Radio@AOL Adds Stations, Features

Classical music, Woodstock-era tunes, AP news among new offerings of Web-based radio.

America Online is adding new programming and features to its Radio@AOL channel this week, as part of its strategy to turn up the volume on its entertainment offerings, the company said Wednesday.

Customers of the world's largest ISP now have access to new stations from the Associated Press, WB Radio, WQXR-FM, and RadioWoodstock/WDST, as well as new seasonal programming and tunes spun by celebrity disc jockeys. Users also have the option of choosing preset stations, AOL said. By clicking on the "My Station Setup" icon at the bottom of the media player, users can add up to five favorite stations from the channel's offerings.

AOL's inclusion of the Associated Press station gives its users access to 24-hour news and information. The WB Radio station provides interviews and musical choices from the stars of the WB Television Network. WQXR-FM has a classical music format, and the Woodstock Broadcasting Network offers alternative and hard rock music as well as peace-and-love "spirit of Woodstock" tunes.

The programming enhancements were part of the release this week of version 1.1 of Radio@AOL. The feature itself was new to AOL 7.0, released in October. The ISP has been working to expand its music offerings over the past year, both on Radio@AOL and AOL Music. AOL Music is currently testing the beta version of its online music subscription service MusicNet and expects it to go live later this year. A version of MusicNet is already available through RealNetworks' RealOne service.

New Tunes

The demise last year of free-for-all music from Napster left a gaping hole for companies to fill by offering legitimate music content over the Internet. AOL has been at the forefront of the online music push, in part due to the holdings of its parent company AOL Time Warner.

Though offline music sales for Warner Bros. Records waned last year amid the economic recession, the company has worked to expand its online music business, AOL Time Warner executives said recently. In addition, AOL's swelling subscriber base, which reportedly stood at 33.2 million for its quarter ending December 31, 2001, has given its music channels a growing audience.

Radio@AOL offers more than 100 stations of music, news, sports, and entertainment, and the company plans to continue adding new features and content to the radio service, a representative for AOL Music said Wednesday.