(act) Uma rádio na internet a pagar

Será um caso raro e merece desenvolvimento:

Primeiro foi o FM (97X): criada em Setembro de 1983, a woxy 97.7 FM em Oxford, Ohio (Cincinnati), como rádio Alternativa e dedicada ao rock moderno.
A partir de Setembro de 1998, passaram a emitir em simultâneo (simulcasting) através da Internet (woxy.com). Em 2004 a empresa proprietária das duas rádios foi vendida, mas o negócio correu mal e, por problemas financeiros, a emissão hertziana fechou. Desde 16 de Julho de 2004 que são, provavelmente, a primeira rádio hertziana que passou a cem por cento para a Internet.
O prestígio da rádio foi crescendo como espaço alternativo e diferente do panorama radiofónico. Ganhou ouvintes em muitos países, para além dos Estados Unidos.
A partir de Fevereiro de 06 (19 meses de serviço livre) passou a ser um site por subscrição (“a listener-supported operation”), garantindo que assim irão melhorar o serviço oferecido aos ouvintes.
A Woxy.com explica que esta alteração se deve às dificuldades que a rádio na Internet encontra: “Technology hasn’t quite bridged the gap to allow easy access to internet radio in your car and other remote locations. Satellite radio is portable and nifty except that we’re not on it. While it’s technically possible to receive Internet radio on certain mobile phones today, the process is far from being user friendly or widely available. But we have no doubts that easy Internet radio in your car, iPod or phone is just around the corner. We just need to figure out how to stick around until that time comes”

Enquanto isso não acontece (ou seja, enquanto a publicidade não se vira para a emissão on line), e para resolver as dificuldades financeiras conjunturais (“means paying music royalties to all kinds of folks (royalties that are probably going even higher this year), handling the costs of reliable streaming, providing health insurance for our employees and filing our taxes. We like to run a clean business”), pretendem atingir 7 mil membros numa espécie de clube, pelo preço de três cafés ou um bilhete de cinema (“For the bargain price of $9.95/month we will be offering 24-hour, true broadband, CD-quality streams to subscribers”); ou seja, quase três dólares menos do que a subscrição via satélite (Sirius e XM)

Nota final: "But the message on the station’s Web site says that it likely will have to restrict all of its broadcasts to paying supporters if it doesn’t attract enough subscribers by March 6. Miller declined to say how many listeners the station needs to sign up".

Informações recolhidas em http://www.woxy.com/ e http://www.woxy.com/support/faq.php

Outros links de interesse: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/ilustrada/ult90u41559.shtml e http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060206/BIZ01/302060016

ACT a 11/3/06: «Following a surprising announcement last month of impending financial disaster, long time webcaster WOXY has announced that  initial efforts to raise necessary funding have allowed the station to stay on the air for the time being.
A note to listeners on WOXY's web page says that the station's push for individual donations, as well as new revenue from the newly-instated high-quality streams available only to members, has yielded positive results.
According to the website, "[WOXY's] investors are encouraged by our growth so far and have pledged to hang in there. We still have a ways to go, but with your continued support ... and some innovation on our end, we’re going to be able to get to where we need to be."
The station's immediate future appears to still be in jeopardy. The original notice posted on the website in early February [read  previous RAIN coverage here] announced that WOXY had until March 6 to raise enough money to stay afloat, both through membership pledges and donations. If some unspecified level of financial support was not met by that date, the website announced that the station may have had to go off the air altogether". (fonte: «Woxy funding push shows hope, webcast's future still uncertain» RAIN, BY DANIEL MCSWAIN, 10/3/2006)