Internet Radio Station: How It Works and Shoutcast Hosting
For a music enthusiast, the world of music is a wonderland meant to be shared with anyone. With the advent of technology, the idea to start an internet radio station has never been this exciting. There are, indeed, countless ways to share music nowadays. Software and platform that allows a private user to stream audio into the vastness of the internet has continually been developed. With an MP3 collection and a voice-over microphone, one can now easily broadcast live to other music aficionado. But this aspect is riddled with limitations—and this is where hosting services come in.
Shoutcast Hosting and Its Perks
No doubt an aspiring online radio owner or developer must have an extensive music collection stashed in his computer’s hard disk. It may have the best compilation from all genre, artists, and albums per decade. It still, however, will not amount to the vastness of online streaming champions like Shoutcast. However a sign-up with Shoutcast is just that if there is no hosting service. A source may have the best soundcard collection or has an extensive stream-able data but without a server, it cannot live stream audio or redistribute its music to anyone interested.
This is where Shoutcast hosting services come in. You can create an online radio station with Shoutcast via unique hosting services offered by various companies like Citrus 3 nowadays. All it takes is for you to choose a content to broadcast via user-friendly easy-to-download software and send it to a Shoutcast server or a cloud. When this cannot be made possible, this hosting service also has reliable customer slash tech support who you can talk to round-the-clock. If video tutorial does not work for you, a remote system can also be arranged to specifically to cater to this concern. Once done, the host will then deliver this to interested listeners across the globe.
Think about minimal effort but huge returns. As most Shoutcast server carries unlimited bandwidth, one can easily expand his or her clout in the online radio market. It does not just provide efficient software to allow you easy broadcast in a few minutes, it also features:
- free web page for those who prefer not having a website
- free hosting for those who want to integrate Shoutcast to their website
- easy website integration complete with widgets bearing listener maps, music playing and recently played information, on-demand content from website and blog, song requests and other elements deemed essential to the initiative
- backed with a powerful autoDJ set-up, broadcasting live even when offline can be made possible as a Shoutcast server really goes down.
- Mobile-friendly solutions
- Artistic album covers as widgets
- Easy connections to iTunes, Amazon, last.fm and similar platform and,
- Comprehensive listener statistics
All these perks from a hosting company can be made possible. Finding a reliable Shoutcast host when planning to start an internet radio station can be challenging. Certain factors like user-friendly set-up, accessible control panel, perfect uptime record, high bit rate at an affordable price, premium and dedicated bandwidth, technology updates, and round-the-clock support must be in place. When choosing a hosting company for your online radio, find one that has a reputation of delivering positive results as well as one that is not notorious for hidden charges.