Coming soon, Broadcastify.com

[blantonl]

I'm pleased to announce that on October 15th, 2012, we will be spinning off the live audio feeds on RadioReference.com to a new entity called Broadcastify.com. This will allow us to better focus RadioReference.com on it's core service, to be a reference source. Broadcastify will provide a stand alone entity to focus on the live audio feeds. You can see what the site will look like via the attached screenshot.

Again, the launch of this new site is scheduled for October 15th, 2012.

In addition to spinning off the live audio platform to a stand alone entity, we will be releasing new features and functionality to the broadcastify live audio platform. The below bullet points outline some of those updates and changes from what we have existing on RadioReference.com:

* 180 days of archives for all regular feeds
* 365 days of archives for official feeds
* Official feeds will have access to audio trimming capabilities
* Notable incidents section for storage of interesting audio archives
* Revamped feed alert system

Premium Features ($6.95/month)

* Access to feed archives
* customized player page for managing favorite feeds
* Email and SMS alerting for listener counts, feed alerts, and other user defined criteria
* No advertisements
* Unlimited listening times on the Web players

== Transition ==

Existing premium subscribers on RadioReference.com will have their subscriptions extended to Broadcastify for the term that they paid for on RadioReference.com. Meaning, if you paid for 180 days of a premium subscription on RadioReference.com and you have 120 days left, you will be automatically granted a 120 subscription on Broadcastify. New premium subscribers and renewals will be billed at a monthly rate of $6.95/month. Feed providers will ALWAYS receive a free premium subscription on Broadcastify.com, however they will no longer receive a free premium subscription on RadioReference.com. We will provide a complimentary 90 day RadioReference.com subscription to every active feed provider after the transition is complete on 10/15.

Also note that we will not have a "premium feed broadcaster" offering, rather we will incorporate most of those previously announced features into the regular broadcasting platform on broadcastify for all providers, free of charge.

When the transition occurs, broadcasters will not have to change anything on their end - everything will automatically transition over to the new Broadcastify servers. Mobile apps, remote Web players, relays, etc will also not have to be immediately changed and will continue to function normally when the changeover is complete.

Exciting times are ahead for Broadcastify and Radioreference and I'm thrilled to be making these announcements to the community today!

Warm regards,

Lindsay

Do you have questions about the transition to Broadcastify? Please see here:

http://forums.radioreference.com/li...on/248932-broadcastify-questions-answers.html

EDIT: You can "like" Broadcastify.com here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/broadcastify - we will provide updates there over the next few weeks regarding the rollout.

 

[SCPD]

Lindsay,

What type of membership will RR DB Admins have with the new "Broadcastify" site. Currently DB admins have "premium" for their audio feed(s).

Hey! A pleasant surprise here though. Best of luck with the "spin off" site and count me in too!


Thanks!

Ken N / Jersey_Ken

 

[KE4ZNR]

Looking forward to the changes.
Happy Monitoring (and streaming)
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[iamhere300]

Looking forward to the changes! Great job.

 

[quarterwave]

Improvement and advancements are always welcome...but a few years ago we had RR and Scanamerica.

Why merge and now separate for reciprocating reasons?

 

[ka8zay]

Although I am sure this is done with well intent, I personally think it sucks. I love scanner listening myself, but one of the primary reasons I supply 4 radio feeds is not just because I love listening but I love having a premium account to RadioReference.com. Not having a free account on here in trade for providing my feed sure takes away my desire to continue the feeds. I gain no benefit to a free subscription to the new site as I don't listen to anything by the feeds local to me, which I provide them all. Just my two cents.

 

[blantonl]

What type of membership will RR DB Admins have with the new "Broadcastify" site. Currently DB admins have "premium" for their audio feed(s).

DBAdmins won't inherently get premium subscriptions on Broadcastify.com, however if you are a feed provider then you will get a premium subscription on Broadcastify.

Why merge and now separate for reciprocating reasons?

This is a great question. Remember that when we acquired ScanAmerica, there were about 400-500 feeds available then. The purpose of the acquisition was to add content to RadioReference. Since then, that audio platform has grown to 3300+ feeds and has literally taken a life of its own. We feel that the live audio platform has matured to a point where it belongs as a separate entity. Back then, it was kind of a novelty, now it is a serious business.

 

[blantonl]

Although I am sure this is done with well intent, I personally think it sucks. I love scanner listening myself, but one of the primary reasons I supply 4 radio feeds is not just because I love listening but I love having a premium account to RadioReference.com. Not having a free account on here in trade for providing my feed sure takes away my desire to continue the feeds. I gain no benefit to a free subscription to the new site as I don't listen to anything by the feeds local to me, which I provide them all. Just my two cents.

First, thank for you for providing your feeds - I and the rest of the community appreciates it. With that said, the economics behind volunteering to own, manage, and broadcast 4 radios to RadioReference just to save $2.50/month in a premium subscription is pretty dicey. I'm not trying to downplay your contribution at all, but I struggle with that argument a little bit.

I realize that we'll have some objection to this, but remember that we still plan to grant a free 90 days premium subscription to all feed providers when the transition is completed. That is a $25,000 benefit that we are extending to all of our feed providers.

 

[KM4WLV]

I'm always excited to see new things on the horizon and I'm excited about the change.

Lindsay, as feed providers you said in your original post that we wouldn't have to change anything on our end so that means we don't need to change anything as the broadcast software & such correct? Just want to make sure to keep things up and running.

Again, I'm happy to see the changes that are coming !!!

 

[adams_jb]

Current RR links

What will this mean for the current feeds we host? Will we have to spread the word about Broadcastify.com or will the links I now have work still?

Will the Apps that are already in use (Scanner Radio) still work or will we need to Broadcastify app?

Thanks for all you do, I am looking forward to the new site.

Jason

 

[ka8zay]

First, thank for you for providing your feeds - I and the rest of the community appreciates it. With that said, the economics behind volunteering to own, manage, and broadcast 4 radios to RadioReference just to save $2.50/month in a premium subscription is pretty dicey. I'm not trying to downplay your contribution at all, but I struggle with that argument a little bit.

I would run the feeds for myself without using your servers as I have in the past before I started broadcasting on here is my point. My motivation to provide the feeds to everyone, through your servers which you profit from, not me was the radioreference.com subscription. Again, I'm not trying to judge you, bash your decision, or start a fight of course, just realize your right, the expense of running the feeds to get people to subscribe to your services was just that, to save $2.50 LOL. I guess what I struggle with is why would I want to provide the feeds with my money to get a premium service to the new site that provides nothing I am interested in. Your proving alerts, custom players, all which I have apps on phones and my computer for that do that now. What is the new benefit of the site that we can't already get? Again no disrespect intended, just hashing it out as I'm sure I won't be the only one to bring this up.

That is all, I don't want to be a negative poster so I won't say anymore, just getting my voice heard.

 

[richtidd]

I'm pleased to announce that on October 15th, 2012, we will be spinning off the live audio feeds on RadioReference.com to a new entity called Broadcastify.com. This will allow us to better focus RadioReference.com on it's core service, to be a reference source. Broadcastify will provide a stand alone entity to focus on the live audio feeds. You can see what the site will look like via the attached screenshot.

Again, the launch of this new site is scheduled for October 15th, 2012.

In addition to spinning off the live audio platform to a stand alone entity, we will be releasing new features and functionality to the broadcastify live audio platform. The below bullet points outline some of those updates and changes from what we have existing on RadioReference.com:

* 180 days of archives for all regular feeds
* 365 days of archives for official feeds
* Official feeds will have access to audio trimming capabilities
* Notable incidents section for storage of interesting audio archives
* Revamped feed alert system

Premium Features ($6.95/month)

* Access to feed archives
* customized player page for managing favorite feeds
* Email and SMS alerting for listener counts, feed alerts, and other user defined criteria
* No advertisements
* Unlimited listening times on the Web players

== Transition ==

Existing premium subscribers on RadioReference.com will have their subscriptions extended to Broadcastify for the term that they paid for on RadioReference.com. Meaning, if you paid for 180 days of a premium subscription on RadioReference.com and you have 120 days left, you will be automatically granted a 120 subscription on Broadcastify. New premium subscribers and renewals will be billed at a monthly rate of $6.95/month. Feed providers will ALWAYS receive a free premium subscription on Broadcastify.com, however they will no longer receive a free premium subscription on RadioReference.com. We will provide a complimentary 90 day RadioReference.com subscription to every active feed provider after the transition is complete on 10/15.

Also note that we will not have a "premium feed broadcaster" offering, rather we will incorporate most of those previously announced features into the regular broadcasting platform on broadcastify for all providers, free of charge.

When the transition occurs, broadcasters will not have to change anything on their end - everything will automatically transition over to the new Broadcastify servers. Mobile apps, remote Web players, relays, etc will also not have to be immediately changed and will continue to function normally when the changeover is complete.

Exciting times are ahead for Broadcastify and Radioreference and I'm thrilled to be making these announcements to the community today!

Warm regards,

Lindsay

Additional info:
All answers are per Lindsay.

Question:
How is Broadcastify actually pronounced?
Answer:
Pronounced: "Broadcast-a-fy"

Question:
How will the live audio forums work related to feeds (admin, listener, streaming etc)?
Answer:
As for the forums - we don't have plans to roll out discussion forums on Broadcastify, but we'll continue to have the forums on RadioReference for topics all related to Live Audio Broadcasting. Support for listeners and broadcasters will be done on a one on one basis and through a knowledge-base.

Question:
Will the broadcasting software remain the same?
Answer:
Yes

Question:
"Unlimited continuous listening times". Does that just mean that the feeds will not time out after a certain time or is there a limit to how long they can listen?
Answer:
We will limit folks who are listening in their Web browsers to 2 hours of continuous listening time before they will be required to reload the page. All other clients (mobile, etc) will remain unlimited.

Question:
Will current providers have to manually transition over?
Answer:
No action will need to be taken by feed providers - the transition will happen automatically.

 

[c5corvette]

Lindsay, I respect where you are going with this. I think it's a wise move for the live audio space and where its going. While it may not benefit all the current subscribers, this is also a much better business model for radioreference. My congratulations on a great idea and spinoff.

 

[dispatcher812]

Feed providers will ALWAYS receive a free premium subscription on Broadcastify.com, however they will no longer receive a free premium subscription on RadioReference.com. We will provide a complimentary 90 day RadioReference.com subscription to every active feed provider after the transition is complete on 10/15.

While this is a little disappointing in a way I can certainly understand. As a feed provider, if I pay for a subscription to RadioReference.com, will I be paying for access to the database and forums or will the forums still be free. Kevin

 

[webstar22]

I agree with what ka8zay posted.
I hardly listen to any other feeds on rr.com as it and the primary reason I feed is for premium access to the database but with that gone it leaves little left to stay around.

While I understand what you are trying to do you are going to burn a lot of people who have been around for a while now providing feeds.

 

[afdengine3]

Besides removing the live audio platform from the Radio Reference site, will there be any other changes coming to the RR.com main site?

 

[blantonl]

Besides removing the live audio platform from the Radio Refernce site, will there be any other changes coming to the RR.com main site?

No other changes for now, other than a big focus on innovating what we do with the RR database (from both an administration and user perspective). There are a lot of things queued up for the RadioReference database that we plan on executing on.

Whenever we make changes, there are invariably those that are disappointed. But I hope that you guys have trust and faith in our leadership team. We've got some great visions for this community moving forward!

 

[mjbjr]

Ill pay for the premium just so i dont have to see ads.Well worth the price in my book. Looking forward to the changes.

 

[SCPD]

I can understand to those who have devoted time to live feed how pissed off you are. I also can understand how over 30 year's of scanning how much it has changed. I think it s-- k's also. But don't come down on RR for this, they have been great, I am sure they are doing what is right for them as well as us.

 

[SCPD]

Audio Trim Feature

Currently for a Premium audio feed under the Premium tag Archive Options. Current premium providers have the option to select and if necessary (as directed by Audio Administrator) adjust audio archiving trim time. The trim audio feature will removes any dead air time from the audio feed archives.
With what I have read in the initial posting about the "Broadcastify" this trim option will now only be available to "Official Feeds"? Or will premimum feed still have this feature?

If not, a suggestion or two, I recommend that this feature be preserved in "some manner" even on premium audio feeds. You can perhaps offer a "lite" version of this feature to premium feed providers while providing a more deluxe or "full" version i.e. more user options for "Official" audio feeds. If necessary you also could charge an extra few $ a month for this feature even if it is a "lite" version while still offering the "full" version to your Official feeds.

My 2 bit suggestion :roll:

Thanks

Jersey_Ken