Category: Broadcaster's Lounge
Hi. Ok, I fully realize that to some of you I've seemed like a total ass in my previous posts. If anyone thinks this way, I apologize. Ok with that out of the way, I've been giving this some thought and I know it's probably in veign but I'd like to give all of you guys starting stations a bit of free advice. If you've got an idea for an internet station, it's ok to call out for djs to help you, that's fine. But I think where you're all going wrong is that for a station to survive, you have to give people something they aren't going to hear anywhere else. If it's just you and a few friends playing dj for a few hours a week, just say so. Be what you are and don't be something you aren't. But if you're more serious about it, if you're going to succeed at all, you must get a bunch of people together, put together some kind of a schedule, get yourself a website with a recognizable address, and let people know how to contact you. Make it easy for the listeners to tune in, and stay tuned in for a long time. and before you launch your station, test it internally and work out the kinks. If you have sound quality issues, work them out before you present your station to the public. In other words, think it through. and that other station i mentioned earlier is truely a joke, because it's like I said earlier, you have to have some kind of an audience, that's uh, kind of the point of a station, to have something on the air that people want to listen to, and if you don't promote it, how will people know? Just do your thing, and if you're really good, you'll get listeners through word of mouth. I've been in internet broadcasting since 2000, so I think I've learned a few things. If you choose not to listen to me and go your own way, that's fine. I'm not even saying I'm an expert. Yes, there are better djs than me out there i admit that. But I do know a lot about it and there is a lot that goes into it. Production of your imaging, promotion, getting music, keeping your sound fresh, and if you're a dj and you have a shift and the schedule says you're going to be there, please be there. If a new listener tunes in and expects one thing and gets something else, then you just lost yourself a potential listener. I know this because it's happened to me. Just some things to put out there. If all you guys starting stations are really as serious as you say, show us what you got. promote, promote, promote!
Good Idea TUNEHEAD.
Toonhead, what you are saying, should actually be common sense, but amazingly enough, some people just don't seem to get it.
It seems that some people think that the moment you launch an Internet radio station, you'll be overwhelmed with millions of listeners from around the globe, fighting for a place to listen to your station.
I've been involved with Internet radio for merely 1 month now, and love every moment there of.
I'm currently working at Kool360, and am glad I got the chance to work there.
One thing I quickly learnt, is that not only do you have to work hard at putting a good show together, no, your show should gain a reputation for itself, and this only happens through hard work, and with time.
People ain't going to tune in to your show just because you told them to do it, you have to present something they want to hear.
And lastly, another observation I've made in a very short time, is that there are far more Internet radio stations on air than there are dj's to work at all of them.
Many stations I know, have a handful of live shows per week, with humongous open spaces where music is streamed only from a hard disc.
And having said this, I realise that it all sounds very glamerous and glitsy to have your very own radio station, but in the long run, finding quality dj's to work on the station, looks like more of an obstacle.
In my opinion, I'd rather work at a station with other dj's, trying to get at least one radio station really off the ground and going, than see hundreds of stations with 1 or 2 shows per week.
Sorry if I stepped on someone's toes, it wasn't meant deliberately.
As far as I'm concerned, you didn't step on anyone's toes, you're just speaking your mind. I happen to agree. The real trick is to put something on the air, and keep doing it consistantly. You have to find a formula that works for you and stick to that. It's ok to experiment, but you are correct, just cause there's a new internet station out there, doesn't mean hundreds will tune in. The people starting stations will hate me for saying this, but I just bet you that the only ones listening to these stations were them. If you promote, and give people good stuff, they'll tune in and tell their friends. It just makes common sense people.
Well let me throw my iron into the fire as a mere listener who ahs probably unusual expectations than most listeners. If somebody starts up some new radio station, my question to the deejays is, "What are you going to do that is exactly not like what everybody else is doing? Explain to me why your station is special and demands my attention other than the fact that you run it or deejay on it." If all you're going to do is spin the same stuff that's on standard radio or the same popular alt or rap or metal songs, you just lost me as a listener. Plus, there are other things you can do on the radio besides just spin mp3 files. Look at TBRN where you can hear live audio experiments right on the air. You can hear somebody do something as silly as run a recording of clock chimes through a vocoder just for the hell of it. No, that kind of thing won't have as much mass appeal as playing the top 40 rap hits, but there might be listeners out there goofy enough to tune in. What about live call-in talk shows about just about every subject under the sun. You got acting and audio production talent? Get some scripts together and put together some modern radio drama. Again, a lot of this is essoteric and specialized, but I still think it's worth it to broadcast even if your format does not have the broadest appeal. I know if I ever did a show, I'd spin a lot of unusual music that not a lot of people have heard before instead of just revamping the same corporate oldies or classic rock stuff. Just something to kick around for you aspiring radio station owners.
ok you guys. this is coming from someone that has been in to radio all my life. i have been doing internet radio for 2 years and let me say this. Don't shove your station down people's throats. if you do that people will think, "man this guy sucks. If he has to keep constantly promoting it." and all the previous posts are good ones as well.and one more thing. don't sound all hacky. what i mean is speak with your normal voice.
Thank you.