How To Setup Your Very Own Radio Station From Your Home!
Well hello, hello. My name is Jono, and thank YOU for joining me on this very special journey. Over the next 365 days, I’m aiming to publish one blog post a day right here on Medium. I’ll be covering a wide variety of topics, ranging from self-development to music, to radio set-up techniques, and so much more, so make sure to follow me for all of the latest blog-posts, which are exclusive to you… nobody else, just you.
I’ve been working in the radio field for 3–4 years now, both within Student Radio and Community Radio and have picked up many skills and a breadth of knowledge throughout my time working in the thick of things.
That leads me very nicely onto what I’m going to be covering within today’s blog. We’re going to be focusing on how to produce your very own radio show from home, for a very small amount of money.
Did you know that radio is the leading reach platform for consuming content? 92% of people listen to AM/FM radio over the airwaves, and that alone is higher than TV viewership, which comes in at 87%. In the US of A, more than 244.5 million American adults listen to the radio every month, Let’s ramp that up, shall we? Globally, three BILLION people listen to the radio weekly. That is a crazy figure, and how would you like to bring those kinds of listener figures to your station? I’m going to show you how, so stick with me while I show you how to start your very own radio station from wherever you are in the world.
Glad you’re still here with me. There are plenty of ways to launch your own radio station from home, but the good folks over at Radio.co have provided us with a very useful online package which allows you to do so easily and quickly right from your bedroom (or professional studio, if you’re lucky enough to have one!). Anyone can present on the radio, and even after just a few shows, you’ll find that you’ll settle in so very quickly and will be right at home in your studio, and most importantly, your listeners will feel like your friends, or dare I say, your family. Here are some fundamentals and simple steps which will help you to get up and running in no time.
Internet Radio Fundamentals
When you understand the basics of setting up a radio station and how it works will dramatically help you to know what to look out for and get a clearer picture of how your audio will travel from Point A to Point B, eventually streaming to your listeners. This will help to break down. There are three basic stages of internet broadcasting.
The first is the source (you/your computer). Following this, the data (e.g mixed voice/music) will be converted into a live stream which is constantly sent through to the server/provider (e.g TuneInRadio).
When your stream then arrives at the server, it will get cleaned up and sent through to the appropriate channels (your listener).
It is important to note that wherever you are broadcasting online (whether it is a direct streaming link to the server or a player) anyone will be able to connect and listen in.
Server Costs
Providers will more often than not use data centres to house radio stations on servers. It does cost money to host them (especially when using reliable servers, as prices can vary depending on specifications such as memory and storage, so make sure to bear this in mind when looking into costs). You can launch your own station for a very minimal cost.
A very important thing to remember is that low-cost hosting providers should be looked at sceptically. They will need to cover their own costs and make a reasonable profit to run their business, and as a result of this, you mind find out that their service isn’t as good as you initially thought. They are cheap for a reason.
Bandwith
The content you’re streaming to your listeners is commonly known as bandwidth. It costs money depending on a few contributing factors:
- Quality (bitrate) of your stream
- How many listeners you have
- Time spent listening
Listener Caps
Servers have limits. Without limits being put in place, they will fall over if they end up getting pushed way too hard. That is where listener caps come in handy. The purpose of listener caps is to prevent servers from becoming overburdened and going down completely.
Media Management
Storage space and media management is a vital necessity for when it comes to audio libraries. The storage space for your station determines how many tracks you can upload to manage your media easily and efficiently.
E.g. 10GB would equal 2,500 tracks and 50GB would equal 12,500 tracks.
The more storage space you have, the more tracks you can host and manage on your station to automate things.
Tuning In To Your Station
There are multiple ways for listeners to tune in to your station. You can send them a direct listen-in link for your server, through internet radio directories like Tunein/Spreaker etc, and last but not least, through mobile apps on both iOS and Android. If you want to be especially fancy with things, you can even embed a custom player onto your website!
The more options you have, the more opportunities it gives your listeners to tune in to your radio station. Be on as many third-party sites or directories as you can manage. One little exciting trick which I will be teaching you very soon is how to get Amazon Echos to play your radio station, just by using a simple voice command!
Automated Broadcasting
For most, running a 24/7 radio station can be incredibly difficult and time-consuming, and this is where automation comes in handy. Tools such as Radio.co, Live365, and RadioKing can help you dramatically with setting this up. If anything, this will give you peace of mind knowing your station is running non-stop.
Live Broadcasting
Radio Automation is a very cool thing to have and can save you hours of time, but there is nothing better than broadcasting live to your listeners. This allows you to connect with your listeners in real-time and gives you the ability to talk about current events and breaking news. Who doesn’t love a quick shoutout live on the radio?
Sometimes listeners may not be able to tune into your live broadcast, so a handy thing to do is to record live shows and then upload them to your station and schedule them to play out at a later time, so listeners have the ability to catch-up if required. You can also set-up a system where any previously broadcasted show can be uploaded to a website (such as Spreaker) and this will also allow listeners to go and listen back to any show, regardless of whether it’s from a week, month, or even a year ago! How cool is that?
Broadcasting Software
You can use Broadcasting Software to stream live to your station. Whether it’s spoken word, music, or even a combination of the two. Whether you’re new to internet radio and require a more simple solution, or if you’re a professional who is looking for the next best alternative, there are plenty of broadcasting packages available to download and use. There is some relatively straightforward click to broadcast applications such as Audio Hijack, and there are some more complex ones with features like multiple mixers and faders (Virtual DJ Pro/Djay). I will be publishing a follow-up article on exactly this soon, so make sure to watch out for that.
Station Branding
Brands such as Nike, Pepsi, and Red Bull all have something in common. They each have a highly strong and noticeable brand. When your radio station can be easily recognised by a logo, slogan, or even the music you play, then can rest easy knowing that you are definitely doing something right, good on you, buddy.
The reason for your station to have a strong brand is more often than not due to competition and the choice of available stations online. Your main is aim to try and look more appealing than other radio stations. Owning a 24–7 radio station isn’t always enough. You need to stand out and make sure that you’re someone worth following. This will help you to build your audience, especially early on in the process. Having the essentials in place is highly important. Make sure your branding is consistent (throughout advertising, on your website, on social media, and even on air).
So those are all of the fundamentals for when it comes to setting up your very own radio station folks, and now…. for some faqs.
Do you need expensive equipment to broadcast?
Not at all. Until you have the ability to go along to a radio studio, you can broadcast with just the most basic of equipment (a mic, mixer, and a laptop with a broadcasting application and server already set up for you). Watch out for an upcoming blog post regarding the best all-in-one radio broadcast packages. That will be coming very, very soon. Here are my personal recommendations for home-studio radio products:
[Behringer XENYX Q802USB Mixer]
There you have it! We’ve just touched upon the surface of setting up your own internet radio station but make sure to keep an eye on my profile and subscribe to my newsletter for my radio startup articles. Coming soon, I’ve got articles regarding registering your radio station, licensing your music, broadcasting on FM/AM, and DAB, software and all-in-one packages, and so much more.
Until next time folks, take care, stay safe, and I’ll speak to you very soon. This is Jono, signing off. 👊🏻
