ONLINE COMMUNITY RADIO

MARKETING PROJECT
 Contents
ACKOWLEGMENTS
LITERATURE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS
1) ABSTRACT
2) INTRODUCTION
3) INTERNET RADIO TECHNOLOGY
4) COMMUNITY RADIO
5) BENEFITS OF HAVING COLLEGE RADIO ON THE
INTERNET
6) DISADVANTAGES
7) GENERAL ISSUES IN SETTING UP OF COMMUNITY
RADIO
8) CITED REFRENCES AND OTHER WEB REFRENCES
ONLINE COMMUNITY RADIO

ABSTRACT

Modern-day community radio stations often serve their listeners by offering a variety of content
that is not necessarily provided by the larger commercial radio stations. Community radio outlets
may carry news and information programming geared toward the local area, particularly
immigrant or minority groups that are poorly served by other major media outlets. More
specialized musical shows are also often a feature of many community radio stations.
Community stations and pirate stations (where they are tolerated) can be valuable assets for a
region. Community radio stations typically avoid content found on commercial outlets, such as
Top 40 music, sports, and "drive-time" personalities.

INTRODUCTION

Internet radio (also known as web radio, net radio, streaming radio and e-radio) is an audio
service transmitted via the Internet. Music streaming on the Internet is usually referred to as
webcasting since it is not transmitted broadly through wireless means. Internet radio involves
streaming media presenting listeners with a continuous stream of audio that cannot be paused or
replayed, much like traditional broadcast media; in this respect, it is distinct from on-demand file
serving. Internet radio is also distinct from podcasting, which involves downloading rather than
streaming. Many Internet radio services are associated with a corresponding traditional
(terrestrial) radio station or radio network. Internet-only radio stations are independent of such
associations.

Internet radio services are usually accessible from anywhere in the world—for example, one
could listen to an Australian station from Europe or America. Some major networks like Clear
Channel in the US and Chrysalis in the UK restrict listening to in country because of music
licensing and advertising concerns Internet radio remains popular among expatriates and
listeners with interests that are often not adequately served by local radio stations (such as
eurodance, progressive rock, ambient music, folk music, classical music, and stand-up comedy).
Internet radio services offer news, sports, talk, and various genres of music—every format that is
available on traditional radio stations.
Internet radio technology
Streaming

The most common way to distribute Internet radio is via streaming technology using a lossy
audio codec. Popular streaming audio formats include MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Windows Media
Audio, RealAudio and HE-AAC (sometimes called aacPlus). The bits are "streamed"
(transported) over the network in TCP or UDP packets, then reassembled and played within
seconds. (The delay is referred to as lag time.)

Community radio
Is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting content that is
popular to a local audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media
broadcasters.

The term has somewhat different meanings in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada,
and Australia. In the UK, the idea of community-based services can be traced back at least as far
as the original concept for BBC local radio in the early 1960s. Thereafter various land-based
unlicensed pirate radio stations (Such as East London Radio, and Radio AMY (Alternative
Media for You)) developed the idea further. As pirate stations proliferated during the late 1970s
and early 1980s these stations were joined by those broadcasting specifically to minority
immigrant communities (Afro-Caribbean and Asian etc.), particularly in cities such as London,
Birmingham, Bristol, and Manchester. Although, "community radio" remains synonymous with
"pirate radio" for some people in the UK, most minority immigrant stations focused purely on
specific musical genres and were operated (theoretically at least) on a for-profit basis.
Community radio services in the UK are operated on a not-for-profit basis with community
ownership and control built in to their structures. Following an experiment started in 2001 by the
former UK broadcast regulator The Radio Authority, since 2005 some 200 such stations have
been licensed by the UK broadcasting regulator (Ofcom). Most such stations broadcast on FM
(typically at a radiated power level of approximately 25 Watts (per-plane)) although there are a
few that operate on AM (medium wave), particularly in more rural areas.

In the U.S., community radio stations are non-profit, community-based operations licensed by
the Federal Communications Commission for broadcasting in the non-commercial, public
portion of the FM band. These stations differ from other public radio outlets in the U.S. by
allowing community volunteers to actively participate as broadcasters. Pirate radio is virtually
unknown in Australia because of the strictly controlled allocation of broadcasting frequencies,
and the likely application of severe, legislated penalties, including jail, for offenders.
Conceptions of community in the literature

Communities are complex entities and so what constitutes "community" in Community radio is
often a contentious and tricky debate and will vary from country to country. Community may
also often be replaced by a range of terms like "alternative", "radical", or "citizen" radio.
Traditionally in sociology, a "community" has been defined as a group of interacting people
living in a common location. Community radio is often built around concepts of access and
participation and so the term community may be thought of as often referring to geographical
communities based around the possible reach of the radio's signal, ie. the people who can receive
the message, and their potential to participate in the creation of such messages. This is of course
problematized by the fact that many radio stations now broadcast over the internet as well,
thereby reaching potentially global audiences and communities.

Models of community radio

Philosophically two distinct approaches to community radio can be discerned, though the models
are not necessarily mutually exclusive. One stresses service or community-mindedness, a focus
on what the station can do for the community. The other stresses involvement and participation
by the listener.

Within the service model localism is often prized, as community radio, as a third tier, can
provide content focused on a more local or particular community than larger operations.
Sometimes, though, the provision of syndicated content that is not already available within the
station's service area, is seen as a desirable form of service. Within the United States, for
example, many stations syndicate content from groups such as Pacifica Radio, such as
Democracy Now!, on the basis that it provides a form of content not otherwise available, because
of such a program's lack of appeal to advertisers or (especially in Pacifica's case) politically
controversial nature.

Within the access or participatory model, the participation of community members in producing
content is seen as a good in itself. While this model does not necessarily exclude a service
approach, there is a tension between the two, as outlined, for example, in Jon Bekken's
Community Radio at the Crossroads.
Benefits of Having College Radio on the Internet

1. More formats are available than traditional FM college radio stations. Hundreds are available
from jazz and blues to Broadway and opera, to Indie rock and adult alternative and many more.

2. Ability to listen while in multiple places such as home, work, college, library or wherever you
have available broadband access.

3. With college radio on the Internet, there is no “dead air”. Some college and traditional radio
stations have their last broadcast ending at midnight, and the next one starts between five and
seven in the morning. However, utilizing college radio on the Internet and the growing demand
from students and consumers, this has the potential to increase funding and the listening
audience base.

4. Set and leave it on one station without having to remember station call letters or numbers. No
longer do listeners have to remember where they heard their favorite tunes on the dial. Having a
college radio on the Internet can be easily bookmarked in your Favorites’ list or even set as your
homepage.

5. Colleges are able to increase their fan base among alumni and exchange students because with
having college radio on the Internet, it can be accessed worldwide.

6. Many college radio stations on the Internet tout commercial-free listening or at least minimal
interruptions. This is an important advantage for listeners who do not like all the interruptions
between songs or song sets with station breaks and commercials which can last two minutes or
longer.

7. Allows more opportunities for unsigned bands and musical talent to be heard on the radio.
With additional opportunities for more format types, bands of all styles will have a medium in
which to play their music for a specific audience. As with MySpace, unsigned or lesser known
musicians and bands are trying to gain an audience base and frequently release a couple of their
songs so members can upload them to their homepages. College radio on the Internet can
increase that audience base by featuring the group or musician on its station and have listeners
send their comments via email, blog, online poll or phone call.

8. Unlike a traditional radio station, college radio on the Internet enables listeners to skip a song.
If the listener does not care for the song, he or she can merely select “skip” and move onto the
next song. Only college radio on the Internet and satellite stations have this advantage.

There are many benefits to keeping college radio on the Internet. Although some college stations
have abandoned this medium because it did not reap the rewards as quickly as was expected,
now it has listeners’ ears and they have more invested interest with this medium.

The top online radio networks include Shout cast, Radio@AOL, and MSN Music as
reported by Measure Cast, a company which provides next day audience size and
demographic reports for online media networks. Only the top college radio stations online
have made the top 10 list, which include a few Ohio college radio station programs too.

Colleges Having Web Community Radio:

The top college radio broadcasts include KALX, Berkeley, CA; WNYU, New York, NY; and
KTRU, Houston, TX, which was reported by Radio-Locator.com. Furthermore, a notable Ohio
college radio station has a list of eight college radio on the Internet stations that are broadcasted
from various locations across the U.S., especially where a broadcasting school is located.
Colleges and universities who have the ability and interest to support college radio on the
Internet stations are able to employ its own students to undertake all tasks and responsibilities of
running the online radio station. Student listeners create an instant audience base because their
music interests vary and they are attracted by a variety of formats.

Because Internet based college radio stations can literally reach listeners from all corners of the
world, we would think radio station owners would want to continue college radio on the Internet.
Furthermore, college radio stations on the Internet, as well as traditional AM/FM formats, can
run in tandem with one another without radio tower interference. However, many smaller
universities and community colleges are not able to afford to keep such options on the Internet
due to failing sponsorship, decreased student population, or fees required to both license music
and the radio station.
Disadvantage:
1. Listeners have no control on what is broadcast – this is a passive experience identical to terrestrial
radio.
2. Service doesn't provide additional interactive services such as social networking.

This is the traditional way of listening to an Internet radio station. There isn't any user interaction with
this type of service; you have to listen to whatever is on at the time whether you like or loath it!

3 Typically no access to talk shows, news, sports programs, and other special programming that
traditional Web radio offers.
4 Access to some streaming media services can be country specific (Pandora for example is U.S. only).

Websites such as Last.fm, Lala.com, MySpace Music, Pandora, etc., are all examples of interactive
services that let you make your own playlists.

Modern streaming media services such as these give you more control on how you connect with music in
particular -- you can listen to the music you want, when you want it. Some streaming media services go
even further by offering you cloud storage; this is online storage that you can use to store your own music
and stream it anywhere in the world -- Lala.com and Maestro.fm are examples of this. Another advantage
of the modern services is that they very often come with additional interactive features such as social
networking which enables you to chat to other music fans; other services generally offered include:
blogging, forums, photo sharing, and even uploading your own music that other users can stream;
Jamendo is one good example

General Issues in Setting up of Community Radio

1. Management structure

This is very important to get right, and not as easy as might be first imagined. There are a
number of different management functions which must be incorporated into your
structure:

o Trustee/Remote Oversight
 The legal holders of the licence, the body that guarantees the proper use of
funding to the station, the body that employs your staff and looks to the
long-term station development. In Flirt FM, this is the board of directors.
o Administration
 Could also be called ’sundry’. Deal with BCI correspondence. Keep
station finances in order. Sundry correspondence. In Flirt FM, primarily
station manager, with certain tasks taken by chair of board of directors
 (some BCI correspondence) and another member of the Board of directors
(keeping books in order).
o Planning and development
 schedule development (should be proper process for this – applications in
from volunteers and those interested in running specific shows, mockup of
overall desired schedule, put proposed shows into blanks). Also planning
other developments, such as equipment purchases, extra station services
etc. In Flirt FM the Station Manager brings proposals to the Board of
Management or Board of Directors as appropriate. It can also be useful to
encourage a more active Board of Management/Management committee
level, as proposed in my thesis.
o Direct Oversight
 Minding the station premises, ensuring programmes go out, dealing with
volunteers (queries, ensuring they seem happy in their roles, which feeds
into training and schedule development). In Flirt FM shared by station
manager, and, recently, by 2 part-time assistants.
o Programme Production
 Preparing specific programmes, done by individual programme producers.
 Overseeing areas such as sport, news, music programmes, to ensure co-
operation between programme teams. Providing assistance to programme
teams. Done, in Flirt FM, by Editors (Arts editor, news editor etc).
o Non-programme activities – training, recruitment, promotion. In Flirt FM, this
task is shared by the station manager, the board of management and the radio
societies in NUI, Galway and GMIT.

There are also tasks such as engineering etc, which can be filled by volunteers, or on a contract
basis by professionals, or a mix of the two.

LITRATURE REVIEW

Cited References:

1. Title: Web Radio: Time to Sign Off?

Authors: Cherry, Steven M.

Source: IEEE Spectrum; Aug2002, Vol. 39 Issue 8, p53, 1p

Document Type: Article

2. Title: STREAMING Audio. (Cover story)

Authors: Metz, Cade

Source: PC Magazine; 9/21/2004, Vol. 23 Issue 16, p106-106, 1/3p

Document Type: Article

3. Title: Future Looks Bright for E-Radio.

Authors: Traiman, Steve

Source: Billboard; 01/20/2001, Vol. 113 Issue 3, p95, 1/7p

Document Type: Article

4. Title: Everybody Wants to Be a DJ.

Source: Fortune; 1/1/2000 Special Issue, Vol. 141 Issue 1, p270-270, 2/3p, 1 color

Document Type: Article

5. Title: Turning Campus Radio on Its Head.

Authors: Read, Brock

Source: Chronicle of Higher Education; 3/31/2006, Vol. 52 Issue 30, pA35-A37, 3p, 2 color

Document Type: Article

6. Title: Radio's Future May Be Web Side Channels.

Authors: Schiffman, Marc

Source: Billboard; 01/20/2001, Vol. 113 Issue 3, p96, 2/5p, 1 bw

Document Type: Article

7. Title: Public Radio Goes Global Over the Web.

Authors: MCBRIDE, SARAH

Source: Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition; 10/31/2006, Vol. 248 Issue 103, pB1-B3, 2p, 1
graph

Document Type: Article

8. Title: Milestone at Pandora Web Radio.

Authors: McBRIDE, SARAH

Source:Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition; 12/17/2009, Vol. 254 Issue 143, pD4, 0p

Document Type: Article

Other Web Sources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_radio

2. http://www.wavestreaming.com/articles/how-to-start-an-internet-radio-
station.php#legal

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_radio

4. http://www.articlesbase.com/audio-articles/college-radio-on-the-internet-
offers-more-advantages-for-listeners-761430.html

5. http://www.neuronbroadcasting.com/benefits_radio_broadcasting.asp

6. http://audials.com/en/blog/article/80/web-radio-an-almost-unlimited-supply-
of-free-audio.html