HEARD ON THE BEAT / <i> Buzz from the Business World</i> : Net Radio

Pushing the boundaries of music on the Net, Grand Royal Records--home of the Beastie Boys--is the first established record label to use a cutting-edge MP3 streaming technology to promote its artists.

Launched last week, the Grand Royal Radio show (https://www.grandroyal.com/grRadio.html) relies on a new Web tool called Shoutcast. Developed by Arizona-based Nullsoft Inc., Shoutcast lets anyone stream MP3 files--both legitimate and pirate--for free over the Net.

Los Angeles-based Grand Royal is using the technology to push 17 artists--including Luscious Jackson, Ben Lee and Sean Lennon. The Shoutcast channel runs 24 hours a day and randomly shuffles its playlist.

Since Shoutcast’s release last December, thousands of DJ upstarts have jumped at the chance to launch their own online radio stations. Before its work on Shoutcast, Nullsoft was best known for making the Net’s most popular MP3 software player, WinAmp.