15 years ago, if you wanted to listen to streaming radio, it was a mess. There were 100 different ways to stream, and each one had a different method. Some needed Java, some forced you to install a browser plugin into your browser, some required QuickTime, some only worked on Windows, some did not work with Internet Explorer, some only worked with Bill Gates’ bastard stepchild Silverlight.<\/p>\n
The good news is that era is now completely gone. The residual debris is people who still think listeners will install a branded app on mobile devices to listen to a single station. The jury is still out on apps that aggregate like iHeartRadio and Tunein.<\/p>\n
NPR somewhat led this revolution and others are following. Cumulus is still driving the truck off a cliff. NPR and Alpha Media put their player(s) right at the top of the page. You click the play icon, it just plays. As long as the browser tab isn’t closed, it just keeps playing. No second page that has to load with 28 MB of crap. A few hundred lines of JavaScript and it starts playing <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
15 years ago, if you wanted to listen to streaming radio, it was a mess. There were 100 different ways to stream, and each one had a different method. Some needed Java, some forced you to install a browser plugin … Continue reading