Internet radio is occasionally an overlooked feature of the Internet. The act of broadcasting music over the Internet in this way is referred to as streaming music and there are many stations that offer streaming over the Internet. You will often find that your favorite terrestrial station can be found online, but there are just as many radio stations that are transmitted solely over the Internet. One of the biggest benefits of Internet radio is that the data is transmitted over the Internet making it possible to listen to radio stations from all over the world. Expatriates find this particularly beneficial.

Similarly, though, it is also cheaper to produce music over the Internet and this means that smaller stations with a smaller fan base than mainstream radio requires are able to run their own radio station. This makes it perfect for those who like particular genres of music to find exactly what they are looking for.

Internet Talk Radio was the first ever Internet radio service and was established in 1993 and in 1995 the first radio service published only on the Internet was introduced ? Radio HK. Since then the number of stations opening on the Internet has increased dramatically. Peercasting, or P2P technology, makes it even easier to start an Internet radio station so it is likely that there will be even more stations in the near future.

Internet radio is perfect for people in small towns that are monopolized by only two or three radio stations and are forced to listen to one playlist of songs over and over. With internet radio the possibility of gaining access to music that a person likes is greatly increased.

Whether you are looking for radio broadcasts from countries miles away or you want to listen to one particular genre of music you can be virtually assured of finding a station that caters to your needs. You can even find chat stations that deal with one particular topic. The quality of sound and the quality of the programs distributed are both excellent. If you haven't tried Internet Radio before, you should try it now.