MP3: The Definitive Guide

Webcasting: Real-Time MP3 Broadcasting

Just a few years ago, Internet pundits (like me) were waxing poetic about how one day we’d all be able to run TV and radio stations out of our homes as the new era of convergent media and speedy connections dawned. Well, guess what? It came true, and today you can broadcast audio signal out over the Internet in real time, ready to be heard by anyone who cares to listen. Thousands of users are queuing up their favorite tracks and personal creations, doing live call-in shows, variety shows, live interviews, even depressingly juvenile 24-hour live prank call shows.

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In fact, just last week, riots again erupted in downtown Berkeley in protest of a real radio station having its freedom of speech curtailed by its parent company. Within hours, an Internet-based replacement show sprung to life and I was able to hear the voices of the “gagged” station employees, liberated by the openness of the Internet and the magic of streaming MP3.

Head over to http://www.shoutcast.com, http://www.icecast.org, http://www.radiospy.com, http://www.mycaster.com, http://www.greenwitch.com, http://www.live365.com, or any other directory of live MP3 radio, and you’ll be amazed at the sheer number and variety of broadcast types being offered. And unlike your local radio environment, these broadcasts aren’t constrained by the distance a signal can travel. All of them are available worldwide.

On the other hand, you don’t necessarily get the same guarantee of quality you ...