About:
|
What: |
"DylanRadio.com" is a streaming
webcast that plays nothing but music by, or inspired by, singer/songwriter
Bob Dylan. |
|
Who: |
My name is Pete,
but my username is "Walrus" |
|
Where: |
I'm based out of
Nova Scotia, Canada, eh. |
|
How: |
We stream via a Nullsoft ShoutCast server, from the creators of WinAmp |
|
Why: |
Because I believe Bob Dylan is the greatest contemporary
songwriter of the 20th, and arguably the 21st
century. I want to enrich the
listening pleasure of current fans, and introduce new fans to the work of
this consummate entertainer. |
|
Contact: |
You can contact me
in several ways... Email: dj@dylanradio.com BobDylan.com: http://www.bobdylan.com/users/dylanradio Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22739185908 MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dylanradiocom Snail Mail: DYLANRADIO.COM c/o Pete Freckelton Port
Williams, B0P 1T0, |
DylanRadio.com
Frequently Asked Questions:
(This is a work in progress, and more will be added soon...)
|
What is this site,
anyway?! "DylanRadio.com" is a webcast featuring music, live
concerts, interviews, covers and radio programs by, or inspired by,
singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. What's a
"webcast?" A "webcast" is essentially a
radio station that broadcasts over the web.
Imagine a quality radio station without any money, staff or equipment,
run by one guy in his basement and tah-dah: you
have a webcast. How do I tune in? We provide two ways for you to tune into
the webcast. For best sound quality
you can tune in with whatever media player you already have, as long as it
supports mp3 and PLS-style playlists.
That includes WinAmp,
iTunes, Windows Media Player,
MusicMatch,
and the free Media
Player Classic. Just click on the
big "Tune in with
your media player" link, and if you're prompted to open or save the
file, just click open. If you don't have a media player, or just
want a quick alternative, you can also tune in with our Flash-powered
web-player. The sound quality isn't as
good, but it's pretty solid. The flash
player opens in a popup window, so if you run a popup-blocker, you'll have to
allow this popup. Please note that because this is a Nullsoft Shoutcast
server, from the creators of WinAmp, you're
always going to get the best results using WinAmp. Why are you asking
for donations? Because it costs money to keep this site
running, and my frankly can’t afford to do it alone. I don’t want to make a living off someone
else’s work, so the site is entirely non-profit and I depend on your
generosity to help me pay the bandwidth & server bills. I do have some Google ads up to help out,
but they pay next to nothing, so if you can
help keep the site online, your fellow listeners and I would be much
obliged. I
accept donations via PayPal, which doesn't require an account to use. Are there other
ways I can help? You bet!
There are lots of ways you can get involved and help keep the site
running. For starters, we'd love to
have your input on the forums, so be sure to register for an account. There's also many other ways you can spread
the word about DylanRadio.com, and
here's just a few: ·
If you have a website, link to us! You can even cut-n-paste some ready-made
code into your html featuring one of several buttons. Click here for more info. ·
If you use discussion forums, you can add a cool, dynamic image to
your signature that lets folks know what you're listening to on the webcast. ·
Join
our Facebook Group and connect with other fans
of the webcast! ·
Add the Tangled Up In Bob Facebook app
to your Facebook profile, and invite
some of your Facebook friends! ·
If you have a blog, why not write a post about us? Let me know you did it, and I'll even link
back to you. ·
Sign up for an account at BobDylan.com, then add us as a friend! Here's our BobDylan.com page. ·
Listener Aurel-Flynn has
created a gadget for iGoogle that
displays what's now playing on DylanRadio.com. Advertising on the
webcast: DylanRadio.com is a non-profit site, but I’m
always willing to work with anyone who helps to keep the site running. We advertise for EPCUSA.ca, for example, because
they graciously donated our web-server.
If you’re interested in advertising on DylanRadio.com, please email me
at ads@dylanradio.com, and I’m sure
we can arrange something. Why can't I hear
anything? Did you check the battery of your
hearing-aid? Seriously, though, it's
hard to say what's up. First do the
obvious: play an mp3 or other sound file to make sure that your computer is
ready to play music. Check the website news and make sure I'm not doing any
wacky maintenance or something. Check
the Shoutbox, and if others are complaining about no sound then, chances are,
something's up on my end. Try your own
media player, and if that doesn't work try the flash-player, and if that
doesn't work go post a question on the forums to see if anyone can help. I do everything I can to make the webcast
as accessible as possible, but I can't troubleshoot everyone's computer. All I can do is make sure it's working for
most people. If you’re having
problems, check the forums (specifically, the
bug-report thread) and see if someone’s had a similar problem with a
solution. You can try emailing me, but I make no guarantees. When is Theme Time
on? Since the webcast is based out of my home
in Do you know or work
for Bob? Nope, never met him. I'm not affiliated with Bob Dylan, How do I request a
song? It's easy!
All you do is click on the "Browse Songs"
link on the main menu, or type in something to search for, and you'll be
taken to a list of available songs.
Just click on the "Request"
button next to the song title, and a pop-up window will either tell you your
request was successful and give you the opportunity to dedicate your song
(optional), or the pop-up window will tell you why your request wasn't
successful. Common errors are making
too many requests too quickly, or that the song has already played recently,
but with thousands of songs to choose from, errors are relatively rare. Why isn't my
request playing? If you receive a pop up window that tells
you your request was successfully sent to the DJ, then the answer to this
question is "Wait." It will
play eventually, but depending on what's already in the play-queue, that
could take a substantial amount of time.
Most of the time, you'll hear your request within the hour but that
can change if there's a live show playing, or some other event on the go. Why did I get a
request error? What are the limits? The request system is entirely automated,
I'm not involved at all (mostly), and there are limits in place to give
everyone an equal opportunity to make and hear their requests (as well as
prevent any one user from monopolizing the airplay). ·
There is a 20 songs-per-day limit on every user ·
There's also a 5-minute wait period between consecutive
requests. ·
There's a 12-hour delay enforced before a particular
track can be replayed, and a 60 minute delay for the song-title (any
version), and 30 minute delay for multiple tracks of the same album. Most folks don't even notice the limits,
and they ensure a great, balanced mix for everyone. How do I download
songs? You
don't. While it's true that "DylanRadio.com" is an
"underground" webcast (in the sense that I don't have any
formal relationship or sanction from Columbia/Sony-BMG), I have no desire to
promote piracy, especially of Bob Dylan's work. I invite you to listen to the music in
hopes that you will support Bob and his record label by purchasing his CDs
and/or other creative works. The webcast itself compresses all the music
to 64kbps so anyone trying to record from the stream will be sorely
disappointed with the quality, not to mention the station plugs and
cross-fades. If you like the music, and want to encourage Bob to keep making more, then
go buy some CDs. How do I add songs
to the songpool? If you have a song you’d like to submit for
addition to the songpool, you can upload it via the forums. There is a special topic in the forums
entitled “UPLOAD MP3s HERE! (Please read
1st message carefully)” so please do that. The 1st message in the topic
contains a list of rules for uploading mp3s – if you don’t make my life
easier by following them, I’m less inspired to add
the song. You can then reply to the
topic, give a little description of what you’re uploading in the message
body, then add an attachment by clicking the Browse button in the attachment area,
select your mp3, then click the “Submit” button to post the message. BE
PATIENT as it may take several minutes for your mp3 to upload. I try to get to the posted MP3s as soon as
I can, but there are occasions when I miss a post. If you submitted a song that hasn’t been
added in, say, a week or so, check the
topic to see if I posted a reply in the forums. If there’s nothing, feel free to drop me an email to let me know you
uploaded something. I probably just
missed it. I have another
question... This FAQ is a work in progress, but if you
have a question that needs answering, please feel free to email questions@dylanradio.com |
©2008
DylanRadio.com