Have you ever dreamt of creating your own online radio station?
Perhaps the scale and difficulty of the task terrifies you. Well it’s time to stop twiddling your thumbs because we’re here to help! Our team has put together 5 essential must-knows before creating your radio station to help get your adventure off to the right start!
Choose your radio station’s identity
This is probably the most important step. Really take the time to the define your radio station’s identity and ask yourself the right questions. Think about why you want to create your radio station in the first place? What exactly do you want to share with your listeners? Who is your audience going to be?
Before throwing yourself into the deep end, think about the relevance of the type of station you want to create, ask your friends and colleagues for their opinions. This is your chance to stand out and be different so don’t fall into the trap of creating a mainstream radio station. Bearing in mind that there are already thousands of other online radio stations out there, you’re also going to want an original station name. And let’s not forget the catchy slogan.
Lastly, you might want to consider your logo and branding. If you’re no graphic designer, the Internet is overflowing with free resources that’ll allow you to put together all the media communication necessary.
Find the right service provider.
There are a number of service providers that currently exist but you’re going to want one that’s reliable and supportive (RadioKing being one of them). Avoid diving in head first with the first service provider that you come across, do your research. Look closely at what other companies in the same sector are proposing. What exactly are the services and features that they’re offering? Make sure they have available technical support and tutorials, not to mention a genuine love for radio!
Pay particular attention to the proposed offers. For example, most offers tend to depend on the number of listening hours. However, you probably wouldn’t want your radio being limited in terms of its simultaneous listeners. Imagine how disappointed your listeners would be if they weren’t able to tune in to one of your gripping programs!
You’ll also want to think about how you actually mange your station. Any decent service provider will offer a free demo, so take the time to make the most of it and explore the user interface! It might help to make a list of features that you enjoy using and that would make life easier for you in the future. Scheduling, tagging, limiting the number of times a track is played etc. Or even the possibility of having multiple streams. For your more demanding listeners, the option of a higher bitrate stream might be of some interest to them.
Make sure you’re covered with the right music license.
If you’re planning on broadcasting commercial music, you’re going to need a music license. However if you’re simply looking at hosting your own talk show or broadcasting royalty free music, you’re pretty free to do as you please!
- Audio Blocks – https://www.audioblocks.com/
- Bensound – http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/cinematic
- Jamendo – https://www.jamendo.com/
- Auboutdufil – http://www.auboutdufil.com
- FreeMusicArchive – http://freemusicarchive.org
The majority of online radio stations tend to to cover themselves with a “blanket license” allowing them to broadcast whatever music is represented by the issuing authority on their station. Prices can vary depending on the country but most radio service providers allow you to specify the countries that can connect to your radio stream. For more information, the best option is to get in contact with your relevant radio licensing authority.
Take advantage of all broadcasting tools.
You’re going to want to make sure you that you have an easy and professional way of sharing your radio station with your listeners so broadcasting tools shouldn’t be taken lightly!
Taking advantage of these tools could also mean monetizing your radio station. Why not integrate adverts on the side of your websites or allow adverts to be displayed when your app starts up?
You can also join our affiliate program in order to earn a commission of up to 20% on each subscription purchased via your referral link!
Prepare yourself for going on air.
Providing that you have a computer, microphone and a pair of headphones, you’ve already got all the necessary tools to release your inner DJ! If you’re wanting to go a bit more pro, you might want to check out one of our previous articles on how to create your on home radio studio.
If you’re still panicking about what software to use, you can rest assured that RadioKing provides all of its station offers with its very own broadcasting software (StudioKing) along with our brilliant technical team to help you along the way.
In the meantime,
Keep calm & good luck!
