NetRadio
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NetRadio (Net.radio, NetRadio, NetRadio Network) was a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company founded by Scott Bourne and radio veteran Scot Combs in 1994. NetRadio helped pioneer online radio and was the world's first Internet-only radio network. NetRadio began using RealAudio 1.0 in November of 1995 to stream their music. Starting out with four formats and expanding to more than a dozen two years after. The radio network became so popular it was included as a preset in RealAudio (aka RealMedia) 2.0 and later players. NetRadio was the first Internet radio network to receive an experimental license from ASCAP which later became a standard license for all online radio stations. In July of 1996, NetRadio accomplished another first by offering the first weekly live Internet-only concert series hosted by NetRadio Webmaster Nathan Wright. [1]
At its height, NetRadio offered more than 125 online radio stations and attracted more than 50 million listens per month. When Arbitron began rating Internet radio sites, NetRadio consistently held 8 of the top 10 ranks. In 1997, the Navarre Corporation completed the purchase of all outstanding shares of NetRadio and merged the company into one of its subsidiaries. [2]