Internet Radio - a growing service - do you use it?

[theMusicMan]

Hi All

During this last year or so, especially with the huge growth in popularity of Apples iPod and the iTunes sync/player software, there has been a corresponding growth in the number of Internet Radio stations available.

I listened to several stations before I owned an iPod, Radio Ambient (one of the many available through the RadioIO brand) and have recently started listening to several more. I tend to focus on teh Ambient genre, as I find this easy to have playing whilst working at the PC or even when connected to my home surround sound setup it is not intrusive on the ear and I remain able to get on with my work.

Interestingly, there are also several stations popping up that accept submissions from those yet to make it big artists and performers - the viewing/listening figures for these type of internet radio stations are quite staggering. I read somewhere that they are experiencing 400% growth in visits during the 1st half of 2004. WOW - what a fantastic opportunity is presented here eh?

So, do you listen to Internet Radio? What stations do you listen to and why? Would you submit your music to one such station...?

Let's have some debate eh

 

[Frederik Magle]

Personally I don't listen to internet radio, but then on the other hand I don't listen to radio at all, so I'm probably not the best to comment

However, I do think that internet radio is an interesting phenomenon, and thinking about the general trend towards more and more broadband internet acces, WI-FI hotspots, bluetooth etc. I would not be surprised if internet radio could potentially one day (sooner, rather than later) surpass the "old" radio waves...

Regarding my own music, I would have nothing against it being broadcasted on internet radio (as long as they remember to pay the royalties that is

)

 

[theMusicMan]

Thanks for the reply Frederik... come on folks... let's hear your opinions on this.

Do you listen to Internet Radio...? Why or why not?

 

[Priest]

I'm a regular user of www.shoutcast.com, that provides me with a broad range of audio entertainment, as well as winamp 4.0...

Internet radio is god when I'm working for longer periods in a row. I have to listen to some music, that don't distort my concentration, but keeps me awake. So I usually end up tuning in on some jungle (often Bassdrive).

Not the kind of music I would pay money for owning, but good tunes in the late night or early morning in front of the computer

 

[theMusicMan]

Thi sis exactly what I find with online Ambient music, it is lovely to have playing in the background I find doesn't distract me from what I am working on.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Check out http://www.somafm.com

They have the Drone Zone with great ambient, and Groove Salad if you're looing for somehting more downtempo.

 

[MoShang]

I'm a big fan of http://www.lounge-radio.com

I've bought some music from artists I've heard there and haveen't been disappointed yet.

Around the time of my CD release, I sent a bio of myself to Thomas at L-R and he was kind enough to post it on their page.

Since then, I've been doing most of my "research" into the lounge-genre at L-R.

 

[Priest]

http://glowdot.com
another station that has been rocking my headset once in awhile. It's a community with 4 radio channels running.

 

[Frederik Magle]

Well, I guess the next big thing may be "podcasting". What's your take on that?

 

[Lotus80]

For dimwits like me - what is podcasting?

 

[corno]

Podcasting, a portmanteau of Apple's "iPod" and "broadcasting", is a method of publishing files to the Internet, often allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically by subscription, usually at no cost. It first became popular in late 2004, used largely for audio files.

Podcasting is distinct from other types of audio content delivery because many people use a subscription model which uses the RSS 2.0 file format. This technique has enabled independent producers to create self-published, syndicated "radio shows", and has given broadcast radio programs a new distribution channel. Some users subscribe to podcasts using "podcatching" software (also called "aggregator" software), which periodically checks for and downloads new content. It can then sync the content to the user's portable music player. Podcasting does not require an iPod or iTunes; any digital audio player or computer with the appropriate software can play podcasts. The same technique can deliver video files, and by 2005 some aggregators could play video as well as audio.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting (there's more on the site if interested).

 

[jason]

I listen to Internet radio. I listen to some various channels available through Shoutcast, from classical, to metal, to jazz. When I do tune in, I leave it going all day and just turn it down when I'm meeting with someone or on the phone. This began about 3 years ago when I hired someone who introduced it to me.

 

[Alex Tiuniaev]

I really like live365.com. My record company has their own station there, by the way. It's a new age/ambient/downtempo radio: http://www.live365.com/stations/321866

 

[sashdudelly]

yesss... live365 for the win.

 

[AM:PM]

I rarely listen to internet based radio, though I do occassionally tune to Live365 R&B Oldies stations and occassionally the smooth jazz stations. I think the kind of radiostation that would appeal to me most could be with the option making a personalised playlist.

 

[Jette]

I don`t listen to internet radio, actually the only time I listen to radio is in my car, if I`ll forgotten my cd`s (I need music when I`m driving

). So I don`t know much about it.

Jette

 

[rojo]

Yup, I listen to internet radio also. Not all the time, but fairly frequently, when I`m online. But not at the moment.

 

[Lotus80]

Only very occasionally do I use it. I prefer to put on a cd on the stereo, but it might also be because of my speakers on my laptop are not exactly top of the line

 

[Christine Callisen]

I listen to internet radio, when Im writhing an essay om my computer. Unfortunetly it´s always the same chanal.... So If any of you have a favorite chanal(a good one), I would like to hear about it!

Christine

 

[virginiaprograsser]

I DO Internet Radio! Thanks for asking about it.

Here's some info on my show. In a world where the word 'unique' is overused, there truly is nothing else like the 4-Star Live365.com webcast "Newgrass, Prog & More!" on either internet or terrestrial radio anywhere.

Steve Sikes-Nova
'The Virginiaprograsser'

ABOUT THE TOTALLY INDEPENDENT, GENRE-BUSTING, 4-STAR + WEBCAST "NEWGRASS, PROG & MORE!" ON LIVE365.COM INTERNET RADIO!:

- Webcast in 32kbps (Stereo) for BOTH DIAL-UP and HI-SPEED connections!

“…and our thanks go to Steve Sikes-Nova, 'The Virginiaprograsser', for his continuing support of great music. Steve broadcasts some truly wonderful material, much of which you will not hear on terrestrial radio. Deep catalog cuts by artists who are the best in their field...it's broadcasters like Steve who help to spread the word about many artists who may otherwise never get the chance to be heard outside of concert halls and showcase clubs."

quote from Echomusic on behalf of John Cowan (of the John Cowan Band - former lead singer of The New Grass Revival):
1101 17th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Our friend Steve Sikes-Nova is doing a great job running this music forum and we will be posting regular Syn up-dates...”

quote from Chris Squire and Steve Nardelli: The SYN
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/14Hour/
- endorsed by Chris Squire and Steve Nardelli of YES & THE SYN!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where do spay/neuter, pet adoption, kind stewardship of companion animals, and the music of The New Grass Revival, The Strawbs, Neil Young, Yes, Grandaddy, John Hartford, Mercury Rev, Nick Drake, Patti Smith, The Grateful Dead, Tom Waits, The Yonder Mountain String Band, and other great progressive sounds of bluegrass, rock, jazz, indie, and alt country all come together in one place?:

http://www.live365.com/stations/virginiaprograsser

I have, since 2004, been running companion animal spay-neuter and adoption public service announcements (PSAs) courtesy of both Pets911.com and Grammy Award-winning/3-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Lynn Morris of The Lynn Morris Band in my various playlists.

Over 1,100 music fans worldwide have set my truly unique webcast - "Newgrass, Prog & More!" - "ANIMAL-FRIENDLY RADIO FROM WAY OUTSIDE THE LITTERBOX!" as a preset on Live365.com internet radio. Listenership is currently between 900-1100 streaming hours per month and growing daily!

Our FLAGSHIP SPECIALTY SHOW is ‘Newgrass Sunday’ - ALL DAY PROGRESSIVE BLUEGRASS every Sunday (and most of the day every Friday on 'Newgrass Grassplosion'). Again - that’s 24 hours of non-stop grass on Sundays and 13.5 hours on Fridays!!!!

Hear artists like The New Grass Revival, Candlewyck, Railroad Earth, The John Cowan Band, The Yonder Mountain String Band, Bela Fleck, The Sam Bush Band, Darrell Scott, Druha Trava (hot Czech Bluegrass!), Steel String Theory, Hot Rize, The Biscuit Burners, The Country Gentlemen, Slipstream, John Hartford, Jamie Hartford, The Gordon Stone Band,The Waybacks, Nothin’ Fancy, The Larry Keel Experience, Mike Marshall, and Darol Anger and the American Fiddle Ensemble + many more talented NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL and REGIONAL bands.

Check out the station's regular weekly schedule by clicking on or cutting/pasting the following link into your browser:

http://www.live365.com/stations/virginiaprograsser/schedule

- a growing list of INTERVIEWS with your favorite newgrass and progressive rock artists. Already interviewed, broadcast, and to be re-broadcast through the archives (check our weekly schedule!):

SAM BUSH (fiddle & mando master; Kentucky Music Hall of Fame induction pending Jan. 2006)

CHRIS SQUIRE (legendary bassist for progressive rock icons Yes) & STEPHEN NARDELLI (The Syn) – interviewed from London, England in March & May, 2005.

JOHN COWAN (‘The Voice of Newgrass’; former lead singer of the late, great New Grass Revival)

JESSE HARPER (of the young, talented newgrass band Old School Freight Train; signed to the great David Grisman's 'Acoustic Disc' Label).

DAVID HARVEY (producer/mandolinist of ‘Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues’ which includes "A" List musicians like Alison Krause, Sam Bush, Tim O'Brien and John Cowan.)

DARRELL SCOTT (Grammy Award-nominated songwriter/multi-instrumentalist)

CURTIS BURCH, “Dr. Dobro” (original member of New Grass Revival)

PAT FLYNN (award-winning guitarist and songwriter for the late, great New Grass Revival)

JAMIE HARTFORD (son of the late, great JOHN HARTFORD re: his new tribute CD 'Part of Your History: The Songs of John Hartford')

MARY ANN KENNEDY (twice Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter; Friend of the Animals - her two awesome CDs are must-haves: 'The Trail Less Traveled' and her soon-to-be released 'Hoofbeats, Heartbeats & Wings')

Pending Interviews:

MARTIN BARRE, lead guitarist of progressive rock legends JETHRO TULL (confirmed for October!)

THE YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND (confirmed for October!)

CHRIS SQUIRE & STEVE NARDELLI of THE SYN #3!!!!! (confirmed for November/December) I will talk with Chris & Steve for the third time. This interview will be in anticipation of the US release of the eagerly awaited new progressive rock classic ‘Syndestructible’!

Also hear in the "N,P&M!" weekly playlist:

- the BEST in indie and alternative folk music from bands like Lambchop, Grandaddy, Sparklehorse, Richard Thompson, Bruce Cockburn, Mercury Rev, m. ward, The Holy Modal Rounders + many more!!!

- classic rock/jambands like The Band, Jethro Tull, George Harrison, Neil Young, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Phish, The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic + many more!!!

- classic '70s-style folk/psych/progressive rock (from Yes, to early Pink Floyd, to Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, to the Strawbs, + many more!!!

This is truly groundbreaking, genre-busting radio!!!

Most sincerely,

Steve Sikes-Nova/'The Virginiaprograsser'
Webcasting from an 18th Century English Farmhouse/Cottage in rural Tidewater, Virginia, USA through the magic of the World Wide Web!

http://www.live365.com/stations/virginiaprograsser/
- this first link streams the radio show. Even those of you with dial-up that delivers at least 32kbps of actual service can listen successfully! Make sure, however, that you have the correct software to hear the show in plenty of time so that you don't miss part of the webcast while you are downloading software.

http://www.live365.com/stations/virginiaprograsser/schedule/
- this second link shows the station’s weekly schedule. Be on the lookout for new and archived 'Conversations From the Farmhouse' Monday evenings and for other new music shows/specials!