Internet radio

(The delay is referred to as lag time.) In 1993, Carl Malamud launched Internet Talk Radio which was the first computer-radio talk show, each week interviewing a computer expert. A November 1994 Rolling Stones concert was the first major cyberspace multicast concert. Mick Jagger opened the concert by saying, I wanna say a special welcome to everyone that s, uh, climbed into the Internet tonight and, uh, has got into the M-bone. Internet radio remains popular among expatriates and listeners with interests that are often not adequately served by local radio stations (such as eurodance, progressive rock, ambient music, folk music, classical music, and stand-up comedy).

They also point to the fact that CBS recently purchased Last.FM for 280 million dollars, argued that the purchase price paid for Last.FM reflected that it was primarily a social network service that included a radio service. On May 1, 2007, SoundExchange came to an agreement with certain large webcasters regarding the minimum fees that were modified by the determination of the Copyright Royalty Board. Satellite radio pays a fee but at a less onerous rate, at least by some measures. The article indicated that other Web radio outfits may be doom On September 30, 2008, the United States Congress passed a bill that would put into effect any changes to the royalty rate to which In January 2009, the US Copyright Royalty Board announced that it will apply royalties to streaming net services based on revenue. In 2003, revenue from online streaming music radio was US$49 million.

In contrast, traditional radio broadcasters pay only publishing royalties and no performance royalties. A rancorous dispute ensued over how performance royalties should be assessed for Internet broadcasters. Many of these critics organized SaveNetRadio.org, a coalition of listeners, artists, labels and webcasters that opposed the proposed royalty rates. Internet radio is also distinct from podcasting, which involves downloading rather than streaming.

Some major networks like Clear Channel in the US and Chrysalis in the UK restrict listening to in country because of music licensing and advertising concerns. Many Internet radio services are associated with a corresponding traditional (terrestrial) radio station or radio network.

The bits are streamed (transported) over the network in TCP or UDP packets, then reassembled and played within seconds. While the CRB decision imposed a $500 per station or channel minimum fee for all webcasters, certain webcasters represented through DiMA negotiated a $50,000 cap on those fees with SoundExchange.

Music streaming on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted broadly through wireless means. In 1998, the initial public stock offering for Broadcast.com set a record at the time for the largest jump in price in stock offerings in the United States.

Internet radio services offer news, sports, talk, and various genres of music—every format that is available on traditional radio stations. The most common way to distribute Internet radio is via streaming technology using a lossy audio codec. By 2006, that figure rose to US$500 million. A February 21, 2007 survey of 3,000 Americans released by consultancy Bridge Ratings & Research found that An April 2008 survey showed that, in the US, more than one in seven persons aged 25–54 years old listen to online radio each week. Internet radio functionality is also built into many dedicated Internet radio devices, which give an FM like receiver user experience. .

Popular streaming audio formats include MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Windows Media Audio, RealAudio and HE-AAC (sometimes called aacPlus). Some others that did not participate, like Last.fm, stated that they did not want to punish their listeners. SoundExchange, representing supporters of the increase in royalty rates, pointed out the fact that the rates were flat from 1998 through 2005 (see above), without even being increased to reflect cost-of-living increases.

WXYC had begun test broadcasts and bandwidth testing as early as August, 1994. In 1995, Progressive Networks released RealAudio as a free download. On that day, they shut off their audio streams or streamed ambient sound, sometimes interspersed with brief public service announcements.

WXYC used an FM radio connected to a system at SunSite, later known as Ibiblio, running Cornell s CU-SeeMe software. Internet radio (also known as web radio, net radio, streaming radio and e-radio) is an audio listening service transmitted via the Internet.

Time magazine said that RealAudio took advantage of the latest advances in digital compression and delivered AM radio-quality sound in so-called real time. In March 1996, Virgin Radio - London, became the first European radio station to broadcast its full program live on the internet. Internet radio attracted significant media and investor attention in the late 1990s. However, DiMA and SoundExchange continue to negotiate over the per song, per listener fees. SoundExchange has also offered alternative rates and terms to certain eligible small webcasters, that allows them to calculate their royalties as a percentage of their revenue or expenses, instead of at a per performance rate. An August 16, 2008 Washington Post article reported that although Pandora was one of the nation s most popular Web radio services, with about 1 million listeners daily..the burgeoning company may be on the verge of collapse due to the structuring of performance royalty payment for webcasters.

To focus attention on the consequences of the impending rate hike, many US Internet broadcasters participated in a Day of Silence on June 26, 2007. Internet-only radio stations are independent of such associations. Internet radio services are usually accessible from anywhere in the world—for example, one could listen to an Australian station from Europe or America.

Traditional radio, by contrast, pays no such fee. Notable participants included Rhapsody, Live365, MTV, Pandora, and SHOUTcast.

And I hope it doesn t all collapse. On November 7, 1994, WXYC (89.3 FM Chapel Hill, NC USA) became the first traditional radio station to announce broadcasting on the Internet. The offering price was US$18 and the company s shares opened at US$68 on the first day of trading. In October 1998, the US Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

One result of the DMCA is that performance royalties are to be paid for satellite radio and Internet radio broadcasts in addition to publishing royalties. Internet radio involves streaming media presenting listeners with a continuous stream of audio that cannot be paused or replayed, much like traditional broadcast media; in this respect, it is distinct from on-demand file serving.