Live365 is an Internet radio

Internet radio

Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...

 network where members can create their own online radio station or listen to other Live365 broadcasters' online stations. As of October 2006, there were about 6,500 active stations, some of which play niche genres seldom heard on AM

AM broadcasting

AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...

/FM

FM broadcasting

FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...

 radio. Most Live365 broadcasters are hobbyists and music aficionados, but several established small AM and FM stations also utilize Live365 to stream their audio over the Internet.

Listening services

Users can tune in to Live365 stations with various software media players, as well as with hardware devices that can connect to the Live365 stations. Station lists within these players are typically grouped by genre. Users may also register with a valid e-mail address and download the Live365 Player software that provides additional features. Finally, Live365 offers a paid membership, called a "VIP Membership", that allows listening to broadcasts commercial-free.

TiVo

TiVo

TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...

 subscribers with a TiVo Series2 DVR connected to their home network have access to Live365 as part of their home media center. A limited number of stations are provided for free but membership provides access to the full range of stations.

Slim Devices

Slim Devices

Slim Devices, Inc. is a consumer electronics company based in Mountain View, California, United States. Their main product is the Squeezebox network music player which connects to a home ethernet or Wi-Fi network, and allows the owner to stream digital audio over the network to a stereo...

' Squeezebox network audio player can browse and play Live365 radio streams through the SqueezeNetwork.

Internet broadcasting services

Users can create their own radio stations by purchasing a "DJ" membership. Broadcast service membership packages vary in features and capability, allowing potential customers to select a package to better suit their needs. At the most basic level, Personal Broadcast services allow the broadcaster to create a playlist of MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

 files that are streamed to listeners.

Live365 provides software to upload MP3 files and schedule playlists to run at certain times.

Advanced broadcasters can also download software to broadcast "live" using a home computer, stable bandwidth connection, and a microphone or mixing board. Professional broadcaster memberships include royalty and licensing packages for ASCAP, BMI

Broadcast Music Incorporated

Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...

 and SESAC

SESAC

SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the...

 fees. Advanced users can also relay streams from external sources.

Live365 also advertises on their site that they pay all royalties (SoundExchange, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC) for Personal Broadcast packages as well.

History

Nanocosm Inc. was a technology startup founded by two roommates from the Princeton class of 1981, Alex Sanford and Steve Follmer, whose initial product was NanoHome, a 3D "Virtual Home" website featuring 3D homepages on the World Wide Web

World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...

. The first release of Live365 was built by a small skunkworks team

Skunkworks project

A skunkworks project is one typically developed by a small and loosely structured group of people who research and develop a project primarily for the sake of radical innovation. The term typically refers to technology projects, and originated with Skunk Works, an official alias for the Lockheed...

 of workers at Nanocosm; it had its beginnings in a hosted community radio project developed by Nanocosm employee Andy Volk in his free time using Shoutcast

SHOUTcast

SHOUTcast is cross-platform proprietary software for streaming media over the Internet. The software, developed by Nullsoft , allows digital audio content, primarily in MP3 or HE-AAC format, to be broadcast to and from media player software, enabling the creation of Internet radio "stations"...

 technology, modified by employee Brian Lomeland. Andy shared the idea with Nanocosm CTO Peter Rothman, and they developed the concept for a new large-scale hosted community radio service dubbed Live365, taking advantage of the new DMCA. Live365's explosive initial growth after launch in July 1999 quickly eclipsed NanoHome, which the company soon closed to focus on Live365.

At launch, broadcasting and listening on Live365 was free of charge (premium pro services were added to later releases). Stations had a maximum listener cap of 365 simultaneous listeners and 365 megabytes of storage for music and audio. In September 2001, Live365 began charging for use of its service. More expensive plans allowed stations to have more simultaneous listeners and a greater amount of music file storage space. Members who joined before September 2001 could continue broadcasting with their original package for free — however all the stations that were paying members would be listed higher in the station directory, theoretically causing lower listener numbers. This model would later be replaced with one in which all members pay, but those who joined before September 2001 receive a discount.

In 2002, there were concerns regarding the future of Internet radio due to skyrocketing royalty rates imposed onto Internet radio stations from record companies. Live365 and its members fought strongly against this by airing a series of public service announcements on its stations outlining the objectives to the listeners. At that time, it was agreed that Internet-only broadcasters and terrestrial radio stations streaming on the Internet would have to pay 70 cents per song, per 1,000 listeners.

In 2007, it was feared royalty rate increases would price smaller broadcasters out of Live365 due to pending action at the House Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee. These fears have not yet materialized. In 2008, Live365 upgraded most of its broadcasters' packages free of charge.

In 2010, Live365 introduced a new re-design and features to the homepage. Among the highlights were an embedded audio player accessible from every page of the website featuring album artwork, recommendations, and sharing features; new Quick Genres, Presets, and Search for hassle-free navigation; updated station directory featuring multiple station views and easy station sort; and station pages with the ability to distribute or share content via Facebook, Twitter, Email, and widgets.

Personnel

• Ed Schaffer — CEO
• Johnie Floater — GM, Media
• Kevin Liao — Director, Advanced Development
• Heidi Elgaard — Director, Marketing
• John Toupin — Director, Engineering
• Angus MacDonald — General Counsel
• Raymond Barrett — Director, Product Management
• Jason Stoddard — Director, Broadcasting Sales