I have been listening to computer-based digital music for nearly two decades now. This includes streaming internet radio as well as music files like MP3s. It’s amazing to recall my first efforts to play then-new MP2 and MP3 format files I downloaded, very slowly, over my 56kbps dial-up connection, around 1996 or ’97. In fact, […]
After writing last week about how some listeners were upset about changes to the BBC 3 high quality/bitrate stream my curiosity was piqued about higher fidelity internet radio stations. So I set about finding stations that highlight sound quality by offering higher bitrate streams. First, it’s important to define terms. For the purpose of this […]
The most significant digital radio news this week is the FCC’s vote on Open Internet rules happening at Thursday’s open meeting. The proceedings begin at 10:30 AM EST, and will be streamed live. I posted an overview on Tuesday, and things haven’t changed much since then. The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing […]
In last week’s post about iHeartRadio I focused much of my criticism on the sound quality of the service, or lack thereof. Since the debut of the compact disc in the 1980s digital has become nearly synonymous with good sound in the world of audio, but this is not always necessarily the case. When listeners […]
Clear Channel may have been too focused on scarfing up stations in the early 2000s to construct anything resembling an internet strategy, but the company has been making up for lost time with its iHeartRadio service. When it went live in 2008 it was primarily a site and mobile app to provide access to the […]
eMmusic is an online music store that pretty much pioneered the sale of unprotected MP3 music tracks in the early 2000s. The site has gone through ownership and business model changes over the years, shifting from its original monthly all-you-can-download plan to a number-of-tracks a month, and finally to the current X dollars a month […]
Over the past few days I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of music that can be held in one’s hands. The third annual Record Store Day on Saturday (if you missed it, take a look at our Radio Guide for the event) celebrated both physical record stores and the non-digital releases sold within […]
Often music is thrust upon us in public places, from elevators, to telephone hold music, to restaurants. Sometimes it’s amazing and notable, but when it’s bad, it can be torturous. I can never just ignore these background sounds that are meant to calm elevator passengers, amp up teen mall shoppers, or increase worker productivity. Memories […]
Amazon.com Widgets In honor of the upcoming holiday, I’ve compiled some different ways to access some of MLK’s influential speeches. If you’re interested in reading some of King’s speeches online, the King Center, which hosts the King Papers, has many of King’s speeches sorted chronologically, providing mp3 and written versions. Plain written copies of some […]
As I said in my introduction to our subjective and opinionated review of radio in the 2000s, I still think it was darn near impossible to predict how the medium of radio would end up at the beginning of 2010. Sure, the seeds for satellite radio, HD radio, low-power FM, internet radio and MP3s were […]
