Internet radio - a burgeoning market?

Internet radio (also known as streaming radio and webcasting) is an audio service transmitted via the internet similar to what we are used to experiencing via FM signal on our car radios. Music streaming on the internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted broadly through wireless means.

Internet radio involves streaming media, presenting listeners with a continuous stream of audio that cannot be paused or replayed, much like traditional broadcast media; in this respect, it is distinct from on-demand file serving like Spotify. Internet radio is also distinct from podcasting, which involves downloading rather than streaming. many internet radio services are associated with a corresponding traditional (terrestrial) radio station or radio network. 'Internet-only radio stations' are independent of such relationships.

Many internet radio services are accessible from anywhere in the world - for example, one can in many cases listen to an American station from South Africa or anywhere else. However some major networks like CBS Radio and Citadel Broadcasting in the US, and Chrysalis in the UK have restricted listening to a single territory because of music licensing and advertising issues.

Internet radio is particularly popular among expatriates and listeners with interests that are often not adequately served by local radio stations (such as South Africans listening abroad for local news and music). Fans of more obscure genres like classic rock, Eurodance, ambient music, folk music and classical music tend to be fans of internet radio because there are not corresponding terrestrial radio stations providing only their chosen genres. Internet radio services can be very genre-specific and still survive. However it is true to say that the bigger ones do reflect the same content as their terrestrial cousins.

Internet radio services have for some time been popular in the US, attracting significant audiences for a "lean back" non-interactive consumer experience. Pandora, probably a market leader in the field, has continued to grow - reaching 74.7 million active listeners by December 2017. This growth is just too huge to ignore. Most of Pandora's revenue comes from advertising. But Pandora's size and operating procedure makes it more a streaming service than true internet radio. Several others, such as Shoutcast, AOL Radio (which is ad-driven), NPR (National Public Radio) and Jango have followed suit.

Last.fm one of the larger internet radio providers, has an interesting facility called 'My Music Habits' that analyses music listening trends for Last.fm members and provides insight on the diversity of music being listened to. The music listening trends are broken down into artist/album/track trends and can be viewed over a variety of time periods. Mixcloud, another provider, filters the most popular artists and releases to the top of a listening list. The Mixcloud service proclaims it is 'rethinking internet radio', because it helps connect radio content to listeners more effectively: “Mixcloud joins the dots between radio shows, Podcasts and DJ mixes. We refer to them as Cloudcasts - audio shows that are stored in the cloud and available to be streamed on-demand.”

Internet stations now number in the hundreds of thousands.