Radio FAQ
From GermanMetalWiki
This page answers the most frequently asked questions about the GermanMetal.com Radio. Should your question not be answered here, feel free to contact us!.
How do I tune in?
On the radio's homepage, you can either click on the "Listen! - Webplayer" link, or the "Listen! - Local player" one, both in the left menu.
The webplayer will open the radio in an pop-up on your browser, so that you can keep listening when navigating away from the radio's page. In order to use the webplayer, Windows Media Player is required. Please note that for now, the webplayer might not work very well or not at all in other browsers than Internet Explorer. We are working on making a new one, compatible with Firefox and Safari.
The local player link will either open directly in a media player installed on your computer, or give you the option to download / open a .pls file. If you get the download option, you can either open the file directly with your favourite media player, or save it and double-click it afterward in order to open it in your default media player. If you have no program capable of opening this type of file, you should download and install one such as Winamp or iTunes.
How do I request a song?
First, it is important to know that you can only request a song which is available from our song list. You can consult the list by clicking the "Song list & Requests" link in the left menu.
You can browse through the song list alphabetically, or use the search function. To request a song, just click the "Request" button next to the song you would like to request. Your request should be played shortly.
Why isn't my request being played?
A requested song is usually added to the queue very shortly, but you might need to wait for 3-5 songs to be played before the requested track is played.
Also, in order to keep the radio's music various enough, the radio will never air the same artist twice within a 2 hours period, and never the same track within a 5 hours period. If the artist you requested was already played in the last 2 hours, you'll need to wait for that time to be over before your request is played. The same goes if the track you requested was already played in the last 5 hours. Therefore, requesting several tracks by the same artist will usually result in a long wait between the airing time of the requests. However, be assured that the song you requested will be played as soon as possible.
What are the songs in rotation listed on the right of the radio's page?
The rotation system was created to provide more air time to newer hits. We have decided to give a public list of the current hits which are in high, medium, and low rotation. All the songs listed in these 3 categories will receive more air time than other songs. However, the ones in high rotation will receive even more than the ones in medium, and the same goes for medium and low.
When an artist releases a new single, video, promo, etc., the song is added to high rotation / new. After some time, depending on the success encountered by the song, and on how much the song fits with the radio, it will eventually go down to medium rotation, and then to low rotation. Big hits might stay in high rotation for long, while a very small hit might quickly go down. Each category only has 8 songs at a time.
Why did I hear a song which wasn't German?
We do not limit the radio to German artist, even though we ensure ourselves that a great majority of them are German, Austrian or Swiss. A few artists from other countries can sometimes be aired, if their style fits with German Metal.
Why did I hear a song which wasn't German Metal?
First, make sure you read the definition of German Metal here.
The radio is a bit less restrictive than the Wiki, and will allow artists that are clearly borderline from being German Metal. This is done in order to have the greatest variety possible of music that German Metal fans could enjoy, and to help them find new music in all directions.
The genres that can be heard on the radio, apart from German Metal, will be Gothic, Electronic, EBM, Industrial, Black Metal, Death Metal, Punk, Rock and Alternative. It is important, however, to note that we give a whole lot more air time to artists that are clearly German Metal, and that the artists which are much less apparent to the genre, will be aired only rarely.
This way, we hope every German Metal fan can enjoy their favourite music while discovering a few new artists.
Why isn't [insert artist name] in your song list?
We are trying to make the song list as extensive as possible, while staying within the borders of German Metal. If you think an artist fits with our policies and should be in the list, email us and tell us about that artist - we might add them.
I'm having trouble tuning in. Can you help?
First, if you tried using the webplayer, please try using the local player option. If it still doesn't work, please be sure to download and install Winamp for Windows users, and iTunes for OS X users.
If it still doesn't work, please email us with the description of the problem you are encountering.
It might happen, for various reasons, that the radio goes offline for a limited time.
Why does the radio keep cutting?
There can be three reasons:
1. Since the radio's audio quality is quite high, you will need a high speed internet connection in order to enjoy the radio fully. A 56k modem connection or lower might make the stream cut.
2. You are downloading / uploading some data at the moment, and it is taking up the bandwidth necessary to listen to the radio.
3. It might happen that our server's connection is extremely busy and has trouble streaming properly. This problem is only temporary, and should never last more than a few minutes. If it does, and that you are certain it is not because of options 1. or 2., please contact us and we will try to address the problem as quickly as possible.
