BY PAUL MALONEY
Why aren't you using Internet radio? I mean right now. Why aren't you listening? Actually, you may be -- but I'd feel safe in betting 100 bucks you're not, at this very moment, in front of a computer trying to hunt down something you want to hear, just so you can massage a stuttering stream to hear tinny music through tiny computer speakers and start an argument with the MIS guy about tying up the network.

Maybe I just answered my own question. But I'd be willing to bet that same 100 bucks (double or nothing?) that the reason a lot of folks don't listen is that they don't even know where to begin.

"Sure, I know I can listen to music on my computer, but why? And what do I listen to? I'm no computer genius, so I'm sure I'll have to take half a day off just to figure it out. It's so much easier just to turn on the radio that's sitting next to me."

A major barrier to adoption -- and this has been repeated ad nauseam -- is the fact that online listening is not intuitive. Do you remember "learning" how to turn on a radio? Or use a telephone? Of course not -- it's such a quick and effortless "curve" that it takes place early in life.

It's time we made Internet radio listening just as easy (or at least approaching that "ease of use"). So we've attempted to provide a bit of a resource for average people to easily and nearly effortlessly enjoy Internet radio. It's our new and improved RadioJump.

Now if you're a longtime RAIN reader, certainly you've seen (and possibly followed the link) to RadioJump in the past (the graphic/link is on the right-hand side of this page). But we've taken a whole new approach with the service, one that we think can benefit the entire industry.

Largely through the efforts of RAIN associate producer Ralph Sledge (pictured bottom row, middle), we've created a step-by-step guide through some of the more formidable steps between "square one" and enjoying radio on the 'Net. For instance, the mere fact that you may have to download and install a player is cause enough for some to give up. But with the RadioJump guide, we provide a walk-through for the possibly frustrating process of getting one's computer ready to listen.

Then, the issue of what's out there. No one in the industry has done much in the way of marketing. So again, unless you're someone who spends a good deal of time with the computer, you probably don't have any "brand recognition" on which to rely to find a good source of audio. With the RadioJump "bingo board (see top screenshot)," you have a great place to start. We offer several audio sources, offering various formats, bandwidths, and streaming technologies. There are broadcast simulcasts for those who'd like to hear radio from a distant city (or country), and Internet-only stations to hear content unavailable on the radio dial anywhere.

Of course, this is just the beginning. There's so much more to cover: What to do if you have a Macintosh...upgrading your connection, sound card, and speakers for a better listening experience...and hopefully, more stations to recommend. And who better to suggest additions to the RadioJump guide than industry folks like you? Please feel free to share your ideas on improving the guide. Contribute to the RadioJump message boards on the site, or as always, drop us a note at feedback@kurthanson.com.

Please visit RadioJump here.

Have an opinion on this article? Share it! Simply click the headline at left to bring up a convenient "Submit" form.

BY RALPH SLEDGE
The station's programmer, Bill Goldsmith (of KPIG.com) makes it pretty clear that the station is a reaction to the current state of FM radio. While the music is largely Adult Alternative, the breadth of the selections and their presentation make it seem quite "independent," thus earning the site's motto "eclectic intelligent rock."

A quick look at the playlist reveals music from Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Pink Floyd through Radiohead, Natalie Merchant, Stereo MC's and Gorillaz.

There isn't a whole lot to the radioparadise.com site, but there doesn't necessarily need to be. It's got enough information about the music played to make most listeners happy, and includes a comment sections where listeners can, well, comment.

Other than that, the station is a stream of carefully chosen music which fans of the genre -- eclectic though it may be -- are sure to enjoy.

Bill Goldsmith contributes to "RAIN Reader Feedback" below.

This feedback is in response to LMiV Jack Swarbrick's comments following a federal court's ruling that broadcast radio stations must pay new royalties when they stream their music programming online (in RAIN here)...

"Webcasters have a newfound ally in the NAB..."

I think the US District Court ruling making broadcasters liable for the same fees as Internet-only webcasters is an excellent thing for the streaming industry as a whole.

Swarbrick writes, "The point is that the remarkable promise of the Internet as a method for increasing the channels of distribution for musical artists is about to be lost forever." Wrong.

What's being lost forever is the viability of the Internet as a secondary distribution system for the large broadcasting conglomerates. Yes, the imposition of addition fees may very well be the final straw for webcasting by the big publicly-held radio companies that live and die by this quarter's balance sheet.

However, I think it's been proven to everyone's satisfaction that there is no potential for short-term profit in webcasting a cookie-cutter-formated local radio signal anyway. So there's no real loss to anyone -- not the corporations (who are unlikely to see any real profits & probably will largely give up on the idea anyway) -- not the listeners (who for the most part are choosing Internet-only stations) -- and certainly not the musical artists whose plight Swarbrick claims to sympathize with.

Next time you talk to an artist who isn't currently getting mainstream airplay (in other words, about 99.9% of them) ask them if they think the further consolidation of control of the media in the hands of corporations like Clear Channel is in their best interests. And that consolidation is exactly what would result from an unequal playing field where small webcast outfits were required to pay higher fees for the use of music than the large broadcasters.

This means that the webcasters have a newfound ally in the NAB as we slog through the process of figuring out who owes what to whom for usage rights. Believe me, we can use the help.

Under the fee structure proposed by the RIAA, my profit-free webcast operation - Radio Paradise (www.radioparadise.com) - would owe over $20,000 per month in fees to copyright holders. You can bet that nothing even remotely resembling that fee structure has a chance of being implemented if the NAB has anything to do with it.

Bill Goldsmith www.radioparadise.com www.kpig.com

"The RIAA would like to see us disappear..."

The RIAA would like to see us disappear so they can dominate the web streams and give us more of the same limited programming that they enforce for broadcast radio.

The nice thing is that for unsigned artists and do-it-your-selfers, independent labels, they can continue to offer an alternative to the pop pap the industry is force-feeding the public.

Noel Diotte Coverunner Radio - Ocean/Island Music & Talk

"The artists will sell less, impacting the process across the board..."

It's obvious to me that the RIAA has lost it's financial mind (not to mention promotional mind) in trying to impose a 15% fee on webcasters. My operation, www.TwangCast.com, has been streaming for a few years now and has probably introduced more new artists to listeners than any commercial radio station.

Without those of us who love the music we work with (in our case Americana, bluegrass and traditional country) streaming hundreds of fine new acts yearly, the RIAA loses more than just the webcast fees as the artists will sell less, impacting the process across the board and including a loss of revenue for songwriters who are paid out of the license fees we pay the big three PRO's.

Mike Hays TwangCast

"Guess what? RIAA bye-bye..."

What if...

...Napster came back the way it was...FREE...and then labels pay Napster for the marketing of their music.

...A large radio group went to, let's say, Universal and said, "We're not going to play your artists unless you make the RIAA go away."

Guess what? RIAA bye-bye.

Deep background only

Aug. 9-11, 2001	Morning Show Boot Camp: Las Vegas, NV
Aug. 15-19, 2001	Gavin Summit IX: Boulder, CO
Sept. 5-7, 2001	XStream: Broadcasting on the Internet at the NAB Radio Show: New Orleans, LA
Nov. 1, 2001	Inside Radio: The Future of Radio Fly-in 2001: University of Southern California
Dec. 11-13	Streaming Media East 2001: New York, NY
Mar. 1-3, 2002	ConXis: Conference and Expo for Internet Streaming: Rosemont, IL