Have you listened to web radio lately

A lot of folks still don't know what web radio is. Let's note first of all that it is not the same thing as podcasting, although the two are often confused. Without going into the technicalities, web radio uses streaming audio to create a live, ongoing broadcast such as you would hear from a regular radio station. Podcasting involves the creation of individual recordings which people can download for listening at a later time, either on their computer or on an MP3 player such as an iPod.

For a long time web radio was plagued by problems. Sound quality was usually poor. Because of the bandwidth required, many web radio stations were severely limited in the number of people they permitted to listen at any one time--in some cases, this could be as few as a half dozen! The number and variety of stations were quite limited, as well.

Happily, most of those early limitations have been resolved. The web radio scene today presents a wonderful smorgasbord of musical variety, an incredible array of genres to suit all tastes, and a quality that often matches high-end stereo for the ability to produce a satisfying listening experience.

Although web radio's primary audiences remain office workers and college students, more and more people are discovering this neat entertainment source. One study in the UK reported an 84% increase in internet radio listening hours for the most recent year. Another study said web radio attracts 52 million listeners during a typical month.

Web radio is free to listen to, for the most part, and the software one needs to take advantage of it is free as well. Player software such as WinAmp or iTunes not only sends the music to your computer speakers, it also generally includes a directory of radio channels--just click on your choice and play. The directory will almost always be arranged by genres, some of the more popular being blues, oldies, rock, psychedelia, easy listening, country, trance or electronic, country, reggae, world music and hip hop. The diversity truly is astounding the other day I ran across a web radio station devoted exclusively to Hawaiian and polka music!

Web radio is also a good place to go for people who are homesick for their old hometown station. In addition to the web-only stations, many regular radio stations nowadays offer their audio over the Internet, too. As long as you have a computer and Internet connection (preferably a high-speed one), you can be anywhere in the world and still enjoy your favorite music--or hometown news and traffic reports, for that matter.

When it comes to web radio, the revolution truly is happening now.

As soon as I released the first review copies of my book, Internet Radio How to do it! I started receiving e-mail from people who read as far as the Introduction and thought that I was acting like some kind of scare monger by saying that it is difficult to create an internet radio station. I guess that I should be happy that they at least took the time to read through my book that far, but they obviously missed the point of what I was trying to say, and the purpose of the book.

No, it's not difficult to stream music or some kind of program out over the internet. It's not hard and it's not expensive, in fact most 14-year-olds could do it. But doing it RIGHT is something that very few will ever accomplish.

Even given the resources that the major radio station group owners have available, how often to their stations change format How many stations in the town where you live are the same as they were 12 or 24 months ago If these large companies can invest the huge amount of money that it takes to research, develop and operate a radio station, particularly in a large market, only to see it replaced by another, equally expensive format a short time later, it should tell you something about your chances for success in radio.

If all you want is the thrill of hearing something that you've thrown together coming out of your computer speakers, then internet radio IS easy. If, however, you want to build something that will still be there in 30, 60 or 90 days, and will build an audience then internet radio isn't quite so easy.

The fact is that you have advantages that the big radio companies don't have namely that you don't have the overhead and revenue expectations that these companies have. But if you want to attract and hold more than a handful of sporadic listeners then you need to spend some time and energy doing some basic planning.

Developing an online radio station is a PROCESS - you research and plan it like you would any other business venture. There are aspects that are unique to broadcasting but careful consideration and a SWOT analysis will help you cover the most important aspects of the project. Basic, sound PLANNING is the key to achieving your goal.

John Peterson is a 30+ year radio veteran and champion of online radio. He is an online broadcaster operating several stations, and author of the book Internet Radio How to do it! - a book that molds traditional radio programming techniques to online radio.