Tex,
We used to do a direct stream, but Live365 is much better for a medium sized station like Epic Rock Radio.... It costs a lot less money because Live365 pays the royalties for us instead of us having to do it ourselves.
Live365 isn't the easiest to work with, because they have those annoying pop-ups and such, but the way to avoid that is by using Winamp as your default player. Then you can close all the Live365 windows after you start the stream playing and you don't get any more advertisements or pop-ups. Plus, Epic Rock Radio broadcasts live, so we don't have any commercial interruptions like most Live365 stations.
Prab,
I know what you mean! People here in the United States generally have no idea what good music is. They are too busy listening to Britney Spears or some sort of hip-hop or rap or something. When I discovered symphonic / melodic metal a few years ago, I felt two things: One, I was happy as heck, because I finally found bands playing the music that I'd been hearing in my head my whole life, and Two, I felt alone, because nobody I knew at the time listened to this style of music.
That's why I started Epic Rock Radio.... I want to "spread the word" about this kind of music so that it becomes more popular.
We've been pretty successful, too - Out of the over five hundred metal stations on Live365, we are the 7th most popular, and climbing higher every day. I get emails every week from people who say they've never heard this sort of music before, and it's become their favorite. Whenever I hear that, I know I've done my job. :wink:
I checked my mail just now - the new Falconer CD isn't here yet. BAH! I can't wait!