How to Start Your Own Radio Station

Radio is one of the effective media of reaching masses. Radio stations offer a great variety of programs from entertainment, education to social awareness. There can be several reasons why one may want to start their own radio station. People belonging to a particular political or social group may get their ideas across in an easier way through a broadcasting station. Similarly, one can also start a station where they can share their knowledge, expertise by dedicating it to a particular subject. Some people may simply start a radio station for the sheer joy of sharing their music collection and making some money through it. If you are interested in starting a broadcasting station of your own for some reason, then be assured that this is a serious business and needs as much planning and funding like any other business.

How Do You Start Your Own Radio Station

Starting up one's own radio station is an expensive business. We are talking about at least a million dollars here. Detail cost analysis is given later in this article. However, it is very difficult to predict the exact cost as it depends upon several factors. If you wish to start your radio station for free, then Internet broadcasting can be your choice. Yet, you will have to invest in a few equipment, licenses etc. Given below is a procedure for starting a terrestrial radio station.

Obtain a License
You need to acquire a proper license before starting your station. You can either go for low power FM (local) or full power FM (commercial). If you are new in this business, then it is recommended that you first acquire a license for low power FM and then eventually progress to high power FM or commercial broadcasting. You also need to acquire license for Internet streaming while starting an online radio station. As you have to pay fees for acquiring license it is not entirely possible to start a free online radio station.

Request for a Frequency
When you start a new radio station, you will be assigned a new frequency which enables you to start transmitting signals from this frequency. However, one needs to submit an application form for requesting a new frequency.

Find a Location
The second step is to find a location for setting up your studio and for erecting a transmission tower. You can also set it up at a remote location. It is also possible to have a mobile radio studio, if you wish to cut the cost. If you plan to start an Internet radio station, then you will need a soundproof recording room. Although, it is very much possible to start Internet station from your home, you will have to make some arrangements to make it function like a recording studio.

Arrange for Funds
As mentioned above, starting a radio station is a million dollar expenditure. So, unless you have sufficient funding to back you up, it is impossible to get it started. Here are a few expenses towards which most of your funds will go.

• Cost of production equipment.
• Cost of transmission equipment.
• Installation costs.
• Cost of owning/leasing a studio.
• Cost of refurbishing the studio as per your needs.
• Cost of transmission/broadcasting software for Internet streaming.
• Royalty payments and copyrights for broadcasting music.
• Installation cost of utilities such as power supply equipment.
• Startup legal advice fees.

The last step is to hire right people for various jobs such as production, technical, broadcasting etc. If you are new to this field, you will need professional assistance at each level.