Find a free online radio program that works for you
The popularity of Internet radio has exploded over the past few years, especially as listeners realize the ease of accessing specialized stations via smartphone apps.
While most services offer you commercial free or on-demand listening for a fee, others might give you just want you want at no cost.
Here’s a breakdown of what you can get from various online radio services for free:
Last.fm
This service will create custom stations for you based on the artists and genres you like. Last.fm is ad-supported, so there are commercials.
Listeners can tune in to Last.fm online or through the Scrobbler — the site’s downloadable desktop player. There also are mobile apps and the service is available to Xbox Live members.
Mog.com
Mog offers unlimited ad-supported listening for free. The service allows listeners to create playlists of their favorite songs and personalize radio channels.
You can listen online for free, but be prepared to pay if you want to tune in through your phone or in the car.
Pandora
Perhaps the most familiar name on this list, this station is inspired by the music genome project. What you may not know is that Pandora has a smaller music catalog than most other services.
You can’t pick out individual songs you want to hear, but you can create your own station based on a genre, artist or song. Then Pandora goes to work picking out songs you should like based on that information. Give the song thumbs up or thumbs down to tailor the station even more to your liking.
There are a limited number of skips allowed, you can’t rewind with this program and the service is ad-supported, so there are commercials. Listen for free via its mobile app or online.
Slacker
Slacker Radio is a service with hundreds of stations categorized by various genres. This program is ad-supported, so in exchange for free listening you will hear a few commercials. Slacker also offers news and sports radio, which isn’t always available from other sites.
This service also allows you to block artists or share feedback and get more of the artists you love. You can listen to Slacker for free via its mobile app or online.
Soma.fm
This is a listener-supported station, which means there are no commercials. More than 20 alternative music stations are available, so you may have to click around some to find one that’s just right.
You can hear this station online, on a mobile site or through its app. Soma.fm isn’t playing mainstream music, so if you have an appetite for some new, unheard-of tunes, check it out.
Spotify
If you’re a Facebook user you’ve probably heard of Spotify.
This service allows you to see what your friends are listening to, subscribe to their playlists and make your own.
You can listen to entire songs and albums for free through Spotify, which is an ad-supported program.
If you’re looking for new music, use the radio program to generate songs you may like based on an artist or genre. You can listen to Spotify for free online, but you’ll have to be a paying subscriber to listen on the go through the mobile app.
TuneIn
TuneIn streams live radio stations from all over the world for free on its website and mobile app. Listeners can search for radio stations by call number, location, genre or station type. This is perfect for anyone uprooted from home and craving some local flavor.
Which online radio service do you prefer? Are the perks worth the price, or will you stick to these free offerings?
June 27, 2012 - 5:00 AM
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You can get Pandora without the commercials for a small subscription fee of $36 a year.
So far I have enjoyed Pandora but will have to try out some of these other sites.
Great article…Thanks
jango is another alternative to pandora.
I started out using Pandora, and I loved it, just using the free version. I found songs that I had never heard before that have since become some of my faves! after about a month it became repetitive and with only so many skips an hour I went looking for something else. (I still use it every now and again when I want something different.) I now listen to spotify free. I can choose exactly what song I want to listen to and create my own playlists. It has also come in handy to listen to albums I think I may want to buy and see if they will be worth buying, as I dont buy music online.
You totally forgot this, my favorite one!
LIVE365.com
I didn’t find this article very useful. Search “online radio” and you’ll get pretty much the same information. Basically a listing. I’d like some reports about the pros and cons of these services. My experience with Pandora has been frustrating. For example, I was building a station devoted to Carolina Beach Music and put in a dozen or so artists and songs. It kept suggesting artists like Jethro Tull and the Moody Blues even though I kept giving them the thumbs down. After 2 hours it never focused in on what I wanted. Additionally, the classical and electronica playlists are extremely limited.
Well, the purpose of this article was just to point out what you can get for free from these services, not to outline all the details of each — that’s a whole ‘nother story! If you are willing to pay the subscription cost, most services give you a lot more personalization options.
Pandora is one of the most popular stations, but I think it’s starting to get outdated. It also has one of the smallest music catalogs, which may be one of your problems. In your case, wanting such a specific genre, it’s best to do a search for “Carolina Beach Music online radio.” When I did that, I came up with this station, which appears to be pretty popular: http://southernsoul.com/.
As far as classical and electronica are concerned, you may try soma.fm (which has an electronica station), Spotify or Slacker. They have a lot of variety.