If you listen to music all day every day and you really love sharing your music taste and latest discoveries with other people, presenting a radio show might be the perfect job for you! Many people dream about having their own radio show, in which they can share all the music they love with the world. This dream might seem unreachable and only realistic for professionals, but this is truly not the case. In these days, everyone with a laptop, some equipment and a good taste in music can become a radio presenter.

If you feel excited and motivated to start your own radio station, you should definitely give it a try. In this article you will read all the information you need to know before starting your own radio station. Let’s get started!

Your concept

There already exist many radio stations, so if you start one, you want it to be unique and different. You want people to choose for your station and not go for all the other options that are available. There are different types of radio stations. Some only broadcast music, others are more like a talkshow, and some have a bit of both. Ask yourself what type of radio station fits your passions and abilities.

If you go for a station that focuses mostly on music, you should think about the kind of music you want to broadcast. Some stations are very diverse and others really focus on one genre or type of music. Listeners like to know what kind of music they can expect from you, so try to stick with a specific category of music. This does not mean that you can never play anything else, but the majority of the songs you play will be in that category.

If you choose for a talkshow, you should think about what topics you want to discuss. Do you have one topic that you are very interested in that listeners might want to hear about? Or do you want to discuss the news, about the world or specifically about music?

It is very important to envision what kind of people are going to listen to your station. What kind of audience do you expect to attract with your content? If you think about that, you can make sure that your content matches with the wishes and interests of the audience.

Branding

When you have had a good thought about all these questions and you feel like you know what your radio station will be like, you can use this for your branding. Branding has everything to do with the identity of your station. You want listeners to recognize your station, to get familiar with it and to remember you. Branding is essential for that.

You can use all this information about the identity of your radio station when choosing the name of your station and when designing a logo. If you have a website for your station, which is very much recommended, you should also make sure that it radiates the identity of your station and shows what makes your station different from others.

Stream hosting and software

Next, you have to find stream hosting. This hosting website or software will allow you to stream your radio show online, so that people can listen to it. There are many different options and this website, Radioguide.nl, is one of them. It offers the possibility to start your own radio station, broadcast your show and also to promote your station to reach many potential new listeners worldwide.

You also need broadcasting software. Most of the times, this software is included in your stream hosting. This software lets you play the music, background music, jingles and commercials.

The equipment you need

If you just want to try if radio broadcasting is something for you, you really do not need much more than the software and your laptop. However, if you want to take it to the next level and be a bit more professional, there is some equipment that is very useful.

If you want to know everything about the equipment that you need for your radio station, you should read this article. It discusses many tools you can use and explains why you need them and what you can use them for. Here, we will summarize briefly what you might need.

The most important thing to buy is a microphone. The listeners will immediately recognize the difference between the sound quality of your laptop and the quality of a professional microphone. Also important are headphones. These will allow you to listen carefully to the audio you broadcast. The last thing you really need is an audio console, also called an audio mixer or soundboard. You use this device to control and monitor the audio. You can choose which sounds need to be broadcasted, change the volume and dynamics of the audio and you can combine various audio signals.