Have you ever heard your voice heard and become a Disc Player? It’s not as difficult as you might think when it comes to internet radio. Internet radio gives the average Joe the opportunity to become part of a radio station even if they can’t make it to a local station for whatever reason. Internet radio is an ever-growing and ever-changing world, and if anyone wants to be a DJ, then they have the opportunity. It will only take part of your job to get your voice heard on the internet airwaves. The first thing you need to know to become a part of an internet radio station is to find the station you want to be a part of. If you can’t find what suits you, your voice won’t be heard.
Most people who study Internet Radio already know where to find a radio station, but the resources are not. One of those sources would be Shoutcast (http://www.shoutcast.com) which puts some stations through the Shoutcast radio server. Live 365 (http://www.live365.com) also lists several stations that you can choose from and yet one more site like Audio Realm, (http://www.audiorealm.com) that will give you even more stations to choose from. The only problem is that many of the stations listed on these sites are independent radio stations that don’t care about hiring new people to broadcast. You can always do a Google search for internet radio and see what comes up there. You ask around, so that they know well who are friends. If you frequent IRC (Internet Relay Chat), you will be able to find a station running from the channel on the server’s server.
One of the biggest parts of becoming an internet DJ is making sure you have a connection that will allow you to have a stable connection to the host stream so that the show can be streamed to the audience. Each station will tell you what minimum upload speed you should set for their streams and you will be responsible for making sure you have enough bandwidth available for your streams. You will probably be required to do an Internet speed test (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/) so that you would have available. If not, you need to respond to your Internet connection. Each station will vary, some will need a bit more than a 56k connection, others need 256kbps or higher. That will be something you need to consider when finding your station. You will have to decide whether you want to upgrade the stream.
Once you find a station that interests you, you need to have a variety of music to play. If they are a single genre station, you should have enough variety in that genre to support your show and stay within their rules, as well as the rules set by ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and SoundExchange. If you find a mixed genre, this expands the collection you can have, yet you can still make sure your show stays within the station’s rules and the rules of ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and SoundExchange. Most stations model their rules around the rules of ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and SoundExchange, but some don’t, and allow DJs to do whatever they want. In these cases, it is up to you to comply or choose not to comply with ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and SoundExchange’s rotation policy. The only exception to this is the part of the station that is not within the United States. If you become part of a foreign station, you’ll need to find out what rules the company has for publishing on the Internet.
If you have enough music to support the show, the station you want to have on the show, the next thing you need to do is stream the program to the station. There are several options available for this. Some free, some not. Some stations require a specific account, while others allow individuals to choose which publishing method they wish to use. The only requirement in the program selections are the format of the transliteration station. You should be able to find the transmissions from the station in MP3, AAC, OGG, or even WMA formats. Formatting mode will limit your choices. For example, a station broadcast in WMA format has to be able to encode to that format, your music files must be in that format as well. This limits your options for radio programming. If the station is released in MP3 format, you have other options, similarly with AAC and OGG. It all depends on the station you choose to join.
If we are looking to join a station that broadcasts in WMA format, then by using a player that formats WMA you will easily recognize it, without adding a lot of plug-ins, such as native Windows Media Player SAM Broadcaster You can opt to use Spacial Audio’s (http://www.spacialaudio.com) SAM Broadcaster, which is a more complex program, but allows the user to do more with their show. In some cases, Winamp (http://www.winamp.com) is also a viable choice for a WMA-based drive, but it doesn’t offer as much flexibility as some other programs. For an mp3-based station, Winamp with an additional plug-in encoder is one of the top options, along with SAM Broadcaster. Other viable options are software such as Jet Audio (http://www.cowonamerica.com) or other software provided by stations. Much like mp3 and WMA, AAC and OGG formats stations can use both Winamp and SAM Broadcaster. The SAM Broadcaster encoder is part of the base for the software installation, where Winampus will require the installation of another plug-in. Another consideration when choosing your software is whether you will be connecting to a single stream or multiple streams. Some encoders allow connection to a single stream, while others will allow multiple streams to output simultaneously.
Once you have your software and music assembled, you can access the station of your choice and ask them. What is the hiring plan? Maybe it’s as simple as them telling you they’re going to hire you, or maybe it’s as complicated as going through a test show and being hired by an administrator if you think you’re a good fit for the position. Once you’ve gone through the hiring process, you’re well on your way to getting your voice heard. I wish you the best of luck on your Internet Radio journey.
