Personal ‘Radio Stations’ on Net Via Shoutcasting

First, Web surfers could listen to music and news from the Internet. Now a free program called Shoutcast gives people the power to turn their PC into a Net radio station.

Shoutcast, the creation of 20-year-old University of Utah dropout Justin Frankel, was released in December. It has spawned a grass-roots movement, with users pumping music, comedy and talk shows to the Net.

“People are Shoutcasting from all over the world,” said Rob Lord, director of online strategies for Shoutcast creator Nullsoft of Sedona, Ariz. At times, there are as many as 1,000 Shoutcasters.

Shoutcasts have included a music show from the Netherlands and a relay of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s show.

To listen, you need Winamp, Nullsoft’s player for MP3 music files. Winamp, which can be obtained from https://www.winamp.com, is easy-to-install shareware that costs $10 after a two-week trial.

Want to find out what’s on? Go to Shoutcast’s site at https://www.shoutcast.com and click on the link labeled “listen” for a list of active servers that you can search by genre.

Shoutcasts can also be accessed with MP3Spy. In addition to a searchable list with more genres, MP3Spy lets you mark favorite servers for future listening and chat online with others listening to the same “station.”

MP3Spy shareware, available at https://www.mp3spy.com, costs $20 after a 30-day trial.

Shoutcasters are far outnumbered by those sending out content using the RealPlayer format created by RealNetworks (https://www.real.com), which made Internet audio a reality with the 1995 release of its RealAudio software.

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But for the home user, Shoutcast has a big advantage over RealServer, the software used to broadcast RealAudio and RealVideo content. RealServer costs at least $695. For noncommercial use, Shoutcast is free. For commercial users, it’s $299.

Lord pointed out that RealServer also requires a broadband, or high-speed, connection to the Net. You can Shoutcast using the 56K modem most people use, though Lord says you can reach only two people at most at that speed.

MP3, which enables people to easily swap music files, has struck fear into the music industry, which has launched various initiatives to come up with a digital format that will ensure that musicians and record companies continue to get paid.

Although Shoutcast represents another potential threat, Nullsoft has made clear it does not support music piracy. The Shoutcast site includes a link to the Recording Industry Assn. of America’s site location discussing Web-cast licensing.

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The biggest obstacle to home Shoutcasting is the low-speed connections most people use, but that’s about to change too. Lord said that by July “audio homesteading”--free servers that people can shoot their Netcasts to for high-speed links--should be available.

“We’re going to make it easier,” Lord said. “We want everybody to be a DJ and share their music with their friends.”