Christmas Music 24/7

I’ve started converting all of the music on the stations to 128kbps. What does that mean? Shortly the stations will sound even better. I’ll let you know when I’ve got everything switched over to the higher quality sound. I’m guessing it will be completed in early August.

I just noticed that Christmas 24/7 Jazz is now listed in iTunes under the Religious Radio station category. Welcome to our new listeners!

Early last December I asked if I should spend some extra money to be able to broadcast the stations at 128Kbps, instead of the 64Kbps I’ve been broadcasting at. Well, Live365 decided to let me broadcast at the higher quality level at no extra charge! So now the question is, should I upgrade? Leave a comment or send email to me at mclark -at- christmasmusic247.com.

On March 3, 2008, Live365 announced new rates for personal webcasting. The new rates are designed to cover the Copyright Royalty Board rates announced in March 2007. The new rates are approximately three times as high as the old rates, so at this point I am not sure if the three stations that are currently VIP-only will be able to be opened up to non-VIP members this winter. I also was preparing to open several new stations in other genres, but those plans are now on hold as well.

Thanks very much for your support over the 2007 Christmas season. It was a great year. The Traditional station ended up ranking as the #2 station at Live365 overall. The Jazz/Instrumental station ended up as #4 overall. There are more than 7,000 stations at Live365, so that’s not too shabby. On December 19th, we had a total of 1,536 listeners at the same time.

Donations for 2007 were a bit lower than expected, so unfortunately I am going to have to shut down the CCM, Country, and Kid’s stations until next Fall. But don’t worry, they’ll be back. You can still listen to those stations if you have a VIP membership. I might create some new station formats for the 2008 season as well. I’ve just ordered tons of Christmas music from SecondSpin.com.

Please support the Christmas Music 24/7 network of Internet radio stations.

• Become a VIP listener. VIP listeners don’t hear commercials! And VIP listeners are not subject to the limits that free listeners are. This also earns the station a few dollars, which helps offset the monthly bills. Simply click on the green “Support This Station” button on the top right of the station page.
• Send some money to me through Paypal. Any donations are not tax deductible, as Christmas Music 24/7 is not a non-profit organization.
• Mail a check to me. Make checks payable to Michael Clark. Mail to Michael Clark; PO Box 1560 Woodbridge; VA 22195-1560. Any donations are not tax deductible, as Christmas Music 24/7 is not a non-profit organization.

No one has to do anything to be able to listen to the station. But financial support is greatly appreciated. Even sending me an email letting me know that you enjoy the station is encouraging. And thank you for the support I’ve received so far this Christmas season.

This video is powerful. More info at AdventConspiracy.org.

The original members of Straight No Chaser perform their comedic version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” at the Musical Arts Center, Bloomington, Indiana. December 7th, 1998.

Or you can see the video at YouTube.

I’m wondering what you think of the sound quality of the stream of the stations. Currently each of the stations play at a rate of 64Kbps-MP3Pro. The higher the number, the higher the quality of the music you can hear on the station. Also, the higher the number, the more bandwidth is used by me (when I broadcast the station), and by you (when you listen to the station). I’m wondering if anyone has any complaints about the current encoding. I might have the ability for a higher bitrate next year, but it will cost me a lot more, so I don’t think it will be worth it. What are your thoughts? Also, the higher bit rate would only be available to VIP members. Send email to me at mclark -at- christmasmusic247.com.

I just finished upgrading the music on the Kids station. Now all five stations can be heard in “CD Quality.”