online radio

Before I begin, I am NOT setting up a rival station. Just interested, that's all...

To have a station running 24 / 7, do you have to leave your computer on permanently? Is this healthy for it if you do? What if the computer "dies", does the station just go silent? Or does online radio work in a different way?

So many questions! Here's some more...

If one pays for the service, so as not to get any adverts (it doesn't bother me, as it happens), then what happens in the gaps where the adverts would be? Dead air? Do you speak in this time, like a "personality" DJ would?

How? What? Where? Which? Why?

Lots of good questions! I too had all of them and more before I started. Ultimately, a lot of it depends on how you are broadcasting.

One of the major things you didn't ask which a lot of people aren't even aware of are all the royalty payments they now demand from broadcasters, even we very small time 'hobbyists' who make not one penny whatsoever from our stations.

Let's see.... first off, you need to figure what methods you will use to broadcast. Personally, in many ways I prefer Shoutcast because once you get all things set up, on the front end you have a lot more freedoms. Thing is, it's complicated (I haven't figured it out myself) and on the back end you have to do all of your own accounting and paying regarding royalties. If you don't bother, the 'radio police' (usually the RIAA), for lack of a better term, will find out and get you for back payments, current and shut you down if they want. Even without the royalty payments, it's pretty damned expensive.

Air Atlantic Underground Radio, as you know, uses Live365 which, for me, works much, much better for my purposes. They offer different sorts of packages which basically involve how much server space you get and for how long. One of the biggest things for us is that they take care of all of the royalty accounting and payouts. Big, big load off of our backs.

Well, the professional broadcasters have to do more reporting but we little guys aren't required to. With that said, for personal ethical reasons, I do as much as I possibly can regarding reporting what I'm airing. That all comes under the eCommerce data that you really don't see. For each upload, I go in and do the best I can with linking up an album cover and filling out other details that denote what that track is, who it's by and which label. Also, I try to find some place where that track can be purchased, especially if it isn’t via Amazon who has a good working relationship with Live365. Then I link it up. Obviously, some can’t be, especially for unreleased tracks and promos. If you click on the ‘Buy’ button, it will take you to the place of purchase. Sometimes other details are included depending on the track and info that's available to me.

The real bite about all that is that in order for the bands/labels (whomever holds the rights) to get paid, they must pay a big fee to join the CRB (Copyright Royalty Board - I think that's what CRB stands for). Essentially, it’s not even cost effective for any indie to join for the little bit they would receive from the few niches out there who will even play their music. We are required to pay it for every single track regardless of whether or not the band has joined or collects from the CRB. Plus, if something doesn't match just right or the band doesn't realize they are due this money, guess what happens to that money. The CRB keeps every fucking penny!!! See, it's really a big mobster protectionist racket sanctioned by the government who use the artists to make their profits yet they work more for the major labels than any artist. I'm sure a lot of the bigger bands and labels get their due but the indies aren't getting a penny. This is one of the major reasons that we broadcasters, especially we little ones who aren't making one red cent though the CRB claims we are making profits off of these artists, absolutely hate the CRB and the RIAA. It's nothing but racketeering!

Now, with Live365, you have 2 ways of broadcasting; Basic or Live. I use Basic. Live will usually require you to keep your computer on unless you use some sort of relay service but Basic is all straight from Live365's servers. Live allows you to just open up a broadcasting portal where you control any kind of sound you want coming out whether it be music, talk, IDs, whatever. Some use a whole board with a mic and air files and whatever from their computers. You can set up a folder with a playlist and have all set, leave for work, come back and take it from there. Live broadcasts don't have those annoying commercials for the standard listener but there are too many other issues I don't feel comfortable to have to deal with. My newer computer is much, much more reliable but I can't trust my spotty internet connection. Knowing Comcrap, as soon as I walk out the door, my connection would go down and there would be nothing but dead air until I finally get back home and reset things. Btw, only broadcasters from the US are allowed to use the Live broadcast as opposed to Basic. Has something to do with those damned royalty payments, accounting, and different laws or something.

From what I’m aware of, all of us in the top levels of the Deampop category use the Basic mode. We get a certain amount of space to upload files which have specific technical requirements that I won't bore you with now. More or less, they are standard MP3. We also need to make sure the tags are correct so you can read the stream of what's airing. The server allows us to create playlists to use them as we wish. There are regulations with that too we must follow like not allowing anymore than so many tracks by a single artist within so much time or no more than so many tracks from one specific release. That's why you won't hear entire albums from beginning to end. Real bitch for the Classical broadcasters when the movements are broken down to individual files! Supposedly, they are going to relax those rules but that has yet to happen. Fortunately, when we save our playlists, it's designed to give us warnings when we don't fit within the DRMC rules. Believe me, there's a lot of crap you don't see or hear that we have to deal with but, all in all, it's really not that hard at all. At least, not with Live365.

As you can see on the Live365 Air Atlantic Underground Radio Broadcast Schedule page, I have taken the extra step to create several specialty shows. From what I can tell, I’m the only one who airs a lot of Shoegaze and Dream who does that. There may be some who air Psychedelic which is more popular in comparison. My biggest playlist is my default stream for the station. That's set on shuffle while all of the other playlists are set to play from beginning to whenever the stop time is. The schedule flips on certain playlists as I program them between start times to end time. It's all based on time so I don't always know what the last song will be though I've developed a pretty good sense of that. After any of these lists air, I go in and randomize them and even then move songs up and down the list. Also, add, remove songs from the list or whatever might be needed. The first time I ever aired a specialty show, I had it set on shuffle. Learned that was not a good way to go because one of the songs in the front of the show ended up repeating towards the end.

VIP listeners don't have to put up with those God awful annoying commercials. I'll be the first to admit how obnoxious they are. Sometimes I swear they pick the worst of all to coerce listeners to go VIP. It sure worked on me! The standard listeners have to click on that stupid 'are you still listening' button every 25 minutes or so. Forget how long. The VIPs will have to click them too but they get 8 hours of solid listening without having to bother with that. Of course, if you stop the station, say 3 hours in, and then restart again, you will reset your timer. Good to know if you like to sleep and listen.

Not pushing but if you are interested in becoming a VIP, click on the button below.



We can use IDs but I've chosen not to. First I need to explain that I am absolutely adamant about making sure that every track is identified. This goes back to childhood with me as I use to go crazy when DJs didn't bother to identify what was playing. Still drives me totally up a wall when something is missed. With Live365's visual stream taking care of that, I don't need the audio one. Actually, I was going to include a very few for specific things but, so far, have opted not solely because the standard listeners already have to put up with so damned many of them as it is.

Regarding the timing and how it's affected by the ads, when the default shuffled stream is airing, the VIPs hear totally different aired lists than that of the standards. They are tracks from the same list but different assortments are streamed out. For lists that are not on shuffle, they just end at different places. The VIPs just get more music all in all.

Phew! Think I got most of it.

I've been out all night drinking with some friends, and if you expect me to read all that (and understand it!) at this time of night, being this drunk, then you are very much mistaken!!

Will read it properly on Sunday, when I next have a "time portal"; am v. busy this weekend!

Did notice, however, how much better your spelling has become since I questioned it. Have you installed a "spell-checker" in your own forum, as you are aware of your touch-typing limitations?!

Anyway, thanks for your detailed reply. It wasn't totally necessary, but I appreciate the effort that went into it...

Gutted you don't speak on the VIP streaming; not that I would understand a word you were saying, if you speak anything like they do on The Wire. I'm sure that it's English, but it ain't the English I understand!!!

(P.S. this post should have been in the "Tools Of The Trade" sub-section, now I come to notice it. But if you don't tell, Jag, then I certainly won't. )

sotired wrote:I've been out all night drinking with some friends, and if you expect me to read all that (and understand it!) at this time of night, being this drunk, then you are very much mistaken!!

So what was your drink of choice? Hope that your time of enjoyment far out-weighed your time of recovery.

sotired wrote:Did notice, however, how much better your spelling has become since I questioned it.

Be careful not to slip on all of that red ink dripping out of your ass on your way out the door!
(Probably no one else will understand this little inside joke.)

sotired wrote:Have you installed a "spell-checker" in your own forum, as you are aware of your touch-typing limitations?!

No, but I was looking for one.

sotired wrote:Anyway, thanks for your detailed reply. It wasn't totally necessary, but I appreciate the effort that went into it...

This makes for a nice piece of information regarding what goes on behind the scenes. A lot of stuff that people haven't a clue about and some of them might be interested. There is a lot more going on but this gives you a little taste of some of the things involved.

sotired wrote:Gutted you don't speak on the VIP streaming; not that I would understand a word you were saying, if you speak anything like they do on The Wire. I'm sure that it's English, but it ain't the English I understand!!!

The Trans-Atlantic Underground Intro - DJ Jaguar
You can get some idea here. (Btw, I pretty much ignore this site. Can barely keep up with my MySpace Air Atlantic Underground profile! Don't even sign into my other MySpace accounts anymore. People probably hate me because they think I'm ignoring them. Just not enough time in the day.)

You will hear that I don't sound anything like they do on The Wire. Well, maybe some of those outside of the 'hood. Don't have any problems understanding them though. That's from working for so many years deep in the heart of Wire territory. One of my schools was actually right on the corner of where the similiar tv show The Corner was filmed. Hated it!.... and survived to tell the stories.

sotired wrote:(P.S. this post should have been in the "Tools Of The Trade" sub-section, now I come to notice it. But if you don't tell, Jag, then I certainly won't. )

Don't worry, I'm not as anal as you.

The cheek I get from single-handedly trying to boost your profile! Honestly!!

And I'm not even asking for any payment for my services.

Don't worry, a check will be in the mail once I make my first penny off the station.