RP Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for information about RP and for our email & snail-mail addresses.

No. All you have to do to listen is to click one of the Listen Links on the front page. For more options, and for some help in choosing the right one, you can click Listen on the menu bar. If you're still having problems, check the "Webcast (Listening) Problems" section below.

We encourage all RP listeners to give us feedback in the form of ratings and comments on the songs, and to join their fellow listeners in the Listener Forum. You need to be registered in order to rate songs or post in the forum.

That's an easy one. No. Not under any circumstances.

We hate spam as much - if not more - than you do. We do send out rare (2-3 times per year) mass mailings to all registered listeners. You can opt out of those if you wish by clicking "Your Settings".

Some email providers (such as AOL) have very aggressive spam filters that block the activation email sent from our server. Many of you also use services that block email from unknown sources until the sender responds to an authentication message. In these cases you may not get the activation email. If you can't find it in your "Spam" or "Blocked" folder, email bill@radioparadise.com and we'll activate your account manually.

No. That's why contributions to RP are not tax-deductible. RP is a for-profit business, and as such doesn't qualify for the 501(c)(3) status that a volunteer-run public FM station would.

RP is a full-time job (and then some!) for us, so we run it just like any other business - paying state and local income taxes on all of our income, investing in equipment and services to keep the business going, paying salaries, and providing benefits such as health insurance and a 401(k) plan.

Yes. Like we said, RP is our full-time job. We don't expect to get rich doing this, but we do need to pay our bills. If we needed to have outside jobs to cover our day to day expenses, then the quality of our programming would definitely suffer.

While it's possible to start an Internet radio station as a hobby, using just a home computer, a few MP3 files, and a cheap DSL connection, that's not how we do things here. We use professional-grade audio equipment and computer automation software and have redundant systems and Internet connections to reduce downtime and outages.

We maintain clusters of servers in four locations: our audio stream sources and control systems are here in Paradise, CA; our stream distribution center, main database server, offsite backups, and some stream servers are located at a data center in San Jose, CA; our web servers are located in Portland, OR; and we have a new stream distribution center in New York City.

We currently use a total of 18 active servers and desktop systems to keep the music streams and website running smoothly. We own, maintain, and continuously upgrade all of our own servers.

In addition, we pay a significant amount of money in royalty fees to music copyright holders (click here for more info), pay income & business taxes, cover a hefty utility bill, utilize professional accounting & technical services, and all of the other expenses that go along with running a business.

Through an arrangement with Shoutcast, a number of our streams - including the 128k MP3 stream, our most popular by far - are relayed by them through AOL's backbone network (Shoutcast is owned by AOL) at no cost to us. This greatly reduces our monthly bandwidth costs, but hardly eliminates them.

It's hard to see how a business based on asking you to pay what you think the service you receive is worth could be considered a scam. If at any point you feel like we're asking you to give us more than what our service is worth, then please feel free to adjust your contribution downward.

Our business model is unusual, which is probably what prompts these kinds of questions. Traditionally it's been the business - not the customer - who assigns a value to a product or service. Or a non-profit foundation provides a service to you or to others and then tries to convince you that they're worthy of your support.

We don't fit neatly into either category, so a certain amount of confusion is understandable. But it's really pretty simple: we're asking you to evaluate what you think our service is worth to you, and - if you can afford to do so - pay us that much.

No. The RP forums do not have a spell checker. However, reputable web browser add-ons exist that can provide a spell check function for your posts. One example is the Google Toolbar.

iTunes is a great program, but it has problems playing our links sometimes. When you click one of our listen links, we send your player a list of servers. If the first one on the list is full, the player should move on to the second, third, etc. until it finds one that will work. iTunes often fails to do this.

If you click our 128k MP3 link (rather than using one of the RP selections in the iTunes radio directory) you'll see a bunch of entries labeled "1048" or "Radio Paradise..." in your iTunes library. If you try those one at a time, you should find one that works.

Another option is to install a different player. We recommend Winamp (for Windows) or VLC (for Mac, Windows or Linux). The Winamp installation is pretty straightforward. To configure VLC properly on your Mac, see the FAQ entry below.

First, download VLC from this site. Open the .dmg file that you downloaded, then open the VLC disk image on your desktop and drag the orange traffic cone thingy into your applications folder.

Then right-click (or control-click if you don't have a 2-button mouse) on the "128k MP3" link on our website, and select "Save Link as...". Save the link to your desktop. Then right-click (or control-click) on that file (rp_128.m3u or something similar) and choose "Get Info". In the info window go to "Open with:" and select VLC from the list of programs. Click the "Change All" button.

Now all m3u links will open in VLC rather than iTunes. You'll find that VLC is more reliable than iTunes for playing radio streams. It'll also play our AAC & AAC+ links (which iTunes won't play).

Our 128k AAC link gives the best sound quality of any of our streams, and our 64k AAC+ link gives quality equal to 128k MP3 at half the bandwidth.

This means that you don't have the player software installed. Look at FAQ item, "How do I get a player?"

To listen to our webcasts, we recommend the following players. Windows Media Player or RealPlayer will also work in many cases, but we think you'll like one of these better:

Windows: WinAmp
MacOS X (or 9): iTunes
Linux/Unix: XMMS
Linux KDE Desktop: amaroK
Multiple Platforms (incl. Linux & Mac): VLC

This can be due to a conflict between Winamp and other media players. First, try downloading & installing the latest version from www.winamp.com. If that doesn't work, there is a very active user support forum on the Winamp site.

If all else fails you can start the stream manually. Open Winamp. Press 'Ctrl-L' (or select "Play" -> "Location" from the menu).
Then type in the address:

For 128kb: http://stream-41.shoutcast.com/listen.pls?sid=1
For 128kb (alternate): http://stream-31.shoutcast.com/listen.pls?sid=1
For 128kb (alternate): http://stream-tx1.radioparadise.com:8054

For 64kb: http://stream-sd.radioparadise.com:8056
For 32kb: http://stream-sd.radioparadise.com:8030
For 16kb: http://stream-ny.radioparadise.com:8032

Yes, the addresses above should let you connect using any player. You may have to poke around a bit to find the place to enter the address.

There are now firewall links on our Listen page. Most of our 128k stream servers now operate on port 80 (the same port used by website traffic), so they will often work even when links for other stations will not.

This means that either there's a lot of net congestion between you & the server (in which case you should try back later), or that your connection bandwidth isn't high enough. In Windows, on a modem connection, you can check your connection speed by clicking on the modem icon in your system tray (lower right hand part of your screen) while you're connected. If it's lower than 40kbps, you'll have problems listening to the 32kb webcast. You can try disconnecting & connecting again - or contact your Internet service provider for help. In some cases you may have to give up and settle for 16kbps.

Click here for more information on the various options.

I'll bet you're using Winamp, and you have one or more of the EQ sliders turned up fairly high. Am I right? Try turning the EQ off. The problem will most likely disappear. If you really need radical EQ settings, turn down the 'Preamp' slider (next to the EQ) to compensate. If you have EQ-related distortion in other players that lack a 'Preamp' control, try turning the sliders for the frequency bands that you don't want emphasized down instead of turning up the ones you do want more of. It accomplishes the same thing.

On RealPlayer, go to 'View' -> 'Preferences' -> 'Upgrade'.  At the bottom of that box, under 'Media Types',
click the 'Re-associate' button.  Un-check the boxes marked 'Mpeg Audio' and 'MP3 Playlists'. Click 'OK' twice & you're done.

If all else fails, drop a line to the webmaster.

Windows Users: Don't forget the Windows Mantra - "if it don't work, reboot"

If our AAC & AAC+ streams sound worse than our MP3 streams, then you're probably using an old audio player. The current versions of iTunes & Windows Media Player should play them just fine.

Or if you're on Windows and don't want to mess with the Media Player upgrade, you can grab the latest version of Winamp (click here to download it).

On Linux or Mac systems, you can use VLC to decode the AAC+ streams.

Many at-work networks are locked down pretty tightly, but in most cases you can copy Winamp to a USB flash drive at home, and then plug that drive into your work computer. Here's how:

1. At home, copy the folder C:/Program Files/Winamp to your USB drive.

2. At work, plug in the drive, open the Winamp folder, and click the file "winamp.exe".

3. Press Ctrl-L (or select "Play" -> "Location" from the Winamp menu) and enter this address: http://www.radioparadise.com/musiclinks/rp_64aac.m3u.

That should start the RP 64k AAC+ stream. You can also copy & paste any of the other stream addresses from our site into Winamp.

You should NOT copy the Winamp folder onto your work hard drive. This will violate the spirit - if not the letter - of your IT department's regulations about installing unauthorized software. Those regulations are there for a reason. However, the above method should not compromise your work system in any way.

When listening at work, it's always best to minimize your impact on your company's network by using the lowest bitrate possible. If you're listening on speakers, the 24k AAC+ stream will probably be fine. If you're using headphones, 64k AAC+ sounds pretty darned good - roughly the same as 128k MP3, at half the bandwidth.

RP is now listed under the "Eclectic" category only (formerly we were also listed under "Alternative"). If iTunes is your default MP3 player (as it is on most Macs) you can also open RP in iTunes by clicking one of the MP3 listen links (either on our home page or under the "Listen" tab that you can access from the home page).

Sorry for the confusion. It was their choice, not ours.

No. Unfortunately, copyright regulations prevent us from doing a podcast at this time. However, there are a number of programs out there that enable you to record MP3 streams and save them to an iPod or other portable player. Unfortunately, the nicest one (Griffin's iFill) appears to have been discontinued.

The most popular is a freeware program called StreamRipper. It is oriented more towards building a library of individual songs (which we don't encourage) rather than towards pure time-shifting (which is entirely legal and appropriate). However, Streamripper has a "single stream" mode that records a specified amount of programming all in one file that you can load onto an iPod or burn to a MP3 CD.

On Linux (& probably in an OS X terminal window) you can use a command like this:

streamripper http://www.radioparadise.com/musiclinks/rp_128.m3u -A -a -d [file path] -M 650

That will record a 650 MB (CD-sized) chunk of RP to a file located wherever you specify. You could automatically set your system to record a file like that every night (via cron) and then have a approx. 11 hour segment of RP programming ready to burn to a CD each morning.

We welcome more user-friendly suggestions on how to accomplish this same task. Most modern car radios will play MP3 CDs, making this a very cool way to listen to RP in your car.

No. But you can buy a lot of what we play through the iTunes music store. Be sure to use one of our links (like the one on our front page) when you do, so that we get a commission.

Click here for more info on mobile listening.

No, we're not. Both US satellite radio companies are very committed to doing their own music programming in-house and neither is carrying any "outside" programming. We'll keep an eye on the situation and if that changes, we'll be ready to talk to them (as long as we can retain our independence & creative control).

You can access RP on just about any smartphone on a modern (3G or 4G) cell network. Most newer model cars either will connect to your phone via Bluetooth or have an "aux" input (a headphone-type plug) that you can connect your phone to.

We have apps for Android, iPhone, & Windows Phone 7. They're all free. In most cases you can also listen via your phone's built-in web browser. RP is also available via the free TuneIn Radio app (very nice), Shoutcast, WunderRadio, and just about any other radio app.

Here's the deal: while we do have the "Request This Song" links on the song info pages, and do actually play requests at least some of the time, you'll find that RP is much less request-focused than some other Internet stations. There are various reasons for this:

1. During most of the day, we're playing music sets that have been previously assembled. We're very careful about the flow of the music from one song to another, and it's not always possible to fit requests into that flow - even if we're not asleep or otherwise occupied (it's just the 2 of us here).

2. Keep in mind that a request you make at 9pm or 3am our time (GMT-7) won't reach us until around 8am. Unless a request that comes in more than a couple of hours before we see it strikes a "wow - we haven't played that for ages, that'd be cool" chord, it probably won't be played.

3. At any given time, we have as many as 10,000 - 12,000 people listening to RP. That means that we get a steady flow of requests, and the only way we could accomodate a reasonable percentage of them would be to do an "all-request" format - which is just not what RP is about.

Even if we don't play your request, that doesn't mean that it doesn't have an impact. If we see a pattern of requests for a particular song from a variety of different listeners, that will tend to make us play it more often overall.

Please don't. We are no longer accepting new music submissions on CDs. All that plastic & carbon-spewing transportation is sooooo 20th Century.

Instead, please pick the two or three best songs from your CD and upload them to our Listener Review Channel (see below for instructions).

We will give them a quick listen, and if we think they might be suitable for RP we'll add them to the LRC stream to gather feedback from listeners. The three song per artist limit is strictly enforced. Uploading more than two songs will result in an automatic rejection. After those two songs have completed the review process, then you can upload more.

We get thousands music submissions every month so unfortunately, we don't have time to give feedback. In a few weeks, you could take a look in the RP library to see if anything's been added. Click the Music link, and fill in the artist name in the search box.

No. Our time is very limited, and the LRC upload method is much more efficient for us.

No. Our time is very limited, and the LRC upload method is much more efficient for us.

First, you'll need a CBR (constant bit rate, as opposed to VBR) MP3 file, ripped directly from the CD or master track at 256kbps or 320kbps. There is no way to convert a lower bitrate MP3 file or a WMA file so that it will work for us. You will also need to register on our website if you haven't already. After logging in, click "Music & Artists", then "LRC/Upload", then "Upload Songs or Check Upload Status". This is where you can see the review status of songs you have previously uploaded. To upload a song, click the "Upload A File" link, and follow the directions in the popup window carefully.

Again, the three song per artist limit is strictly enforced. Uploading more than three songs will result in an automatic rejection. Once your songs have completed the review process (ie they are no longer shown as "new" or "reviewing" on your upload list), then feel free to send more.

Please DO NOT upload music to the LRC to get "the reaction of other listeners" or "just for a joke" or "just for fun". It's a daunting task for us to sift through the many uploads. Please, we implore you to only upload music that you believe would be truly fitting for the station.

It can take anywhere from six hours to six months. If a song is added to the LRC stream (it will show on your list as "reviewing") it will probably take at least a month or so before a final decision is made. Pestering us will not speed up this process.

You can see the status of your song uploads by clicking "LRC/Upload" (in the Music/Artists section), then click the link labeled "Upload Songs or Check Your Upload Status".

• New: the song has not yet been reviewed by Rebecca
• Reviewing: the song has been reviewed briefly and added to the Listener Review Channel
• Added: the song has been added to the RP library for airplay
• Sorry: we have decided not to add the song to our library
• Bad Upload: there is something wrong with the file that was sent
• Already Have: we already have the song in our library or in the reviewing queue

As for security, when sending & receiving your credit card information online we use the standard https protocol that all online commerce sites (Amazon, banks, brokerage houses, etc) use. We do not store your credit card number unless you ask us to save it to make it easy to donate in the future, or for automatic recurring payments.

If we do store credit card information on our server (which is fanatically hacker-proofed) at your request, it's stored in an encrypted form that can only be read by the software that handles the transaction with our online banking service. We have no way to access that data ourselves, even if we wanted to, nor would anyone else who managed to break into our system.

That's an easy one. Absolutely not. Not under any circumstances. No way. Not if they hired Jack Bauer to break our fingers. Well, maybe then - but otherwise no.

We pay fees to the industry groups ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC (who represent songwriters & publishers) in very much the same way that an FM station does. These fees are distributed to songwriters & publishers based on periodic airplay surveys & reports.

In addition, Internet radio stations are subject to additional copyright fees (performace royalties), paid to yet another industry group called SoundExchange. They represent performers and record companies - mostly the latter, since they are a de-facto arm of the infamous Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). RP pays a surprisingly hefty fee to SoundExchange each year, which is distributed to artists and record labels.

FM & AM Broadcast stations in the US are not required to pay performance royalties at all (though they do in Europe & elsewhere). Satellite broadcasters like XM & Sirius pay them, but at a significantly lower rate than Internet stations like RP. Due primarily to our lack of clout with the US Congress and the Copyright Office, legally operated Internet stations like RP pay the highest royalty rates - by far - of any class of broadcaster in the US.

At one point, even playing FM radio in a store or other public establishment required you to get a "public performance license" from the music licensing agencies - and our previous answer here to this question reflected that.

However, the rules changed a while back. This is from the ASCAP web site: "Permission for radio and television transmissions in your business is not needed if the performance is by means of public communication of TV or radio transmissions by eating, drinking, retail or certain other establishments of a certain size which use a limited number of speakers or TVs, and if the reception is not further transmitted (for example, from one room to another) from the place in which it is received, and there is no admission charge."

We have absolutely no reason to think that Internet radio would be an exception to that policy - and we certainly don't have a problem with anyone playing RP in their place of business.

Here are the exact rules, as per ASCAP's website:

Exemptions from fees:

A food service or drinking establishment is eligible for the exemption if it (1) has less than 3750 gross square feet of space (in measuring the space, the amount of space used for customer parking only is always excludable); or (2) has 3750 gross square feet of space or more and (a) uses no more than 6 loudspeakers of which not more than 4 loudspeakers are located in any 1 room or adjoining outdoor space; and (b) if television sets are used, there are no more than 4 televisions, of which not more than 1 is located in any 1 room and none has a diagonal screen size greater than 55 inches.

An other establishment is eligible for the exemption if it (1) has less than 2000 gross square feet of space; or (2) has 2000 or more gross square feet of space and satisfies the same loudspeaker and television set requirements as for food service or drinking establishments.

Advertising? What's that?

Oh, yeah. It's that stuff that used to clutter up radio broadcasts back before Internet & satellite radio - and which still defaces a lot of websites. Sorry, but we don't believe in the stuff.

If you feel like you have a product or service of sufficient interest to the RP audience that we might be willing to endorse it (like we do with the Roku player, for instance), contact rebecca@radioparadise.com.

RP also has affiliate-sales relationships with a select group of companies (like Amazon.com, CDBaby & iTunes). If you'd like to talk to us about that, contact rebecca@radioparadise.com.

If you have a monthly, quarterly, or annual payment set up through our site, using a Visa or Mastercard, then you can do this:

Log into our site (if you're not logged in already), click "Your Settings" (upper right, below the now playing display), then scroll down to the "Support Settings" section.

It is possible to set up a recurring payment without having a user account. The problem is that you can't manage your support settings online. You have two options:

1. Email Bill and ask him to make the changes.

2. Create an account (it's quick & free), then email Bill and have your existing support payment info transferred to your new account. Then you can make any needed changes yourself.

If you're just canceling support, and don't plan to start it up again, #1 is a perfectly fine choice, otherwise #2 is probably better.

Unfortunately — due to Paypal's security restrictions — you can't manage the settings on recurring Paypal support payments through our site. To make changes, you'll first need to cancel the existing payment (on Paypal's site) then enter a new one here on our site.

To cancel an existing Paypal payment, you'll need to log into your Paypal account, search their Help FAQ for "cancel subscription", then folow those instructions.

Currently we support the Roku Video Player (add our free Radio Paradise Channel in the Roku channel store) and GoogleTV (just go to radioparadise.com in the Chrome browser). More devices are coming soon.

You can also access RPHD on your computer. There's a link on our front page (or click here).

Just click here.