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How to get started broadcasting with Loudcaster.
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Loudcaster Broadcaster Help
This post is intended to help new and existing broadcasters in setting up their stations.Lets start with the basics.
Select your broadcast package. - Find a Loudcaster package that suites your needs. It's OK to start small and add listener slots as you need them. Once you have a broadcast package set up you can access your
dashboard by mousing over your email address in the top right of any Loudcaster page and clicking on "Broadcaster Dashboard". The image below shows an example of what the menu in your dashboard will look like.
Name your station. - I suggest you use something original. Try and stay away from using call letters and numbers. Remember, you are setting up an Internet Radio station and you are the boss.
Using call letters and/or numbers can get your station labeled as a "poser" station. Be creative, uncommon names can call attention to your station.
Set up your station.
Decide if you would like to have your station listed on TuneIn (There is an added fee for this). - Advantages of a TuneIn listing are the increased exposure for your station. For now contact support with help for this option.
Configure your Add-Ons - Add-Ons include enabling background images and Crossfading.
Upload music to your DJ Bot. - I suggest you upload no more than 3 songs from the same artist to start with and vary the artists as you upload. I recommend that you do this because your station will start streaming as soon as your DJ Bot detects playable content.
Your broadcast is governed by DMCA (Digital Mellinuim Copyright Act).
Important highlights of the DMCA are:
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) was passed by Congress and details the rules regarding Internet broadcasts that are eligible for compulsory licenses. Below is a partial list of the rules that us broadcasters need to pay attention to. We have abbreviated these rules to include only those that likely would be relevant. The relevant rules which you must carefully review are as follows:
Our program must not be part of an “interactive service.” For our purposes, this means that we cannot perform sound recordings within one hour of a request by a listener or at a time designated by the listener.
In any three-hour period, we should not intentionally program more than three songs (and not more than two songs in a row) from the same recording; you should not intentionally program more than four songs (and not more than three songs in a row) from the same recording artist or anthology/box set.
Continuous looped programs may not be less than three hours long.
Rebroadcasts of programs may be performed at scheduled times as follows:
Programs of less than one-hour: no more than three times in a two-week period.
Programs longer than one hour: no more than four times in any two-week period.
We should not publish advance program guides or use other means to pre-announce when particular sound recordings will be played.
We should only broadcast sound recordings that are authorized for performance in the United States.
We should pass through (and not disable or remove) identification or technological protection information included in the sound recording (if any).
Be sure to set your rotation rules. - Set your rules for repeats as desired. These settings are in total minutes with 600 minutes equaling 10 hours. I recommend you do not leave it set to the default settings. Do not set your rotation rules to a setting that is over the amount of music uploaded to your DJ Bot.
Configure your Live Broadcast - Your live broadcast settings can be found in your Dashboard. These settings are to be entered in your encoder for your live broadcasting software. Once you have your live broadcasting software set up, just enable your encoder and start your broadcast. Your DJ Bot will detect your live stream and switch automatically. Once you are done with your show, just shut down your encoder and your DJ Bot will automatically take over. There are no switches that you need to make.
Software for Live Broadcasting - Not a complete list, but it provides a starting point.
Windows
Sam Broadcaster
RadioBOSS - There is a Loudcaster version available, just contact support for info.
Winamp - Use the SHOUTcast DSP Plugin to broadcast Live.
StationPlaylist
ZaraRadio
BUTT - (Broadcast Using This Tool)
Mac
Megaseg
BUTT - (Broadcast Using This Tool)
*Please note. Some of these tools may need an encoder to broadcast. Encoders include:
Ed-Cast
****Please note, your live stream must an mp3 stream. If you send any other type of streaming format, it will not work. I suggest a 128k mp3 stream.
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In this Discussion
- bhaney November 2011