What You Need to Know About Radio Broadcasting

Online radio is not a new concept; it has been around since the 1990s. However, this is the Internet age, and now is the time for internet radio to shine—and shining it is. The ease of use offered by internet radio is the single biggest factor behind its success. With an online radio station, you can easily reach people all over the world from the comfort of your living room!

In online broadcasting, the signal is digitized, and the audio is distributed through the Internet rather than traditional radio waves. Unlike online broadcasting, traditional broadcasting dealt with the transmission of a signal via a transmitter connected to an antenna. These signals were picked up by a radio connected to another antenna. With Internet radio, no antennae are required, making it more convenient and highly cost-effective.

Today, broadcasting has been streamlined to the point where even non-techies can become broadcasters. Furthermore, there is a good chance you already have the equipment needed to get started as a broadcaster. In addition to a laptop and an internet connection, you will only need to spend some money on streaming software and a microphone.

How to Set Up an Online Radio Station?

Here are some basic steps to help you get started as an internet broadcaster.

Identify the type of content you will broadcast. Before you start looking for the equipment, you must decide what your radio station will be about—would you broadcast news, music, or would it simply be a talk show?

Get your equipment. A microphone is necessary if you want to stream high-quality audio and draw more listeners. But you don’t need advanced equipment like a mixer just yet. Other than that, a personal computer and an Internet connection should suffice.

Purchase a license. If you intend to broadcast popular music whose rights are owned by other creators, you must first purchase a license to avoid copyright violations. In other words, if there is any musical element in your audio stream—as most do—you will most likely need to obtain a license.

Get audio editing software. If sound quality is important to you, you will need audio editing software to make your stream’s audio crystal clear. However, you do not have to BUY audio editing software—there are many good free editing programs out there.

Join a streaming platform. You need an audio streaming service provider, such as RadioBASH, that can offer all of the streaming services you might need to kickstart your radio broadcasting career.

Connect to a server. A server is what will get your audio to your listeners. You can choose between two servers at RadioBASH: Icecast and Shoutcast.

Promote. Because you are just starting out, you will need to build a listener base from the ground up. To that end, use your website and/or social media profiles to advertise and promote your radio station. 

Broadcast. Finally, you can pick up your mic and start speaking your heart out! 

With RadioBASH, broadcasting becomes extremely easy. It is your one-stop shop where you get all the services that make you a broadcaster. Contact us today, and we will help set up your radio station.