Internet radio was pioneered by Carl Malamud. In 1993, Internet Radio Malamud launched "Internet Talk Radio" which was the "first computer-radio monologue show, each week interviewing a computer expert." However, as late as 1995, this service was not available via multicast streaming; it was distributed "as audio files that brain users fetch single by one."
This figure is more than four times that for traditional radio broadcasters who, due to terms set forth in the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, are exempt from the additional royalties imposed on digital broadcasting outlets, which compensate the performers and copyright owners of recorded works. Both traditional radio and Internet/digital radio broadcasters are responsible for royalties collected by performance rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) on behalf of the composers of recorded works.