
This type of “narrowcasting” works only on the Internet, where the transmission costs are so low. Anyone who types in, say, “ The Broken West” gets sent the same mix of melodic indie rock music that would go to anyone who volunteered a band from that subgenre. For example, some personalized webcasters invite users to build stations around their favorite artists. Instead, they’ll create hundreds of channels around specialized niches. To qualify for a statutory license, these webcasters may not create a station just for you. Personalized stations on the Webalso known as user-influenced radiotypically are sent on-demand to a much smaller group of listeners. Everyone gets the same tunes, usually at the same time. Local radio stations and the average Web-based radio outlet broadcast a single playlist of songs per station. To see why this is significant, you first have to understand how personalized radio works. It’s a pioneering effort to bring customized radio programming to the car, the gym, or anywhere else you might go.

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The company’s line of portable music players enable people to listen to their individualized stations without using a computerever. (A commercial-free version is available for $7.50 a month.) Things will get more interesting later this year, when Slacker starts selling what amounts to a transistor radio for the iPod generation. The stations are free, but include a handful of commercials each hour. Nothing dramatic therelike many online radio outlets, Slacker lets listeners tailor stations to their tastes by rating artists and songs as they’re played. The company’s initial offering is a website with personalized radio stations.

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The Slacker service illustrates how digital rights management technologya much maligned type of software used to limit copyingcan enable new ways to consume, rather than just handcuffing consumers. A good example at last week’s show was Slacker, a San Diego-based company showing how radio might evolve when listeners are always connected to the Internet. Increasingly, it’s a showcase for technology-fueled ways to sell, market and experience music and video. AUSTIN, TXThe local South by Southwest festival is more than just a celebration of obscure bands and filmmakers.
