David Byme Is -
on the po , radio, -
represents -
Iost-fm o o 6) eq
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Usrng an Audioscrotitilt-r Pltrgrn
ion stations
Jack Mottram delves into the world of online radio.
etween legal downloads. illegal file sharing. the current vogtre for pod
casting and the chaotic pile of demo tapes that is MySpace. it‘s easy
to forget the web‘s lake on the mttsic distribution method that dates back to the l‘)th Century: radio. Nothing beats a running stream of intrsic corralled by a disc jockey. real or virtttal. for finding rtew music.
Web radio stations fall. broadly speaking. into three categories: stations that exist in the ether as well as online. or follow a traditional radio station model; stations that serve a niche attdience. and stations that embrace new technologies. reinventing radio as we know it.
The virtual home of the lirst group. which includes everything from the BB("s streams to tiny local stations broadcasting from the Australian outback. is PublicRaditilimcom. This site allows users to set their time /.one. then dive into the schedtrles for hundreds of public radio stations. tuning in to whatever takes their fancy. Arguably. this is the web's great contribution to the world of radio — freeing stations from their ties to the FM transmitter —- turning the local global. Take the eclectic WI‘MLT (wfmu.org). which has been broadcasting to a New Jersey audience since l958. but now has a reasonable claim to being the web‘s favourite station. with a network of associated weblogs that help maintain the station‘s listener-funded status.
When it comes to the second sort. the radio web matches its text and image counterparts. offering everything you could imagine. and much that you‘d rather not. The most obscure forms have stations devoted to them. so whether you‘re into the ctxl-sophisticated synths of ltalo Disco (italonul. the spit and sawdust sound of hillbilly and bluegrass (wdvxcom) or the uncomplicated charms of happy hardcore (hcore.fm). there‘s a station broadcasting your favourite sub-genre. 2-1 hours a day.
And fonvard-thinking artists are using radio to connect with their fans. the prime example being David Byme (davidbyrtiecom/raditil who broadcasts a show each month. revealing the inspirations behind his own recordings.
Lastly. l.ast.fm is perhaps the only true web radio station. Last.fm enables users to fashion their own personal station based on their past listening habits. Better yet. the site makes recomrnendations. and lets everyone tag their music. thus transforming all that information into streaming microstations. This means you cart listen only to tunes with certain tags. or just sit back and let Last.fm rtistle tip a playlist attuned to your tastes. This is radio remixed: replacing the DJ with a hive mind of music fans. And. while the success of WFML’ and its ilk suggest that the demise of traditional disc jockey-led station is far from imminent. Last.fm might just be the future of radio. by the purple for the people.
PLAY
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