The chain from microphone to listener
Every internet station is the same four links. The streaming server is the fixed point: Icecast calls the program feeding it a source client, and every listener connects to the server, never to the source.
| Link | What it does | Typical choice |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Produces the programme | Live: a mixer, DAW or microphone; automated: an Auto DJ |
| Encoder (source client) | Compresses the audio and pushes it to the server | BUTT, a broadcast playout package, a hardware encoder |
| Streaming server | Accepts one source per mountpoint, serves every listener | Icecast or SHOUTcast |
| Player and directories | Where listeners find and play it | Web player, TuneIn, Radio Browser, Radio Garden |
BUTT (broadcast using this tool) runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and streams to Icecast, SHOUTcast or WebRTC (WHIP) servers in MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Opus or Ogg FLAC, while recording the broadcast locally. On Icecast, each stream lives on a mountpoint, a unique name such as /stream; one server can carry several, for example the same show at two bitrates, and a listener plays one mountpoint at a time.
Bandwidth is bitrate times listeners
The server sends each listener their own copy of the stream, so outbound bandwidth scales linearly with the audience. One listener at 128 kbit/s for one hour is 57.6 MB of transfer.
| Bitrate | 100 listeners | 1,000 listeners | 5,000 listeners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 kbit/s (speech) | 3.2 Mbit/s | 32 Mbit/s | 160 Mbit/s |
| 128 kbit/s (music) | 12.8 Mbit/s | 128 Mbit/s | 640 Mbit/s |
| 320 kbit/s (high quality) | 32 Mbit/s | 320 Mbit/s | 1.6 Gbit/s |
A home connection's upload is the usual bottleneck, which is why the encoder sends one copy to a server in a data centre and the server does the fan-out. Leave headroom for the ramp when a popular show starts.
What the hosted platform provides
Our internet radio hosting gives each station its own Icecast 2.5 process on servers we own in New York and Bucharest, on our network AS19624, with unmetered bandwidth on every plan. One switch in the control panel moves a station to a SHOUTcast DNAS 2.6 server instead. The panel's Go live tab prints the server, port, mount, user and password; Icecast encoders use the station port, and classic SHOUTcast-protocol encoders the next port up with the same password.
- Plan limits: each plan sets a maximum bitrate and a cap on listeners at once; the paid plans also carry a monthly allowance of listener hours. An encoder sending above the plan's bitrate cap is disconnected.
- https from the start: every station gets an https:// listen link, so it plays inside secure websites.
- Audience in several regions: on Platinum, the radio CDN answers each listener, and the encoder, from the nearest of five cities.
Live, automated, or both
A station that is only live goes quiet between shows. The Free plan is live-only: with no library storage, the stream ends when the encoder stops. On Premium and Platinum the Auto DJ takes over the mount when no live source is connected, playing hour clocks with station IDs fixed to the minute and a weekly schedule, and hands the air to a DJ when one connects.
- DJ accounts with their own logins and broadcast hours, and a browser studio for going live without installing anything.
- An optional rotation mode that keeps to the US webcasting limits on artists and albums.
- Platinum adds a backup source, DJ-to-DJ handoff without dead air, voice tracking and listener requests.
- Every live show recorded to the library, ready to air again or publish as a podcast episode.
Licensing the music (US)
A song on air carries two copyrights: the sound recording and the composition. SoundExchange administers the statutory licences in sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act for non-interactive services; a service files a Notice of Use with the Copyright Royalty Board before its first transmission. The compositions are licensed separately through ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.
The statutory licence has conditions. Among them:
- Non-interactive: listeners cannot pick tracks on demand, and no published playlist may tell them when a specific recording will play.
- The performance complement: in any three hours, at most four tracks by one featured artist (three in a row) and three from one album (two in a row).
- Audio only, with the artist and title shown on the receiving device as each track plays.
- No archived programmes shorter than five hours or available for more than two weeks.
Licensing is the broadcaster's job, not part of the hosting. The panel keeps the records: airplay logs sealed day by day, SoundExchange-style royalty reports and layouts for ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Our royalty fees guide lists who to contact.
Getting listeners
Directories bring listeners who never visit your website. Every plan includes public .pls, .m3u and .xspf links, help submitting to TuneIn, Radio Browser and Radio Garden, and checks that each directory plays the current address; Alexa and Google smart speakers depend on TuneIn having it right. An ad-free web player embeds in your site, and a public station page and a listing in our radio guide are available after review. Premium and Platinum generate an iPhone and Android app in the station's own name, published from your own developer accounts.
Hosted station or your own server
Self-run Icecast on a dedicated box or VPS is a reasonable project when you want full control of the configuration. You then also own the playout system, the handover between live and automated sources, the airplay logs a royalty report needs, and the directory upkeep. A hosted station starts with those in one panel (the Auto DJ and live/automated handover on Premium and Platinum; the airplay logs and directory tools on every plan); a self-run server starts with a blank config file. For more than 5,000 listeners at once, the radio plans stop and a setup is quoted instead.
Questions
What does a new internet station need?
A source (a live encoder or an Auto DJ), a streaming server such as Icecast or SHOUTcast, outbound bandwidth equal to bitrate times concurrent listeners, and licences for the music you play. Directories and a web player bring the audience.
How much bandwidth does internet radio use?
Bitrate multiplied by concurrent listeners. At 128 kbit/s, 100 listeners need 12.8 Mbit/s of outbound bandwidth and 1,000 listeners 128 Mbit/s. Bandwidth is unmetered on all our radio plans; what each plan caps is bitrate and listeners at once, and on Premium and Platinum a monthly allowance of listener hours.
Is a licence required to stream music to US listeners?
Yes, usually two. The sound recordings fall under the statutory licence SoundExchange administers, after a Notice of Use is filed, and the compositions under ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. The statutory licence does not cover interactive, on-demand services.
Icecast or SHOUTcast?
Both accept the common encoders and serve the same players. Our stations start on Icecast 2.5 and can move to SHOUTcast DNAS 2.6 with one switch in the control panel, on every plan.
Does the station keep playing when nobody is live?
With an Auto DJ, yes. On Premium and Platinum it plays from hour clocks and a weekly schedule and hands over to live DJs. The Free plan is live broadcasting only.
Which encoder works with it?
Any that speaks the Icecast or SHOUTcast source protocol. BUTT is a common choice on Windows, macOS and Linux; hardware encoders and broadcast playout packages work too.