How to Start an Internet Radio Station Using Shoutcast

Article by: Hector Janse van Rensburg

You're probably here because you want to be a radio presenter, and now thanks to some software and the internet, you can!

Step One: First off you have to sort out the hosting, and there are a few options depending on the level you are going to take this radio station to. There are 3 main options you can consider:

• Host the radio from your own network. This will mean that the number of listeners you have will be very limited. In addition, people with wireless networks will either have difficulty setting up your radio station or it will be impossible for them.

• Buy some shoutcast hosting off a provider. If you are starting out, don't go to the larger companies because they will be considerably more expensive than smaller ones. The cheapest you will find will be from small hosting companies with one or two servers, because they are very open to negotiation on prices, and also open to sponsored radios. I know this because I used to have a small hosting company, I handed out several sponsored shoutcasts and charged very very little.

• Buy your own dedicated server / VPS. This isn't recommended because you're jumping in at the deep end and that is never a good option. Get your station going and established before doing this.

Notes for options 2 & 3 - Beware! Bandwidth and connection are essential. Before buying a dedicated server or a shoutcast be sure to ask the host both what connection their server has, and how much bandwidth you are getting. You might also want to ask how many other shoutcasts are hosted on the server you will be on.

Shoutcasts use a ton of bandwidth, as you will find out if you use a dedicated server or a VPS. A top end shoutcast will stream at 128kbps, a top end shoutcast will have 5000 listeners at a time (Don't get hopeful ;) ). So, to work out bandwidth we simply multiply listeners by the bit rate to give us a number per second. In our case this gives us 640,000kbps, or 640 Megabytes Per Second. See where this is going? If possible, use a dedicated server with un metered Bandwidth, I would recommend :

My Server Recommendation: Good quality server based in Europe for just 59$ a month, with un metered bandwidth.

Step Two: Choosing your software

Ok, now you have your hosting sorted you should have a look at your options for which program you use to stream. You should start off with a basic program such as win amp and then move on to the more advanced "SAM BROADCASTER", which has a pretty hefty price tag, whereas win amp is free because it's made by Null soft, who also made shoutcast.

I will not go through how to connect to the server, that is up the the support of the software you chose.

SAM BROADCASTER:

Pros: Definitely the best software out there, has all the features you need, including fading mic, dual players, different playlist support, multiple channels and more.

Cons: The only bad thing is the price tag. There is a trial to go for, which does last quite a while.

WINAMP:

Pros: It's free. It streams what you play in winamp, which is pretty basic to grasp.

Cons: Quite difficult to get smooth transitions between the mic and the tracks. The program wasn't designed only for the purpose of streaming, unlike SAM.

Once you have chosen your program, go to their support page in how to setup.

STEP 3: Advertising your station

Right, this is hard.  It's much, much harder than advertising a website because you want to have several people on at the same time, rather than just visits.  This is why you wont want to start streaming 24/7 straight away. Instead, advertise certain times on the radio, then slowly build in to going 24/7.

Buy banner advertising, and on the banners put these times, to maximize listeners. The main thing to consider when advertise is to make it as easy as possible for someone to access your site and listen. This means getting a site laid out well.  This is exactly what we will explore in the next topic.

STEP 4: Getting a website

You're nearly there! Don't worry, you'll have yourself streaming in no time.

Your site has to be :

R   eally easy to use
A   ttractive
D   istinguishable / Unique
I    ndustrious! We want to see action!
O   nline. Get a good host.

Yes, that does spell radio! These factors are all important.

You will need to find a host, which is easy, if you don't already have one.

PHP Nuke is a very good tool for online radio, because you can have everything automatically installed, like a radio player, a forum, news items and more. This will come pre installed on any cpanel web host with fantastico.

However, this is not necessary! I am in the process of starting a new internet radio myself, and I'm not using it, just because I wanted to have a different  design. Here it is: My Internet Radio Station

As you can see, the focal point is the logo. This cost me $75 USD, which is quite cheap for something that will define your radio, and looks great at the same time.

Make it as easy as possible for your users to listen, make inbuilt players, or failing that, put a huge Listen now button on it! Don't let your visitors have an excuse not to!

Finishing touches to your site:

Things like scripts. On FORadio.com I have a DJ panel that you can get for free  here:
http://www.qscriptz.abshost.net/v3/freebies-radiov3.php

Also, search around the web for some scripts like "Now playing". That DJ panel already has DJ says and a request panel built in, so you're almost done in that way.

Try not to let the users see the Shoutcast DNAS page, it doesn't look great, either link directly to the play list file, or as I say, use an integrated player.

STEP 5: Finishing it off

You've come this far, so now, why not make a big thing about the first day of you're radio being online, the day you have been preparing for for ages! This means more advertising, I'm afraid.

Using that DJ panel, get DJs, they will work for free, and the timetable feature on the panel will mean that your work will be minimized.

If you want, you can invest in an auto DJ from StreamSollutions, their prices are cheap, and all you have to do is upload your songs and it will stream to your server. As well as music, put some voiceover's in, announcing your radio. This adds a professional touch and will mean your radio can be online 24/7 without hundreds of DJs.

Last but not least, give your radio time, you can't expect to have 5000 listeners right away, but try and aim for 10 at first, then get higher and so on. When your radio gets to a certain stage, create a name and then create a network of radios. Once you have a successful radio network going, everything is downhill.

Only a few hours ago I setup a relay for a friends server and this had the .107 name on it. Within about 1 minute, the server had 80 listeners. No joke.

Happy Broadcasting,
Hector Janse van Rensburg

 

About The Author:New article writer giving this a 3rd go!