Digitally Imported

Digitally Imported (DI.fm) is a multi-channel Internet radio service based in New York City, specializing in electronic dance music genres. It also offers other genres of music through its sister network, SKY.fm. The Digitally Imported Radio network thus offers 39 channels in four formats: MP3, Windows Media Audio, aacPlus, and AAC. The AAC format is offered to premium subscribers only, while AAC+ is offered to all users at low bandwidth.

Listeners have a choice of bitrates, allowing access for users with dial-up access or broadband connections. The addition of the aacPlus format, which has a very low bitrate but still retains high quality, has allowed many users to get a better experience while on dial-up or on upcoming new wireless services.

Both DI.fm and SKY.fm are featured on the iTunes radio tuner service as well as on Windows Media Radio Guide and the Winamp Shoutcast Listing.

History

The station and concept was started by Ari Shohat on December 6, 1999 with just the premiere Trance channel. Since then, Digitally Imported has grown larger and far more popular than anyone had conceived. The team behind the station has increased to over a dozen people since then, while the number of concurrent listeners now peaks at well over 60,000.

By Summer 2000, Digitally Imported (DI) was in the top 5 of shoutcast.com having regularly a few hundred listeners at the same time (max). DI stopped using Live365.com servers for some time, but still list there. By August 2000, it became one of the pioneer online radio stations to broadcast live DJ shows for the first time. Thanks to DJs Saul V, DJ Ganja, DJ Irish (Johan Nilsson), DJ Doboy were one of the first DJs to broadcast live to thousands of people around the world through Digitally Imported.

December 2000: DI is the most listened to station on Shoutcast.com station.

By 2002, Digitally Imported now peaks at over 10,000 concurrent listeners at any given time. Broadcasting in audio and video live feeds of DJ sets and broadcasting live from night clubs around the world.

In 2003, the company behind the service became a for-profit corporation, opening up for subscriptions that give users options of higher bitrates and access to some extra services. With a subscription users get all the available channels completely commercial-free and at much higher quality of sound (192k MP3). The service is still widely offered for free with occasional commercials.

Channels

Digitally Imported

Digitally Imported has a wide variety of channels that have appealed to those with eclectic musical tastes. It provides electronic music genres and other types of music.

SKY.fm

Listed below are 26 channels that do not necessarily fit in the scope of electronic music and cater to those with an interest beyond that:

Solo Piano
Piano Jazz
Bossa Nova Jazz
Simply Soundtracks
Contemporary Christian
DaTempo Lounge
Classic rock
Alternative rock
Indie rock
Top Hits
Mostly Classical
New Age
World Music
Classical Guitar
Smooth Jazz
Uptempo Smooth Jazz
Urban Jamz
Roots Reggae
Best of the 80s
Hit 70s
Oldies
Country
Classic Rap
Modern Jazz
Salsa
Christmas (Available during the holiday season.)

Community

Listeners may participate in forum discussions about the radio channels and other topics. Each channel has a dedicated section in the forum, with polls for every song, giving listeners an interactive feel to comment and vote on songs. DJs also post on these forums. Digitally Imported also has an IRC channel where listeners may participate in real-time discussions.

Di.fm's possible shutdown

On March 12, 2007, Digitally Imported founder Ari Shohat announced to DI listeners that, because of a ruling from the Copyright Royalty Board, internet radio stations would soon be faced with greatly increased royalty rates based on the number of plays of each song, multiplied by the number of listeners the station has. Shohat announced on May 1, 2007, that DI would shut down if the new royalty rates, which would take effect on July 15, 2007, were not overturned. In addition, DI, along with other internet radio stations which play music, would owe royalty rates retroactively for every song they have played since January 1, 2006. Moving the station outside the United States would not solve the problem, since many of the station's listeners are in the United States.

Digitally Imported shut off the streams on their free stations as part of a Day of Silence on June 26, 2007. Their free streams were replaced by ambient noise, with a repeating announcement urging listeners to call their United States Senators and Representatives and tell them to support the Internet Radio Equality Act.