DEAR SUN SPOTS: For the last couple of years I’ve been listening to WQRY106.com, an Internet-only radio station out of Lisbon Falls. I love the oldies music from the 1960s through the 1980s, and the DJs are informative and fun. They really do a great job.

I was wondering if there are any other Internet-only radio stations based in Maine? Thanks. — Kasey Perron, perronka@yahoo.com

ANSWER: This question proved more difficult than Sun Spots anticipated. At live365.com, Internet radio stations are listed by genre, not state. At radio-directory.com, they are alphabetical.

A search for a listing by state turned up several websites that list radio stations that have websites and provide online streaming — www.radiotower.com, www.ontheradio.net, and www.web-radio.fm — but don’t list Internet-only stations.

One site said they didn’t have that list available because Internet-only radio stations don’t need to register with the Federal Communications Commission, so there is no central registry to track them.

A response to a question at radio.about.com on whether the FCC does have control over Internet-only radio, including content, quoted from the FCC and offered the following:

” … the FCC has no jurisdiction over what content an individual broadcasts over the Internet, assuming it is legal. For instance: broadcasting a video stream of child pornography is not legal and therefore would subject the person to criminal action. …

“So, on your Internet radio station you are free to broadcast whatever music you choose, no matter the content. The same can be said for any spoken word, including prerecorded or live comedy, poetry, political, social or cultural discussions.

“Think of Internet broadcasting as pay cable, in a sense. On cable systems the channels subscribed to by users are not subject to FCC regulation (Showtime, HBO, etc.).”

This posting was a couple years old, but Sun Spots found nothing to contradict it.

The biggest dispute involving Internet radio appears to be the royalties they do (or don’t) pay to the artists whose music they play. Wikipedia.com said that in October 1998 the U.S. Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to adapt royalty laws to the changing medium, but, according to more recent stories, many artists are still unhappy.

As to your question, Sun Spots found only one listing that included Internet-only stations for the state, and there were five. At http://tinyurl.com/d2rcw62, it said there were three in Bar Harbor (jazz, soul, blues),  and one each in Brewer (hits) and Portland (drum and bass, hip-hop and techno).

However, when Sun Spots clicked the links provided, some were dead or no live stream was playing.

Incidentally, the Sun Journal did a story on the Lisbon Falls radio station. You can read it at sunjournal.com/business/story/945310.

Perhaps an informed reader can offer more information on this topic.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: On June 11 a jewelry hobbiest asked for help. I’ve designed and built jewelry for my gallery. I think I could help her. — Don Bernard, Auburn, 782-7739

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