internet radio - how do i go about it?

[Moonman]

i know some of you guys do radio shows, Tom and Jason especially. What i'd like to know is, how do i go about doing something on internet radio? who do i need to hook up with? what are the best and worst stations?

Any help would be much appreciated, as i feel its high time i got my djing back into gear again and this would be a start.

I'm a complete novice so if someone can let me know the hows, who's, wheres, and whats, i'll be you bestest net friend forever.

[Max Kane]

I kinda stumbled into things as one of my sets got picked up by a station & they offered me a place. Best way to go about it is make sure you're gona have the time to provide a new mix each week (if not go monthly) & then start hitting the sites with demos.

The stations my shows are on are www.clubdv.fm (though they are having problems at the moment) & www.tracklists.ca Tracklists have been very good for my monthly show & I'd definately recommend them, not sure whether they go for trance only though mate

Jason's broadcasts are four hours long so I imagine the site he uses is much more felixble & I know that they go for house & all sorts so maybe hit them up.

Generally speaking the big sites don't wana know unless you're Armin or the A&R's bestest buddy so ignore the big guns for now. The station isn't the most important thing really anyway, as long as they have a working server you can get listeners in off your own bat. Just depends whether you can find one with a slot to suit & a decent stream

[Robin]

I think there are far too many web DJ's hosting shows and I'm afraid to say most just sound way too amateurish. It's almost like 1/100 shows are worth listening to with the other 99 being completely w*** with traincrash style mixing and poor presentation. If you want to get into internet broadcasting, you've got to decide whether its a 'just for fun' exercise in which you don't need to care as much about how it sounds or whether you want to use it as a catapult to help establish you as a legitimately good DJ. If it is the latter, you really have to think long and hard about how you will attract people to listen to you and how you will create a show that has to rank alongside TATW in terms of production quality. I get sent thousands of emails every month with DJ's wanting me to listen to their shows and provide records for them and I'm afraid I have to turn them down on both counts for the most part.

Moonman, you're better off exploring other avenues to kickstart your mixing skills as the arse is soon going to fall out of internet broadcasting unless you're in the top 20-30 broadcasters.

[Max Kane]

I agree with what you're saying Robin in terms of quality, there are a lot of poor shows around & some stations just seem to give anyone a gig in order to keep their roster full, however I feel that it can be worthwhile if only for a means of practicing. Having to record a new mix week in week out certainly motivated me much more to practice hard & to record mixes of a standard I deemed fit for broadcast.

I don't proclaim to have immensely popular shows but I feel I do ok & the shows I have done have certainly been more helpful to me than just bunging out promo mixes every month

[Simcut]

we should start our own station one day

[Briggsy]

I actually STOPPED internet radio shows because I felt they were making me worse as a DJ.

I used to do a live show, and people would be in the chat room asking for requests or certain styles, so to accomodate them, I had to keep altering the flow of my sets to something very random - bu the problem is, I actually found myself doing random mixes outside of my radio show then.

Flow was always my strongest point in mixing, and I felt i'd lost that completely.

Its only over the last 6 months or so that i've really got back to my best again.

On a side note, rather than targeting one station with a live mix, why not produce a show, and then have it syndicated across a few stations? This has a few advantages.

1. You can record the show whenever time allows without having to commit to a set day and time each week - and then just send it off to the station so that they can play it when their schedule allows.

2. Because its recorded, you won't have the problem of people asking for requests like I did - so you won't pick up any bad habits.

3. Syndication across many stations means that you get more than one listener base and a wider spectrum of listeners - giving yourself some extra exposure (i've heard you like exposing yourself to the public ). Plus, if a station goes tits up for whatever reason, or their server dies one night, you've not wasted a night in at home to mix because it'll still be aired on another station.

4. If its recorded, you can have some professional sweepers made, and layer them using the appropriate software. You can also record speech elements with a decent mic and also layer that in. Therefore, it gives your show a more professional vibe rather than sounding just like yet another 60 minute mix by a random member of the public. Quality is what makes you stand out from other shows - so the more effort you put into making it sound professional, the greater the chances are that someone will listen to you rather than Joe Random on Radio Betamax.

[Robin]

Joe Random on Radio Betamax.

LMAO - Will be using that one in the future Briggsy!!! Good points there too.

[bigsteve]

I have listened to quite a few radio shows done by people on this board and found them very well put together, the mixing top notch and wish I had more time to listen to more of them. I've been introduced to some superb tunes (which I've heard nowhere else or have been later picked up by 'Top' DJs) and widened my taste as a result. There's now certain shows that I listened to regularly or infrequently and miss them...you know who you are

I agree there are a lot of people doing internet shows now, but if you're prepared to put the effort in obtaining an audience, then I'd say give it a crack - I'd listen for sure :thumbsup:

[Quadrant]

I believe doing a show can be very pleasurable. It might not be the greatest station in the world but if you take it seriously and make that that evening special for 1 listener who happens to tune in and change his life, it's got to be be worth it surely?

[Briggsy]

LMAO - Will be using that one in the future Briggsy!!! Good points there too.

© 2007 Briggsy's Acme Radio Titles

There's now certain shows that I listened to regularly or infrequently and miss them...you know who you are

Westwood?

[Chrissie Brown]

I have listened to quite a few radio shows done by people on this board and found them very well put together, the mixing top notch and wish I had more time to listen to more of them. I've been introduced to some superb tunes (which I've heard nowhere else or have been later picked up by 'Top' DJs) and widened my taste as a result.

I also enjoy listening to Internet shows and agree with what Steve has to say on the subject.

However there just isn't enough time to listen to all of them.

[Max Kane]

Doing the live shows that I got to do back in Jan/Feb was fun, there seemed to be more at stake, being on edge & having a sense of pressure to make the mix perfect is a good way of testing your ability to mix live without f*cking it up.

I pre-record my shows but only because the stations I now use don't have the ability to go live. I never really feel for the request lark, very occasionally I'd throw something in but always when I felt it right, though I can see how the flow could be interrupted if you tried to accomodate too many requests.

[Briggsy]

though I can see how the flow could be interrupted if you tried to accomodate too many requests.

Yeah definately, I think thats the one downside to live broadcasting. You're playing for the listeners on a radio show - so its important to give them what they want. If they ask for Energy 52 - Cade Del Mar when your blasting out Marcel Woods - Advanced, its a right pain in the arse, but you've gotta try to keep them happy - it'd be rude not too.

Randomness isn't good, and when it started to happen too often in my "proper" sets, I knew it was time to stop.

[thirddrive]

I think i've got a whole different attitude about internet radio. I don't neccessarily want to use it as a spring board to bigger things (having wicked bad trouble getting a Grad job let alone gigs), but rather to just have fun with it. yes, it's great to play your own track and showcase your mixing skills, but whether I was getting 100 listeners or 20, it was still fun putting a show together.

I got the bug from Uni radio, loved doing my dance show (and evening entertainment show too), getting in texts, wandering around with a mini-disc collecting shouts and basically making a programme I would want to hear. It was also encouraging to get listeners from this board too.

When I moved to QMR it was a way of continuing the hobby with a bit more freedom, I like giving a bit of chat on the mic and also showcasing my taste in tunes to the world (or small audience figure).

Basically, unless the show is a run away success and is ran by a good, reliable station it's not going to be the next TATW or ASOT. But as an outlet for practicing your mixing and prgramming tracks, it is great fun, especially if you get favourable emails. Re: requests...just ignore the crap ones or have a classics section, solves the problem.

I really should get back into myself, miss it so

[Moonman]

But as an outlet for practicing your mixing and prgramming tracks, it is great fun, especially if you get favourable emails. Re: requests...just ignore the crap ones or have a classics section, solves the problem.

I really should get back into myself, miss it so

this is exactly what i was thinking...this is the reason i'd want to do it TBH.

[JasonB]

Given Im not the best in the world rough around the edges I like to call myself although sometimes plain tripe- when I get back online before I continue my sunday show ima get a load of practise in to get back up together again as Im more over the place than ever before.

This is down to my job I currently have which is very tiring, 12 hour shifts especially when I do 5 out of 7 days every other week. Maybe crap excuse but Im not touching my cdj's at all basically the past few months.

The station I am with its free reign completely, play whatever you like, the only catch is talking on the occasion and maybe reading out some shouts aswell, thats it otherwise.

I can totally see where Robuns coming from, there are millions of net stations out there, basically anyone which a royalty license a server n such which is these days every man and his kitchen sink, anyone can broadcast and be a dj, just like me!

Its all fun for me really Im not looking fro a springboard anywhere.