Client asked for internet radio on his website

Question

Hi guys, I have a freelance job for a php site. The client isn't a tech savy guy he says he would like to have internet radio on his website as well. Now the thing is that when we speak of internet radio what are we actually talking about? My client himself has no idea of what internet radio is aside form listening to streaming mp3s on a flash player embedded on a website.

I don't think my client would be ready to set up a radio station or so.. I have to give my client a report on what can and cannot be done. So I'm looking for the simplest solution possible that would pass off as internet radio...

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Sorry - bad choice of words :P - actually I need to give him proposals and discuss whats feasible. Like if he wants a 24/7 live broadcast radio where he could broadcast live in real time rather than prerecorded mp3s what is the process and how would it be done and how much would it cost - if there is a free way to do it that would be much appreciated. He would like to have on the website a small - click to listen to radio link. INfact thats all he said he wants that users click a link and can listen to radio...so basically I have to educate him a bit on what internet radio actually is and whether or not he knwos what he's talking about - considering his definition its quite apparent he doesn't.

The other idea was just to create a playlist and embedd a simple player on the website to play already existing tracks.

Answer 1

Does he mean streaming audio, or offering content from other internet radio stations? If the first, you need to install and support a streaming server (already built into IIS for example). If the later, you can show/provide content from a site like ShoutCast in a frame/IFrame etc.

Answer 2

The client needs to think about the non-technical costs first...

Like if he wants a 24/7 live broadcast radio where he could broadcast live in real time rather than prerecorded mp3s what is the process and how would it be done and how much would it cost

24/7 LIVE broadcast.... is he willing to pay for...

• Moderation?
• Program? I mean, you dont just stream random stuff from a drive, someone has to put up programs.
• LICENSE FEES for the music?

Seriously - is talks about opening a radio station. Ok, on the internet. Still - radio stations are not "noone looks at it" operations. The technical streaming costs are pretty neglegible compared to the monthly costs for running a station.

What does he acutally want to broadcast? Random music from a folder of MP3? He needs licenses for that (and no, this is not "buy a cd and you can stream it), but then has no other costs. Or real moderated program, with possible advertising?

Or restreaming a radio station? Well, in this case it is easy - just link to their playback program, they possibly have some HTML you can put into your website. Check http://live365.com/ for how tha tcould be done. http://www.live365.com/widgets has a fast way o put a radio station on your site. but then, this is not like he does anything here. What is the use of that? He thinks people will go to his job site to listen to music? Seriously?

Answer 3

Like already hinted at in my comment to the question, the only person to tell you what is meant by "internet radio" is your client. He likely has some ideas how it should look like, what it is expected to play and so on. Maybe, it is not internet radio, but it doesn't matter. What is important is, that the client and you have a term AND a definition for it. Right now, the only person who knows what the definition is, is you client. So ask him as much about it as possible, until you can paraphrase what "internet radio" is.

However, the first thing you should do, is question why the client wants to have this "internet radio" on his site at all. Websites fulfill a purpose that is usually connected to a concrete business case. So what's the business case for having it on your client's website?

The only reason I can see to include "internet radio" on his page would be if he actually is a radio station or a musician. If he's not, it is wasted time and money, because it does not add any value to the site. Concentrate on giving the visitors of the site the information they expect to find. If they want to listen to music, they will go to internet radio sites.

Regarding cost, no can tell you that either, because that's completely up to you and your client to negotiate.