In the limited world of mainstream corporate radio, the concept of personal choice leaves something to be desired. Radio options for the drive to work often come down to a game of Russian roulette between classic rock, screaming DJs and golden oldies.
Roughly half the music currently sold in Canadian record stores isn't even broadcast. But on the Internet, where minimum choice and constant commercials don't exist, Webcasting -- specialized online broadcasting -- is positioned to revolutionize the way we think about radio.
Looking for a place to hear the latest European releases? Craving quality Chinese radio or all Rolling Stones all the time? All that's required to listen to radio online is a modem and (free) Real Media software, which "streams" audio from Web sites.
How many different stations are already available is hard to know exactly, but a basic search will yield thousands of options. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology publishes a list of stations with links to 9,000 sites alone.
In Canada, one of the first large scale Internet radio sites is Iceberg Media.com, which operates out of the old KISS FM studios in downtown Toronto. Since it officially launched in November, the Iceberg.com portal has seen about 500% more listeners. Attempting to replenish the black hole that exists for 15-to- 35-year-olds on mainstream radio, Iceberg streams live and archived audio 24-7. It appeals to young audiences with three highly specific sites: 1groove.com (dance music); 2kool4radio.com (alternative rock) and primeticket.net (live concerts and tickets).
"A lot of the music that's on the top of the charts is a little bit homogenized," says David Marsden, vice-president of entertainment at Iceberg. "My feeling about music is that it's worthwhile to let the people hear and they will decide. The audiences aren't stupid."
Iceberg is heading away from the Internet's do-it-yourself ethos (where one can broadcast out of their basement at little cost), toward a more corporate approach. For 10 years, Marsden was the head of programming at CFNY-FM in Toronto, but both he and his partner James Hardy say they are hoping to avoid what typically happens with a new medium.
"As McLuhan said, the new [technology] just puts on what the old one had," says Hardy. "But this is still a very exciting and embryonic method of communication. We haven't come close to exploiting or exploring what's available."
One of the most popular shows on 1groove.com is DJ Mark Oliver's Odyssey, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Tuesdays, which features the kind of dance music you usually have to go to a club to hear. As with much of Iceberg's programming, the show is then rebroadcast from midnight to 4 a.m. off-line on CIUT, the University of Toronto radio station.
Oliver also spins records every Saturday at The Guvernment nightclub in Toronto. But he says he enjoys getting e-mail from listeners after his Iceberg shows because it makes him feel like he's part of an underground community.
"A lot of people feel that big corporations getting involved will force creative sacrifices," says Oliver. "But so far this doesn't have that feeling. We have complete creative freedom and that's Iceberg's selling point. The individual DJs have complete control."
Oliver starts his show with dreamy 90 beat-per-minute electronic and house music and then builds to 150 per-minute garage and trance. "You don't have that pressure to make people dance so there's more freedom," he says. "You can play a lot more interesting music. I just don't think people understand how easy the technology is to hook up at home."
"Iceberg is very, very impressive," says Lonewolf, a Toronto DJ who runs a production company and specializes in soul music. "Our music's not mainstream. You don't hear it on the radio. So there's a real need for Internet radio. It allows people to hear a particular DJ before they leave their house to go down to a club. It also keeps the underground music scene going."
It is ultimately the freedom of choice on the Internet that has some people worried about how hard it will be to find worthwhile content. The CRTC isn't allowed to regulate the global community.
"There's going to have to be some sort of quality control because it seems like pure anarchy right now," says Oliver. "There's a lot of great, but there's also a lot of bad as well. As long as they keep the college radio station mentality and understand that the people who are listening don't want to hear the same stuff they would hear on the radio. It's going to be a matter of how well it's marketed."
"I haven't been this excited by a new project in a long time," says Marsden. "This is a whole new frontier and when it comes down to asking questions there really isn't anyone that we call. Old-fashioned radio has its place, but it's not a place I want to be."