Free Internet Radio Stations vs.Paying to Broadcast on the Air

Are you considering starting your own Internet radio show? Are you wondering if you should go through one where you pay them to air you, or should you go with one of the free sites?

Until recently one of the huge benefits of a paid Internet station was promotion and some offer a producer to handle your sound and incoming calls as well as any technical problems that might come up.

The world of Internet radio is new but quickly becoming the biggest thing across the Internet. At any given hour of the day or night in almost any country in the world you can access a show that covers just about any possible topic that the imagination can conjure up.

Blogtalk Radio appears to be on of the most popular sites for Internet radio. At any given time one can find a show that supports to the military and Army Wives to an interview with your favorite soap star and if that isn't your cup of tea you can get a psychic reading on another show. Hundreds of shows run every hour with hosts who call from home and listeners who join them in their own chatroom.

Nowlive is another popular Internet radio station but it doesn't seem to offer quite as much to the host. Though, it is the official station of Adrianne Curry and that alone makes it highly popular.

As a host the main issue seems to be customer service between these two sites. Blogtalk often has live help available and is normally pretty quick about responding to any issue that may arise. They make it easy to upload audio such as intro's and outro's and the switchboard is easy to operate. Callers can call either via phone or via Internet into any of the shows. The main complaints about blogtalk: there are occasionally technical issues and live help is not available 24/7. Blogtalk does offer a revshare program as well, unlike paid Internet radio stations; the host actually has a chance to make a few dollars.

Nowlive does not seem to have the same level of customer service as emails sent when inquiring about items not on the FAQ list were never answered and the site at times is confusing to navigate. Nowlive does have a large listening audience and the sound quality is good. It also offers a chatroom for each show. The chat can be difficult for many if you don't have the right browser; Firefox is recommended. Unlike blogtalk where the show is scheduled for a limited amount of time, Nowlive you can air all day if you so choose and you don't have to schedule shows in advance. The switchboard is very easy to run but uploading sound does not seem possible or it is very difficult to figure out. Emails sent to Nowlive asking about this issue went unanswered.

Free Internet radio is becoming the way of most hosts. Many have started on paid Internet radio stations and found the price to be to steep for the amount of business and listeners it generates in return.

If you are considering a paid Internet radio station then it is recommended that you spend some time listening to the other shows, chatting in the chatroom if one is available. Chatrooms will give you an idea of how well the shows and the station itself are doing. If the chatroom is empty it's a sign that there isn't a huge interactive audience. Also take the time to contact some of the hosts on that station, ask how long they have been with that Internet radio station and ask about their audience size, how much business they have generated from their show on that station and their experience with the station. Most stations will give you names of their more popular hosts and ask you to talk with them. Keep in mind this is normally someone who has done well or already has an established listener base. Contact others on your own for a clear picture of what is really going on. Nobody is going to tell you that they are not doing well and their service is not worth the money. Before you pay any money to anyone, get the real information.

Some paid Internet radio stations offer free promotional ad's for your show or business as well as a producer. While these are both benefits one can easily hire an independent such as Road Mix Media to do both voice work and producing for your Internet radio show at a much reduced rate than some of the paid Internet radio stations.

While some of the paid Internet radio stations are being picked up through Satellite and other areas of non-traditional radio it is important not to get swept up in the big words, remember Satellite and HD are still new venues and one has a to have special equipment to access that station. Do your research before putting out you money.

Try out a test show on the free Internet radio stations and compare what you are getting and what suits your needs before making a final decision. Consider all of your options for Internet radio before spending any money and make your choices wisely.