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Live365 internet radio service closing Jan. 31
Jan 20, 2016 11:59 pm
Paul Riismandel at Radio Survivor reports that Live365, a streaming audio service that started in 1999, will shut down Jan. 31. The service made setting up an internet radio station easy for anyone. “We are sad that we are closing our doors at the end of this month. There are always possibilities that we can come back in one form or another, but at this point in time, January 31, 2016 is the last day that Live365’s streaming servers and website will be maintained and supported,” the company said in a statement. Live365 recently lost some important investors and saw the expiration of the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009, which caused costs for its services to webcast around 5,000 internet radio stations to skyrocket. Some online radio activists hope to renegotiate a lower royalty rate for internet stations, but there's no doubt it is more difficult to launch an independent internet radio station now.