Not surprisingly, as the new media barons ponder how to make Internet radio profitable, the question, "to be or not to be commercial-free" looms large. At Plug.In, industry players were split on the issue of whether to embed ads into streamed content; some felt that other revenue streams could be exploited, others said that since banner advertising and record sales can only generate so much cash, commercials are the only way.
Groovetech's Cunningham is adamantly anticommercial: "There's lines we won't cross with this site," he says. He's confident that at this stage, a loyal audience is a site's most important asset. As for what comes next, Cunningham, his partners, and everyone else leading the way into this brave new world will continue to hold meetings and—keeping in mind that it's the music that matters—struggle to find a palatable way to make the medium self-sustainable.
Alice Wheeler
Groovetechies: Rendering AM/FM obsolete from a Capitol Hill warehouse.
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In the meantime, they all are caught up in the simple pleasure of pushing technology forward. "It's all that start-up bullshit," Cunningham says, rolling his eyes for effect. "The hours are insane, but we enjoy doing it."
The Weekly's step-by-step guide to Internet radio
INTERNET RADIO'S GREATEST obstacle is a general lack of knowledge about how to use it. But really, kids, it's easy! Just follow these five simple steps:
1. First you'll need to turn on your computer.
2. Next, log on with your favorite Internet Service Provider.
3. Go to www.real.com and find the free RealPlayer G2 (it should be a thumb-sized icon floating on the left of your screen), or, if you want to shell out $29.99 for a supposedly superior experience, download RealPlayer Plus G2.
(You also may want to point your cursor toward Redmond and download Microsoft's Windows Media Player 4.0, which some sites offer as an alternative to Real and a very few sites use exclusively).
4. Plug your speakers or headphones directly into your computer's sound card, probably round back.
5. Once you've got your player, there are any number of ways to get out there and lasso some content. Both the RealGuide (at realguide.com) and Microsoft's Windows Media Player toolbar feature links to hundreds of Internet radio sites, or you can proceed directly to Broadcast.com, Spinner.com, or the massive Web-Radio.FM (www.web-radio.com), which can connect you to over 2,500 channels.
OR YOU CAN go directly to one of these ultragroovy, Seattle Weekly-approved sites:
Groovetech (www.groovetech.com) streams live in-house DJ performances from a warehouse in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. The site also features periodic live club Webcasts with the cream of the underground dance music crop, archived shows with big-name electronica artists including Fatboy Slim, and online record shopping.
Skratchcast (www.skratchcast.com) is a Seattle site streaming live hip-hop DJs along with archived broadcasts. The emphasis is on West Coast hip-hop and turntablism. There's also online record shopping, graffiti art, interviews, and links to other hip-hop sites. A non-Seattle alternative of note is UndergroundHipHop.com.
WFMU (www.wfmu.org or www.broadcast.com/radio/Public/WFMU) broadcasts freeform and extremely eclectic playlists from a variety of DJs, 24-7. The Jersey City FM station was one of the first to hop online and begin streaming, and it's rightly become a popular destination for serious musos. You can hear anything from King Crimson to Air to Buddy Rich to Sufi chants to frogs croaking to—well, you get the idea.
Radio Nova (www.novaplanet.com) is another free-spirited traditional station that jumped online early, and it's got a primo mix of soul, electronica, hip-hop, chill-out, funk, drum 'n' bass—and wacky French DJs.
GoGaGa (www.gogaga.com) may be from the musical black hole of Colorado, but this online-only station is among the Web's best. It's also one of the few to incorporate chatty DJs into the stream, particularly effective during the smartly conceived "Music for Cubicles" program. Music-wise, GoGaGa runs the gamut from rock to dance to jazz and beyond; a list of the different shows on the site explains the DJs' tastes.
Locally, a number of AM and FM stations stream through their Web sites. Broadcast.com and Web-Radio.FM feature search functions that'll help you find 'em.
(Note: Listening to Internet radio requires patience. There are still bugs galore, and you may encounter lapses in the Webcast due to dreaded "Net congestion.")
