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Internet Radio
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It was once
touted to be the killer app of the web.
Internet was meant to be free and without
controls. Conse- quently, unlike the traditional
radios which were confined to a single local
area, serving sequential and restricted
programs, Internet Radio could be heard
anywhere.In addition to offering unlimited
choices including off beat music, it also
broke down the geographical boundaries,
making it easy for migrant users to listen
to their native radio in foreign lands.
Internet Radio was fast evolving as a medium
that was for the people who loved music.
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In addition to offering unlimited choices including
off beat music, it also broke down the geographical
boundaries, making it easy for migrant users to
listen to their native radio in foreign lands. Internet
Radio was fast evolving as a medium that was for
the people who loved music. What's more, there was
also an option of viewing images along with music!
I guess it was the limitation on bandwidth that
prevented it from being called Internet TV!
The process to
"go on air" was also fairly easy. Right
from using a CD in endless loop, putting audio
files on a server to for download and listen,
to "streaming" the content on line,
various techniques are available. Streaming is
the most efficient method, where the audio file
flows directly to the end users sound card without
getting stored any where.
This allows large
programs to be made available online without the
user having to worry about download it. It also
makes the issue of piracy easier to handle, as
one listened to the music online rather than having
to download it and store it.
The music companies
and the artists found the free flow of copyrighted
material through the Internet a serious dent to
their revenues. Hence it was not surprising that
their radar picked up Internet Radio too. Laws
have now been passed that require any online broadcaster
to pay yearly royalty based on factors like audience
size, revenue and so on. With no obvious revenue
stream available, traditional broadcasters and
entrepreneurs have slowly weaned away and the
medium is now undergoing metamorphosis.
One trend that has
become prevalent is Peer to peer (P2P) technology
that allows users to stream files to other users
without having to set up a dedicated server. There
are several open source and free utilities available
for ordinary users to download and then participate
in the P2P party. In effect, what this means is
that when ever one goes on line, so does one's
radio! Even here, there would be copyright violations
as a lot of music is still shared. Another development
that is fast gaining currency is "podcasting".
Podcasting is recording a non-music broadcast
like news, sports, discussion etc and making it
available in the MP3 format for playback in a
digital music player Podcasting can be done using
the RSS2.0 format for audio files. It avoids commercial
music but original scores are eminently welcome.
As is true with anything, opinions are divided
on potential of podcasting. However, the array
of things one can do with it including personal
audio blogs, audio books, educational content,
sports coverage etc is very wide indeed. Who knows,
what will be the next killer app?
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array of things one can do with podcasting
including personal audio blogs, audio books,
educational content, sports coverage etc.
Who knows, what will be the next killer
app? Share your thoughts with us at |
Rahul Swarup
President
Sify Enterprise Solution
We
welcome your comments and suggestions.
Please e-mail us at esbmarketing@sifycorp.com
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