Your favorite song comes on your Internet radio station, and you’re dancing. Out of nowhere, an ad you can’t skip pops up. If you’re impatient like I am, you immediately leave the free station and go to another one, or YouTube. But when you get there, another ad greets you.
If you use Internet radio at all, you’ve noticed the recent intrusive ad increases, and the “upgradable” ad-free versions of every site. The most common fees are from $5 to $10 per month. So, do the math, and you’re paying $60 - $120 a year for something you used to get for free.
Maybe I’ve been spoiled; maybe everyone has. But as a broke college kid, I really can’t see spending a fee – no matter how cheap — to listen to radio. Like everyone else, I want what I want and I want it now, for free.
The government is to thank for all the ads. More than 10 years ago, when Internet radio wasn’t really popular, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Internet radio is forced to pay both performance and publishing royalties. Meanwhile, land radio stations only need to pay publishing royalties.
Most sites never make a profit. Advertising is understandable, but still.
I’m not saying that online radio isn’t an amazing thing. Most stations personalize to your tastes, and you can access the music anywhere if you have a smartphone. But the thing about this radio that everyone liked was its free access and lack of commercials. Take that away, and you might as well be listening to a frustrating land station like Clear Channel. Every two songs or so, there’s a commercial.
Who wants to listen to that? Not me.
So if you’ve had enough of ads from the big sites like Live385, Pandora and Slacker, check out these free, non-commercial stations: SomaFM, Radio Paradise and Deeper into Music. You won’t regret it.
-Heather Butterworth
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