If you enjoy listening to the radio I have a new online service I want to tell you about; DAR.fm. It's an online service which records radio to play back on demand. Much like the DVR (digital video recorder) captures TV broadcasts to play back when requested DAR (digital audio recorder) does the same for radio. It's like a Tivo for radio. Because DAR.fm operates on the internet you can schedule using just a web browser and then listen from a PC, iPhones, Android, internet radios and other devices. I'm calling this an "alpha" release meaning that it's mostly complete but don't be surprised if it breaks. If you're the adventurous type I hope you'll try it and then post your feedback to help create the best service it can be.

Using DAR requires a web browser and it's a free service. First browse or search the station and show guide. Nearly every popular talk show is available covering politics, sports and religion. There are hundreds of great music stations as well.

After locating material of interest you can click the Record button. This will direct DAR's servers to capture the material and store it for future playback. If you selected a weekly show then each day the service will record that show. The guide knows how long it is and what stations carry it so there's no need to provide that info. However if there is a specific station desired that is selectable as well.

All material is stored in a password protected online space. From here you can listen to it on a wide range of devices. There are 2 web players to choose from. A big one which resembles iTunes and then a small one ideal for playback on a crowded computer screen.

Since all material is stored online it's possible to listen on a wide range of devices including smart phones

Similar to a DVR you're in control of what plays. You'll never miss another radio show because you weren't at a radio at the right time. Instead you can play shows back at a time that is convenient for you. When you play material you can skip the uninteresting parts, pause or replay interesting parts.

Radio hasn't changed much in 100 years and young people are listening to radio less. My hope is that DAR.fm modernizes radio by making it on demand, interactive and available on more than just your am/fm devices. Radio has been the optimum music marketing tool and by reinvigorating the radio experience more people will get excited about music again. Go record a few hours of music from a station and I guarantee you'll see some new artists that you haven't heard of before.

I hope you'll give DAR.fm a try and then give me your feedback on features you like or would like to see added. This is an "alpha" version which means we're still working on parts so don't be surprised if it stops working or behaves oddly for a period of time. With your feedback and testing I hope to build this into a reliable service.

--MR
michael@michaelrobertson.com