While Amazon’s AMP Radio allows would-be air talent to dip their toes in the medium for free, a new pirate competitor is rising that is free to listen to, but you have to pay to play. Blast Radio is a new lossless streaming social media radio platform with a proprietary system requiring special hardware or software to broadcast.
The basic Blast Mic costs $199 dollars, or you can buy the necessary plug-in for $49 and use the $149 Blast Box to plug in your own microphone. The streams go live and disappear in 24 hours, which is probably a protection feature. Unlike AMP, Blast has no music licensing, meaning the vast majority of available broadcasts playing off vinyl or additional music streaming services are illegal.
The company’s founders say that if Blast does hit the mainstream, they may make it possible to broadcast for free using your own technology. Until then, musicians and audiophiles will continue to broadcast with Blast’s tech.
