The Requirements
We're glad to have you onboard. While you're broadcasting on LoudCity there are a few rules influenced by US copyright law that you must follow.
Your listeners can only tune-in via your LoudCity.com page. That means a LoudCity.com web page opened in a full window with a visible navigation bar. It's like this, websites need to be licensed and pay royalties when making use of music. Your performances on LoudCity.com are legally covered. If you are going to be performing music on your personal website then you are 100% responsible for securing your own licenses or owning up to the consequences for not securing your license. The RIAA is happy to explain who-what-when-where and why.
You need to broadcast with shoutcast, icecast or steamcast in MP3 format. Windows Media Audio is supported, but only if your Windows Media streams are hosted with MPM support and you are using SAM Broadcaster.
AAC+ and Ogg is possible, but our current station directory has very poor support for it. Currently AAC+ and Ogg are not natively supported by embedded players. We believe Internet radio should accessible in as few clicks as possible and asking someone to install additional players and plug-ins is one more reason for them not to tune in.
Mistakes happen, and we understand that, but you must adhere to the DMCA (see below). Habitual and wilful disregard will only get you termination of LoudCity service. On top of that you'll be making yourself vulnerable to RIAA lawsuits.
Additionally, If you are a pro-broadcaster you'll have to:
Allow us to monitor your audio servers for royalty tracking purposes.
File station related revenue/expenses with us for royalty tracking purposes.
Direct your listeners to a full-windowed launch page on LoudCity.com
Due to our contracts with rights organizations, you cannot sell in-stream advertisements without a separate SESAC license. However you can generate revenue through donations, banners and the sale of physical goods.
DMCA Highlights
ALL online US Broadcasters must comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Your station must not be part of an "interactive service". This means no personalized on-demand streaming or downloading of content. Sound recordings can't be performed within one hour of a request by a listener or at a time designated by the listener.
In any three-hour period, you should not intentionally program more than three songs (and not more than two songs in a row) from the same recording; you should not intentionally program more than four songs (and not more than three songs in a row) from the same recording artist or anthology/box set.
Archived programs (those that, when accessed, always start in the same place and play in the same order) should be at least five hours long, and should not be available for more than two weeks at a time.
Continuous "looped" programs (those that always perform in the same order, but are accessed in a continuous play stream) should be at least three hours long.
Rebroadcasts of programs can be performed at scheduled times three times in a two-week period (for programs of less than one hour) and four times (for programs of an hour or more).
Do not publish advance program guides or use other means to pre-announce when particular sound recordings will be played. However, a webcaster may name one or two artists to illustrate the type of music on a particular channel; and, DJ "teaser" announcement using artists' names are permitted, but only those that do not specify the time a song will be played.
Use only sound recordings that are authorized for performance in the United States (e.g.: do not play bootleg recordings).
Provide some means for the end user to identify the song, artist and album title of the recording as it is being played.
Lastly, the DMCA also requires that you accommodate technological copyright protection measures or pass through any identification, which may be included in the song recording itself, as long as it does not impose substantial costs or burdens on the webcaster. Also, do not deploy or support technological means to evade these requirements; and, do not explicitly encourage home taping.
Direct any complaints or freak-outs regarding these restrictions to the US copyright office.