-By Katy Bachman

Faced with irate radio buyers who were stunned by its change in streaming audio metrics, Ando Media has held a Webcast to do damage control. The sole provider of Internet radio ratings, Ando changed the metrics to those based on session counts. The radio-type metrics are only available from the Web radio com-panies themselves.

“Shockingly, [the new metrics] caused some confusion in the marketplace. We’re trying to create greater clarity,” said Patrick Reynolds, senior vp of Ando Media.

The company promised to create “an open forum” where users of the data can vet the information. It also plans to add a “uniques” measure to the data currently available in first-quarter 2010. How much Ando can do to approximate a syndicated research service for online radio ratings is uncertain. What Ando can report and publish is limited by its access to the servers or logs of Internet radio publishers.

“Ando is backtracking,” said Natalie Swed Stone, director of national radio for OMD. “Another research firm will come along. We need more information, not less.”