Internet radio growing in popularity

A common misconception about Internet radio and programs like Pandora: They are sometimes thought to be illegal and similar to programs like Limewire, Frostwire and Bearshare. Not so. They are completely legal and have good value.

Internet radio started in 1994 with the first live broadcast of a Seattle space-rock band called “Sky Cries Mary” and has greatly evolved since. It has started to become more popular since 2003 with the introduction of programs like Pandora, iHeartRadio and, more recently, Spotify.

Apart from letting you listen to music for free, some Internet radio services also recommend different artists and other songs of the same genre that you might like to listen to.

“Internet radio is a great tool for finding new music because it lets you listen to songs and artists you may never have even heard of before,” sophomore Alex Renda said.

Beginning in 2005, Pandora has asserted its dominance as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Internet radio websites available.

This is how Pandora works: The listener types in a song or artist that he or she wants to listen to, and Pandora plays a song with the same genre or artist. Based on the feedback of the listener on the song that Pandora has recommended (in the form of a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down”), Pandora caters its song choice to fit what the listener wants to hear, allowing it to make more personalized recommendations in the future.

A similar program to Pandora is iHeartRadio.com. With iHeartRadio, one can choose a local radio station that he or she would like to listen to, and it plays the music that is going on in the radio station live, as if one was listening to it in the car.

There is also a feature in iHeartRadio called “create your own station,” where a listener may choose an artist and it will play a medley of songs from that artist as if it were a playlist of that artist.

One of the newest Internet radio/music streaming websites, called Spotify, has also experienced a rise in popularity since 2008. Initially only available in Europe, Spotify launched in America this summer and has received enormous praise.

The program hit 10 million users in September 2010, and since November 2011, has been usable in 13 countries, while Pandora can only be used in the United States.

SHS students have taken a liking to Spotify and use it while doing homework and studying. Spotify allows the user to create playlists and listen to music free and legally.

One of the most popular features of Spotify is its integration with Facebook. Spotify users can choose to sign in to Spotify with Facebook, allowing Facebook friends to see the music that their peers are listening too, and listen to it for themselves.

“Spotify is great because it lets you customize play lists with a seemingly infinite collection of free and legal music,” Renda said.

However, Spotify does have its downfalls: annoying advertisements interrupt the music, and it is not free on mobile devices, so those who wish to take Spotify on the go must purchase a premium membership.

One of the main downfalls of Internet radio is that there are often restrictions when using the free versions of Internet radio programs, but in the end Internet radio is a great way to listen to your favorite music legally and for free.