Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Friday, January 25, 2019
Saturday, January 19, 2019
The (not so) Secret Stream to the U.S.
For you listeners in the United States who have been missing Vinyl Voyage Radio: Yes, it's true, we have opened another stream from Canada exclusively for the United States! This is another stream that is licensed through SOCAN. How long this stream will be open, I am not sure. But you can now listen again.
This stream is available on this website. It is also available if you listen on TuneIn. Or, on Longtail (this is a great site. Check it out!) If you listen on the mobile app, it should work as well.
All other sources will be our original stream, and can be listened to on all over the world. This new stream is exclusively for our U.S. listeners. Enjoy!
This stream is available on this website. It is also available if you listen on TuneIn. Or, on Longtail (this is a great site. Check it out!) If you listen on the mobile app, it should work as well.
All other sources will be our original stream, and can be listened to on all over the world. This new stream is exclusively for our U.S. listeners. Enjoy!
Blue Suede Connection is Back!
On the next episode of Blue Suede Connection, Dan and TL play something for everybody! That's right! They've got rock 'n roll Elvis! Country Elvis! Gospel Elvis! Love song Elvis! Listen today at 4pm, Eastern (-5 UTC).
Blue Suede Connection can be heard at the following times:
Blue Suede Connection can be heard at the following times:
Sunday, January 13, 2019
How to Listen to Vinyl Voyage Radio in the United States
Yes, our stream from Canada is now blocked for listeners in the United States.
But can you still listen in the United States? Yes. And it's pretty easy.
The key to listening is using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Using a VPN allows you to route your IP address through another server in another country, "tricking" the internet into thinking you are in another location. In other words, this is good not just for listening to Vinyl Voyage Radio, but it also extends your privacy from advertisers and other entities that may be tracking what you do on the internet.
I use Windscribe VPN. The free version has 10 gigs of data a month. If you tweet that you are using Windscribe, they'll give you 5 gigs more. That's a pretty good deal. Plus, if you use it to just stream Vinyl Voyage Radio for a few hours a day, you're good for the month. (If you want more, they offer several plans that are really affordable. Plus, they are out of Canada. So: win-win!)
The video below explains how to use a VPN to listen to Vinyl Voyage Radio on your computer using a browser extension.
Adding a VPN to your computer, tablet, or phone is pretty easy. I like to use the browser extensions because I have complete control over when I turn the VPN and off.
If you listen using a tablet or smartphone, you can download the VPN app - I have it on both my android phone and my iPad. So I can listen to Vinyl Voyage (or another station that may be coming out of Canada as well) using my device.
It's that easy.
If you have any questions, let me know. You can email me here.
But can you still listen in the United States? Yes. And it's pretty easy.
The key to listening is using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Using a VPN allows you to route your IP address through another server in another country, "tricking" the internet into thinking you are in another location. In other words, this is good not just for listening to Vinyl Voyage Radio, but it also extends your privacy from advertisers and other entities that may be tracking what you do on the internet.
I use Windscribe VPN. The free version has 10 gigs of data a month. If you tweet that you are using Windscribe, they'll give you 5 gigs more. That's a pretty good deal. Plus, if you use it to just stream Vinyl Voyage Radio for a few hours a day, you're good for the month. (If you want more, they offer several plans that are really affordable. Plus, they are out of Canada. So: win-win!)
The video below explains how to use a VPN to listen to Vinyl Voyage Radio on your computer using a browser extension.
Friday, January 11, 2019
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Next on AiV - "The Elite" from 1981!
We have a new episode of Adventures in Vinyl this month! This is The Elite, a K-Tel compilation charit album released in 1981.
New episodes of Adventures in Vinyl can now be heard on the first weekends and the last weekends of the month at 12:30pm (central) on Saturday and 4pm (central) on Sunday. Repeat episodes can be heard on the other weekends.
New episodes of Adventures in Vinyl can now be heard on the first weekends and the last weekends of the month at 12:30pm (central) on Saturday and 4pm (central) on Sunday. Repeat episodes can be heard on the other weekends.
Friday, January 4, 2019
For 2019, Greed Wins
In 2016, the special royalty rates that had been established for microbroadcasters, like myself, expired. As a result, rates in the United States became exorbitant. We were forced to move our stream to Canada in 2016. In Canada, we pay royalties at a microbroadcaster rate to SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada). However, now SoundExchange, the royalty/copyright enforcement agency in the United States, is no longer honoring reciprocal deals with professional rights organizations (PROs) in other countries.
Today, Soundexchange requires that all people who stream music, whether it is a commercial station or not, needs to pay the same amount as Amazon, Apple, Spotify, Pandora and Google, regardless of the country from where they stream and regardless of the purpose of the music. We don't broadcast Vinyl Voyage radio to make a profit. In fact, it costs me a lot of money a year to keep this going. If I were to pay what SoundExchange is demanding that all broadcasters pay, that would mean it would cost over a $1000 minimum every year simply to stream music from my basement to listeners in the United States.
We cannot do that.
Don't get me wrong: I want to pay royalties to artists and musicians. However, I cannot afford to do that at the rates that corporate music providers pay. They are raking in the money through advertising and subscription fees. I am still unsure just how much actually goes to the artists themselves.
Therefore, we will continue streaming, but our stream will be geoblocked for listeners in the United States starting on January 12, 2019.
Sorry about this.
Until the United States restores microbroadcaster rates (as every other country still has), we will not be available to those listeners.
What this means is that for music lovers in the United States, over the next year, your choices in online music will get smaller and smaller.
Just what Amazon, Apple, Google, Pandora and Spotify want.
If you live in the United States and want things to change, write your Congress members and tell them that SoundExchange needs to restore microbroadcaster rates in order to allow small, microbroadcasters like Vinyl Voyage Radio to operate in the United States. You can use the form below to do that.
When you click the box below, the following message will be sent to you representatives:
There used to be more variety of music on the internet. For example, I really enjoy listening to music on Vinyl Voyage Radio. However, since the United States no longer has a category of royalty rates for small microbroadcasters and hobbyists, it is cost-prohibitive to run a small non-profit station in the United States. And now, many more are being forced to close their streams in the United States due to the fact that SoundExchange is no longer accepting streams from other countries who are not paying U.S. royalty rates. These rates are the same across the board. That means that small hobbyists broadcasting out of their basements are paying the same rates as Spotify, Amazon, Google, Pandora, and Apple. Since they are non-profit, they cannot afford to do this. The largest music provider in the world is Radionomy. And they started geo-blocking streams to the United States. Now, service providers in Canada are doing the same thing. Soon, the only options that people will have are those corporate voices. Music will showcase less variety; consumers will have less choice. That is not what the internet is about. Please, restore the royalty rates that expired in 2016. Tell SoundExchange to stop bullying other countries into paying more. Thank you.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Happy New Year!
We are back! Today is Two for Tuesday - Listen to the most eclectic mix of music on the internet, 24/7 - commercial free!
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