this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023
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Asklemmy

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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: [email protected]
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!

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[โ€“] Gentoo1337 50 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Nice, now I can share obscure indie underground music like taylor swift with the rest of the world

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

lol go for it. Play whatever you want, so long as it isn't annoying or supports bigotry.

[โ€“] Gentoo1337 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah dont worry lol. Also how do you plan to deal with trolls who post annoying or hateful music?

[โ€“] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 27 points 9 months ago

I have absolutely no interest in this whatsoever, but I hope you and those that do, enjoy it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 27 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[โ€“] [email protected] 27 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago

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 :)

[โ€“] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago (1 children)

This website is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Good to know. I thought the "this website is licensed" part would cover it, but maybe I should just remove the license for now...

FWIW there is a system in place to track plays for music licensing purposes. I will be paying this out of pocket.

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

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/

[โ€“] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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?

[โ€“] [email protected] 27 points 9 months ago (2 children)

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (3 children)

How much is the fees per song?

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[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Prehaps it might be worth having patron to cover expenses

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[โ€“] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Sweet. I'll process the form tonight. Keep an eye on your inbox.

EDIT: Done. Looking forward to your reply.

[โ€“] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (3 children)
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[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago

This is a wonderful idea! I'll definitely be following this project.

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago

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 ๐Ÿ˜‚

[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I joined the Discord. Now, let's see if I can spread my garbage music taste.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago

Cheers to whoever suggested Insomnia (Monster Mix) by Faithless - great taste! I was about to suggest it myself!

[โ€“] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ngl sounds super interesting and I want to host something but idk what Iโ€™d even do.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (4 children)

This looks pretty fun. I used to dabble this shoutcast radio broadcasting for an old roleplaying server in San Andreas Multiplayer.

I've used b.u.t.t. for NeosVR shows, and it's really easy to use.

I'll have to sign up for some night time EDM slots. :)

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[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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

this was ~1999

whats old is new again

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (4 children)

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.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago

Aside from the awesome concept, seeing the first song playing after clicking on your link is B.O.B. by Outkast... you got an instant fan!

[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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]

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[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I may be interested in being a dj/random song info guy. I'll have to think about it for a few days, and see if I can make a regular appearance.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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 :)

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

Saving this comment so I can look into it. Thanks for the suggestion. I'd like to get as many ears as I can!

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (6 children)

Get ready, I have ~250 songs, and too much free-time.

the comment is jokingboth of those things are true, but I'm not going to add all of them as I'd rather spend my ludicrous free-time playing rimworld

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[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I love the initiative. This sort of thing feels REAL and I will absolutely submit some songs from my Playlist :)

I really like radiostations as well, not just for music, but the way people can talk over radio in a anonymous way (at least before caller id) . I don't know if you watched the show Midnight Caller but it was one of my favorite ones growing up.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0094510/

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