- Live365
Live365 is an
Internet radio network where members can create their own online radio station or listen to other Live365 broadcasters' online stations. As of October 2006, there are about 6,500 active stations, some of which play niche genres seldom heard on AM/FM radio. Most Live365 broadcasters are hobbyists and music aficionados, but several established small AM and FM stations also utilize Live365 to stream their audio over the Internet.Services
Listening services
Users can tune in to Live365 stations with various software
media players , as well as with hardware devices that can connect to the Live365 stations. Station lists within these players are typically grouped by genre. Users may also register with a valid e-mail address and download the Live365 Player software that provides additional features. Finally, Live365 offers a paid membership, called a "Preferred Membership", that allows listening to broadcasts commercial-free. If paid with a credit card, this membership is renewed automatically.TiVo subscribers with a TiVo Series2 DVR connected to their home network have access to Live365 as part of their home media center. A limited number of stations are provided for free but membership provides access to the full range of stations.Slim Devices ' Squeezebox network audio player can browse and play Live365 radio streams through theSqueezeNetwork .Internet broadcasting services
Users can create their own radio stations by purchasing a "Broadcaster" membership. Broadcast service membership packages vary in features and capability, allowing potential customers to select a package to better suit their needs. At the most basic level, Personal Broadcast services allow the broadcaster to create a playlist of
MP3 files that are streamed to listeners.Live365 provides software to upload MP3 files and schedule playlists to run at certain times.
Advanced broadcasters can also download software to broadcast "live" using a home computer, stable bandwidth connection, and a microphone or mixing board. Professional broadcaster memberships include royalty and licensing packages for
ASCAP , BMI andSESAC fees. Advanced users can also relay streams from external sources.History
Nanocosm Inc. was a technology startup founded by two roomates from the Princeton class of 1981, Alex Sanford and Steve Follmer, whose initial product was NanoHome, a 3D "Virtual Home" website featuring 3D homepages on the
World Wide Web . The first release of Live365 was built by a small skunkworks team of workers at Nanocosm; it had its beginnings in a hosted community radio project developed by Nanocosm employee Andy Volk in his free time usingShoutcast technology, modified by employee Brian Lomeland. Andy shared the idea with Nanocosm CTO Peter Rothman, and they developed the concept for a new large-scale hosted community radio service dubbed Live365, taking advantage of the newDMCA . Live365's explosive initial growth after launch in July 1999 quickly eclipsed NanoHome, which the company soon closed to focus on Live365.At launch, broadcasting and listening on Live365 was free of charge (premium pro services were added later release). Stations had a maximum listener cap of 365 simultaneous listeners and 365 megabytes of storage for music and audio. In September 2001, Live365 began charging for use of its service. More expensive plans allowed stations to have more simultaneous listeners and a greater amount of music file storage space. Members who joined before September 2001 could continue broadcasting with their original package for free — however all the stations that were paying members would be listed higher in the station directory, theoretically causing lower listener numbers. This model would later be replaced with one in which all members pay, but those who joined before September 2001 receive a discount.
In 2002, there were concerns regarding the future of Internet radio due to skyrocketing royalty rates imposed onto Internet radio stations from record companies. Live365 and its members fought strongly against this by airing a series of
public service announcements on its stations outlining the objectives to the listeners. At that time, it was agreed that Internet-only broadcasters and terrestrial radio stations streaming on the Internet would have to pay 70 cents per song, per 1,000 listeners.cite news | url = http://money.cnn.com/2002/06/21/technology/net_radio/index.htm | title = Net radio ruling fails to satisfy | work = CNN Money | publisher = CNN.com | date =June 21 ,2002 | accessdate = 2007-01-30]In 2007, it was feared royalty rate increases would price smaller broadcasters out of Live365 due to pending action at the House Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee.cite news | url = http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2007/03/72879 | title = Royalty Hike Panics Webcasters | work = Wired | publisher = Wired.com | date =
March 06 ,2007 | accessdate = 2008-05-23] These fears never materialized. In 2008, Live365 upgraded most of its broadcasters' packages free of charge.Personnel
* Mark Lam — CEO
References
External links
* [http://www.live365.com/ Live365 home page]
* [http://www.wrajradio.com/photogallery/thumbnails.php?album=2 2004 Community Summit Pictures on wrajradio.com]
* [http://www.wrajradio.com/photogallery/thumbnails.php?album=16&page=2 2005 Community Summit Pictures on wrajradio.com]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
