They say the best things in life are free.
You can now add something new to that list: A local gem now available for your smartphone that broadcasts exclusively local music livestream via a program similar to Pandora.
On Dec. 5, Central Coast LIVE! Inc. launched its new Internet radio app that boasts a round-the-clock livestream of music from artists based on the Central Coast.
The app is the creation of Brad Golden, a digital media artist who has worn many hats. Most recently, Golden and his wife, Jennifer, have been broadcasting live online concert videos and artist interviews through their company Central Coast LIVE! In preparation for their new venture, the radio app. Golden has scoured the area and sorted through music that local musicians submitted for consideration.
He didn’t ask for much, he said, mainly seeking recordings that had a superior audio quality.
“I’m just blown away,” Golden told the Sun. “We have been really fortunate. The largest percentage of stuff that’s been submitted has been quality, not cheesy.”
Golden founded Central Coast LIVE! in 2011 to broadcast livestreamed video of local concerts. Eventually, that became a tricky thing to keep financially sustainable. Then, as the popularity of smartphones and smartphone apps continued to grow, Golden saw his opportunity—to create an app that connects listeners near and far to local music.
They’re constantly seeking to build on their current database, bringing on new music from artists on the greater Central Coast, which Golden considers to span from Santa Cruz to Oxnard.
The area includes 2.5 million people, and a whole lot of musicians.
Development of the app has been a mix of business and pleasure. Golden, who’s also a musician, has been a digital media artist for most of his career, where he’s worked on a long list of projects using a lot of different technologies. Turning his skills from the online video stream platform toward the mobile music-streaming platform was a natural step.
It’s also a bit of a leap of faith, because both Golden and Jennifer left their previous day jobs behind, going all in with this venture.
“As passionate as I am about it, I get really nervous,” he said.
Still, Golden is confident. Even in the app’s early stages, he’s already received an incredible response, he said. Hundreds of musicians have submitted their music.
The app resembles a basic version of other popular Internet streaming programs, and runs a small advertisement banner at the top of the screen. What you’d download now is Version 1.0. Version 2.0, which is in the works for the future, will have a few added features.
This app currently is one-dimensional—it’s just like a radio, in that it’s only playing one channel, so those listening at any give time hear the same program. In the future, Golden hopes to give the listener the ability to chose what genre they’d like to listen to.
For now, as the word gets out and new listeners tune in, it’s playing without any major complications. Or, as Golden said, “so far so good.”
This article appears in Dec 10-17, 2015.
