Spreaker: Artist Marketing Tool Or Waste Of Time?
(UPDATED) Spreaker is a free and straightforward online radio and podcast service with resources like video tutorials to make it easy to use. Set up a show, upload media files and record audio directly into a mic. You specify the sequencing and Spreaker mixes it together on their end. Sounds like a simple and effective tool that artists and others can use to communicate with their fans; or is it?
The limit to the free version is one hour of audio stored on Spreaker's servers and 30 minutes for each episode though uploaded podcasts have no time limits and thus open up the possibilities. Those limits are easy to max out if you really get into the service so that would push you to the Premium version with 60 hours of uploads and 3 hour episodes at $19.90 a month. However, if you're doing everything over the mic, like a freestyle session with your pals, that could get you around the stored media limits if you're happy with the results.
Other limits are probably more important to artists pushing their music. According to the Terms of Service you can only upload music which you have the right to upload, so this isn't one of those radio services that handles broadcast fees. However, they do have a bank of Creative Commons-licensed music to use in your show so you could also upload your own music under such licensing if you're so inclined.
On a sidenote, it did surprise me that, given such restrictions, one of Spreaker's recent staff picks was a show featuring music from groups like The Beatles, who don't have a history of making such music readily available online.
Another key limitation is that you are not supposed to use the service to create podcasts which you download and distribute yourself. You're only supposed to distribute music via their streaming music player which cannot be used on commercial sites, i.e. any site with ads or other revenue generating possibilities, though you can use it on social network spaces like Facebook accounts which are not in and of themselves revenue generating accounts. This limitation obviously nixes distribution of your music on most major and many minor music blogs. That's a big limitation for musicians trying to spread the reach of their music.
So is the site useful for indie musicians trying to promote themselves online? Probably only if you get Spreaker to include your Creative Commons-licensed music in their audio bank for show creators to use in their broadcasts. Given the fact that they don't seem to be getting major traffic, one has to decide if getting in on the ground floor makes sense or if it would be better to spend one's always limited time on other promotional pursuits.
Can you share creative ways that artists might use Spreaker to communicate with fans?
Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith is a freelance writer and blogger whose current projects include Weekly Hip Hop Albums and All World Dance.
Always good to explain exactly what you are talking about right in the first paragraph.
“Spreaker is free and straightforward… ”
it is a free and straight forward what?
What does the site do?
It’s an online radio service.
I seen more Artists use Justin.tv and Ustream and do very well with those services..so I would say its probably a waste cuz with Ustream and JTV you get Audio, Video and Chat which gives the fans more interaction with the Artist.. also the Artist can embed those services on their own website..and record the live feed so fans can watch at a later time..plus those services I mentioned have a huge community..and you can broadcast as long as you want..and the serivces are FREE! they do have ads on which pop up from time to time on the feed but its free..
Oh yeah and youtube has launched their live service so for the Artists that have a big following I really think thats the way to go.. http://www.youtube.com/live
First of all a disclaimer: I am one of the founders.
@TM101 Radio :You can embed the player widget in your site also with Spreaker. And the player includes a chat service which is in synch with all the players embedded around (including facebook).
Also note that the 30′ limitations is per single segment (meaning that you can broadcast for hours a day also with the free service) and you can easily get free premium subscription if you invite your friends or listeners to join the service (it’s an incentive to referrals like Dropbox).
One of the big differences between Spreaker and the live video services is that we want to give people some tools for actually creating content. We have a sound effects pad (for inserting things like applauses, laughter, etc…) and a 3 channel mixer for music and voice. And we are streaming the whole thing in Stereo 44.1KHz @128kbps (the other services deliver monophonic audio at a lower bitrate & quality).
Dear Sir, hello, I am a broadcaster on spreaker. I have been at it for a year. I ca not seem to get more than 300 listeners. My show is very good and we broadcast everyday. it the rocket radio show. I am very close to looking at another platform. I watch the popular shows list very carefully. I find many channels with very limited and poorly produced content, that have very few listeners sometimes less that a dozen, that somehow are above my show on the list. I would like to have our show be successful. I read all the various help and tutorials. I feel like I am competing on an unlevel playing field. It was our hope that we would have more listeners at a professional level. Spreaker gives the appearance that there are too few listeners and too many”junk” and inane channels, so that you are invisible. I would like my show featured. I would like to see what our show is capable of on spreaker. Otherwise at this point it is merely a “hobbie” platform. Your thoughts?
Rocket from the rocketradioshow. On spreaker.