew by 11% in April and Geraint Davies, head of iHeartRadio, said the growth was thanks to the service’s recent concerts.
“We have seen our best growth in registrations since launch, driven by the recent iHeartRadio LIVE Kylie Minogue and Ed Sheeran events held in Melbourne and Sydney,” Davies said.
“We want to continue to create as many opportunities as possible for iHeartRadio customers to physically interact with the brand, the music and artists they love.”
The release follows Pandora’s announcement in April that it now has 1.5m local registered users.
A new version of the iHeartRadio app has also been launched featuring talk radio, easier navigation, a ‘favourite song library’ and more.
The app also brings new advertising opportunities with audio ads now able to be synchronized with relevant display ads to allow for click throughs.
The platform has launched its own Australian music news station, powered by Noise11.com.
On iHeartRadio listeners can ‘thumb up’ a song to indicate they like it, or ‘thumb down’ if they aren’t a fan. The ‘thumb up’ function has been integrated with ARN’s The EDGE 96ONE with the station now playing a chart of the most ‘Thumbed Up’ songs.
Davies said: “While users of iHeartRadio were interacting heavily with the Thumbs Up function already, since releasing the ‘Thumbs Up Chart’ on air at The Edge last month, we’ve seen a huge increase of iHeartRadio customers using this function. This is instant listener feedback that demonstrates the unrivaled connectivity radio has with its audiences.”
Dates for iHeartRadio’s fourth annual iHeartRadio Music Festival and Village in America have also been released with the show to return to Las Vegas on September 19 and 20.
