Royalty Coverage for Internet Radio Stations

[themilleragency]

Good Evening:

 

I am not sure if this issue has been address, and please accept my apologies if it has. I am getting ready to start an internet radio station, and I was wondering other than Loudcaster & Live365 if there are any streaming providers with royalty coverage.

 

 

Thanks !

 

Donnie

[shoutcaststreaming]

You can look at Stream Licensing.

 

I have a discount code for $15 US off the 1st month:

US-15

[dotme]

If you're looking for streaming providers that also cover royalties, I think in the US the only companies that provide both services in-house are Live365 and Loudcaster.

 

If you're ok with shopping around for a stream host, and covering royalties separately, there's also the LoudCity Network

[djultra89]

I think wohoo.com cover royaltys as well I'm not sure

 

I think wohoo.com cover royaltys as well I'm not sure

Edited April 12, 2013 by BWorld

[shoutcaststreaming]

They go through Stream Licensing to pay licensing with your money. I don't believe they are generous enough to pay for your royalities.

[Mad Dog Radio Live]

As the other replies said... Loudcity and Stream Licensing are some of the best.

[DJ ABnormal]

We use Stream Licensing which in my opinion is a great company. we were using Live365 but find them to be too expensive for what you get.

[Urban Hitz Radio]

I agree. Stream Licensing offers a great product. Besides LoudCity, i don't know of any other major 3rd party licensing organizations to participate with.

[Brutish Sailor]

Theirs a couple in the game.

 

Live365,

Stream licensing,

Loudcity,

 

And Wes Simpkins owns a company, but Im not sure what the name is. I need to reconnect.

[wicked jester]

I was wondering why you are not using live 365. Just curious.

[Brutish Sailor]

Here's my issues with 365:

 

1) When I was in Iraq 4 years ago/on board a ship touring the world 2 years ago/recently in the straits, I had issues getting to their page/navigating through it using garbage bandwidth . Its a nice page layout, for the licensing host at least. Brings me to point 2.

 

2) No custom CMS. AT ALL. The Cms for the stations themselves look garbage to me (personal opinion, some others may feel different) . They also dont offer Custom Content links. If you look at my launch page from my site:

 

www.beattransit.com

 

You will notice that the launch script is actually hosted from LC, but I developed it with a Drop down that I frames my site below it. Then I made the flash player drop down so it links off the launch script. But theirs TONS of ways I could have done it. Even using Fancy Box. I have the ability to code my freedom. I feel good with that. Both Loudcity AND Stream Licensing offer that.

 

3) THEN, live 365 has told me nothing about their hosting. They told me what they offer, and the cost, but nothing about the hosting. I cant afford a "pro" plan, but to license a small stream with the host I want? They didn't put that offer on the table. They put some pretty cool stuff on the table, but for all I know its a shoutcast server. I HAVE to be a native port 80 station to hear it/my friends hear it when they are deployed. The military obviously has lots of firewalls up to protect data. You need a native port 80 stream to go through it. It helps if that stream is from a KHicecast server putting out FLV AAC+ , because of the bandwidth restrictions.

 

4) Lets go to point 4: I hate the idea that ads are going to be pushed to my listeners without my approval. From the moment I hit the 365 site, I get PISSSSED with ads. They pop out every page load and then pop back in. If I feel this way? Why wouldn't my listeners? Theirs more ads then the general 100 other directorys out there that some off beat person started (lots of them out there) with the intent to make money. I would gladly give these directory host $1-3 a month to keep their coding simple, and get rid of these things. As sometimes cron scripts and wierd XSS scripts make my mil browser close do to thinking theirs something fishy like an attack about to go down (I cant go into what browser a majority of the military is using due to possible exploits.)

 

Now, I understand ads like the VIP package support broadcasters. Why not call it instead of live365 VIP, something like "Support the indendent broadcasters" or "support this station?" for its hyperlink name. It makes me personally feel like live365 has put their branding ALL over my station, when I did all the heavy lifting as far as web design, and stream content, and finding other sources outside my means to support a cool listening experinence.

 

5) And that leads to the #1 reason I dont use them. The most important 1. All subscriptions are annual. If it wasn't for that, I would really dig it. But I remember when I started, and I was picking a host, All the horror storys everyone told me about Live 365 still charging, after they realized that they had stopped services from them, because a friend backed out, ect. Were small webcasters. Hobbycasters. Were in the eye of the storm of one of the biggest economic disasters in US history (were in the calm at the moment beween the sign of economic fail, and the part where the rest of the world decides not to take American money). I know economically, were all feeling it globally. With that being said? To ask us to commit annually on a hobby when we have spouses, kids, or anything else? Thats kinda hard to swallow for the general public. Economy has gotten better, but short term commitments on entertainment gives me piece of mind.

 

HANDS DOWN, 365 offers a lot of services. Hands down they have "decent" customer support (so I am told by a lot of their content customers) but for what I was looking for in stream licensing? just wasn't for me.

 

To tell you the truth, I would be with Marvin with Stream Licensing right now, but my "affiliate" Gadi needs simple and easy licensing, as hes not a "stream techie" kinda guy, and I need to walk him through a lot of stuff. Loudcaster is simple, and flashy. It makes it easier if were both with one licensing hosting plan, and I still need to go sanitize his pages to help him get legal. I do this, for free, because the most powerful tool in a broadcasters reach is community. Screw SCO, Screw PHP scripts.... nothing works until you have a personal community with your listeners, and a personal community with your broadcasters to turn to for technical support, and moral support when the previous said community isn't there.

 

I have nothing personal against 365. Thats just reasons over the last 4 years, that keep me from joining them. If things have changed? Thats cool, and I'll have to refresh some knowledge about their services, because hands down, they were a content distribution king. Just not for me.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Brutish Sailor

[Marvin]

Wes's company is DJCMedia.com but his licenisng is through StreamLicensing.

[PERC]

Great info guys... i needed this badly

[Marvin]

Special LoudCity conversion discount Feb. 26-March 02 ONLY. Use and Validate Promotional code LOUDCITY-20 and click on the following link for a One-Time $20 instant discount. Click here to claim your discount: http://tinyurl.com/sl-loudcity

 

This discount is given in part to allay the frustration you may experience as you wait longer than normal for customer service due to the large number of former LoudCity broadcasters coming aboard.

 

Thanks,

 

Marvin

[Zimdjsounds]

Thanks for sharing this info guys ..I have looked at Streamlicensing.com but they cannot licence Icecast and I don't really want to change to Shoutcast, any suggestions?

[shoutcaststreaming]

That is not true. They do license Icecast version 2. However, it must be the kh version, which some Stream Hosts do not have.

[BWorld]

Exactly. In my opinion, the KH version is much better. They seem to be less resource intensive on the servers and appear to have less issues in general.

[Voxster]

Does anyone have any promo codes for StreamLicensing.com ?

[rsw]

Does anyone have any promo codes for StreamLicensing.com ?

864-SWR is our affiliation code. I know that streamlicensing are, for the time being at least not taking more "affiliate" clients due to numerous reasons but I am not sure if the codes still work to get new clients a discount. This one of ours did provide $15 discount from the first month. All I can suggest it give it a try.

 

Since loudcity closed Streamlicensing have withdrawn their affiliate scheme to new referrals. They have been inundated and although they are honouring existing afiliate referals they are not taking on new ones... so I know we have removed this code from our website as have most stream providers (who keep up to date with what´s going on) but whether or not it still works for the initial discount I don´t know.. so do let me know!

[jez955]

Definitely recommend StreamLicensing. 100%!