“THE RACKET” LETS YOU PICK THE TRACKS…FOR A PRICE: New Zealand Internet radio service The Racket has finally launched, at last revealing how it would deliver its boast of “truly personalized Internet radio.” It turns out this means users can create their own radio stations, but not in the same way as Pandora of Last.fm. For around $15 a month ($20 NZ), users select up to 500 tracks out of The Racket’s music library to create their own radio station, which then can be streamed by other users. Though The Racket allows the selection of specific tracks when creating a station, will users really pay a monthly fee when very similar services are available for free elsewhere? Listening to user-created stations is free, but includes no personalization. The web-based player — which requires a quick installation of Microsoft’s Silverlight program — features only a pause/play button and volume toggle. Considering listeners have some level of control of the stream, the absence of a song-skip feature is strange. No cover art is displayed either. There aren’t too many stations up and running just yet, but interestingly a few of them have been created by artists to promote their music. For example, industrial rock group Shihad has created a station featuring only their music, specifically promoting their most recent album. The Racket is a decent service that has plenty of room for improvement, and it will be interesting to see in what direction the site grows. — MS

fonte: MALONEY, Paul, «RAIN 8/4: RAIN Site of the Day; Social.fm/Mercorca closes», RAIN, 04/08/08