How does web streaming of terrestrial radio work?

Question

I understand that most of the internet works when my computer or phone, via a browser or app, requests a specific download of files. I imagine this is how streaming radio like Spotify works: my device is temporarily downloading the audio file. But how does it work when there is a constant stream of programming that many thousands of devices are simultaneously streaming?

In: 1

Answer 1

The server does basically the same thing as when sending a static file, it’s just producing the packets of the file from memory in real time rather than reading it from a disk. Basically, your device is downloading little bits of content and generally does so faster than you listen/watch them, so it can seamlessly switch playback from one to the next.