Re: reaching folks

["Stephen P. Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

"matt davignon" <mattdavignon@hotmail.com> put forth:
> >Miko > For the average music-seeking public, (and myself)... Access to
MP3
> >and Real Audio has really helped me to sample before I buy. I know there
> >are listening kiosks at most major retailers now, but the range you can
> >find on the internet is so much greater. Hell... I can listen to a large
> >number of our own members! Over on Live365 there's loads of experimental
> >radion stations...
>
> Um, yeah. If you go to live365 you can pull up about 100 of 'em (at least
> that's how many came up last time I looked). I got pretty disappointed to
> find that the vast majority were actually techno stations, rock stations
> (one listed Dave Matthews Band), and industrial/goth stations. Out of the
10
> or so that were actually experimental stations, most of those were pretty
> heavy on the Merzbow-type material, which isn't bad, but not what I dig.
> There are a few good ones, and I'm working on making one of my own too.

I've had one up there for a number of months.  I've got no complaints about
Live365 at this time, unless they want to start locking people into a
pay-for-play model like mp3.com.  But for now it's lovely.  My station is 
at
http://www.live365.com/stations/218194 if you're interested.

> 1) It seems to be pretty hard to get background information when you're 
>on
> live365.com. You get about 1 sentence describing the station, and it's 
>not
> often that you can manage to find the station host's web page (if one
> exists). So.... how does one get to find out who does what song?

Well, on my station it's just *me*.  I don't know what others are doing 
with
it, but you've got to have the right to post it there in order to have it 
on
your station.  It would seem that most stations are like that.

> 2) The times that I want to hear new music are not times when streaming
> radio is available. I know. I should probably figure out a way to wire my
> computer to the living room speakers or something, but every time I'm in
my
> room with free time, I'm usually doing something with sound. Go figure.

Shame on you.  Use a Y-Connector mini-plug (stereo), which you can hook up
to your computers' speakers, AND an adapter for RCA plugs, which then goes
to your stereo via shielded cables (which can be up to 30 feet in my
experience before they turn into an antenna).  If you have a receiver and 
it
has a Tape 2 or DAT input, either will do for this.  I did it for years
before moving to the UK.  Alas, my beloved Sony is in LA.

> 3) Finding good music online is surprisingly hard! I figured when I got 
>my
> computer, I wouldn't need to buy CD's as much, since I could find free
music
> from online artists who wanted to be heard... but there's a lot to sift
> through, and I have yet to find a good website that specifically
references
> through ALL streaming music on the internet. Listen.com is great for
looking
> for individual artists or mp3's in a genre - it would be cool to see them
> list streaming stations too! Does anybody know of a place that already
does
> this?

I think one of the reasons this great stuff is free to us is that it's up 
to
us to publicize it.  An afternoon sitting at the PC entering in stuff to
search engines will do the trick.  On the other hand if you could set up an
indexed web site that accumulated enough content, it could be the 
equivalent
of Yahoo in its own way.  Let me know if anyone needs help doing this, I
could use the work, and I see the potential.

Stephen Goodman
http://www.earthlight.net/Gallery_Front.html - Cartoons & Illustrations
http://www.earthlight.net/Studios * The free Loop of the Week!
http://www.live365.com/stations/218194 * EarthLight Online / Live!