Virtual Community Radio Is On The Air

 

New internet radio station targets listeners in virtual worlds and the wider internet

with music and spoken-word programming.

Virtual Community Radio (VCR) is a new internet radio station based in the virtual world of Second Life® and featuring a mixture of music and spoken-word programming. While aimed primarily at listeners in virtual worlds, VCR is also available to listeners on the wider Internet. The station will be launched on February 6th with an inaugural ball in the station’s virtual headquarters.

The station was founded by Richard Elen, also known by his “DJ name” of Elrik “Rik” Merlin in Second Life, where he is an award-winning DJ and radio presenter. He’s also well-known as co-presenter of the popular web TV show Designing Worlds.

VCR is on the air 24/7, and plays Classical and Light Classical music as well as special programming throughout the month. “We’ll be including ‘Genre Days’,” says Rik, “which explore a wide selection of music genres on a rotating basis through the month.” There is also a developing schedule of additional content with a special focus on spoken word: “We are particularly interested in live and recorded readings, radio drama and other material,” Rik continues. “And we’re working with long-time collaborators like the Seanchai Library, The Engines Of Our Ingenuity and ZBS Media to deliver unique, quality content in this area.” 

Initial programming plans include Where've You Been? - a discussion programme about interesting sights and places around Second Life; Tarot @ Teatime - a series on the history and techniques of Tarot card reading; and The Grove - live DJ presentations of New Age music on an evocative starlit sea. Drama presentations begin shortly with the weekly airing of classic landmark radio drama series The Black Mass, featuring thirty tales of mystery, imagination and the human mind, created by the late Erik Bauersfeld at KPFA in Berkeley, CA, over half a century ago.

Listeners tune in to the station at http://main.vcradio.org, and this URL can be used for listening via a supported browser, or with a net player like VLC or WinAmp. It can also be plugged into a virtual world land parcel so that visitors to the region can hear it. 

The station’s virtual headquarters are located in an Art Deco theatre on the Chestnut Hills region in Second Life. The Theatre is used for live performances, dances and other special events, and it also provides information about coming events and provides sponsorship information.

VCR’s official launch on Saturday, February 6, will be marked by a formal Inaugural Ball in the station’s Theatre in Second Life at 2pm Pacific Time. The first edition of The Grove will be broadcast on Saturday 13th at the same time, with other announced features joining the broadcast stream over the coming weeks. 

Virtual Community Radio is funded by listeners and sponsors. Sponsors are thanked for their support by multiple daily on-air mentions, consistent with the style of US public radio stations. Sponsors’ logos are also featured on the web site with a link to the sponsor’s web site or virtual world location. Sponsorships are available in-world in the VCR Theatre, or by emailing the station.

For more information, visit the web site at https://vcradio.org - there is also a Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/virtualcommunityradio