FROM BROOKLYN TO THE BROWSER · 1995/96 TO NOW
One cassette.
A station still playing.
SimplyRadio began with Kenny Scan’s taped DJ sets, went live in 1997 and kept moving through RealAudio, SHOUTcast, BigRadio, Live365, mobile apps and the browser.
STREAMING 24/7 SINCE 1997
Built early.
Kept alive.
Kenny Scan put his first taped sets online through SimplyOutThere. In 1997, a 24 kbps server turned the project into live internet radio. SimplyRadio.com became the main home in 1999. Today, four independent stations are still playing.
How it
kept going.
Eight moments trace the move from cassette to continuous internet radio. Open any chapter to see the photographs and original material behind it.
The cassette that started it
Aunt Amy brought Kenny’s Hip Hop N Dub cassette to an early New York web shop. Seeing the tape encoded for RealAudio showed him that a DJ set could reach beyond the room. SimplyOutThere and DJ Land followed.
VIEW FIRST WEB-ERA ARTIFACTS →
The first live stream
Sonic Foundry and AcidPlanet invited the project into a Bell broadband pilot in Madison, Wisconsin. They provided live2.ram and a full-time 24 kbps server. One live show gradually became 24 hours of DJs, MCs, freestyles and reports from the scene.
SEE FIRST LIVE-STREAM EVIDENCE →
SHOUTcast changed the scale
Winamp made internet radio easier to hear. Tom Pepper’s SHOUTcast let SimplyRadio host its own MP3 stream and appear in the public directory. The station became a top hip-hop and reggae destination there—and BigRadio found it.
EXPLORE THE SHOUTCAST YEARS →
BigRadio called
SimplyRadio.com became the main home in 1999. John Billington recruited Kenny to build BigRadio’s hip-hop station, with a weekly salary, major bandwidth and the resources to grow.
OPEN THE BIGRADIO CHAPTER →
Independent again
MP3.com income paid for equipment and helped fund the move from Long Island to Florida in 2004. After BigRadio, SimplyRadio stayed with SHOUTcast as long as it could, then moved to Live365 and remained there until the service closed.
SEE THE FLORIDA / LIVE365 YEARS →
Radio in your pocket
Before browser audio worked reliably on every phone, SimplyRadio built dedicated mobile apps. Listeners could open the app, choose a station and hear it in one tap.
VIEW THE APP ARCHIVE →
The station traveled
From Florida to Abu Dhabi and temporary setups in between, the broadcast moved with Kenny. Each room became a place to select, mix and record the next set.
SEE THE ROOMS AND RIGS →
Four stations. Still independent.
Today, Kenny Scan runs four SimplyRadio stations in the browser. There is no account, no required app and no algorithm choosing what plays next.
SEE SIMPLYRADIO NOW →The story
is live.
Live @ Scan’s House, Simply Disco, Simply Irie and Simply Hip-Hop are streaming now. Choose one and hear where the timeline leads.