Shoutcast
| Industry | Streaming media |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Nullsoft |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Nullsoft |
| Fate | Acquired by AOL in 1999; sold to Radionomy in 2014 |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Streaming platform for digital audio and video content |
| Owner | Radionomy (since 2014) |
| Parent | Radionomy |
| Website | www |
Shoutcast (previously known as SHOUTcast) is an online streaming platform that delivers digital audio content, mainly utilizing MP3 or HE-AAC encoding, through proprietary software compatible across multiple operating systems. It facilitates both the broadcasting and listening of Internet audio streams and additionally supports video streaming. The software is offered either as a free download or via a subscription-based cloud service with advanced professional capabilities.
In the early days of esports, Shoutcast was employed to stream live commentary on gameplay, which led to the creation of the term "shoutcaster" to describe esports commentators.
History
Introduced in 1998, Shoutcast's streaming protocol incorporates metadata tags that start with ICY ("I Can Yell"). The original creator, Nullsoft, was acquired by AOL in 1999.
On January 14, 2014, Nullsoft was sold by AOL to the Belgian internet radio aggregator Radionomy, though financial terms were not disclosed publicly. The brand underwent a name change from SHOUTcast to Shoutcast in 2018. By 2020, Radionomy had phased out its own streaming platform to focus exclusively on the Shoutcast service.
Software
Operating on a client–server architecture, Shoutcast utilizes a network protocol that merges audio or video streams with metadata such as track titles and station identifiers, transmitted over HTTP.
Servers and clients supporting Shoutcast run on FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, and Solaris platforms. Client-only versions exist for several mobile and handheld systems including Android, BlackBerry OS, iOS (iPad and iPhone), Palm OS, webOS (Radio Hibiki), PlayStation Portable, Windows Mobile, Symbian S60 and UIQ, Nintendo DS (DSOrganize), and Wii.
The format is compatible with numerous media players like Nullsoft’s Winamp, Amarok, Exaile, foobar2000, iTunes, Songbird, Totem, XMMS, and Zinf. When a media player does not support the Shoutcast protocol, the server transmits streams without metadata to allow playback on applications such as Windows Media Player. Access to Shoutcast servers is commonly achieved through playlist files (.pls or .m3u) containing the server’s URL. Opening this URL in a Mozilla-based browser displays an information/status page about the server rather than playing the audio stream directly.
In 2010, VideoLAN removed Shoutcast compatibility from its VLC media player at AOL’s request due to licensing terms that prohibited integration with free or open-source software and required bundling adware toolbars. Icecast serves as an alternative streaming technology.
Popularity
Shoutcast servers can share listener data within a directory hosted on their website, enabling users to find stations and download corresponding playlist files for supported media players.
By 2011, public Shoutcast broadcasts reached up to 900,000 simultaneous listeners during peak periods. Listener counts fluctuate considerably throughout the day, with peak times drawing roughly three times more users than off-peak hours.
As of June 2022, more than 85,000 stations were actively streaming via the Shoutcast network.
See also
- Icecast
- List of Internet radio stations
- List of streaming media systems
- Nullsoft Streaming Video
- Edcast
External links
- Shoutcast Directory listing available streaming stations
- Shoutcast Plans