Thought I would share something. Most of us online broadcast DJ's on IMVU or Second Life use one of the two radio station platforms, Caster.fm or Zeno.fm. Although there are other platforms (and some DJ's even host their "own" streaming server & service), the majority of DJ's are looking for an easy & quick way to get a station up and running.
I started out using Caster, and I still have it as my back-up. Caster.fm is probably the most popular and widely used platform used by DJ's in IMVU and Second Life, and for good reason. It is free and it is easy and quick. It is relatively easy to set up. It only requires that you set up your stream (from your DJ software) to the standard 128k MP3 bit-rate and enter some information in your DJ software for the connection.
You can customize your own Caster radio page with a background color, custom "banner" picture at the top, and wording to welcome people and tell them about your station. Beyond that, Caster's best features are their radio webpage in that they offer the "ability" (if you so choose to set it up) to link to your Facebook page, YouTube channel, Flickr Pics, Soundcloud & Mixcloud pages, and Spotify playlists, and show content directly on your Caster page, as well as contact information (phone, e-mail, Skype). The controls buttons are a little crude, but it works. The other big things they offer is a way for people to leave "comments" on your page for all to see (using their Facebook account ID), they have a large radio station "directory" which makes it easy to find other radio stations, a way to "vote" for your page and "like it", which puts you in stats for rankings amongst other Caster stations, a box for submitting "requests" to the DJ, and even a real-time chat everyone can see while you are on the air.
The cons would be the limitation of 128k bit MP3 (max) sound-quality streaming to your listeners (but this is usually "good enough" for most), as well as having to log into your account and turn "on and off" your radio server everytime you DJ. There is no Caster "app" for free accounts which means all of your listeners will have to connect using a browser to get to your page, and ...it can only play music when you are live on the air (unless you pay for an additional podcast feature that can record and playback the last few prior broadcasts for you). There are things you can upgrade and "pay" for on Caster, such as their "unchained bundle" for free accounts ($29.00 mo.), but you are still basically limited, unless you want to pay $80.00 mo. or higher for their Pro services/accounts.
NOTE: My biggest peeve with Caster is they like to punish and "ban" (disable) accounts for streaming above 128K, instead of setting up a "restriction" or warning system to prevent it from happening. I know a few DJ's who have accidentally had DJ software settings set to the wrong setting, and then had their account "disabled" for a period of time.
Zeno.fm used to be "free" for music, but as of May 2021, they have instituted a $9.99 monthly "licensing & royalties" fee for radio stations tagged as "music" stations. In my book, it's still well worth it, ...and for good reason. You're probably wondering why I made Zeno my primary station....
It really depends on what you want and are looking for as a DJ. After using Caster, I have come to find out that most people come to your station to "hear the music", and are not really interested in all the "bells and whistles" a web page has to offer.
I'll start out with the cons. The station page is not as intricate as what Caster offers with its "social media integration displays and layout", nor is there a voting/ranking feature, nor are there "comments", "request" box, real time "chat", etc.
What Zeno "does" offer is where MUSIC is concerned (and that's "my" primary concern). First of all, Zeno lets you host "multiple" radio stations under one (1) account. Someone I know has 4 separate radio stations under his MOGWAI RADIO account: Mogwai Radio Rock, Mogwai Radio Metal, Mogwai Radio 80's, and Mogwai Radio 90's. Ok, so where's the advantage to that? Let me tell you....
The #1 feature of Zeno, ....is that it let's you upload content directly to the station (MP3's, FLAC & AAC files, ...of either individual songs, or even your prior-recorded broadcasts), in any order you want, up to 500 files per station. What this means is that your station will play music around the clock, 24 hours a day, whether you are live on the air, or not. People can go to your station, click the play button, and hear MUSIC or YOUR BROADCASTS at any time. The process is even automated, so that when you broadcast live, it fades-out the uploaded content, and when you stop your broadcast, the uploaded content fades back in, playing where it left off prior. All listeners hear the same content at the same exact time, whether its live or an upload.
So now, ...having "multiple" radio stations for different genres that are all playing music "all the time" 24x7 ...makes sense! You don't even have to actively DJ or even "be" an actual DJ to do this. You can just upload content and run your own radio station(s) without ever DJ'ing.
The #2 feature of Zeno is that they offer the Zeno app on GooglePlay and Apple Store. Many visitors to a club in IMVU or Second Life are on their phones or maybe an iPad. Instead of clicking links (which is usually "discouraged" anyway), you can direct listeners to quickly install the app and then search for your station with "one word". In my case, that one word is "Starseed". Once they get there, they can "favorite" (save) your station, and it is always there on their list whenever they launch the app.
The #3 feature of Zeno is that you can elect to stream to your listeners at a higher quality audio (bit-rate) than 128k MP3 as long as your DJ software supports it and your internet service's bandwidth doesn't limit or "bottleneck" it. You can set it up to stream at 192K to 320K MP3, or even in AAC format if your using Apple software. Also...any high quality files you upload directly to Zeno (320k MP3, 256k AAC or FLAC) can stream in the bit-rate fidelity you have selected for your station's output stream. This is a HUGE feature and is why Caster "Pro" accounts cost so much money, but with Zeno, there is no extra charge.
The #4 feature of Zeno is that you will never have to log into your account to turn your radio server "on or off" ever again. Your radio server(s) stay on all the time 24x7 (in order to play your uploaded content), so there is no need to login to your account to stream, ...unless you are updating or modifying page info, uploaded content rotation, or settings.
The other features is that your station page can have a primary picture (logo), a "background" picture, a picture and link to whatever website you choose (such as a "real" dedicated DJ or Radio Info website for yourself), links displayed to your Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube channel, a nice sophisticated listener "analytics" section, a way to record or upload audio or video podcasts, ...and two more things Caster doesn't have....
....an "announcements" section for setting up and displaying multiple announcements as needed quickly "on the fly", and also the ability to set up and display "donation" monetization for your station via Paypal, Stripe, or Cash App.
Yes Zeno is now $9.99 a mo., but they are offering features that usually come with and cost a hundred dollars or more with Caster "Pro" accounts. That being said, Caster Free is still the best bet for those who absolutely want a completely free option for a station, don't plan on DJ'ing that much, or are not too concerned about sound quality.
Come check out my Radio Station Pages and compare them to see what I am talking about in the above:
https://zeno.fm/starseedradio/
https://jessieleestarseed.caster.fm
