NetRadio (Net.radio, NetRadio, NetRadio Network) was an

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the 16th-largest city in the State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,198. The city is adjacent to the north bank of th ...

-based company founded by Scott Bourne and radio veteran Scot Combs in 1994. NetRadio helped pioneer

online radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

and was the world's first Internet-only radio network. NetRadio began using RealAudio 1.0 in November 1995 to stream their music. It started out with four formats and expanded to more than a dozen two years after. The radio network was included as a preset in

RealAudio RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fid ...

(aka RealMedia) 2.0 and later players. NetRadio was the first Internet radio network to receive an experimental license from

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

which later became a standard license for all online radio stations. At its height, NetRadio offered more than 125 online radio stations and attracted more than 50 million unique IP's per month. When

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

began rating Internet radio sites, NetRadio consistently held 8 of the top 10 ranks. In 1997, the

Navarre Corporation Navarre Corporation was an American public distribution and publishing company founded in 1983 by Eric H. Paulson. The company was headquartered in New Hope, Minnesota. Navarre owned three subsidiary companies: a software publisher, Encore, In ...

completed the purchase of all outstanding shares of NetRadio and merged the company into one of its subsidiaries. In late 2001 it discontinued operations.

World's First live Internet Concert Series

In July 1996, NetRadio accomplished another first by offering the first weekly live Internet-only concert series hosted by NetRadio Webmaster Nathan Wright. Some of the shows included: * Dr. Mambos Combo 1/16/96 (first live concert via internet out of Minnesota?) * Dr. Mambos Combo 5/18/96 * Tribe of Millions 5/18/96 * Tommy Babarella 5/18/96 * Innocent 5/18/96 * Paul Metsa 6/19/96 * 5 Guys Live 6//19/96 * Gutta Percha 6/12/96 * Michael Nelson 6/26/96 * Ride Ruby Ride 6/26/96 * Six Day Lane 7/3/96 * Sadie Foster 7/3/96 * Scott Laurent 7/10/96 (possibly The Billy's also?) * Joint Chiefs at the Hangout (8 songs) 7/17/96 * Hindu Rodeo 7/24/96 * Stuart Davis 7/24/96 * GB Leighton 7/31/96 * Johnny Clueless 7/31/96 * Cartoon Water 8/7/96 * Mango Jam 8/7/96 * Trailer Trash 8/14/96 may be unlabeled. * Honeydogs 8/14/96 may be unlabeled. * Charlies Cafe 8/21/96 * Hillcats 8/21/96 * Punchdrunk 8/28/96 * Rank Strangers 8/28/96 * Wood circa 1996 * Medium

References

{{reflist Online mass media companies of the United States Companies based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota Mass media companies established in 1994 Telecommunications companies established in 1994 Technology companies disestablished in 2001