The purpose of this page is to help musicians who are new to Second Life get started. Following is an explanation of how to stream live music:
Overview: Basically, you will need a software program on your computer that will send your music to a “Streaming Host” - this is an internet server that allows a number (25, 50, 100, etc.) of people to hear your music at the same time. Lance uses a free program called Winamp that runs on a Windows PC. Using a mixer, a microphone, and either a guitar/keyboard, or backing tracks, you can send your music into Second Life through Winamp into the Streaming Host, which in turns, plays your music on the media URL of a parcel of land.
Here are step by step instructions on how to do this:
1. Download and install WinAmp at http://www.winamp.com. This is a free program that will let you send your music to a server. There is a Pro version that costs $19.95, but this is not needed to stream live music.
2. Download and install the Nullsoft SHOUTcast Source DSP plugin at http://www.shoutcast.com. Click on the Download tab, then download the plugin.
3. When Winamp is running, click on Options, Preferences. Under Plugins in Options, click on DSP/Effect, then click on Nullsoft SHOUTcast Source DSP. This will open a window we will use later to enter stream information.
4. Get a stream. You can rent one in Second life. Do a search for “Streams”. There are many streams available in many price ranges (From under $1000L to over $3000L per month). Price is usually related to the number of listeners a stream will support. If you are just getting started, 50 listeners should be adequate. And while high speeds such as 128 kbps and higher sound impressive, the reality is 64Kbs is the fastest speed Second Life will handle. Nonetheless, choosing a speed of 128 kbps will help your stream get started faster.
When you get a stream, you will be given an address, a port number, and a password. You enter this information into the Output tab in the SHOUTcast plugin window opened earlier. Use Output 1 for your stream, and check the Automatic Reconnection box. Select Encoder 1. On the Encoder tab, use MP3 as the encoder type and 128kbs, 44,100kHz Stereo. On the Input tab, select Soundcard Input, 44100Hz Stereo, and Line Input for the soundcard mixer. Leave the plugin window open - you will use it later during performances.
5. Get a USB mixer. While you may certainly use the sound card in your computer to handle your sound, a mixer greatly simplifies the job. For one thing, with a mixer, you only have a single cable running into your computer. It also simplifies the task of balancing your voice with other instruments. Lance uses an Alesis Multimix 8 USB Mixer that has DSP effects. Cost is $170. Other USB mixers run as low as $75. http://www.Musiciansfriend.com is one source for this and other USB mixers. When you plug the mixer in for the first time, your computer should automatically recognize the USB connection.
6. Get a good quality microphone for your vocals. Lance uses a Shure SM58 mounted on a desktop stand. It is important to use a microphone that has an on/off switch - there will be times when you do not want people to hear what is going on at your RL location (dogs barking, for example). http://www.Musiciansfriend.com is also a source for microphones.
7. There are two ways of sending live music into SL. The first is what Lance calls 100% live. You are singing live and accompanying yourself with a guitar or keyboard. You plug your microphone and guitar/keyboard into the mixer. When you play, Winamp will pick up the sound from the mixer and send it to your stream. This is the purest form of live music, but it requires you to use both hands to play the accompanying instrument. And this prevents you from interacting with the audience through chat, etc.
The second way is to sing live to recorded backing tracks. Many performers do this. They either purchase commercial tracks, or record their own, as Lance does. The tracks are .MP3. The .MP3 file plays through Winamp while you sing live through your microphone. Winamp allows you to create a playlist of MP3 tracks. In this way, you can use the playlist as a songlist for a performance.
8. To test this, find a parcel of land that allows you to paste your stream address into the media URL. Note that your stream address will be similar to http://123.34.33:3456 “http” and the port address must be in the URL. Start up WinAmp and play your tracks. One difficult issue is you really cannot have your SL speaker on while streaming - it will cause your music to “repeat”. So you will need someone else online to tell you when your stream has started, and how it sounds. Note that after starting your stream, it can take anywhere from 20 seconds all the way up to a few minutes before you can be heard, depending on lag.