Jesse Li Starseed
First of all, ...damn, it sure is nice to finally go from being a Pro subscriber to a Pro Infinity owner. :-D
Secondly, this post may not be for everyone. It's concerning what I'm involved with (as well as maybe some others), which is using VDJ as my primary software for online radio broadcasting and live radio streaming (audio). I'm sure there's also a lot of DJ's who do live video-streaming to Mixcloud, Twitch, etc.
For the past 4 years I've elected to audio-stream to a 3rd-party radio station host/platform. They provide the hard part, and you create an account with them, and set up your own radio station. Great for the majority for sure. Set-up is easy and you're up and running, but most have a catch. For free accounts, you usually don't get the greatest quality, and if you want to go past streaming quality at 96 or 128kbps MP3, as well as have a larger listener-seat (more than 400), ...you'll be paying around $30 to $80mo (or higher) for options like 192 to 320 kbps, AAC/Ogg streaming, or features like 24/7 AutoDJ, podcast (set) recording, etc.
But if you're adventurous, want to get your hands dirty, and do a little work, ...there's another option. I'm currently in the process of setting-up my very own radio station platform. There is way to do it for free utilizing an Oracle Cloud VPN server free-tier acct, but I elected to set it up on "Linode.com" for $12 mo., eliminating a lot of the 'front-end' server set-up work ...and certain Linux Cloud Hosting providers already have specific "apps" or "programs" you can select to put on those virtual servers, ...such as "Azuracast", a free powerful open-source full-featured radio station hosting platform software. The end result is that it is my own platform, fully customizable with tons of features, I can stream to it at 192kbps Ogg, and stream from the platform to my listeners at 128 or 192 Ogg. It also let's me incorporate sound processing at the "end" of the chain, as Azuracast lets you elect a quick-install of Thimeo Stereo-Tools (if you own it) right on the platform easily.
It gets better. For those who video-stream, they basically have a 'Twitch" clone video-streaming platform-in-a-box open-source program for Linux server called "Owncast" (the video streaming version of Azuracast). Sounds like a winner, doesn't it, ...but ....is it really?
Now for the Bomb. There was a time when some of these 3rd party radio platforms were covered with blanket performance licensing. The truth is that a lot of people just "assumed" they were. Looking at these host providers' Terms of Service actually states otherwise. They sell online radio station accounts like candy to everyone, and the average Joe doesn't realize that ...they themselves are the ones still responsible for being performanced-licensed to play their music (the majority being copywrited material). I have previously dug into all this. Even at bare minimum with microbroadcasting performance-licensing, you're still looking at $560 to $700 a year. Now ...I'm sure these agencies, labels, and artists probably got too much going on to worry about the little-guy who live streams twice a week for 3 to 4 hours to an audience of 2 to 30 listeners, but technically, it's still illegal.
So I end this with the fact that there are still a few 3rd party platforms that do cover the licensing for you. Either way, to do this legally, it's still gonna cost. For instance, Zeno.fm covers the music performance-licensing if you are on their Premier Tier at $80 a mo, plus a lot of extra features, and can stream at 320kbps Ogg or AAC. I think we all know that Mixcloud is King-of-the-Hill here. Anyone can stream to (even w/ audio-only MPEG) to Mixcloud for $15 a mo. (most people haven't even thought about that). The sad truth is that the majority of what's out there does not cover your licensing if your station (or channel) is available to everyone to access publically online. ..and those other platforms that do keep you somewhat-shielded will still censor/mute parts of your audio or delete your acct completely. I'm friends with and am involved with a large number of 'part-time hobbyist' DJ's, mostly performing in online 3D virtual worlds. For those looking to really dive into all this, the answer is to 'monetize' or pool together with others to absorb the cost. I wanted to share what I've seen over the past 4 years, my thoughts, and I'm curious to see if anyone has anything they want to add to this discussion.
Secondly, this post may not be for everyone. It's concerning what I'm involved with (as well as maybe some others), which is using VDJ as my primary software for online radio broadcasting and live radio streaming (audio). I'm sure there's also a lot of DJ's who do live video-streaming to Mixcloud, Twitch, etc.
For the past 4 years I've elected to audio-stream to a 3rd-party radio station host/platform. They provide the hard part, and you create an account with them, and set up your own radio station. Great for the majority for sure. Set-up is easy and you're up and running, but most have a catch. For free accounts, you usually don't get the greatest quality, and if you want to go past streaming quality at 96 or 128kbps MP3, as well as have a larger listener-seat (more than 400), ...you'll be paying around $30 to $80mo (or higher) for options like 192 to 320 kbps, AAC/Ogg streaming, or features like 24/7 AutoDJ, podcast (set) recording, etc.
But if you're adventurous, want to get your hands dirty, and do a little work, ...there's another option. I'm currently in the process of setting-up my very own radio station platform. There is way to do it for free utilizing an Oracle Cloud VPN server free-tier acct, but I elected to set it up on "Linode.com" for $12 mo., eliminating a lot of the 'front-end' server set-up work ...and certain Linux Cloud Hosting providers already have specific "apps" or "programs" you can select to put on those virtual servers, ...such as "Azuracast", a free powerful open-source full-featured radio station hosting platform software. The end result is that it is my own platform, fully customizable with tons of features, I can stream to it at 192kbps Ogg, and stream from the platform to my listeners at 128 or 192 Ogg. It also let's me incorporate sound processing at the "end" of the chain, as Azuracast lets you elect a quick-install of Thimeo Stereo-Tools (if you own it) right on the platform easily.
It gets better. For those who video-stream, they basically have a 'Twitch" clone video-streaming platform-in-a-box open-source program for Linux server called "Owncast" (the video streaming version of Azuracast). Sounds like a winner, doesn't it, ...but ....is it really?
Now for the Bomb. There was a time when some of these 3rd party radio platforms were covered with blanket performance licensing. The truth is that a lot of people just "assumed" they were. Looking at these host providers' Terms of Service actually states otherwise. They sell online radio station accounts like candy to everyone, and the average Joe doesn't realize that ...they themselves are the ones still responsible for being performanced-licensed to play their music (the majority being copywrited material). I have previously dug into all this. Even at bare minimum with microbroadcasting performance-licensing, you're still looking at $560 to $700 a year. Now ...I'm sure these agencies, labels, and artists probably got too much going on to worry about the little-guy who live streams twice a week for 3 to 4 hours to an audience of 2 to 30 listeners, but technically, it's still illegal.
So I end this with the fact that there are still a few 3rd party platforms that do cover the licensing for you. Either way, to do this legally, it's still gonna cost. For instance, Zeno.fm covers the music performance-licensing if you are on their Premier Tier at $80 a mo, plus a lot of extra features, and can stream at 320kbps Ogg or AAC. I think we all know that Mixcloud is King-of-the-Hill here. Anyone can stream to (even w/ audio-only MPEG) to Mixcloud for $15 a mo. (most people haven't even thought about that). The sad truth is that the majority of what's out there does not cover your licensing if your station (or channel) is available to everyone to access publically online. ..and those other platforms that do keep you somewhat-shielded will still censor/mute parts of your audio or delete your acct completely. I'm friends with and am involved with a large number of 'part-time hobbyist' DJ's, mostly performing in online 3D virtual worlds. For those looking to really dive into all this, the answer is to 'monetize' or pool together with others to absorb the cost. I wanted to share what I've seen over the past 4 years, my thoughts, and I'm curious to see if anyone has anything they want to add to this discussion.
发表时间 Tue 09 Jan 24 @ 7:54 am