How to Listen to the Radio on the Internet

Are you familiar with Internet radio? It’s when audio files are broadcast over the Web rather than via airwaves. More and more people are choosing to listen to the radio on the Internet because of its convenience and huge selection. You can listen to radio stations from all over the world through the World Wide Web. Your favorite radio stations from another country can be accessed just by going online!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet access
• Streaming software

Find a Station

1. Search for an online radio station that you like. If you have a few radio stations in mind, type them into a search engine to find their Web sites.

2. Type in “Internet radio stations,” “online radio stations” or “Internet radio” into a search engine if you’re not sure where to start and go from there. There are several sites dedicated to listing and locating online radio stations (see below) for your convenience.

Using Streaming Software

3. Find out which type of software, such as Real Player, VideoLAN, or Media Player, the station you like uses. Look for a link on the radio station’s home page.

4. Follow the link on the station home page to the streaming software.

5. Download the streaming software used by the radio station you like.

6. Install the streaming software onto your computer.

7. Find a “Listen” or “Open” link to run the program.

8. Go back to the radio station’s Web site and click the link to play the radio broadcast.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you download and install the free version of the streaming software you choose. Search the Web site if you can’t find it right away — it’s there.
• Download several types of the most popular streaming software programs so you can listen to more radio stations online.
• Sometimes you can choose from live radio or pre-recorded programs with some online radio stations. Make sure you select the right option.
• Look for new and available radio stations through your streaming software’s media center or media guide. This list is usually updated regularly.