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Internet radio: Difference between revisions

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See also: added link to web section in US list of college stations
 
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[[File:Selbstfahrerstudio-modern.jpg|thumb|An Internet radio studio]]
 
'''OnlineInternet radio''', (also known as '''webOnline radio''', '''netweb radio''', '''streamingnet radio''', '''e-streaming radio''', '''IP e-radio''', and '''InternetIP radio'''), is a [[digital audio]] service transmitted via the [[Internet]]. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as [[webcasting]] since it is not transmitted broadly through wireless means. It can either be used as a stand-alone device running through the Internet, or as a software running through a single computer.<ref>{{Cite patent|title=Method and system for implementing an internet radio device for receiving and/or transmitting media information|pubdate=June 19, 2001|url=http://www.google.com/patents/US6249810|inventor-last=Kiraly|inventor-first=Jozsef|country=US|number=6249810}}</ref>
 
Internet radio is generally used to communicate and easily spread messages through the form of talk. It is distributed through a wireless communication network connected to a switch packet network (the internet) via a disclosed source.<ref>{{Cite patent|title=Internet radio communication system|pubdate=July 9, 2002|url=http://www.google.com/patents/US6418138|inventor-last=Cerf|inventor2-last=Huddle|inventor-first=Vinton|inventor2-first=Scott|country=US|number=6418138}}</ref>
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==Internet radio technology==
Internet radio services are usually accessible from anywhere in the world with a suitable internet connection available; one could, for example, listen to an Australian station from Europe and America. This has made internet radio particularly suited to and popular among [[expatriate]] listeners.[[<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Caitlin |title=Listen to the Globe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/31/at-home/global-radio-stations.html] |website=The New York Times |access-date=31 July 2024}}</ref> Nevertheless, some major networks like [[TuneIn Radio]], [[Audacy]], [[Pandora Radio]], [[iHeartRadio]] and [[Citadel Broadcasting]] (except for news/talk and sports stations) in the United States, and [[Chrysalis Group|Chrysalis]] in the United Kingdom, restrict listening to in-country due to music licensing and advertising issues.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}
 
Internet radio is also suited to listeners with special interests, allowing users to pick from a multitude of different stations and genres less commonly represented on traditional radio.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sanghoon|first=Jun|date=Spring 2013|title=SmartRadio: Cloning Internet Radio Broadcasting Stations|journal=International Information Institute (Tokyo). Information|volume=16|pages=2701–2709|via=School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University}}</ref>
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===Listening===
[[File:A Kerbango.jpg|thumbnail|An early [[Kerbango]] [[Internet radio receiver]]]]
Internet radio is typically listened to on a standard home [[personal computer|PC]] or similar device, through an embedded player program located on the respective station's website or on a [[smartphone]] app. In recent years, dedicated devices that resemble and offer the listener a similar experience to a traditional [[radio receiver]] have arrived on the market.<ref>{{citationCite web |last=McKerrell |first=Kashfia KabirContributions from Harry |last2=Walker |first2=Ainsley |last3=updated |first3=Ruben Circelli last needed|date=December2022-10-05 2013|title=Best internet radios 2023: modern radios with streaming smarts |url=https://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/best-internet-radios |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=whathifi |language=en}}</ref>
 
===Streaming===
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As Internet-radio listening rose among the 13-to-35 age group, listening to AM/FM radio, which now accounts for 24 percent of music-listening time, declined 2 percentage points. In the 36-and-older age group, by contrast, Internet radio accounted for just 13 percent of music listening, while AM/FM radio dominated listening methods with a 41 percent share.<ref name="npd.com"/>
 
As of 20172014, 47% of all Americans ages 12 and older—an estimated 124 million people—said they have listened to online radio in the last month, while 36% (94 million people) have listened in the last week. These figures are up from 45% and 33%, respectively, in 2013. The average amount of time spent listening increased from 11 hours, 56 minutes per week in 2013 to 13 hours 19 minutes in 2014. As might be expected, usage numbers are much higher for teens and younger adults, with 75% of Americans ages 12–24 listening to online radio in the last month, compared to 50% of Americans ages 25–54 and 21% of Americans 55+. The weekly figures for the same age groups were 64%, 37% and 13%, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/220860/half-of-us-listeners-tune-into-online-radio.html|title=Half Of U.S. Listeners Tune Into Online Radio|website=www.mediapost.com|access-date=October 5, 2017}}</ref> In 2015, it was recorded that 53% of Americans, or 143 million people, ages 12 and up currently listen to internet radio.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.edisonresearch.com/monthly-online-radio-listeners-exceed-half-the-population-12/|title=Monthly Online Radio Listeners Now Exceed Half The Population 12+ – Edison Research|date=2015-02-26|work=Edison Research|access-date=2017-10-28|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
== Broadcasting freedoms ==
Some stations, such as [[Primordial Radio]], use Internet radio as a platform as opposed to other means such as [[FM broadcasting|FM]] or [[Digital audio broadcasting|DAB]], as it gives greater freedom to broadcast as they see fit, without being subject to regulatory bodies such as [[Ofcom]] in the UK. For example, Ofcom has very strict rules about presenters endorsing products and product placement;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/35876/adv_sponsorship_code.pdf|title=Radio Sponsorship Rules|website=www.ofcom.org.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051358/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/35876/adv_sponsorship_code.pdf|archive-date=22 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> being an Internet radio station they are free of this constraint. One of the large controversies regarding internet radio revolved around a dispute between regulators over the amount of royalties Internet radio stations had to pay out. The Copyright Royalty Board initially wanted internet radio stations to pay out 100% royalties to the musicians whose songs were played compared to the 15% that satellite radio stations had to pay. This disagreement was temporarily postponed when the webmaster act of 2008 and 2009 was passed.<ref [55[name="VirginiaLawRoyaltyStandard">{{Cite journal |last=Stockment |first=Andrew |date=2009 |title=Internet Radio: The Case for a Technology Neutral Royalty Standard |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27759978]] |journal=Virginia Law Review |volume=95 |issue=8 |pages=2129–2179 |jstor=27759978 |issn=0042-6601}}</ref>
 
==History==
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In 1995, Scott Bourne founded NetRadio.com as the world's first Internet-only radio network. NetRadio.com was a pioneer in Internet radio. It was the first Internet-only network to be licensed by ASCAP. NetRadio eventually went on to an IPO in October 1999. Most of the current Internet radio providers followed the path that NetRadio.com carved out in digital media.
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Net.radio,%2C+AudioNet+&%26+ASCAP+sign+licensing+agreement.-a017769926|title=Net.radio, AudioNet & ASCAP sign licensing agreement. – Free Online Library|website=www.thefreelibrary.com|access-date=October 5, 2017|archive-date=October 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006111847/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Net.radio%2C+AudioNet+%26+ASCAP+sign+licensing+agreement.-a017769926|url-status=dead}}</ref> In mid December 1995, Vancouver-based [[AM broadcasting|AM]] radio station [[CKNW]] became the first commercial radio station in Canada to stream 24/7 over the internet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First live RealAudio streaming of commercial radio in Canada – INSINC |url=https://insinc.com/experimenting-with-content/1995-dec-15/ |access-date=2022-05-25 |language=en-CA}}</ref> In March 1996, Virgin Radio – London became the first European radio station to broadcast its full program live on the Internet.<ref>{{cite web
| title = A brief history of Virgin Radio
| author = Adam Bowie
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| access-date = July 26, 2016}}</ref> On May 1, 1997, [[Radio306.com]] (now [[Pure Rock Radio]]) launched in Saskatoon, Canada. The internet-only station [[purerockradio.net]] celebrated 20 years on air in 2017 as the longest-running Canadian internet station.
 
Internet radio also provided new opportunities to mix music with advocacy messages. In February 1999, Zero24-7 Web Radio was launched.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/02/09/power-to-the-pirates/339938d0-1a0e-44c3-b030-efb9c2d5b1b9/|title=Power to the pirates|date=9 February 1999|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> It was the first internetInternet radio station to be crowdsourced and programmed by professional broadcasters and crowdfunded by a unique partnership of people, charities and businesses. Out of Washington DC, the station mixed progressive music and green messages.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/04/14/earthday.tv.enn/index.html|title=TV, radio, Internet sing same Earth Day theme|date=14 April 2000|newspaper=[[CNN]]}}</ref> It was created by BBC and WHFS veteran [[Mark Daley]].
 
Internet radio attracted significant media and investor attention in the late 1990s. 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. The offering price was US$18 and the company's shares opened at US$68 on the first day of trading.<ref name="Broadcast.comInNYTimes">{{cite news
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}}</ref> for US$5.7 billion.<ref name="Doc Searls" />
 
With the advent of streaming RealAudio over HTTP, streaming became more accessible to a number of radio shows. One such show, ''[[Techedge Radio|TechEdge Radio]]'' in 1997, was broadcast in three formats – live on the radio, live from a RealAudio server and streamed from the web over HTTP. In 1998, the longest running internet radio show,<ref name="The Vinyl Lounge">{{cite web
| url = http://www.screensound.gov.au/
| publisher = National Film & Sound Archive
| date = September 20, 2010
| author = National Film & Sound Archive
| title = National Film & Sound Archive
| access-date = February 27, 2011
| archive-date = November 25, 2010
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101125050455/http://www.screensound.gov.au/
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> ''The Vinyl Lounge'', began netcasting from Sydney, Australia, from Australia's first Internet radio station, NetFM (www.netfm.net). In 1999, Australian telco "Telstra" launched The Basement Internet Radio Station but it was later shut down in 2003 as it was not a viable business for the company.
 
From 2000 onwards, most Internet radio stations increased their stream quality as bandwidth became more economical. Today{{when|date=May 2019}}, most stations stream between 64&nbsp;kbit/s and 128&nbsp;kbit/s providing near CD quality audio.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}} As of 2017 the [[mobile app]] [[Radio Garden]], a research project of the [[Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision]], was streaming approximately 8,000 radio stations to a global audience.<ref name="Radio Garden">{{Cite web |url=http://www.creativeapplications.net/js/radio-garden-radio-in-the-age-of-globalisation-and-digitisation/ |title=Radio Garden – Radio in the age of globalisation and digitisation |last=Visnjic |first=Filip |date=2017-07-09 |website=Creative Applications Network}}</ref>
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Many of these critics organized SaveNetRadio.org, "a coalition of listeners, artists, labels and webcasters"<ref name="Collegian">{{cite web| url=http://media.www.dailycollegian.com/media/storage/paper874/news/2007/04/26/News/Stagnant.Royalty.Rates.May.Bring.End.To.Internet.Radio-2881008.shtml| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209025141/http://media.www.dailycollegian.com/media/storage/paper874/news/2007/04/26/News/Stagnant.Royalty.Rates.May.Bring.End.To.Internet.Radio-2881008.shtml | title=Stagnant royalty rates may bring end to Internet radio| publisher=[[The Daily Collegian]]| author= Carlos Militante| work= Spartan Daily (San Jose State U.)| date=April 26, 2007| archive-date=February 9, 2008| access-date=March 14, 2010 }}</ref> that opposed the proposed royalty rates. 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. On that day, they shut off their audio streams or streamed ambient sound, sometimes interspersed with brief [[public service announcement]]s voiced, written and produced by popular voiceover artist Dave Solomon.<ref>[http://www.radioprofile.com/savenetradio/ Official SaveNetRadio PSAs & Day Of Silence Network Audio]. ''[[The Toronto Star]]''.</ref> Notable participants included [[Rhapsody (online music service)|Rhapsody]], [[Live365]], [[MTV]], [[Pandora (music service)|Pandora]], [[Digitally Imported]] and [[SHOUTcast]].
<ref name="VirginiaLawRoyaltyStandard" />
<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stockment |first=Andrew |date=2009 |title=Internet Radio: The Case for a Technology Neutral Royalty Standard |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27759978 |journal=Virginia Law Review |volume=95 |issue=8 |pages=2129–2179 |issn=0042-6601}}</ref>
 
 
Some broadcasters did not participate, such as [[Last.fm]], which had just been purchased for US$280 million by [[CBS Music Group]].<ref>Duncan Riley (May 30, 2007). [https://techcrunch.com/2007/05/30/cbs-acquires-lastfm-for-280m/ CBS Acquires Europe’s Last.FM for $280 million] [[Techcrunch]]. Retrieved March 14, 2010.</ref> According to a Last.fm employee, they were unable to participate because participation "may compromise ongoing license negotiations."<ref>Russ Garrett (June 25, 2007). [http://www.last.fm/forum/23/_/296674/2#f4141933 Post by Russ on Last.fm Forum - Day of Silence, June 25, 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401114612/http://www.last.fm/forum/23/_/296674/2#f4141933 |date=April 1, 2015 }}. Retrieved June 24, 2012.</ref>
 
[[SoundExchange]], representing supporters of the increase in royalty rates, pointed out that the rates were flat from 1998 through 2005 (see above), without being increased to reflect cost-of-living increases. They also declared that if Internet radio is to build businesses from the product of recordings, the performers and owners of those recordings should receive fair compensation.
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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]]. 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Webcasters and SoundExchange Shake Hands | work=BusinessWeek.com | author=Olga Kharif | date = August 23, 2007 | access-date=August 24, 2007 | url=http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2007/08/web_radio_and_m.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016073600/http://businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2007/08/web_radio_and_m.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 16, 2007 }}</ref> However, DiMA and SoundExchange continue to negotiate over the per song, per listener fees.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}
 
SoundExchange has also offered alternative rates and terms to certain eligible small webcasters, that allow them to calculate their royalties as a percentage of their revenue or expenses, instead of at a per performance rate.<ref>{{cite web | title=SoundExchange Offers Discounted Music Rates To Small Webcasters | work=DigitalMediaWire.com | author=Mark Hefflinger | date=August 22, 2007 | access-date=August 24, 2007 | url=http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2007/08/22/soundexchange-offers-discounted-music-royalties-to-small-webcasters | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092602/http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2007/08/22/soundexchange-offers-discounted-music-royalties-to-small-webcasters | archive-date=September 29, 2007 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> To be eligible, a webcaster had to have revenues of less than US$1.25 million a year and stream less than 5 million "listener hours" a month (or an average of 6830 concurrent listeners).<ref>Rusty Hodge, (August 1, 2007) [http://somafm.com/blogs/rusty/2007_08_01_archive.html SoundExchange extends (not very good) offer to small webcasters]. [[SomaFM]]. Retrieved March 14, 2010.</ref> These restrictions would disqualify independent webcasters like [[AccuRadio]], [[Digitally Imported]], Club977 and others from participating in the offer, and therefore many small commercial webcasters continue to negotiate a settlement with SoundExchange.<ref>David Oxenford (September 19, 2007) [http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/archives/internet-radio-soundexchange-announces-24-agreements-but-not-one-a-settlement-with-small-webcasters.html SoundExchange Announces 24 Agreements - But Not One a Settlement With Small Webcasters] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630094044/http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/archives/internet-radio-soundexchange-announces-24-agreements-but-not-one-a-settlement-with-small-webcasters.html |date=June 30, 2008 }}. Broadcast Law Blog.</ref>
 
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. "Traditional radio, by contrast, pays no such fee. 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 "doomed" for the same reasons.<ref>Peter Whoriskey (August 16, 2008) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081503367.html Giant Of Internet Nears Its 'Last Stand']. ''[[The Washington Post]]''. Retrieved March 14, 2010.</ref>
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======================={{No more links}}=============================-->
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Comparison of streaming media systemssoftware]]
*[[Electronic E-commerce]]
*[[Internet radio audience measurement]]
*[[TuneIn Radio]]
* [[Internet radio device]]
*[[Internet radio licensing]]
*[[Internet talk radio]]
*[[List of Internet radio stations]]
*[[List of campus radio stations]]
*[[List of college radio stations in the United States#Web-based (internet-only stations|List of college web-only stations in the U.S.]]
*[[List of streaming media systems]]
*[[Mbone]], experimental "multicast backbone"