Shop talk
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Talk To Me
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If you were like me, back in the day one of the biggest thrills was to call your favorite radio station. Whether you wanted to request a song, ask when they were giving away concert tickets, or tell your true love you’d never leave them (what was her name, again?), it was an even bigger…
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Why Do We Need A Video Card?
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I told you yesterday that we need a video card to begin streaming BlackLight Radio again. A reasonable question would be, “why do you need a video card to stream radio?” YouTube does not provide us a way to stream only audio to them; if we’re going to stream to YouTube, we’re going to have…
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The Forty Dollar Question
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I mentioned yesterday that there was an option for BlackLight Radio to begin streaming again, though YouTube. Today, I thought I would detail what that would look like, and what we need. The reason we don’t stream audio anymore is because the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the related laws that were later passed, require…
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We’re back! (Well, the website is.)
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For those of you who have been following us on Facebook, you already knew we were changing web hosts, but if you hadn’t heard, let me explain what has happened: For the past 15 years, we have been extremely blessed to have hosting provided by Jerry Rose and Aidan Internet Solutions. The service and hosting…
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Goodbye.
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It is with the deepest regret that I write you to let you know that BlackLight Radio will cease streaming effective midnight Sunday night. We have been on life support since January when the new webcasting rates went into effect. Today, I lost my “day job” and can no longer afford to pay to keep…
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Why Is BlackLight Radio Silent?
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Starting today, Wednesday, March 16th, BlackLight Radio will not be playing any music or announcements of any kind for an hour each day starting at noon east coast time (9 AM west coast time). We are doing this because the CRB and SoundExchange have not yet agreed to a deal with StreamLicensing and other small…
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Licensing Update
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Another quick update to let you know our licensing rates, which already doubled in January, are going up again in February. As a result, we are looking at several ways to control costs which disrupts the least number of listeners. One option may be disconnecting from a listener after a certain length of time (for…
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Royalty Rates Update
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In my previous update, I told you that the new royalty rates for 2016 didn’t include a small webcaster’s agreement, effectively pricing us out of the industry. Although much is still up in the air, I wanted to update with what I know now. First, negotiations continue behind the scenes to get SoundExchange to agree…
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All I Need Is A Miracle
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Let me first get out of the way that, yes, I know, “All I Need Is A Miracle” is by Mike + The Mechanics, while “Paradise Theater” is by Styx and contains “Don’t Let It End.” BlackLight Radio plays both songs, so I feel justified in mixing and matching for this post. This will be…
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New Mobile Options
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If you look to the left of this post, you will see a link to a mobile app. If you are on either an android or an Apple product, that link will take you to your app store to download, for free, an app locked to BlackLight Radio. First, the good about this app: 1) …
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Financial Realities At BlackLight Radio
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As many of you know, 2014 has been a year of change for BlackLight Radio. As costs continue to skyrocket and licensing companies close their doors, it becomes harder and harder to keep the 80s hits coming. The record labels, under the guise of paying the artist, have been working to break internet radio financially….
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Just Like Starting Over
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Radio stations aren’t always the most transparent when things are changing behind the scenes… but we’re not most radio stations. We license every song we play through a company called Loudcity. They are closing down at the end of February. We expect to move to a company called StreamLicensing. For the most part this will…