Others have made deals so you can link to their broadcasts directly from your browser's toolbar, but it's the same bland fare or worse - and the same pandering agenda. Then there are all the individuals out there. Not all amateurism is enlightened, unfortunately, and this strain is particularly banal. While the wanking flourishes, the technology keeps growing in mind-altering proportions, and wireless streaming audio is on the horizon. That will mean new Diamond Rio-like gadgets to take to the beach like the old little transistor radios, only now we'll be able to get broadcasts from the Web, as well.
New technologies bring disorder, which eventually breeds increased regulation.
Too much variety recreates the Tower of Babel, which adds to the confusion and undermines community. As someone who has been involved in music, in one way or another, for virtually my entire life, I passionately care about its future, and how it will be distributed. Not only can anyone broadcast in this new age, but anyone with the will and a few bucks can produce a CD independently, and thank Goddess for that, because if Mr. Dylan was young and starting out today, he would not get a recording contract as he did with Columbia and John Hammond close to forty years ago. He'd be going it alone, self-producing on the Dwarf label and selling his CDs at gigs to recover his investment, trying to figure out how to make the next one without waiting tables on the side or eating dog food. It ain't easy out there.