With more people, especially the younger crowd, turning to the internet for most of their education and information needs, some may wonder if choosing to listen online is hurting local radio.

It seems local stations providing online audio streams isn’t hurting local listenership at all, in fact, it’s helped boost it to unprecedented levels.

“Ratings are showing listeners are near historic levels,” said Rod Schween, general manager at Country 95 and B93 in Lethbridge. “[internet-based radio] can’t provide what we provide locally…news, sports, weather.”

Radio stations have been streaming their music online for years, but not without controversy. Royalties and copyright are a big hurdle many local stations are struggling with, but new laws are making it easier.

“Initially, streaming [brought] lots of questions about copyright in Canada, so we stopped for three to four years. [There were] concerns about advertising and revenue. We started streaming again last summer,” said Schween.

Potential new laws might force local radio stations to pay to stream music in addition to paying revenues from traditional radio, something the radio industry in Canada is concerned about, as the royalties might be backdated, potentially costing a lot of money.

With more people using the internet at work and at home, streaming online has become a necessity. Though local stations don’t seem too worried about competing with internet-based streaming music sites.

Schween explains that his stations (Country 95 and B93) aren’t trying to compete with internet radio, but simply provide another way for listeners to tune into the stations, and that the website’s internet stream has been very well received, and they have also gained listeners from around the world.

“An internet stream is a must. It’s giving the audience the option to listen to what they want in the workplace (and at home),” says Bruce Andrei, program director at The Lounge radio station in Lethbridge. “We want to pull in younger audiences, but we’re still going after [adults].”

A big challenge for local radio stations across North America (and potentially the world) has been providing listeners with the ability to easily start their web browser, go to a radio station’s website, and easily tune in. In recent years, as technologies mature for streaming audio, providing users with a common player that just works is becoming invaluable.
“[We] need to have an easy-to-use player (which local stations do). Make sure you’re using Internet Explorer and have the Flash plug-in installed on your computer,” says Rod Schween, general manager at County 95 and B93.

Most households and workplaces use Microsoft Windows, which has Internet Explorer built in. It’s very easy to download the Adobe Flash player, though some workplaces won’t allow Flash to run due for security reasons (some websites use it for malicious purposes; some games use it, too).

For those in the rural areas, or in workplaces that have poor radio reception, internet radio is a wonderful thing. For those outside of the signal range, or for those living in other parts of the world, providing the streaming audio allows stations to expand their audience worldwide.

“People all around the world are listening to our hockey games. [People living in] Mexico, we even have listeners in the United States,” Andrei says. “People care about what’s happening locally, the combination of music and [local] topical information.”

Originally posted 2009-02-28 20:06:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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