Radio streaming in from around world

By PETER GRIFFIN

If you're feeling a bit disillusioned with radio - the dreary repetition of top 10 pop songs, corny DJ jokes and endless advertising - your saviour may be staring you in the face every time you sit in front of the computer.

Few cities have as diverse a mix of radio stations as Auckland, but elsewhere in the world listeners are switching to the web in the pursuit of agreeable programming, less advertising and a more interactive listening experience.

For London, the web offers a simple solution to a particularly dire AM/FM situation. Two stations dominate the local radio scene - Capital FM, fronted in the morning by Chris Tarrant, the all-smiling face of the TV show Who wants to be a Millionaire? and Virgin Radio, hosted in the morning by the other Chris (millionaire egomaniac Chris Evans).

Stumbling out of London's Brixton Academy after a particularly loud Motorhead concert one night I found my way out of radio hell. During the concert someone had slapped a bumper sticker on the back of my leather jacket. As I peeled it off, the letters friends and colleagues would later enter into web browsers around the world were revealed for the first time - knac.com.

Since then I have been treated to the best in contemporary rock and heavy metal streaming live across the globe from Santa Monica, 24 hours a day.

Because I chat with other knac.com listeners I know how widespread their audience is.

Using a technique known as multicasting, knac.com and thousands of other stations are now able to digitally broadcast to a large number of people without having to invest in huge amounts of internet broadband.

And for us listeners, whether we can receive these web-based broadcasts all comes down to the speed of our internet connections, the software we are running and the processing power of our computers.

Most of us are struggling along, accessing the net with dial-up internet modems operating at speeds of up to 56 kbps (kilobits per second) but a growing number of people are taking up high-speed internet connections, such as Telecom's Jetstream offering and ihug's Ultra packages.

Once you have the right connection and hardware, the problem lies in finding a radio station you can relate to among the estimated 40,000 - some operating solely via the web - that are now up and running.

The best starting place is the huge radio database compiled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The site contains the most comprehensive list of of AM/FM or pure-web radio stations broadcasting on the net and allows searching by format, country and even radio call sign.

Another option is to search mega-sites such as live365 which host thousands of individual radio stations. Other good start points include www.netradio.com, listen.com, bonzaroo.com and spinner.com.

Spinner allows you to download its own customised audio player which provides a user-friendly change from the Windows and RealNetworks staples more than 90 per cent of web-enabled PC owners already possess.

Spinner's software provides information about the song and artist playing, what internet channel you are listening to and what the upcoming playlist looks like. Customised listening at its best.

What is clear is the wide variety of musical genres available. Lovers of home-grown music need go no further than Xtra's site to hear a constant stream of New Zealand music. Other local sites live online include 91ZM, MaiFM88.6 and student radio station bfm.

Log on for some "world-class rock" at kfog.com, dance music at Kiss Online or non-stop electronica and techno at artlibitum.

Classical music buffs will love www.beethoven.com, one of the several hundred classical sites on the MIT list.

David Bowie streams music radio from his sophisticated site and even provides voiceovers and stints as DJ himself.

The song list chosen by the veteran rocker includes his own hits and songs that have influenced him.

Fans of the fab four can visit their slick site to hear a continuous feed of the band's extensive canon of work.

Beastie Boys tracks can be heard at www.grandroyal.com/radio, where a web station has been set up playing the songs of bands signed with the Grand Royal label. Other bands featuring include Luscious Jackson, At the Drive In and Ben Lee. Check the Ultimate Band List for other sites streaming the music of your favourite bands.

But music is only part of the growing online radio landscape. Radio New Zealand's site allows listeners to download a wide range of pre-recorded programming on demand. You can take in Morning Report or browse through a list of interviews by presenter Kim Hill.

And the heavyweights in global news coverage have made the move online. The BBC's Five Live provides a continuous stream of high quality current affairs programming and sits alongside the BBC stations 1 to 4, all available on the web.

Live news is also streamed from CNN's site, with ESPN radio's site providing comprehensive sports radio coverage via the web.

English language broadcasts out of China can be found at www.cri.com.cn while Radio Australia also provides a news site.

And if you get sick of the local talkback talent you can always jump the Tasman and see what's getting under the skin of people living in Sydney at www.2gb.com.au. The US-based site newtalkradio.com will cover topics ranging from the McVeigh execution to problems at the World Trade Organisation.

But the problem with knac.com and every other web-based station for that matter is you can't exactly listen to them in your car, with headphones on while you are doing the shopping or working in the garden.

Immobility is a big restriction of webcasts but that too is changing. A number of companies are developing stereos designed to receive an audio stream from the net.

Check which web radio stations have the strongest following at Measure Cast, which ranks the sites according to the number of hours of music they stream to listeners.

Popular station Media Amazing often tops the list and streams more than 170,000 hours of music a week.

What you need to listen in

Links:

Capital FM

Virgin Radio

knac.com

live365.com

MIT database

Netradio

listen.com

bonzaroo.com

spinner.com

Xtra's kiwimusic

91zm

Mai FM

95bfm

kfog.com

Kiss Online

artlibitum

Beethoven.com

David Bowie

Beatle Radio

Grandroyal.com

Ultimate Band List

Radio NZ

BBC's Five Live

CNN

ESPN radio

China english language broadcasts

ABC

2gb.com

newtalkradio.com

measurecast.com

mediamazing.com