D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
So the world of personal music listening has come a long way in the past four decades - from vinyl and cassettes to CDs to streamed music. But there’s been one constant platform amidst all this - the radio! But is it? Even the radio has morphed into numerous forms - from the old MW/SW to satellite radio to FM to the subject of this thread - ‘Internet Radio’. But despite the form and platform changes this format of musical entertainment has undergone, its defining essence is “programmed content that is broadcast from a radio station”. One may have an enormous personal collection of records/CDs, and access to millions of songs though the subscribed streaming app run even in shuffle mode, but it can’t beat the anticipation of not knowing the next song to be played and the thrill of finding it to be either an old favourite or a promising new discovery!
While traditional form of radio continues through FM boxes, it has limited attraction to audiophiles who don’t want to listen to the (usually musically irrelevant) chatter of the RJs and the advertisements. Worldspace radio came as a boon to us audiophiles in the 00’s decade, but vanished without a trace due to its unviable business model. But in the last ten years or so another phenomenon that has slowly grown from strength to strength, in the shadows of Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and YouTube is the ‘Internet Radio’. Not as ubiquitously played in living rooms as the above music apps, Internet Radio stations still have their appeal for serious music listeners, specifically:
- Focused (many a times genre specific( stations
- Curated content (not at all stations though)
- Very few or no ad breaks
- Better resolution than FM - even upto FLAC and more in some cases
- Warmth of the host and listener community in some cases
- Discovering music across the globe
I have been a devoted listener of some Internet radio stations over the years and keep looking for new ones. Some of these have become my personal favourites and get tuned into regularly on my CXN V2 streamer. Given the larger number of threads on streaming music apps on the forum, I am surprised there aren’t many focused on Internet radio. Makes me wonder if other FMs do listen to Internet radio! While the number might not be high, I imagine there are some. And with the growth of streamers, it can only increase.
So, with the twin objectives of helping current users discover interesting stations and tempt non-users to try out, I am starting this thread. Please post your favourite (musical) internet radio station. Why musical? Because that’s the common interest shared by all of us. And the other kind of radio stations tend to be focused on news. And those usually have their FM equivalent. You could post that too, but let’s have more of musical stations.
Rules (to preferably follow):
- Please stick to one station (or group of stations run by same organisation) at a time. Add as many posts as you need to cover each of your favourite.
- Which hardware do you listen on. If part of native internet radio on a streamer, please state that.
- What’s the resolution of the stream?
- Provide URL of the stream where available.
- Is the service paid/free/ad-funded?
- What kind of music is played on the station?
- What makes it your favourite?
Let’s go!
While traditional form of radio continues through FM boxes, it has limited attraction to audiophiles who don’t want to listen to the (usually musically irrelevant) chatter of the RJs and the advertisements. Worldspace radio came as a boon to us audiophiles in the 00’s decade, but vanished without a trace due to its unviable business model. But in the last ten years or so another phenomenon that has slowly grown from strength to strength, in the shadows of Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and YouTube is the ‘Internet Radio’. Not as ubiquitously played in living rooms as the above music apps, Internet Radio stations still have their appeal for serious music listeners, specifically:
- Focused (many a times genre specific( stations
- Curated content (not at all stations though)
- Very few or no ad breaks
- Better resolution than FM - even upto FLAC and more in some cases
- Warmth of the host and listener community in some cases
- Discovering music across the globe
I have been a devoted listener of some Internet radio stations over the years and keep looking for new ones. Some of these have become my personal favourites and get tuned into regularly on my CXN V2 streamer. Given the larger number of threads on streaming music apps on the forum, I am surprised there aren’t many focused on Internet radio. Makes me wonder if other FMs do listen to Internet radio! While the number might not be high, I imagine there are some. And with the growth of streamers, it can only increase.
So, with the twin objectives of helping current users discover interesting stations and tempt non-users to try out, I am starting this thread. Please post your favourite (musical) internet radio station. Why musical? Because that’s the common interest shared by all of us. And the other kind of radio stations tend to be focused on news. And those usually have their FM equivalent. You could post that too, but let’s have more of musical stations.
Rules (to preferably follow):
- Please stick to one station (or group of stations run by same organisation) at a time. Add as many posts as you need to cover each of your favourite.
- Which hardware do you listen on. If part of native internet radio on a streamer, please state that.
- What’s the resolution of the stream?
- Provide URL of the stream where available.
- Is the service paid/free/ad-funded?
- What kind of music is played on the station?
- What makes it your favourite?
Let’s go!