More trouble for webcasters? Stay tuned!

There's new uncertainty in the air about the future of internet radio stations. Our streaming host -- home to tens of thousands of independent broadcasters like us -- may be going through some changes in the coming days.

We plan to do our best to keep on keeping on! If anything changes about ways to tune in our Marvelous Music Mix, we'll let you know on this page and on Facebook and Twitter. And if you have any questions or problems, please let us know.

Currently it seems that some parts of the world are having trouble connecting. If that includes you, please try this YourMuze player, which seems to be getting through whatever is causing the problem. Click the image and a pop-up player will open.


Click to open popup player


So, what's going on? Continue reading for more details.

First, a little background: We at Birch Street Radio produce our program under an agreement with Radionomy, which distributes it worldwide as one of its tens of thousands of radio streams. Radionomy is responsible for the technical, legal and financial aspects of the service. It sells advertising spots and inserts them into our program. In its agreement with program producers, it pledges to cover all costs, including music royalties.

Radionomy is majority-owned (since December 2015) by Vivendi S.A., which also owns record-company and music-publishing giant Universal Music Group. Currently it's facing a lawsuit in a U.S. court brought by another major record-company group, Sony Music Entertainment, over royalty payments. We have no knowledge of the merits of the case, but have continued our programming in good faith that Radionomy is working to resolve any issues and fulfill its obligations. Given that its parent company is a major owner of music rights, that would be the logical course.

With the legal matter pending, two companies that carry webcasts -- TuneIn and Nobex -- have temporarily removed Radionomy stations from their platforms and apps. (Birch Street Radio is still available on the various other players shown on our web page.)

There are indications that some kind of announcement is planned for Monday, May 9. We are hoping it won't involve any serious disruption to our broadcasts. However, we are also looking at contingency plans in case it becomes necessary for us to move our program to another host. (This is deja vu for us, since we jumped to Radionomy in January when our original host, Live365, shut down.)

Again, please follow us on this page and/or on Facebook and Twitter to keep updated. Thanks for listening!

More trouble for webcasters? Stay tuned!

There's new uncertainty in the air about the future of internet radio stations. Our streaming host -- home to tens of thousands of independent broadcasters like us -- may be going through some changes in the coming days.

We plan to do our best to keep on keeping on! If anything changes about ways to tune in our Marvelous Music Mix, we'll let you know on this page and on Facebook and Twitter. And if you have any questions or problems, please let us know.

Currently it seems that some parts of the world are having trouble connecting. If that includes you, please try this YourMuze player, which seems to be getting through whatever is causing the problem. Click the image and a pop-up player will open.


Click to open popup player


So, what's going on? Continue reading for more details.

Globetrotting Mumford & more new music added

The new music we've added to our Marvelous Mix this week includes a bit of a surprise release from Mumford & Sons.

While touring in South Africa, the British folk-rockers linked up with vocalist Baaba Maal from Senegal; The Very Best, fronted by Malawi singer Esau Mwamwaya; and Cape Town pop group Beatenberg. Over two days, they recorded several tracks that will be released as an EP next month.

We're spinning the first release, "There Will Be Time," which features Baaba Maal. It's a track that you have to let work on you: From a slow start it builds to a powerful, rocking piece. To Western ears not often exposed to African music, it will of course bring to mind the work that Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel have done with African musicians. Give it your attention and you will be rewarded.

That's just one example of the wide range of styles in our New Music bin (you know how we like variety).

Marian Hill is a Philadelphia-based group that creates a distinct jazzy-pop sound, fronted by Samantha Gongol's breathy vocals. Their first album came out early in 2015, and later in the year the single "One Time" broke out as an alternative-radio hit. From their upcoming second album, Act One, we've added "I Want You."

From Roc City (Rochester, N.Y.) by way of Brooklyn comes Maybird, a quintet that formed a few years ago around brothers Josh (vocals, guitar) and Adam Netsky (drums). It's one of many bands these days whose musical style is hard to categorize. A blurb on Sonicbids calls it "twangy psychedelia with a funhouse bounce" and "blissful space-rock with a playful sense of pop songwriting." Whatever. Decide for yourself when you hear us play the single "Turning Into Water," the title track from their debut EP.

Sara Hartman also joins our Marvelous Mix this week with "Satellite," the title song from her debut EP. This singer-songwriter hails from Sag Harbor, N.Y. (one of our favorite places in the world!) but relocated to Berlin to work with a producer and that seems to have jump-started her career. Right now she's in the States for tour dates in May, opening for X Ambassadors. Then it's back to Europe for a tour of her own.

Los Angeles band Local Natives is said to be working on a third album after a quiet few years. The first single is "Past Lives." They have an expansive sound blending acoustic and electronic instrumentation with vocal harmony.

We'd like to get your comments on the new music - and all the music - we play on Birch Street Radio. Comment on this page, e-mail us, or reach us on Facebook or @BirchStRadio on Twitter.

Globetrotting Mumford & more new music added

The new music we've added to our Marvelous Mix this week includes a bit of a surprise release from Mumford & Sons.

While touring in South Africa, the British folk-rockers linked up with vocalist Baaba Maal from Senegal; The Very Best, fronted by Malawi singer Esau Mwamwaya; and Cape Town pop group Beatenberg. Over two days, they recorded several tracks that will be released as an EP next month.

We're spinning the first release, "There Will Be Time," which features Baaba Maal. It's a track that you have to let work on you: From a slow start it builds to a powerful, rocking piece. To Western ears not often exposed to African music, it will of course bring to mind the work that Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel have done with African musicians. Give it your attention and you will be rewarded.

That's just one example of the wide range of styles in our New Music bin (you know how we like variety).

Marian Hill is a Philadelphia-based group that creates a distinct jazzy-pop sound, fronted by Samantha Gongol's breathy vocals. Their first album came out early in 2015, and later in the year the single "One Time" broke out as an alternative-radio hit. From their upcoming second album, Act One, we've added "I Want You."

From Roc City (Rochester, N.Y.) by way of Brooklyn comes Maybird, a quintet that formed a few years ago around brothers Josh (vocals, guitar) and Adam Netsky (drums). It's one of many bands these days whose musical style is hard to categorize. A blurb on Sonicbids calls it "twangy psychedelia with a funhouse bounce" and "blissful space-rock with a playful sense of pop songwriting." Whatever. Decide for yourself when you hear us play the single "Turning Into Water," the title track from their debut EP.

Sara Hartman also joins our Marvelous Mix this week with "Satellite," the title song from her debut EP. This singer-songwriter hails from Sag Harbor, N.Y. (one of our favorite places in the world!) but relocated to Berlin to work with a producer and that seems to have jump-started her career. Right now she's in the States for tour dates in May, opening for X Ambassadors. Then it's back to Europe for a tour of her own.

Los Angeles band Local Natives is said to be working on a third album after a quiet few years. The first single is "Past Lives." They have an expansive sound blending acoustic and electronic instrumentation with vocal harmony.

We'd like to get your comments on the new music - and all the music - we play on Birch Street Radio. Comment on this page, e-mail us, or reach us on Facebook or @BirchStRadio on Twitter.

We're brewing up some "Special Blends"

If you enjoy our Marvelous Mix of Music, we think you'll like a new feature we've added. We call it "Special Blend." It's just a cute name for a couple of songs that we think go together well. They might have similar themes in their lyrics, or similar musical styles, or flow nicely from one to the other. The connection might be obvious or subtle.

We'll drop these mini-sets into the mix every now and then - and we'd love to get your comments on them. You can post comments on this page or our Facebook page, or tweet us @BirchStRadio, or email us.