This is a complete guide for beginners who want to build their own online radio brand. Explore the best radio broadcasting software and start your online radio station instantly. Continue reading
Have you been wondering how to start an internet radio station, but don’t know where to begin?
Don’t worry, this guide will help you launch your own radio station without any technical expertise or an IT team.
In this blog, we will help you understand the internet radio broadcasting ecosystem, the setup you need, and most importantly, which radio broadcasting software to choose.
So, let’s get started with what is Internet Radio and how it works.
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As the name suggests, internet radio is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Online radio involves streaming technology that allows listeners to receive a continuous audio stream that cannot be paused or replayed, much like traditional broadcast media- in this respect, it is distinct from on-demand file serving.
The seamless distribution of radio using the internet enables radio broadcasters to maintain relevance while expanding their audience.
Internet radio has many advantages, like flexibility and transmission to a wide geographic area. Since 2020, internet radio has witnessed a surge due to the inception of the pandemic and has now turned into a prospective industry.
If you have not already, it’s time to incorporate audio streaming into your long-term strategy. Creating an internet radio channel presents an array of advantages over traditional radio broadcasts. Here are a few benefits of online radio:
The workflow of an Internet radio station mainly consists of four components: audio source, encoding, media server, and delivery.
Muvi playout automation software makes it easy for you to create your own Internet Radio Channel by scheduling both live on demand content on advanced scheduler and creating playlists.
Which kind of internet radio station do you want to create? Indie music, talk show, podcast, night-time storytelling, or thematic programming. First, decide on your genre; this will help you target the right group of listeners.
Outline your internet radio station goals clearly. Why do you want to start an internet radio station? Is it for community engagement, brand awareness, or to make money?
Once you decide on your niche and radio station goals, determine the scale of your internet radio station. It’s always wise to have a clarity on the size of audience you’re targeting.
If your listeners are few, you can opt for free online radio station creators. But if you are interested in launching an internet radio station for a large-scale audience, then you would need an enterprise radio broadcasting software.
Having a clear idea of your total budget is always helpful. When creating an internet radio station, make a budget that accounts for radio content creation, online broadcasting software fees, storage charges, music licensing costs, if any, and radio DJs’ and team salaries. Also, recommended to keep a quarter of the budget for marketing & promotions of your online radio station.
On average, it costs around 60,000 to 90,000 US dollars to start an internet radio station from scratch. This mainly involves costs associated with cloud hosting, broadcasting servers, technical aspects like encoders & gears, marketing, and platform development charges.
There are several internet radio hosting services out there that help launch your own-branded internet radio station. You need to do your own research and shortlist trustworthy service providers who are offering enterprise-grade online radio broadcasting services.
When choosing an internet radio hosting platform, please keep an eye on the technicalities and core platform features such as content management system, program scheduling, CDN configurations, streaming protocols, online audio streaming player, content security, and monetization scopes.
Make sure your internet radio broadcasting platform is easy to launch and doesn’t involve many technicalities. And most importantly, check whether it fits within your estimated budget or not.
For setting up an internet radio station, you can consider having the basic equipment:
Internet connection: You would require a stable internet connection to start an internet radio station. The amount of bandwidth required would depend on the audio bitrate and the number of concurrent listeners.
Microphone: To maximize the effect of sound quality, you would require a good-quality microphone.
Headphones: Headphones are a must, especially when you are transitioning between audio sources. Make sure you use headphones that are equipped with noise-canceling capabilities.
Audio Mixer: Audio mixers are electronic devices used for mixing, balancing, and combining different sounds and audio signals that may originate from a mic, previously recorded audio, or a phone interview.
Audio Processor: Audio processor is a device that enhances the stream quality by reducing background noise and manipulating audio signals. Both hardware and software audio processors are equally good and can be used for enhancing audio streams.
Encoder: Encoders are responsible for compressing your raw audio feed into a streamable source using audio codecs like AAC or MP3. Software encoders are a good choice as they are cheaper than their hardware counterparts but at par performance.
Playout Software: Broadcasting radio online requires a media server/playout automation software to host and deliver your audio streams to listeners around the world.
Muvi Playout is an end-to-end cloud playout solution that enables you to create your own internet radio station for free up to 14 days. Sign up!
Find news/music that is trending and put them in one place when preparing your show content. Develop a content calendar that outlines your daily or weekly shows, segments, and special radio programming to maintain consistency and listener engagement.
Curate your radio playlists and design station imaging—including jingles, sweepers, and voice‑overs—to create a cohesive brand experience. Once your content creation is done, organize all your content as per programme category and use an auto-scheduler to make your radio content live.
To help you find the right radio broadcasting software, we have curated this list of top radio service providers. You can compare the below mentioned radio hosting platforms in terms of features, technical specifications, pricing, and ease-of-launch.
Muvi Playout offers a no‑code interface that handles everything from cloud hosting, content delivery, to encoding, transcoding, secure live radio broadcasting, and monetization – all in one CMS.
The radio hosting platform streamlines internet radio station setup, as every functional aspect is already built and integrated – no further technical configurations are needed. Online radio broadcasting is very simple with Muvi Playout – Simply ingest audio, schedule playlists, and embed your player in minutes.
The main USP of Muvi Playout is its dynamic program scheduling. Anyone can use the intuitive drag and drop scheduler to organize live & on-demand content into linear streams, add breaks, and automate programs with ease.
Start your internet radio station for free up to 14 days.
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Wowza’s built-in streaming servers and CDNs eliminate the technical hassles in creating an internet radio station. It works best for both live and on-demand radio content, ensuring a single platform to record, organize, and schedule audio streams online.
Wowza streaming engine is popularly known for its built-in features like real-time transcoding, low-latency streaming, comprehensive control & security, and extensive API support.
Radio.co is an easy-to-use internet radio broadcasting platform that is designed for those with less technical knowledge. The cloud-based radio hosting service allows broadcasters to automate the schedules, go live, and track listener engagement from one simple interface.
With Radio.co, You can effortlessly manage your internet radio station without having a technical team. The platform comes with special radio broadcasting features like live audio streaming, stream relaying, voice tracking, viewer engagement analytics, and more.
Shoutcast is another option to start an internet radio station for free. The platform offers both free and premium plans to get started with online radio broadcasting.
Shoutcast Basic – The free plan model offers a self-hosted streaming service and radio features like CMS, Scheduler, and listener analytics. The pro plan of Shoutcast is designed for large-scale audiences and offers cloud-hosting service with simulcasting, monetization, in-depth analytics and more.
Shoutcast is highly recommended for newbies who are starting their online radio journey and want to create an internet radio station for free.
Airtime Pro is the ultimate internet radio broadcasting platform you need to get started with your own-branded radio station. The all-in-one radio hosting service boasts a fully automated intelligent broadcasting system, DJ management, and seamless transition between live and on-demand radio shows.
Whether you’re just starting out or already have an established brand in the online radio space, AirTime Pro fits perfectly for every need. For the ones who want to start a podcast, AirTime Pro offers a built-in podcast feed for your internet radio station, allowing you to broadcast and podcast at the same time.
Apart from these top-rated internet radio broadcasting platforms, you can also check for other available options like Icecast, Peercast, and Andromeda. Such platforms are easy to use and allow broadcasters and entry-level jockeys to create an internet radio station for free.
Muvi Playout is an advanced cloud-hosted broadcasting platform that allows you to create your own internet radio station with minimal effort. The online radio hosting platform is perfect for broadcasting pre-recorded music, exclusive interviews, audiobooks, podcasts, short story sessions, and others.
Using Muvi Playout, it is easy to schedule both live and on-demand content for your radio channel. Leveraging the drag-and-drop scheduler, you can insert gaps between the streams and place strategic ads for successful monetization. Built-in CDN offers unmatched scalability, while multi-DRM protects your content from unauthorized access and piracy.
Let’s explore the steps on how to create an internet radio station with Muvi Playout without any coding or technical expertise.
You can start an internet radio station for free, as Muvi Playout offers a 14-day free trial for everyone. No credit card is required. Simply provide basic channel details and get started with Muvi Playout instantly.
Once logged in, explore the no-code, user-friendly admin panel of Muvi Playout and start configuring your internet radio station effortlessly. No technical or IT team is required. You can do all the customizations & integrations yourself.
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Navigate to the content library and start uploading your audio content, which you have already recorded. Muvi Playout supports radio content in multiple formats such as WAV, MP3, or AAC. You have the choice of uploading content one by one or bulk uploading in one go.
Provide proper metadata like show name, show description, tags, if any, and add your desired poster or thumbnail. Once you have uploaded the content and clicked the SAVE button, all the content will go through auto-encoding.
To broadcast your radio content online, first, you need to create a channel with Muvi Playout. Use the no-code CMS and create your internet radio channel instantly. Provide details about your channel, like Name, Logo, and Tagline, as per brand identity.
Once your content is uploaded and the channel is created with Muvi Playout, it’s time to streamline the scheduling process.
Scheduling content in your radio channel is important. Muvi Playout allows you to organize and prepare your channel’s broadcast effortlessly using the drag-and-drop scheduling feature.
You can instantly create a 24 * 7 linear broadcast schedule and set time slots for different shows and segments. Add gaps in between radio streams by placing music or songs, or ads. Once your scheduling process is complete, preview and test your playbacks.
The best way to monetize your radio channel is through ads. Muvi Playout allows you to seamlessly integrate ads into your radio broadcasting workflow. Manage all the aspects of your advertisements like Ad placement, Ad source, Ad Server, and optimization right from the CMS.
Simply use the drag and drop scheduler and add ads into your radio programmes at any time slot you want. You can even repeat the ad placement by using the Repeat feature.
To enhance your internet radio station’s ad revenue, we suggest promoting your channel across digital platforms. Leverage the power of social media platforms to get yourself heard and reach a wide group of listeners. Also, get listed your online radio station on popular radio directories like Dirble, Delicast, TuneIn, and Streema.
Muvi Playout is the ultimate radio broadcasting software you need to start an internet radio station. The user-friendly interface with drag and drop scheduler, the advanced security features like DRM, Geo-blocking, the ad-supported monetization, and the lag-free delivery across multiple devices, Muvi Playout offers everything that is essential for building a successful online radio brand.
So, whether you’re a broadcaster or an aspiring jockey, start your online radio journey with Muvi Playout. No worries about the technical hurdles – Just create some awesome radio shows, and the listeners will follow you in no time.
Start Internet Radio Broadcasting Instantly. Sign up for Muvi Playout’s 14-day free trial.
How to Broadcast Audio Online with Muvi Playout
Exploring Muvi Playout Drag and Drop Scheduler and EPG
Essential Features of a Music Playout System for Radio Stations
Internet radio is a digital audio service that streams music or talk shows over the internet in real-time, using OTT streaming technology instead of traditional radio waves.
Starting an internet radio station can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $1,00,000, depending on equipment, licensing, and radio broadcasting software. But with Muvi Playout, you can start an online radio station for just $199 per month.
To start an online radio station with Muvi Playout, first sign up for a Muvi account and set up your Playout dashboard. Upload your audio content, create playlists or schedule shows, and customize your channel with branding elements like logos and banners. Once your content is ready, configure the streaming settings to enable continuous audio broadcasting. Muvi Playout offers cloud-based automation, so you can easily manage your station without physical infrastructure. Finally, launch your station and share the streaming link or embed player with your audience across websites, apps, and social media platforms.
You can make money with internet radio through advertising, sponsorships, listener donations, premium subscriptions, and merchandise sales.
Written by: Richi Milan
Richi is a passionate content marketing enthusiast with hands-on experience in strategizing and creating compelling content. Currently, working with world's best OTT platform provider - Muvi. Dive-in and explore the OTT-verse with Richi!!
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