INTERNET RADIO.The top Radio Stations.

The age of Internet radio has finally arrived. With Internet becoming a necessity now, i can assure you that Internet radio is here to stay (for good). Quality sound, an endless pool of artist covering all genres what else can an user ask for? With Internet speeds and streaming getting faster, soon we will have videos and audio. Its going to be a case of Radio killed the Video star.

With that said about Internet Radio, lets have a look at the top international radio channels , how they fare, what they have to offer and how did they get up there. The ratings are based on online polls and magazines.

1. AccuRadio: Based in Chicago this Internet Radio Channel has about a million users every month. Excellent sound quality epitomizes this radio channel, with over 300 channels AccuRadio has both quality and quantity. Founder/CEO Kurt Hanson and six full time employees record about 500,000$ in annual sales.
The Accu Interface won the peoples voice award for best radio in 2008 Webby Awards. However the only drawback of this station is that its congested with ads which diverts the users from the fine features of the station.

2. Real Radio: Part of the Real Networks, Inc who powered the Internet media, Real Radio offers a simple interface and has a vast pool of stations. However all the stations are not free to listen, this seems to be the biggest drawback of this station not to mention that some stations require Real player to function.

3. Shoutcast Radio: shoutcast boasts of a massive selection of stations (over 720 pages), this is possible as Shoutcast allows anyone to become a shoutcaster dj or server. Shoutcast makes it possible to inexpensively set up an Internet broadcasting station which explains its massive selection of stations. It has an easy interface to navigate with. Shoutcast's growth has increased rapidly since its launch. As of 2008 according to shoutcasts self reported statistics it boasts of 600,000 concurrent users during its peak hour.
The only con of this station is that you require Nullsoft winamp to listen to the station.


Now a look at a few Indian Internet Radio Stations. While most are host from Shoutcast, there are a few stations that set their own standards and stand out.

1. MyOpusRadio: This Internet radio station is India's first Internet radio station for international music. The interface and quality of sound matches that of the international radio stations. This Station has 10,000 listeners every month not bad considering its still in its embryonic stage.
It has a very simple user interface and importance given to music rather than ads. It presently has channels for all major genres like
Jazz which pays a tribute to the likes of Bing Crosby, Billy Holiday, Norha Jones
Rock Metallica,Nirvana, Maiden ... From one end of the rock spectrum to the other.
Retro Beatles,Billy Joel, Men at work the best of retro
Club From Electronic to the best DJ's like Paul Van Dyk, darude
Country Banjos, Guitars and the sounds from 20 years...
It also has a separate channel for local talent which showcases Indian bands the opus platform brings you the latest music on the Indian scene from beginners to the more established ones, which adds to the stations USP.
Started by Gina and Carlton Braganza this radio station sure is bound to create a ripple on the Internet Radio wave.

2. Desi Radio Online: Another station that's still finding its step in the Internet radio scenario. It has a weak interface where the user is not sure where to find the music he wants. The station is still miles behind the international standards.

There are many Other Regional radio stations that Cater to a particular language like
Malluradio, radiojoyallukas , Radionri .. deserve a mention due to their simple feature.
The Internet radio as of now is going strong and will stay that way for a long time. So go out there(your computers) and Crank up the volume and enjoy the fall of the "Video Star" :-)

(blogster27)