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SHOUTcast Radio FAQ

What is SHOUTcast Streaming Service?

SHOUTcast has launched a new service which includes free streaming along with additional tools and capabilities to support the needs of today’s online radio stations. These enhancements are built on the tradition and reliability of SHOUTcast and are available today to selected SHOUTcast broadcasters, and CDN partners.

These New features include

  1. Streaming - High quality stream hosting at no cost
  2. Unlimited listeners - No more maxing out slots, SHOUTcast now supports unlimited listeners
  3. Compatible with TargetSpot’s Ad Network in US, Canada, Latin America and Europe
  4. Built-in listener analytics (stats tools)
  5. Easily build your audience through SHOUTcast’s strategic partners and platforms
  6. In the tradition of SHOUTcast, there is no cost for all of these features

How to trigger ads?

  1. Schedule a pair of 2 minute mp3 files with the tag “Advert:” in the artist and title section.
  2. The metadata to activate the ads is “Advert:” in both artist AND title.
  3. The advertising server is case sensitive, so make sure to use capital “A” and the colon.
  4. The audio in your MP3 file will be heard by people in countries that don’t have ads running.
  5. You should put audio in the file (or files) that you would want people to hear if they’re not hearing the SHOUTcast triggered ad at that time.
  6. Moreover, did you know you can choose to trigger up to 5 commercial breaks per hour?

How to setup your fallback file?

One of the important features of the SHOUTcast Streaming Service is the ability to upload a file which will play in the event the connection from your encoder is lost temporarily (due to power outage, internet issue etc). The file will instantly start playing for your listeners if the servers stop receiving audio from you. It will continue to play and repeat until we receive a reliable signal from your encoder once again.

To activate this function, go to your settings at rmo.shoutcast.com. Under Settings > Streams > %StreamName% > Fallback File, you'll see a setting for "Set Fallback". Upload a backup file here (we suggest at least an hour in length). During the upload process, there is no "progress bar" but your browser should show the upload process at the bottom of your screen. Note: that the format and the bitrate of the file need to be the same as your stream (128k for most stations) in order to activate.

After you have successfully uploaded the file, please wait an hour for it to load and be configured. Then test the file: listen to the stream while you disconnect your encoder. The Fallback file should play automatically. When you reconnect the encoder, the stream will return to regular programming.