As difficult as it may seem, creating an online radio station is quite simple. You just need to have a good team of creatives like you and good web hosting that guarantees a quality broadcast. Learn how to do it with this simple guide.

What You Need

You need to have a budget to cover the necessary expenses. You need a laptop, a good internet connection, and a microphone. The great advantage of online radio is that you can be heard from anywhere in the world.

Basic Equipment

Good headphones and a protector for your microphone. The protector will cushion any shocks to the microphone during transmission. Hearing aids help you hear what you are saying better and help you not to be distracted by sounds from outside.

Basic Software

Make sure to have an audio program to adjust the files you have created. A wide range of audio software is available on the internet. The most used by podcasters and musicians is Audacity. It is free to download, easy to use, and open source.

Reliable Web Hosting

Internet Vikings is an easy-to-use and reliable web hosting service for all websites. Internet Vikings web-site will grant people stable music broadcast and lots of bandwidth to add countless tunes to the playlist.

Broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week can be quite exhausting. Some options offer you automation, so playlists are programmed with tracks and pre-recorded audio. Streaming is important.

Talk to your listeners in real-time and touch on important issues of the day, offering solutions and tips. You can open a special chat to interact with them and answer their questions live.

Creating the Identity

After you get your radio streaming station, make sure you create an image that will appeal to your future listeners. Choose a suitable design that suits your station and what you want to broadcast. This way you will be able to stand out from the others and it will be a success to position yourself in social media.

Advertising

The promotion of social media is paramount. After having your identity ready, pay for advertising on different networks such as Instagram and Twitter. Open a profile on each social network and interact with the audience. Offer a sneak peek of what they can enjoy at your station.

It is important to remember that although you don’t need a special license, you must have special permission to broadcast music. Everything is related to copyright. Make sure you get it so that your online radio station has everything it needs to entertain the public, and ultimately, enjoy sharing the music you love.

With the advance of technology, new music platforms and music streaming services have emerged. This variety of ways to listen to music has attracted more and more users around the world, leaving the radio behind.

One of the main reasons for this is because it perfectly matches their music preferences.

In the UK, more than 40% of kids and young adults have stopped listening to the radio, meaning that the remaining radio users are older than 50 years old. In this article, we’ll explain to you the reasons why radio streaming services are gaining popularity among youngsters and how Streaming apps are leading the market.

Some Pros and Cons

Music platforms and music streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and Amazon Music has an increasing audience thanks to their innovation and fresh new proposals. Due to this, the radio is losing ground making this invention of the modern era less used.

Another advantage is that the radio stations have had to force themselves to reinvent their content, changing conventional format and rules to play more modern songs. The most listened songs in these times simply are not suitable for most of the radio stations, another reason that adds to them losing listeners.

The New Era

Spotify has invested very well in its platform. It has more than 207 million active users every month and has allocated more than $500 million to new podcasts. This indicates that this platform came to replace the radio.

This same phenomenon has already affected large media that were thought to be “irreplaceable” such as television and movie theatres. More and more sponsors are disappearing from these screens to migrate to internet platforms.

However, not all is lost. Many radio stations have opened their Internet space with improved and varied programming, attracting new listeners and giving their long-time listeners more options.

The Radio’s Magic

Many think these platforms will replace traditional radio forever. But others suggest that they won´t. This is because turning on the radio and having a song play at random, bringing back wonderful spontaneous memories, is more valuable than have a pre-selected list to play. The radio is still magical.

It’s only a matter of time to know if radio will disappear. What we can be sure of is that digital platforms will continue to grow and gain new audiences, while the new generations continue to grow and change the game of consumption.

It’s necessary to emphasize that indie music is not only a genre. It is a musical style that encompasses several sub-genres whose sounds can be considered “electronic”, “folk” or “garage rock”. However, here are some of the quirkiest, rarest indie music subgenres out there.

Post Rock

Most are based only on instruments, but some may have voices in their songs. They are commonly used as alternative ambient music and have songs that can last up to ten minutes.

Some of the most representative bands of this subgenre are SigurRós, Mogwai, and Explosions in the Sky.

Shoegaze

Shoegaze melodies tend to be strong, as the effects of the heavy guitar predominate, creating distortion. Some of the most representative bands are My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Lush.

Chillwave

It’s electronic music that creates nostalgic sounds. Many experts consider this style to be dead, but its influence still lingers on new generations. Some of the most representative bands are Toro Y Moi, Neon Indian, and Washed Out.

8-Bit/Nintendocore

It uses an 8-bit sound chip similar to the sounds of Nintendo and some old-school video games. These sounds are often combined with hardcore punk and metal. Crystal Castles and Horse the Band are some of the bands that represent this subgenre.

Exponents

Pixies

The influence they had on the alternative scene during the 1990s was immense. They are the creators of songs like “Where is my mind” that became a world anthem and a must musical reference for indie label artists.

SigurRós

The success SigurRós has achieved worldwide is impressive. Their shows are usually sold out. With seven albums, its four members from Iceland have reaffirmed the post-rock sub-genre.

My Bloody Valentine

With only two albums, they managed to become a cult band. Their 1991 album “Loveless” is one of the most critically acclaimed albums. The songs on this album made a whole generation fall in love. Unique on the scene, they are the top representatives of shoegazing.

The Smiths

The Smiths are one of the most influential bands in the UK. They became known in the ‘80s and their success was unstoppable. Their four albums became instant hits, inspiring entire generations around the world.

Indie music has grown exponentially over the years thanks to great exponents who have known how to grab people’s attention, regardless of how conventional or not they are.

The creation of these odd indie music subgenres has helped legendary bands to become the genre to be one of the most listened in the world. This proves that indie music is not just a music genre but a lifestyle in itself.

Knowing how to differentiate between the major labels and the indie ones are quite noticeable and easy to distinguish. Here’s everything you need to know about them to help you discern which one is better for you.

Major Labels

They are behind the most successful artists of all time and their power and influence are so great that they can offer multi-million-dollar contracts to their artists.

Indie Labels

Indie labels are those that have achieved success after years and years of hard work. They cannot offer multi-million dollar contracts but they adapt to new musical trends by opening up space for new artists in all genres, generally the non-commercial ones.

Also, many indie record labels are comprised of music producers and artists who do everything by themselves.

Remarkable Differences

Every day, many independent artists build an impressive followers base and fame through their creative writing skills. It’s thanks to indie labels that artists can remain true to their style without having to modify anything to be played on the radio and reach the masses. Major labels have the majority of the artist’s business and legal responsibilities.

The Kind of Artist You Want to Be

If you want to become a famous artist, you can go with the major labels, as they will guide you to becoming that big star by changing your look depending on what the public likes. They will also take care of composing all your songs to sound as commercial as possible and be played on any radio station in the world.

If you are an artist with great ideas to write and produce songs, and you’re a true believer in your style, an indie label is definitely for you. They will allow you total freedom to let your imagination run wild and they will respect your style hoping that it will be something that true music lovers will like.

These two different types of music labels have their pros and cons, making them both great in their way, according to the artists signed under them. However, it all comes to what they want to make out of their raw talent.