Internet is one of the admirable inventions of mankind, as it brings all together millions and millions of inhabitants from around the world and provides them with a common platform to do an endless variety of activities. The power to find and share information, connect with each other through social networks and play games together are just a few of the activities many internet users enjoy regularly. Due to the advent of internet, a long-time amusement medium needed to change its ways in order to survive and continue to exist. The technology, you might have guessed, is established radio play, which had to transform itself into 'the radio on the internet' so it wouldn't fall behind the rapidly changing digital world.
Radio on the Internet, or Internet Radio as it's generally called, was first set in motion in the earlier part of the 1990s but it didn't find many avid listeners in the beginning. The few pioneer online radios had to adjust the conventional system they had in place noticeably in order to acquire an audience. This forced radio stations to present their audience with anything they wanted, no matter how divergent it was to regular radio principles.
The basic difference between traditional radio and 'radio on the internet' is the fact that internet radio stations can be heard from any computer around the world. This means the for example, if you are a located in the state of California in the United States, you can still catch up the online radio shows being broadcast from other states like New York, or even other countries on other continents. Such a feat isn't possible with the regular technology and that's where Internet Radio stations holds a distinct advantage.
The Internet was initially devoted strictly for educational and communication purposes but as soon as its popularity soared, the Congress was left with no choice but to approve its usage for commercial motives too. The very first program to be broadcast through the internet was a tech-based talk show. Soon the musicians got involved and in 1994, famous rock band The Rolling Stones became the first musical group to use internet radio for one of their concerts. The radio stations followed this new trend and began to stream their live music for free on the internet.
Everything seemed fine until the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was introduced by Bill Clinton administration, which meant that the online radio stations had to start paying musicians for playing their material. Hence, the free broadcasts evolved into a full fledged business where the users now had to pay to listen.
However, since the impact of this decision wasn't extremely powerful before the turn of the 20th century, a plethora of quality online radio shows had emerged. The number of choices and variety imparted to the listeners quickly skyrocketed, giving listeners the ability to listen to whatever they want at anytime. Internet Radio has not is helping the audience, but also aspiring musicians who benefit from the increased airtime and are grateful for this game changing invention.
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