Internet Radio
If I'm at work, there is a good chance I'm listening to Internet Radio. My favorite station is
www.kfog.com in San Francisco, Ca. The format is described
as "adult album alternative". For what it's worth, they have the only morning talk show I can
tolerate.... maybe because they target a slightly higher Lowest Common Denominator than the broadcasters
here in Florida, or maybe becayse my sense of humor just needs the few extra hours to wake up each morning :)
kalx.berkely.edu UC Berkeley Radio - Interesting programming, worldbeat,
punk, blues. Generally speaking, they play things you are not likely to hear elsewhere.
Internet Radio is in jeopardy in the US. The Library of Congress and the Copyright Office are arbitrating a
heated dispute between Webcasters and the Record Industry. The record industry is asking for a much higher
royalty rate than Webcasters can bear, excepting possibly those with "deep pockets". If this rate is approved,
it will be charged retroactively to October 1988.
The observant visitor may notice the May 22nd deadline mentioned on the banner above. The Copyright Office rejected
the recommendations of the CARP (arbitration panel) and a final decision is still pending. Your input can still be taken into
consideration. (ed. 05/06/02)
There are a few problems with the program as it is headed:
- Invasion of Privacy Detailed records of individual listners must be maintained to calculate royalty payments
- Placing Internet Radio under the DCMA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act - Boo, Hiss!) is based on the false assumption
that Internet Radio, being Digital, is high fidelity and permits lossless reproduction of the original material.
- The RATE of the royalty payments being asked for are calculated based on the 5 billon dollar acquisition of broadcast.com
by yahoo.com during the height of the Dot Com craze.
Visit wwww.saveinternetradio.org, where you can help influence
the outcome by such means as sending an automated fax or email to your congressman!
More Internet Radio
The
broadcast license of WHUS is held by the Board of Trustees of the
University of Connecticut. WHUS Radio's mission to the public is to
provide a broadcast service in the form of noncommercial information
and entertainment programming.
WHUS music programming covers everything form polka to techno. Our
formats include alternative rock, Urban Stylez, Jazz, Industrial, One
World Radio, Polka, Celtic, Gothic, Bluegrass, Folk, Blues, and many
other kinds of music.
WHUS public affairs programming provides an alternative antidote
to the mainstream commercial media. These shows cover a wide variety
of topics, including the rights of women, gays and lesbians, and
people of color; protection of the public health and the natural
environment; critical media analysis; and the battle for democracy,
locally and nationally.
A second purpose of the station is to provide a learning environment
for those UConn students and individuals in the UConn community who
are interested in radio broadcasting.
Also, I should mention a dot-com startup called 3wk.com. They offer two channels of high quality musical entertainment: A Classic Rock channel and an Alternative Channel.
Their streams are in Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Ogg-Vorbis and Shoutcast format and are available for free at 56K and by subscription at "near CD quality" - around 384K.
Check them out at Listen to 3wk.com
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