Wondering how to create a successful Internet radio station? Whether you choose a talk radio station or a generalist radio station, programming and content are undoubtedly the most important elements to take into account once your concept has been defined. Thanks to them, your listeners will stay tuned to your Internet radio station.
At the end of this course, you’ll know everything there is to know about:
- Defining a programming according to your format
- Finding relevant content
- How to respect the copyright of the artists you broadcast.
Define the format and content for a successful Internet radio station.
Programming can quickly become a puzzle when you are a novice: What to broadcast? When? Don’t panic, in the first part of this course we will lay the bases to help you create a quality programming adapted to your listeners.
What type of format should I use on my web radio?
To offer the most relevant programming to your listeners, you will first have to ask yourself what format you want to adopt. The format is a set of elements that will determine the structure of a successful Internet radio station.
Generally speaking, 6 types of radio formats are used.
- Generalist: where all topics are covered. A generalist radio station will broadcast music as well as information, debates, radio plays, etc.
- Musical: which means that the programming gives priority to the distribution of musical titles. On this type of radio, you can also find musical programs such as tops or a ranking.
- Thematic: which targets a particular subject such as sport, cinema or politics. The aim here is to focus on a given theme and to focus the programming on it. (Do you dream of launching a radio station that talks about flowers? So, create a playlist with songs that talk about this theme and interviews with florists for example.)
- Local: this type of radio station focuses on current events in a specific and limited area. A local radio station is mainly aimed at the inhabitants of the regions in question. Even though it can choose to only broadcast music, listeners expect to find news about their area, programs on the history of the region, events, etc.
- Community: here, the aim is to address people of the same religion, ethnicity, origin, sexual orientation, etc. Community radio stations generally offer debates, news and music around the theme that brings its listeners together. For example, a community radio station for expatriates will mainly broadcast music from the country of origin.
- Information: news radio stations reserve most of their air time for news, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (for the Médiamétrie survey institute, this format can also be used in the Thematic format.)
Depending on the format you choose, your programming will be different. There is no need to download millions of pieces of music if you want to start a generalist Internet radio for example, a contrario if your project is to offer an electro music radio you will already have to plan to fill your media library accordingly. The format can also depend on your means and resources: it is difficult to start creating a 100% Info radio station if you are alone and don’t have enough time.
Ask yourself what type of content you want to broadcast and how often? All these elements will guide you towards a particular format. Are you starting to see which format best suits your project? Perfect.
Where can I find the content of my Internet radio station?
Now that you have defined what your listeners will hear on your Internet radio station, it is time to build your media library. The media library is where we will find all the content that could be broadcast on your Internet radio station such as music, jingles or your radio shows.
Music
While there are examples of radios that never play music, most successful Internet radio stations have a more or less extensive music library (everything will depend, if you remember correctly, on the… format). But where can you find the titles that will appear on your online radio? Again, this will depend on what you want to broadcast. You may already have all the titles you need in your computer, but you may well decide to scan all your vinyl or CDs if they fit into your concept. You can also choose to distribute your own creations. For the rest, there are several sites specialized in downloading and selling music online. Some are very generalist and offer a very eclectic catalogue where you can find both new and older titles, such as on iTunes where you can download single title or to buy an entire CD. If you want to offer beautiful discoveries to your listeners, bandcamp proves to be a good alternative.
If your budget is limited, you can turn to royalty-free music. Royalty-free music means that you are free to use it without having to pay a royalty. If your Internet radio station broadcasts only royalty-free music, you will not have to pay any fees to BMI, ASCAP or SoundExchange. Be careful, royalty-free music does not necessarily mean that it will be free. Some sites such as Jamedo or songdfreedom offer subscriptions to download royalty-free music. Other sites such as Dogmazic or Archive offer completely free music.
REMEMBER: buying titles does not exempt you from copyright regulations. You must also check the license of the royalty-free title before broadcasting it, some authors do not allow their music to be used for commercial use. You can also contact the labels in order to be able to distribute the new music they offer, some artists will be more than happy to be broadcast on a successful Internet radio station!
Sound packages
Sound packages reflect the identity of your Internet radio station and set the pace for programming. It can take several forms: jingles, hourly announcements, liners.
This is a real added value in your programming, but beware of the tone used, it will not be the same depending on your format. Some types of sound packages are more popular from one format to another, medleys for example are very present on generalist radios, while hourly announcements (telling your listeners what the time is) will be the central point of any news radio. To enrich your media library with a sound package worthy of the name, several alternatives are available to you:
- Have your sound package designed by a professional: there are many websites specialized in the design of radio sound packages, from sung jingles to medleys made up of songs of your choice. The prices for this type of service may vary, but you can count between $15 – $20 for a jingle.
- Royalty-free: In the same way as for music you can find royalty-free jingles and hourly announcements on dig.ccmixter, however this solution will not offer you the possibility of customization.
- Make it yourself: with a recording software and a little imagination, you have the possibility of making a completely free and personalized sound package. To record and edit your jingles and radio shows, we recommence SoundTrap!
Creating the programming for a successful Internet Radio Station
What is good programming?
Now that you know what you want to broadcast and have built your media library, you must now classify it to offer your listeners relevant programming. As simple as it may seem, good programming avoids repetition. What could be more frustrating than hearing the same songs over and over again? Diversity is therefore at the heart of good programming. There is no single recipe for successful programming, but there are two simple steps that will help you define it.
Categorize your titles: That is to say, put your titles in playlists. Again, there is no ready-made recipe for making good playlists, according to your concept and format. However, some radio stations use a system of playlists based on the popularity of their media library titles, creating several playlists of this kind:
- New songs : To classify the most recent titles. This is the playlist that will be updated frequently.
- Recurring songs : Tracks that we still hear a lot even if they have not just been released. This is where we place the “New songs” after a while.
- Regular songs : These are the titles that make up the majority of your programming. This is the most extensive playlist.
- Gold songs : Titles that despite the years are never out of date, they are there to reassure listeners. (All ABBA titles are perfect Gold!)
You can also choose to create thematic playlists according to the genres: Pop, Electro or Rap.
Define your rotation rules: once you have ranked your tracks correctly, ask yourself what rotation rules you want to apply. The rotation of a title is the frequency with which it will be broadcast. Do you feel like you always hear the same songs? This is because they are broadcast with a high rotation. In general, we can apply a strong rotation to the “New songs” playlist, which will be broadcast more often, but updated more regularly, this will prevent your listeners from deserting your radio after hearing Beyoncé’s latest hit for the 600th time.
Now that your titles are classified and you have decided which rotation rules to apply, it is time to take out a pen and paper and develop your broadcasting schedule with our advice.
Programming examples
You can choose a programming by making what we call a clock in the radio world. The clock is the skeleton of what will be broadcast for 60 minutes. It can be developed in this way:
- H+00 : Time announcement
- H+01 : Jingle Information
- H+01 : Information
- H+05 : Jingle Hit
- H+06 : Playlist “New songs”
- H+09 : Medley
- H+10 : Playlist “Regular songs”
- H+14 : Playlist “New songs”
The aim is to be as accurate as possible and of course, to make a clock for each hour. You may not experience the same thing at 8AM as at 11PM. The advantage of programming this way is that you have a very precise idea of how your days will unfold, this will allow you to alternate playlists. But this programming model does not work for all types of formats, and takes time. You can then develop a program over a week, which is less precise, but allows you to be more thematic.
Let’s take the example of a rather generalist Internet radio station that wants to broadcast a different style on its channel every evening during the week. Its programming will therefore be different every evening, but also different during the week and at weekends.
Top Tip: You can simply prepare your program grid with your team using Google Sheet (or an Excel table). Once it is ready, add it to your Radio Manager.
When should you renew your programming? There are no rules for this! It’s completely up to you to define when you want to add titles. Above all, it is important to remember that good programming is reactive, constantly evolving and up-to-date.
How to manage music licenses for a successful Internet Radio Station?
If you have decided to play music on your radio, there is a good chance that it will be subject to copyright. We help you to see more clearly.
What is a music license?
A music license is an agreement between a music user and the owner of that music, stating that they give their permission for their music to be used. The fee of this music license then allows these songwriters/ composers to continue creating music.
This authorization will allow you to stream music on your radio. However, you will not be able to offer a podcast that includes music that is not royalty-free on your radio’s website.
Getting a music license in the USA.
In some countries such as the USA, non-interactive webcasting or Internet radio qualify for a statutory license. A statutory license with BMI will cost you at least $358 per year whilst with Sound Exchange, you’d be looking at $500. Prices obviously vary for number of reasons such as royalty rates, so do you research to find out which license suits your station best.
Bear in mind that licences also concern royalty free music. However, a royalty-free license is significantly cheaper as you’ll only need to make a one off payment which will give you lifetime rights to use the music. If you’re looking at simply broadcasting talk radio, you won’t necessarily need a license.
When it comes to copyright and licensing, the best option is to get in contact with the relevant music licensing body in your country. They’ll be able to provide you all the necessary legal information.
More information about the relevant music licensing body in your country.
TO SUM UP:
- Define the format of your radio & adapt your programming to it.
- Good programming is above all a lively programming.
- Be sure to respect the various copyrights.
We’ve reached the end of this second course, thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed this course and that it provided you with answers to your questions before starting your Internet radio station. You can now move on to the next course… So go ahead!
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