Does anyone know why more radio stations do not stream live audio ?

[steve2470]

I've read it has something to do with red tape and expenses. True ?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

1. As I understand, it's expensive to do. n/t

[wtmusic]

3. Yes

Massive bandwidth is required to stream to hundreds of thousands of listeners in real time.

[ScamUSA.Com]

2. if it involves music or syndicated content

there are all kinds of licensing issues

[pinkpops]

4. Consider the cost vs payback from local advertisers who won't

sell anything outside the local market.

[RC]

5. Copyright issues involving the ham fisted music industry.

How dare anyone listen to music without paying BMI and/or ASCAP their share. You cannot even have a radio on in a business where a customer can hear it without paying a license fee to these legalized thieves.
http://www.bmi.com/licensing/business/groupb/faq/musiconhold_answers.asp

Q: Our Music-On-Hold System Only Uses Programming From Local Radio Stations. Aren't The Stations Already Licensed?

A: Though radio stations are licensed with BMI to perform the music they broadcast, that agreement does not cover further public performance by those receiving the radio broadcast signal. When radio music is used in music-on-hold, that use is a separate performance under the copyright law.
This also applies to the internet. It all but killed the streaming of local broadcast AM & FM radio.


http://www.woodpecker.com/writing/essays/royalty-politics.html

[splat]

6. CARP

Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP)-- copyright fees sent by the Librarian of Congress and Copyright Office are prohibitive.

On February 20, 2002, however, the CARP arbitrators issued their recommendation - .14¢ per song per listener (that's $.0014) for Internet-only webcasters, .07¢ per song per listener ($.0007) for broadcast radio simulcasts, and .02¢ per song per listener($.0002) for non-commercial radio simulcasts.

While CARP's proposed royalty rate might be manageable for Internet radio properties owned by multi-billion-dollar corporations like AOL, Yahoo!, and Microsoft, it seems as if it will effectively bankrupt the vast majority of Webcasters.

This was later leveled to .07¢ per song per listener for everybody.

http://www.2step-garage.co.uk/competitions/garage_competitions.htm

More: http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/062102/index.asp