Internet Killed the Radio Star

by Doug Smith

http://web.archive.org/web/20000617023029/www.ed2go.com/news/star.html

Here's a little picture for ya: you're driving to work in the morning. You've got your coffee and your little clip on tie. All you want is some good music to help wake you up and get you excited about another fun filled day at work, but you can't find anything good on the radio. 

When you do find a good station, there seem to be more commercials than tunes. 

Well, little radio listener, perhaps you should dump your car radio, tune up your PC and hit the online radio airwaves for some variety. You can hear more stations with your properly configured PC than you could with a good radio. Because most Internet radio stations are not constrained by commercial concerns, the Internet offers a much wider constellation of programming choices than traditional radio, as well. How about Radio Beethoven out of Chile? Bet you couldn't pick THAT up in your car!

To get your PC ready for the wonders of Internet radio, you'll need to take care of a few things first. You'll need a decent sound card, a modem, Internet service provider, web browser and the Real Audio streaming audio player. 

Yes, you'll probably find that your local mainstream radio station (the one owned by some faceless corporate entity) probably has its own website with streaming audio, but listening to such a station over the net is probably just as tedious and boring as listening to the same station in your car.

The Internet gives you the opportunity to hear more than what the mainstream giants have to offer. Believe it or not, you might also have access to that little hometown station you loved when you were growing up.

If you're not feeling nostalgic, there are a gazillion indie Real Audio radio stations and shows to tune into. broadcast.com specializes in real audio broadcasts of not only Internet radio, but sports events, specialty shows, and more. 

Then again, my mom always told me "if you want something done right, just do it yourself". If you can't seem to find any interesting radio stations on the web--Mohawk Radio Nation isn't different enough for ya?--why not start your own online radio station?

TalkNetRadio allows registered users to create their own online radio talk shows using TalkNetRadio's free software, a sound card equipped with a microphone (available at any large computer store) and a PC. TalkNetRadio will officially start broadcasting later this year, but is currently registering users. Listeners and broadcasters will be able to communicate using real-time chat, and broadcasters will be able to create free web pages to help promote their station or show. 

Music icons like MTV and Rolling Stone magazine are not immune to the lure of Internet Radio either. MTV online is set to purchase Imagine Radio, an Internet-only radio site that offers original audio programming. Listeners will be able to use the music inventoried on this site to create their own stations, and make them available to others over the World Wide Web.

Rolling Stone Radio offers 12 stations of rock and pop for visitors to choose from, as well as special artist programmed channels, where the artist is the DJ and chooses the programming. David Bowie is currently the guest DJ of his own station. 

There is little doubt that Internet radio is revolutionizing the radio broadcast medium, making specialized as well as mainstream programming available to a much wider audience. Users can choose from a plethora of radio choices, program their own songs for their own private PC radio, or even broadcast their very own radio show over the World Wide Web!