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.
https://radiolemmy.com | Temporary URL if the first one isn’t working
Click Join to sign up to be DJ/presenter, or Suggest to submit your own song suggestions for regular rotation (no signup required to suggest a tune).
FAQ for potential DJs
Lemmy Community: !radiolemmy@lemm.ee
Discord
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!
I have absolutely no interest in this whatsoever, but I hope you and those that do, enjoy it.
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.
Damn, and here I thought I had an original idea. Maybe we should get together and do a collab! Their website could use some modernization.
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 :)
Nice, now I can share obscure indie underground music like taylor swift with the rest of the world
lol go for it. Play whatever you want, so long as it isn’t annoying or supports bigotry.
Yeah dont worry lol. Also how do you plan to deal with trolls who post annoying or hateful music?
Good question! At the moment I will be personally monitoring peoples’ broadcasts at random intervals. If I suspect foul play, I can pull up a recording of their show to check for the offending content.
Everybody makes mistakes, so you will get a warning at first. If need be, I can kick a DJ off immediately. You can report any foul play either in the Discord, or by messaging me here on Lemmy. Eventually I will have moderators to handle things, but for now it’s just me.
I vote that Rick Astley be your “He’s off the rails! Cut to commercial!!”
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.
How much is the fees per song?
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Why wouldn’t you have exact numbers? I’m interested in knowing how much the fee is per song, since I don’t know. Give me a ballpark number?
Because the way I understand it, it depends on which songs are being played and how many people are listening.
Prehaps it might be worth having patron to cover expenses
Coming soon.
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 😂
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 :)
Saving this comment so I can look into it. Thanks for the suggestion. I’d like to get as many ears as I can!
“Works best in Firefox”
The entire internet works best in Firefox with the exception of some shitty big tech sites I guess.
Which is completely intentional.
Nice 🤩
This is so cool!
Really cool idea - and I love that when I clicked the link just now, the first song that was playing was Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae.
Good job 👍
How do you intend to actually get people to tune in and listen?
Id be tempted to make a DJ application but I can already play to audiences of up to 5 people on twitch xD
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!)
Can you put the listener count on the page? I was curious earlier as to how many were listening but couldn’t find it
I’m planning on it. Right now we average about 15-20 listeners at any given moment. It’s not the most impressive number, no, but it’s better than I was expecting for our first two days!
Cool!
Seconded, this would be great.
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!
EDIT to add another question…
Have discovered that you can stream the station in VLC (probably elsewhere too) using this link: https://a2.asurahosting.com:7010/radio.mp3
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.
Cool! Any interesting things in the tech stack, OP? I’ve been meaning to set something like this up for my family, local only.
There’s already radio free fedi for the entire fediverse
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I’ve been thinking of hosting a site for a while, may I ask what hosting service are you using
and if you are using custom server software (which is what I want to do)
000webhost runs the website, and AsuraHosting for the stream.
