Time to start your own internet radio!

Was you always one of those kids that loved music, probably played a music instrument or experimented with radio shows? Perhaps, you was a loyal listener of a radio station or specific show and was intrigued with the radio experience. Your intentions may differ and you seeking for a new hobby, wanting to explore the entertainment industry or have something important to share. There could be many diverse triggers for someone to get involved with the online radio. 

When someone decides to search on how to start your own radio station or how to broadcast a radio show, s/he could be overwhelmed in the beginning. There are different internet radio streaming providers that could be focused on different audiences (amateurs vs professionals), with different needs (some teams would have their own automation tools, some would only seek for radio streaming service or some would need a complete management solution).

So, how to start my first internet radio station from home?

If this is your first time I would suggest avoiding spending money on getting and setting up hardware or downloading sophisticated extra software. The broadcaster solution will include everything you will need in order to broadcast your own internet radio station. What’s the most great thing about this plan is the fact that it is a full solution. What this means..You have a radio station management area where you will be able to see your schedule, organize your media files on the media library and add your breaks. The plan offers reliable and scalable streaming as well as the Virtual Studio, which is a web-based broadcasting tool.  More information on this solution you could find on our Knowledge Base.

In any case, DO WHAT YOU LOVE. Follow your call and create amazing online radio content.

Try different solutions, experiment with different genres or talk topics, find which internet radio streaming service best fits your needs.  Don’t get frustrated; be prepare for a learning curve. And our team will be by your side to help you!  

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager @radiojar

Instagram meets internet radio stations

For the past few years Instagram has been a fast-growing platform and businesses are eager to establish a presence and encourage engagement on the network. Before planning your Instagram marketing presence, please take a few moments and think if this platform is appropriate for your genre, if you audience is likely to be there and what type of content you should upload. 

                                     Join Radio Instagram Profile

Now, time to rock your Instagram account with 3 simple but great tips!

High quality photos. This tip seems pretty obvious for a photo-oriented social media platform. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for managers to post a photo or video without any editing or color improving. You are not a photographer, but you need to make sure that the photo will not be blur or squeezed. According to Hootsuite, editing and/or adding a filter to your Instagram photos can increase the number of views by 21 percent, and comments and engagement by 45 percent! Also, remember to shoot square photos! This lets you save time on cropping and ensures that the essential elements in the photo won’t be cropped out later.

Luckily, there are some apps that can truly help you! Using the available filters trusted by thousands Instagram users, you can give a touch of professionalism to your account! Check some of my personal favorites:

                              Great Instagram use by Z100newyork

Use the Bio space efficiently. The very first thing people notice is your account’s bio. So, keep it crisp and concise. Provide links of your Facebook, Twitter, blogs and Snapchat profiles as to drive traffic to all your channels! Take advantage of formatting and emoji support to give your bio an edge.

Measure your Instagram Marketing effectiveness. Logically, you use your Instagram account as to drive traffic and leads back to your website. Here is the most simple way to have a basic reporting of your effort. In order to monitor accurate click rates you can use a customized bit.ly link (or a link from another shortener) exclusively for the URLs used in Instagram. Of course, there are some platforms -free or paid- created to provide Instagram analytics and reporting for your profile or followers’ base that you could consider using - perhaps Crowdfire or Iconosquare,

Do you have other tips that you would like to share? I would love to hear them!

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager

Thoughts on Radio Storytelling

Once about a time there was a book:

  “The War Of The Worlds” by H. G. Wells, first published in 1898.

This was the story of one of the attempts of Martians to occupy Earth, arriving in our planet in cylinders fired from the surface of Mars.

The book is now a classic and has been an inspiration for other novels, TV shows and Hollywood films. It is also supposed to be the cornerstone of a young man's imagination, Robert H. Goddard, who later on took part in the Apollo program's moon landing.

There was also another man, who found the novel very interesting and shared it in his own way with the rest of the world.

It was the legendary actor and filmmaker Orson Welles, who narrated an adaptation of the book, as part of “The Mercury Theatre on The Air” anthology series, airing on Sunday, October 30, 1938 over Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) radio network.

The program's format was a simulated live newscast of developing events, presented as news bulletins interrupting another program.

There were reports that some of the audience had missed the introduction stating that this show was a drama and not an actual news report, leading media in the days following the broadcast, to describe the program as deceptive and calling for regulation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

All of these events skyrocketed Welles' fame.

This is a story that makes me think of the impact radio had on people's lives in the 20th Century.

In the 1930s radio's golden age, stars were born in between the radio waves.

American everyday life was orbiting around comedian shows, dramas, soap operas and news broadcasts through a wooden radio receiver with its own spot in the living room.

Alexandros Zoupas

Account Manager @radiojar

Celebrating all Women In Radio!

Radio still has a fair way to go in order to even out the gender ratio – both in front and behind the mic.

On a research that our team recently conducted, we saw that there is clear gap on the representation of female and male web radio owners and managers. The vast majority (83.8%) of the respondents were male managers of an online radio station. Nevertheless, no statistical significant difference between the two genders was presented. So, if there are not substantial differences on the management style, leadership behavior or decision making, why come the female managers and presenters are fewer?

In 2008, Joanne Good,  BBC Radio London's Breakfast Show presenter with Paul Ross, had stated that women face significant challenges in radio, more often than not playing second fiddle to a male presenter. To justify this statement, she added that perhaps the female voice is partly to blame because it is "not as authoritative" as the male voice, which creates confidence.

”Sound Women on Air – 2013″ was a research that was focused exactly on this gap. It highlighted that only 1 in 5 solo voices is female. Also, in co-hosted shows, you were nearly 10 times as likely to hear 2+ male presenters as you are to hear 2+ female presenters!

An amazing initiative that we should all remember is Sound Women in UK. Since its beginning in 2011, the organization aimed to educate women on how to take jobs in the broadcasting industry via networking, training programs and mentoring. Sound Women has effected enormous change within the radio and audio industry, including a pledge from the BBC to have a female presenter in half of its local radio breakfast shows and a 50% female workforce, more female lead or co-presenters than ever before in commercial radio and fewer male-dominated industry conference panels. Even if the organization is officially closing in 2017, its legacy will continue with more regional events, mentoring schemes and women-in-radio empowerment.

According to  Emma Barnett on “10 things no one tells you about being female radio presenter”: It does make a difference having women at the helm and I don’t just mean for the purposes of young girls having role models (albeit that's very important too). We sometimes pick different stories, draw out different angles and I can certainly attest that many of my callers on LBC were regularly women – who may or may not have called in to share the same difficult story with a man.

Real social change concerning gender equality is happening – has there ever been a more exciting time to be in audio and radio?

Online Radio Branding Tips

Choose a logo you ‘ll love

The creation of your logo is really important and it worth spending effort on it. Your station’s logo might become the most identifiable aspect of your company.

Minimalism and logo simplicity is the current trend. Your logo should be easy to be distinguished and remembered. Having too many shadows, complicated messages and fuss may even hurt your brand image. Another issue to consider is the color of your logo. Since colors can elicit an emotional response from your target audience, as well as convey your brand's message, it's very important that your color selection goes deeper than personal preference.

Optimize your social media presence

You need to make sure that your online presence is consistent and professional in order to reinforce your brand. Don’t forget to have a multi-channel approach and promote all your social media profiles. After all, these are the points of contact with your potential customers. 

Take a few minutes and optimize your profile photo and your cover photo. This means ensuring that photos fall within the dimensions recommended for a certain network. Often all it takes is a quick crop.

Standard image sizes for major social networks are as follows:

Select your social media channels

As far as the channels are concerned, do your homework before building your marketing strategy. You need to know is which channels are dominant for your market and focus your organization’s time and money on winning against the competition in those targeted channels.Your audience may be on Twitter, Facebook or on Snapchat given their age group, interests and location. So, give them the chance to find you, like you and trust you!

Build your amazing website

It’s perfectly normal not be a tech geek or know how to code. There are workarounds like using Drag& Drop Website Builders. All website builders are built differently – each has its own pros and cons. Some are easier, some are more challenging. Examples could be wix.com, weebly, or even,  ready Joomla or Wordpress templates.

Give your listeners reasons to come to your website by offering exclusive content, ways to interact with your station or special deals and offers from your top advertisers. 

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager @radiojar

Give your radio a carnaval tone

This weekend is the peak of the carnival celebrations in Brazil and many other places of the world! If you’re one of the lucky thousands who’ll be partying in the streets of Port of Spain and San Fernando, you can probably stop reading this blog post right now. If you are not and you want to spice up a lit bit your radio program during these days, you are at the right spot. 

Whether you’re in Latin America or not this February make sure you keep the Carnival spirit alive with a few songs! All you need is some upbeat party music that reflect the ecstatic mood of major international celebrations.

The carnaval’s music genre is “world music,” which has been bursting with popularity in recent years. There’s a simple definition of that term, according to Dan Storper, founder and president of music label Putumayo World Music: international music with tribal origins. It sounds exotic, but much of it is surprisingly accessible. And irresistible. (Tanya Mohn, Carnival Power)

Here is a great list with some hidden gems of party, carnival music that you should check out!

The Music Tradition of Carnaval

The Rio Carnival has a unique style, which is mainly attributed to the influence of African immigrant slaves, famous for their spectacular musical abilities. African slaves, brought to Brazil by the Portuguese, gave life to the first samba rhythms.

As part of Carnaval you do not only see the colorful images but hear the beauty of the festival through the music. The passionate sounds represent the many traditions Brazil represents including Amerindians, Africans, and Portuguese. 

Frevo is the music of street carnival in Recife and Olinda in the Northeast of Brazil. Frevos are fast paced compositions made for the foliões [carnival crowds] to dance to. 

Most people think samba when carnival comes to mind, but marchinhas are also very popular, especially in Rio de Janeiro.

In any case, remember:  Have fun, enjoy this carnaval period and spread your cheery mood! 

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager @radiojar

The Online Radio Advertising Basics you need to know.

The listening hours and the media reach of online radio stations cannot be neglected. By 2018,  the audience of online radio is expected to surpass the 183 million listeners (XAPP Media and RAIN News, 2015). It is significant that Internet advertising revenues in the United States totaled $59.6 billion for the full year of 2015. What is more amazing is how much the revenues were increased throughout that year as well as from 2014 to 2015. More specifically, the last quarter of 2015 accounted for approximately $17.4 billion and Q3 2015 almost $14.7 billion. Revenues for the full year of 2015 increased by 20.4% over 2014 (Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2016). 

How do the stations include advertising to their program?

Commercial stations, on average, air from 9 to 20 advertisements per hour. Frequently the advertising messages are concentrated in blocks of 3 minutes or more. For reasons ranging from sellout to seasonality, stations adjust rates to maximize their yield on inventory. During the years 2014 and 2015, decreases were reported in the number of ads per hour. At the same time, radio stations aired more ads that were 30-seconds full advertisements than the 15-seconds.

  How are the rates calculated?

Market conditions can drive or suppress rates for a specific day part, day, week, month or quarter. The price of each slot package differs based on the relative value and demand for all stations presented. Providing access to these packages offers the advantage of broader market exposure and streamlined negotiations, as well as the potential to access more robust added value programs (Radio Advertising Bureau, 2002).

Lastly, do you know the top categories and spenders in this market? 

The top radio spot categories in general are commercials for Auto Dealers and Rentals, Communications Services, Financial Services and Health Care.XAPP Media Report (2015) on internet radio advertisers showcases an increasing number of local advertisers using Internet Radio. That number reached 15% of total publishers in 2015. On a spending scale the top spenders on Internet Radio commercials are companies like Walmart, Verizon Wireless, Hyundai and Burger King. These companies also rank at the top of broadcast advertisers in the spending category on digital media.  

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager @radiojar

The power of music to improve your service environment

Places like spas, yoga retreats and pilates studios invest a lot of effort as to enhance their soothing and calming environment. From candles and warm room colors to subtle sweet smells and relaxing music, all contribute to a smoothing environment.

Sound appears to have both positive and negative influences, depending on types, noise level, personal preference and other factors. For example, gentle background noise can diffuse a noisy street, while creaky pipes can result in tension.

Does music help relaxation?

The soothing power of music is well-established. It has a unique link to our emotions, so can be an extremely effective stress management tool.

Listening to soothing music that relaxes your body and elevates your mind can significantly reduce how much stress you feel. Relaxation music helps you connect to your inner peace. When you quiet your thoughts and feel your source of peace within, it's like having a stress-proof field around you. Reducing stress not only makes you feel much better, it can also bring improved health.

How can I improve my spa’s visitors experience? 

First of all, bare in mind that every little environment change affects the visitors’ experience. The experience starts from the moment that the customer arrives at the reception area and waits at the lobby. For this reason, you should start taking care of the environment and the sounds from that very moment. Calming music at the waiting room, even the locker room, will complete the anti-stress goal.

Of course, the most important part is the spa time. Drowning out ambient noises with soothing music or relaxing, natural sounds will complete your design of spa escape. To add to the illusion of a natural retreat, you can buy speakers that are cleverly disguised as planters or faux rocks.

It’s your move now! 

It’s time you take the control over this and provide your guest with a welcoming, calming and distinct music. Based on your business size and your budget, you can either create a network with custom radio stations that will play on-premise in one local resort or a radio station that will be promoted across the brand.  In case that you select the first option, make sure that the content is customized upon the needs and the requests of the local guests. 

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager @Radiojar 

Happy World Radio Day!!

13 February 2017 is World Radio Day — a day to celebrate radio as a medium; to improve international cooperation between broadcasters; and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information, freedom of expression and gender equality.

Radio is the mass media reaching the widest audience in the world. It is also recognized as a powerful communication tool and a low cost medium. Radio is specifically suited to reach remote communities and vulnerable people: the illiterate, the disabled, women, youth and the poor, while offering a platform to intervene in the public debate, irrespective of people’s educational level. Furthermore, radio has a strong and specific role in emergency communication and disaster relief (worldradioday.org)

Audiences across the globe are increasingly tuning in to online radio and new listeners discover the medium every day. In 2016 audience reached 155 million listeners per month in the USA based on the Triton Digital’s report of 2016. The audience of online radio in the USA may surpass the 183 million listeners by 2018. Listening habits have changed and the listening share is slowly shifting. People prefer online stations, digital radio and podcasting instead of terrestrial radio stations.

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO shared a heartwarming message on radio nowadays: “We are living a revolution in how we share and access information – and, yet, in the midst of deep change, radio has never been so dynamic, engaging and important.” 

On World Radio Day, UNESCO calls on everyone to nurture the power of radio to foster the conversations and the listening we need for cooperation to tackle the challenges all humanity faces. From Zambia to UK, Madagascar to Mongolia, hundreds of radio stations celebrate this day with radio marathons, events and happenings! Here is how you can be part of #WorldRadioDay.

Adios 2016. Welcome 2017!

It’s this time of the year once again when you think back on the past months, consider all the steps and the goals you achieved, and of course set your resolutions on your wants for the next year!

For sure, 2016 was a good year for our team! Among others, we are thrilled that we release a state of the art Virtual Studio with Adobe Flash®-free interface making it available on most popular tablets, higher audio quality, smoother transition between tracks and an overall better user experience, accompanied with a new media server infrastructure that was so positively welcomed. Enabling the use Facebook Live during the live show broadcasts was another feature that we loved working on!

So what to expect from us on 2017?

Years of research and development, improvement of our techniques and strengthening our know-how, led us to this very moment. 

We are testing and fine tuning our new User Interface for the station’s management area as to roll it out in the next weeks and we are about to announce in the first quarter of 2017 two *super* interesting projects! Stay tune for these! Last but not least, we are committed to contribute to our community with our expertise and passion for technology and innovation. For this reason, our team is proud to organize the GDG Athens events and would love to provide you with valuable content and inspire you!

Some final thoughts!

I would like to conclude this post with a great talk that inspires me and motivates me to prepare for the new year.  In this TED Talk, Jim Hemerling presents five ways to lead in an era of constant change and always on transformation and succeed. 2016 was a year of changes for all of us, and so many political, financial and social issues are about to emerge. 

I truly hope that these thoughts will empower you to recognize the needs risen and the skill development needed in order to succeed with your project in the era of competition and never ending learning. This period  gives you the perfect chance to re-organize your self and event start something new and fresh. 

All in all, thank you for your trust in us! Your feedback and commitment means the world to our team! We will continue to push our limits and provide you with the most cutting-edge technology!

Happy New Year 2017!

My first radio show

My first memory of everything is a glimpse of that amazing, f****ng cool persona walking around town in his skinny jeans and his fly-jacket, having a DeLorean hidden behind a billboard.

I still remember him at the high school prom, enchanting everyone under the sea, rocking some good old chuck berry and tricking his parents into their first kiss.

He couldn't stay long, cause the guys were not ready for that yet, but he stayed in my memories for sure.

He injected me, with true love for movies and their soundtracks, I couldn't help but picture him rocking that stage.

Recently, I took my chances and tried to express my love through a live show hosted in one of Radiojar's stations, RockUnlimited.

I had everything planned in my mind, I had written down all my notes, all my thoughts to share with my listeners. The plan was, I would start with a short review of a film, maybe use one of the phrases from it, and move on into listening to a song from that film's soundtrack.

My playlist was up and about, ready to rock. I was in a room, sitting next to my best friend, waiting to go on air and suddenly I got all of these emotions, just like the ones you get at your school's play, I felt so nervous that I couldn't pick a word to say. Star Wars theme was already playing, I was still speechless, until he poked me and woke me up! I grabbed the microphone and yelled through my lungs “ggggoooodmorning Vietnam!”

Then, that moment, just for that second, I really was at the place I needed to be. Me and my mic, throughout the coolest afternoon of my life.

I bet i'm not the only one who's had that feeling..

Alexandros Zoupas, Account Manager @radiojar 

5 Tips for Successfully Marketing Your Radio Broadcast on Social Media

Any internet entrepreneur who is worth his salt knows how powerful social media is for expanding your audience and creating a dedicated fan base. This fact is no different for online radio hosts and DJs. Building a good social presence is what will bring listeners back to your channel time and time again.

However, it isn’t enough just to create a few accounts and hope for the best. Social media marketing takes significant strategizing and manipulating the platforms to work best for you.

These five tips will help you build a social media campaign that is both manageable and successful.

1. Be Accessible

In essence, the reason why creating a social media marketing campaign is so successful is that today’s audiences want to know the person behind the brand. We are living in a culture of celebrity, and even radio listeners want to feel like they have an intimate relationship with your station’s staff. By far the best way to get results from social media is to ensure you are accessible and personable. Doing this could be as simple as updating your page with daily happenings from your life or sharing opinions about global events. However, it’s arguably more beneficial to invest your time in replying to comments and sharing other people’s posts. Doing this will create instant interactions, and fans will go crazy over a chance to get to know you.

2. Protect Your Reputation

However, since social media is all about creating a trusted and interesting reputation online, investing in this marketing strategy also requires you to dedicate effort into maintaining your online appearance.

Very often, Facebook and Twitter pages can become infected with malware and will send unsavory links and messages to your followers. Since internet security is becoming an increasingly prevalent issue worldwide, if fans see a potential virus, they will steer clear of that person or brand for good. It’s essential you don’t allow your pages to fall victim.

To prevent an infection, be sure to be stringent about what links you click. Avoid opening anything suspicious or not from a trusted sender. It’s also worth using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when out and about, as unsecured Public WiFi hotspots are notorious for exposing your to threats. This Secure Thoughts review explains this issue in greater detail if you’re interested in knowing more.  

3. Streamline Your Focus

Another crucial mistake many station owners and DJs make when embracing social media marketing is spreading themselves too thin. There are countless social networks out there, and without a specifically dedicated team, it would be physically impossible to put the time needed into each one.

Since one of the key factors of social success is regular posting, it’s much more worthwhile to dedicate your time to one specific platform and ensure you are as active as possible there. This doesn’t mean you can’t branch out once you have a significant following, but to begin with, remember to try to tackle one website at a time. Sometimes it’s worth experimenting with a few social networks and establishing which gets the best response before opting to put all your energy into it. Doing this means you can be sure your efforts will be going to where they are most fruitful.

4. Use Apps

They aren’t joking when they say there’s an app for everything, and it’s no different regarding social media marketing. Developers know how labor intensive using these platforms can be and have created a plethora of handy tools that can make your life easier and, therefore, improve your success. 

Sendible is a fantastic conglomerate resource that allows you to post to all your accounts from one place. It also provides you with an incredible amount of analytics so you’ll know which of your efforts are paying off. It’s a great tool to use when deciding where to focus your campaign. Another option is Flume, which is one of the best available Instagram apps for your desktop. It allows you to view, comment and even upload pictures straight from your computer, which is unarguably a massive time saver.

5. Embrace Visuals

The biggest mistake you can make when tackling social media is basing your entire campaign on text posts. Studies have shown that internet users react significantly better to pictures, videos and infographics rather than long bodies of text.

You may be asking yourself: How can a radio station be visual? Since it’s mainly an aural experience, this can be tricky. Fortunately, there are plenty of creative solutions. Here are some ideas:

These things may seem simple and unimportant, but the difference it could have on your campaign is infinite. When given the opportunity, social media users will much rather interact with a captivating picture than have to read through text.

There is no doubt that if your radio station has not created a social media marketing campaign, it is selling itself short. Using these tips, you can easily get started and launch yourself on social networks today! There’s no reason to wait!

Faith MacAnas

About the Author: Faith is a die-hard music fan and an occasional radio DJ. Her day job is in content marketing, and she knows how to tackle the internet in order to promote projects. She hopes her tips will help others find success! 

How to start an Online Radio Station from Home?

In 2016 you DEFINITELY don’t need to invest a lot of money and time to start a new radio station.

Here how you would start a radio station a few years ago: You would start this project by searching for a suitable software and/or hardware solution, audio equipment and look up for streaming solutions. You would devote some space for your hardware set up and console and need to make sure that the internet is always on. Then finally, you would get to spend time for producing your playlists, organize your media content, broadcast live and had to automate your program for the time you were not online.

Sure, this procedure is full of troubles, dilemmas and enough pains as to make you avoid starting the station, maintaining it or disorientate you from content   producing to technical priorities.

Now, let’s take a look on how to actually start a station from home!

When you start your first online radio station and do not have yet the experience of managing and organize it, you shouldn’t focus on much technical hassles. Using an online service for automation and streaming will let you focus on shows and library management, reports and promotion of the station. A standard internet connection and a laptop should be enough for making a live broadcast from your home. If you wish to go more professional, a set of radio microphone and earphone will do the job! Once you open your radio station, you would follow these steps.

Step 1. Upload and organize your media files.  This step may take some time but it totally worth it! Having a clean and a tagging system that make sense will help you create beautiful playlists and easily set pilot rules.

Step 2. Create and schedule your content. Since the radio station will run 24/7, you need to schedule your program as to have content during the hours that you cannot be online. Use automation tools for your playlists, pilots, breaks and relays and let the radio run smoothly.

Step 3. Start your live shows. Pick a subject that you are comfortable with, pick your favorite tracks and off you go!

Step 4. Create your social  media and promote your amazing program. Τhis blog post on How to get discovered will cover this step.

Step 5. Check the reports. From time to time you should take a look on reports on your listeners, the insights on your Facebook page or the visits from Google Analytics. In this way you will know much better your audience and optimize your program.

Step 6. Be patient. Your radio station -probably- will not be an overnight success. Wait and give time to fans to get to know you and like you!

Feel free to contact me for any question or comment if you have other ideas on how to start the radio station!

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager @Radiojar

The fast-track to kick off your talk show

When starting a  talk show, you need to have clear objectives on what you want to do, what are your plans to achieve it, what your content will be about etc. In my opinion, you should consider the following tips when starting up organizing your show and preparing for it as to save you from time and energy.

Start local. Building your audience will not happen in a night nor everywhere at the same scale. You need to be patient, pick a specific listeners base that match the vision of your talk show and select a language that you are comfortable with. Trying to kick off your talk show on an international level, you will face much competition and unknown difficulties that may hurt your motivation. Find a niche where you can contribute with your amazing content, spot it and brainstorm on ways as potential fans to get to know you. 

Be available and approachable.  Explore ways to stay connected with your listeners. Perhaps some social media marketing will do, perhaps you need to attend some events that are aligned with the main mission of your talk show. For example, if your talk show is on Green Living, you wouldn’t miss a change to go that kind of events, find ways to broadcast live from there or acts as their media sponsor. 

Image: Soul Assassins Radio Broadcasting Live from Backside Records In Burbank

Content is the King. I have probably said that a million times but no matter what, it remains true! No one will tune in every time on your talk show, if you do not provide a nice story, interesting ideas or catchy news. Here is a very interesting tool that I have recently stumbled upon and has given me a new perspective in topics searching. Meet StoryBase, people! 

StoryBase’s mission is to help us create more relevant, shareable content by providing us with insights with the questions asks most commonly, demographics and the words that are being used most frequently. Let’s say you want to curate a show on how to get vegan and you start preparing for it. Normally you would need to search a lot on blogs, social media or ask a few friends on what questions they have on being vegan. StoryBase will save you a lot of time in this case because...voilà!

And of course, It’s about you, you and you! This is your talk show and people tune in as to get to know what you think or how would you characterize the x happening. Give a personal touch and comment using your own original thoughts. Copycats don’t succeed in this business!

Feel free to let me know what you think and what do you find the most important when starting a talk show project!

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager @radiojar

The online radio licensing story

Music right fees for your online radio may vary based on your Total Listening Hours, the type of the station (commercial or non profit radio), its revenue or other parameters as stated by your local licensing body.

The royalties generated by the licensing of copyrighted songs and recordings act as a primary form of payment for musicians and authors. Copyright is the right granted by law to the creators of original literary, dramatic, artistic and musical works to ensure that copyright owners are rewarded for the exploitation of their works (PRS for Music). 

According to AEPI and tariffs regarding online uses of music, moral rights subsist in all cases of online exploitation of music, such as reproduction of musical works on computer servers, communicating the works to the public, making the works available on demand, distributing the works to the public (IPTV, VOD, etc.).

                  Freepik - Close up of smiling teen with her mobile

What can Online Radio Stations do in order to get licensed?

First of all, you can address any concern or question to your national licensing body. Each country may have different policies and procedures when it comes to the fee amount, the procedure of registering and getting the license or even the conditions under which a station needs to get licensed. 

Getting a StreamLicensing license covers you for your United States listeners and includes paying your fees and filing your reports. You check out here how to add your Radiojar stream and get it licensed. 

If you do live and broadcast from the UK then the company responsible for licensing is PPL UK or PRS for music.

SOCAN for Canadian radio station provides this handy tariffs and forms distinction as to be able to find your category and the appropriate licensing solution.

5 +1 radio commercial types that you should know.

Nowadays, annual studies show that 93% of all Americans are reached by radio each week. Revenues in the United States only, Internet advertising revenues reached almost 60 billion USD for the full year of 2015. The Q4 2015 accounted approximately $17.4 billion when the Q3 accounted for $14.7 billion. The rise on online radio ads spending is becoming a new hot market. 

What do you need to know about commercial as far as efficient radio advertising is concerned as to be part of this market? Let’s take a look at some basic types of radio advertising:

Jingles. They are the most common form of radio statin branding; otherwise know as radio imaging. Music is a really important branding element for the radio station and for its shows as listeners can immediately understand the tone, the personality and the vision of the station and usually they can more easily recall the brand. Having a catchy jingle with a sexy tag line will help listeners, remember you easier.

Live commercial. This is a unique type of commercial as it is promoted as pure advertisement. In radio stations that have talk shows, they can combine their content with some advertisement and subtle promote them during the live show program. In cases that relevancy is achieved between the show and the product advertised, amazing result can come up.

                                   Designed by Asierromero 

Blip commercials. Using a short 2-second primer ad followed by a 60-second radio commercial reinforces the existing message and acts as a good attention getter for the full length advertisement.

Drama. Researchers have been interested in the role of audio drama and stimuli used in radio advertising such as sound effects and sound shots. These are creating mental images in the listener’s mind and grab his/her attention. 

Humor. The efficiency of humorous messages in advertising has been a controversial issue. Since 1980, when the first researches begun, the argument was that humor’s potential for improving message comprehension depends on its ability to first stimulate audience attention and learning. Later studies shed light on humor and showed that it can be efficient in cases of products of low involvement (aka products that people wouldn’t invest that much money and thought for decision making, like aspirin or gasoline).

Straight information. Hard-sell advertising focuses on the advantages of the product or service and promote its unique selling proposition.  The goal is to grab the listeners’ attention on how they can directly benefit from using the advertised product. Soft-sell advertising, on the other hand, is more indirect as such ads attempt to influence the consumer by evoking positive emotional responses Ad elements that are humorous, warm and friendly are used to elicit those response.

Of course, combinations of different types can happen and yield great results for the advertising party. As a publisher you should be able to give information on your total listening hours, some listeners behavior trends and localization statistics. All this info is available and part of the Reports in the Radiojar management area.

Community Radio Stations and Advertising. Do they match?

Community radio stations typically cover a small geographical area and/or communities of specific interest.

My personally favorite definition for community radio is by AMARC. Community radio is defined as having three aspects: non-profit making, community ownership and control, community participation. ''It should be made clear that community radio is not about doing something for the community but about the community doing something for itself, for instance owning and controlling its own means of communication.''(What is Community Radio? A resource guide, AMARC Africa and Panos Southern Africa,1998 )

According to a PSA Research raising the question on why community TV channels matter, the respondents highlighted the benefits for the community.

What about advertising?

Traditionally, community radios are non-profit organizations. It basically means that any profits generated  surplus must be used for securing or improving the future provision of the radio service or for delivering social gain/community benefits to the station's target community.

Most commercial radio stations- FM/AM or online radios- seek actively for advertising and sponsorship in order to have a cash flow and support their operation expenses. With community radio it is not that easy.  The goal of the decision makers when it comes to radio advertising and selling some time slot for a break is not only maximizing the money earned, but also finding spots that have a positive impact to the listeners (aka the community itself most of the times). In other words, community radio managers need to take two things into consideration: what is of benefit to the station?  and  what is of benefit and interest to the community?

                                   Image by Drew Patrick Miller

What is amazing when it comes to advertising on a local channel is its power of attracting an audience that is highly interested in local news, events and personalities. It is an excellent way to reach local consumers.

The managers should not forget this special feature of their station and they should try reaching advertisers with content of local interest. It is a win-win deal for the station and the advertising agency. 

Another unique characteristic of such a radio station is that it is trusted by the listeners and viewed as a medium that cares for them. This provides a perfect opportunity for local businesses to get advertised and reach local consumers in the most positive way. Creating this friendly image for your brand in a local level via the advertising can only be considered as a big plus. 

So, advertising and community radio do match as long as the content is curated and locally oriented to fit the listeners’ base characteristics and needs.

Evi Katsoulieri

Community Manager @radiojar

Are you running a community radio station? Probably you are eligible for a nonprofit organization discount. Find more at the Frequently Asked Questions here.