(Frequently Questioned Answers)
If you have tried the tips above and you're still having trouble, email me and I'll see what I can do to help.
I hear this one a lot! First...do you have Winamp (or other good mp3 player -- see above) installed? If not, I would recommend
downloading Winamp and using it as your mp3 player. Once it's installed and running, hit Ctrl-P to open preferences. It should look like this:
Under Setup->File Types, make sure that mp3, m3u, and pls (at a minimum) are highlighted. Winamp should now open when you click the "Listen" link. Word of caution: RealPlayer or Windows Media Player may try to to "steal back" these file associations and make itself the default player. Both programs have (hard to find) settings under Preferences that will stop them from doing this.
<rant>Real Networks and Micro$oft both have competing (proprietary) audio formats that they would like to see become the standard. Because of this, I suspect, they intentionally "steal" the file association for the more open mp3 standard, and then do a poor job playing the files, the result being that many end users have trouble listening to streaming mp3 audio, thus encouraging broadcasters to use the MS or RN format. My recommendation: Don't install any version of RealPlayer, RealOne, etc. If you want to listen to RealAudio, the slim and junk-free Real Alternative works nicely and will save you lots of headaches.</rant>
Anyway, let me know if you have trouble with any of the above.
That's a big can o' worms that I'm not gonna open. Try the rec.music.country.old-time FAQ. The music you will
hear on Sugar in the Gourd encompasses Appalachian fiddle tunes and balladry, early commercial recordings by Southern country musicians, and more recent performances by people who are trying
to keep this music alive or maybe grow a new branch on this old tree. I reserve the right to also throw in the occasional blues, folk, or jazz tune that seems to fit into this
tradition. I also like Cape Breton/PEI tunes a lot so you may hear a few of those...
Financially, not much. Actually, I lose money running this site. (How do we do it? VOLUME!) I do run some ads and have some wonderful site sponsors (their names are listed on the left side there) who help me greatly in keeping this thing going. A few record labels and individuals also send me promo copies of their Old-Time releases,
(which is wonderful) but if you take the time I have spent on this
station and site, multiply the hours by the going rate for this kind of work, and divide by the number of CDs I have received, these promo CDs cost me several hundred dollars
apiece! Nevertheless, I am certainly grateful to these labels and individuals, and of course there is an unstated quid pro quo: when someone sends me a CD I like, I will do
my best to promote it. (Naturally I also promote lots of CDs that I paid for myself!) If you order through the Amazon.com link on the Where to Buy page
or through my handy-dandy search page, I do get a small percentage of the sale as credit from Amazon. But
this doesn't amount to much. What I really get out of running this station is a lot of great feedback from other OT fans; a fun way to share the music I love; a good outlet for the obsessive side of my personality; something to keep me
busy between 11 pm and 2 am; and the hope that, by sharing this music with folks like you, more people will buy it, and the artists and labels will be able to afford to produce more of it.
I use low bitrate 32kbps mp3s, primarily because this allows people with dialup (modem) connections to listen. I don't actually think the low bitrate is a big problem. A lot of the stuff I play was
recorded in the 20s and 30s, and the quality is not that great to start with. The newer stuff sounds kind of old & funky when ripped at a low bitrate. Plus you'll get fewer dropouts
this way. But one of the main reasons I use a low bitrate is that I don't want people copying my stream and capturing CD-quality mp3s. I want to encourage people to buy
this music (see answer above). While capturing mp3 streams and separating the stream into tracks is more difficult than using Napster, it's not impossible, and I want to help artists
and labels sell more CDs, not less.
Can I get rid of the commercials between songs? Why are they so LOUD?
No more commercials since I moved from Live365 to Shoutcast!
Check the Forum and News sections of the site. Links are on the left side of the screen. If you have questions, post to the forum or send me an email.