For the past few weeks I've been working on creating my own public radio station (it's been a dream of mine since I was a kid). Well now it's up and running but I don't know what to do with it. So I thought I'd see what Lemmy thinks about the concept, before I go all in and start investing in licensing fees, better servers, and more listener capacity.
If you're interested, we'll need curators to add songs to the rotation when no DJ is on air. It's simple and straightforward. Just click "Suggest" on the top right of the website and enter the Artist + Song Title on the form.
We will also need DJs and presenters to volunteer any freetime you're willing to give up and help make this happen. Click "Join" to get started.
All styles and genres are welcome. Hop on the airwaves anytime you want. Take requests, or don't. Mix and scratch, or just play one tune after another. Host a talk show/podcast if it suits you. Up to you. You can either use your own DJ/broadcasting software, otherwise there is a Web DJ interface for those with no software/experience.
EDIT: Thanks for all the song submissions so far! I've added them to the rotation. Feel free to suggest any tunes for removal as well.
EDIT 2: Looks like I'm going to have to upgrade web servers sooner than expected. If you're having issues connecting, try the temporary URL
EDIT 3: Gonna take awhile to go through the applications. I'll take care of as many as I can tonight. Check your inbox (and don't forget the @ in your username when applying. I can't reply if I don't know what instance you're using.)
EDIT 4: All DJ applications have been processed so far. Check your inboxes! Gonna spend the next few hours uploading more of your song suggestions. This takes awhile because I have to manually check every tune to make sure it's suitable for airplay! Upon approval, your tune(s) will play at regular intervals. It may take a few hours for it to play for the first time. BTW, remember to use the "Submit" button. "Request" is for one time requests when a DJ is live. I'm brainstorming ideas on streamlining this so that the tune always goes to the right place.
EDIT 5: Well this blew up bigger than I could have hoped for. Gonna call it a night, but I'll be back tomorrow to upload more of your suggestions!
Also I'm going to dust off the turntables and do a live show tomorrow @ 7-9pm EST (00:00-02:00 GMT, check the schedule on the website). Requests accepted. Catch you on the airwaves then!
This is a cool idea and I'll be submitting some songs as soon as I'm back on my laptop.
But in the meantime, since this thread is full of people who apparently appreciate both internet radio and the Fediverse, you should check out https://radiofreefedi.net as well! Music from actual fellow Fedizens, it's kind of great.
You're not wrong there! Yeah I didn't mean to draw attention away from your thing, it sounds like a very different project so they're not really competitors, just wanted to put it out there to support Fediverse artists :)
I submitted a song and also submitted a form to be a dj. I'm a musician and did a radio station on twitch for a while (I really should start that up again when I have time).
Mostly I'd be spinning synthwave, industrial, electro, future pop, etc if accepted. Stuff like that.
What's the legal basis around this project? One can't just hop on as a DJ and start broadcasting the newest Taylor Swift songs without getting DMCA'd, can they?
There is a system implemented that tracks every song played for licensing purposes. Anyone can jump on with their own music and I get sent the bill afterword. I'm more than happy to pay for the licensing fees for the time being. I'll probably start begging for donations eventually.
If I was a lawyer, I'd say that this sentence could be interpreted in a way that the audio stream is licensed as cc-by-nc-sa, too, i.e. you are sublicensing the songs to anybody. This is even more illegal than simply broadcasting music without licensing it. It's a fun and games until RIAA comes to break your knee caps.
I know of a service that helps with this. I don't know how well it will apply directly to this scenario, but I've seen some small groups sign up for Sound Exchange as a non-intersctive music service. https://www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/licensing-101/
I managed to get wifi on this long haul international flight and it sure made my whole 18 hour flight to hop in right as Ass-N-Titties was played. Gave me a great laugh, thanks for that person who suggested and you for allowing it 😂
This is so cool!! It's a great initiative, people need to take back control of their live and its individual initiative like that are part of the solution.
We cannot expect any thing from big Corp or government, it will have to come from us.
I really see a decentralised future.
I wish it was that easy to find comparable alternatives for other areas of lives.
Thanks OP it might just be a radio station , but it's really inspiring.
Exactly! You get it. Big radio will just play the same 10 songs over and over, all day long, for always and forever. My idea for the station is to escape from the corporate BS and play what people want to actually hear.
Fo sho. And yes BUTT is one of the easiest ways to connect to the stream, while still being able to use whatever DJ software or media player you're comfortable with (if you don't want to use the Web DJ). Thanks for your interest!
SAMP, omg. I was a regular player for a while, about 15 years ago now; MTA, too. GTA 3 was the first game I ever modded, and so after a few months it blew my mind that I could play mp in a sp game. Really fun communities.
You don't have to do much. Just share your favorite tunes with the listeners. Hop on the mic every few songs to announce the song title if you'd like. Since we're just getting started, I don't expect much. I just want you on the air!
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: [email protected]
reminds me of an irc-connected system i wrote once.. used some kind of audio casting (spatial audio and some winamp casting plugin).. but you could request/search/dedicate/query current status from the website or irc channel etc
FWIW, it's cause I've been planning this exact concept since 2002 lol. Finally worked up the courage to make it happen. I remember the days of using Winamp and running the entire thing off your own PC. We've come quite a long way.
Speaking of which, there is a way to request tunes from the database when no DJ is connected. it's kind of hidden, but if you scroll down to the bottom of the webpage, you'll see a "send an Auto DJ request" link just below the live DJ request form.
i had these tied to company intranets, so running on big ol' internal servers.. employees could dedicated songs on the company radio, and the user would get an email letting them know their dedication was playing soon, etc.
Would it be possible to get your station added to RadioGarden? It's essentially a collection of radio stations which you can browse by spinning a globe where all the stations are geolocated. Having it on RadioGarden will make it much easier to listen to the station from a phone! They have a submission form under Settings > Submit a Radio Station, and here's a direct link.
I love the idea of unrestricted request radio stations, looking forward to requesting some favorites myself at some point! I myself listen to Rainwave every now and then which also streams 24/7 random music, though this one's strictly videogame soundtracks :)
You can communicate with the DJ by sending them a message using the Request form at the bottom of the page (or in Discord). I've always liked the idea of a phone system, but trolls gonna troll. Maybe one day.
Quick question - is there a limit to how many songs a person can request on the Auto DJ?
It's a brilliant feature (and if you've been enjoying R.E.M., Beastie Boys, Fleetwood Mac and Ice Cube in the last few minutes, you're welcome!) but seems like something that could be abused if someone selected hundreds of different songs.
Will be checking out your show at midnight (GMT), good luck!
This is great, but doesn't pull through the artist, song title, artwork, etc - is there an alternative link that does? Not a huge issue, but it'd be cool :-)
There is a system in place to prevent a song from playing more than twice per day.
That said, every time I upload a new listener suggestion, the backend running the station resets the playlists, which can cause tunes to play more often than they're supposed to. Currently working on a fix.
Probably cause I just bought the domain last night so it may take another day for all the DNS servers around the world to update. Try this alternative URL if you're still having issues.
Excellent question. I plan on promoting the station on as many communities as I can get away with. I'm hoping that the concept takes off and spreads throughout the fediverse. But to be honest, I can't guarantee anything. What I can tell you, though, is that there are more than 5 listeners tuning in right now. ;) (EDIT: And we don't even have any live DJs yet!)
I have DJ'd for similar things before and they struggled to get past around 12 listeners for each stream/DJ which is why I was curious what the plan was in regards to this from your end.
I'll shoot you a DJ application when I have time later on today. I don't play the most popular genre but it would help you get some diverse content going :D
You are absolutely right. I mulled over it for days as to whether or not I should promote the station here. Decided to do it anyway since I could not find a more suitable community. If you know of one, please let me know!
I've been getting so many ideas that it's hard to keep up with them all.
Right now I'm focusing on fixing bugs and getting as many listener suggested tunes on the airwaves as soon as possible. Keep checking the community for updates! [email protected]
Nice! Any chance you could support playing this with desktop applications that can play internet radio stations? Tried the url with Rhythmbox but doesn't seem to work
Yep, seems to work great! Maybe @[email protected] could simply redirect to this file from the main url if radio client useragents are detected? Not sure if that would be enough to get it working
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: [email protected]
That it will have to compete on its own merits and that the whole lemmy tag adds nothing to it. Not to be too sarcastic but just to drive the point home, what are your thoughts on a user-driven officially unofficial radio station for IMAP/POP3.