When I’m working in my studio, I like to fill it up with news, talk or music.  Years ago, when I subscribed to cable, it was easy to have just about any kind of programming running in the background while I drew.

However, as many readers of this blog know, I’m a cable cutter.  I cancelled my cable subscription several years ago and now rely on Over-The-Air television. That is, I’m using an antenna to bring in local channels.   And, it’s pretty amazing.  Local broadcasters have all these sub-channels they now offer.  So, what once used to be three to five local channels has now expanded to 30 or 40!  There’s plenty to watch!

But, for even more selection, simply get an Amazon Firestick!

Sure, the Firestick offers a lot of movies and television programs, especially if you subscribe to Amazon Prime for a hundred bucks a year.  But what really interests me, and what I use most, are the free radio and music services!  Tune-in, IHeartRadio, NPR, Pandora, Spotify, and others are available to install as apps on the Firestick.  For only 40 bucks, the entire world opens up to you!  Simply plug the Firestick into your TV, boot the device, install the radio apps and you can listen to the BBC from London, ABC from Sydney Australia, or any of your local stations!

Now if you have a flat screen digital ready television, then set-up is easy.  Plug the Firestick into the HDMI port and turn on the TV.  If, like me, you’ve kept an older CRT (Cathode Ray Tube – these things really last!), then you simply need an HDMI to AVI converter.  I did a video on how to hook this up.  It’s on my youtube channel.

So now, when I’m in my studio, I simply boot my Firestick, launch a radio app and listen to programming from around the world or around the corner.:)

And it’s totally portable!  As long as you have an internet connection and a television, you can move it from room to room or take it anywhere!

And, you guessed it…I’m in my studio right now, writing this blog post, and  listening to a tune-in station on my Firestick.:)