How do I start my own internet radio show?

- tuvik

Posted on Oct 17, 2011 in Entertainment, Tech & internet

broadcast internet performance radio

I’ve always wanted to play DJ, and I’ve heard you can do live radio shows on the internet — but how exactly do I do that?

Radio Free Internet

Ever listen to a DJ on the radio and think, “Hey, I can do that?” For most of us, unless we were fortunate enough to be communication majors, went to a college with a campus station, or are willing to work the graveyard shift at the local NPR affiliate, we’ll never get the chance to find out.

Except for the internet.

No doubt, if you’re internet savvy enough to be reading this, you’ve heard of podcasting — recording a show (music, talk, whatever) and posting it on the internet for people to download at their leisure. Podcasts are great and they are a great way to get yourself out there, but what if you prefer live audience interaction, response, and the sheer terror of sitting in front of the mic having completely forgotten what you were about to say? Enter the SHOUTcast.

The ingredients

So you’ve decided you’re interesting enough that (hopefully) a couple people will drop whatever they had planned on doing and listen to you instead. Good! Having the confidence to decide to do a live SHOUTcast is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Everything else beyond that is just a technical exercise.

Here’s the basic stuff you need to do your own show:

Author’s note: This is by no means intended to be a definitive, step by step guide on how to set up for SHOUTcasting — I have no idea what hardware and software you have, so there is no way I can cover everything.

A computer (specs are rather unimportant, but a machine running Windows XP or higher is your best bet – Mac support for SHOUTcast is spotty and I personally can’t speak for it, so we’ll discuss Windows).

A high-speed internet connection. You can’t do this on dialup.

A microphone. This doesn’t have to be a fancy, $200+ studio mic, especially if you’re just starting out. A cheap computer mic is fine. Make sure it plugs into the mic-in line of your soundcard and not USB. USB is a pain for this.

Headphones. If you plan to listen to your mic output live, you’ll end up with godawful feedback otherwise.

Winamp and the SHOUTcast DSP plug-in. Both are free. This is the program you will be broadcasting from.

A SHOUTcast host. This is the remote server you send your show’s stream to, which in turn rebroadcasts it with a much higher bandwidth (more bandwidth = more simultaneous listeners can be supported) than your home internet connection is capable of. Some are free, some charge a small monthly fee, usually based on max number of listeners and bitrate. Speaking from experience: You get what you pay for. A free host can be a good way to see if you like doing this, however. If you’re curious, I use makeavoice.com, but do look around – my needs may not be the same as yours.

A nice, quiet spot to do this. Is your computer in the living room? Turn the TV off (or at least mute it). Got kids? Keep ‘em out of the room for a while. Interruptions and noise are not only distracting to you, they’re annoying to your listeners as well.

A listener base and a way to let them know when and how to tune in. Post about it on your Facebook wall with a link to the stream. Use Twitter. Email. Whatever. I actually have a whole page on my website dedicated to my show, and I still use all of the above outlets to “advertise.” Don’t underestimate the “how to tune in” portion. Some of your friends may not be tech savvy, and if it’s hard for them to figure out what’s going on, they’ll just go watch TV.

The recipe

This is the hard part. Apart from telling you to plug everything in and install all your software and plug-ins, I can’t really offer you too much specific advice. There’s a lot of different soundcards, mixing software, and SHOUTcast hosts out there, and they all use different settings. I can offer some basic tips.

If you plan on using a microphone, select Soundcard Input as your source in Winamp. This means any sound played through your soundcard will go out over your broadcast, so make sure to disable all those annoying alert sounds in Windows — and don’t watch YouTube videos while your music plays, unless you want everyone to hear them.

Make sure you have everything tested, working, and up and running long before you plan to do your first show. Don’t wait till five minutes beforehand to figure out what IP address you should be streaming to. Have a friend available to listen and offer feedback as you set things like mic levels, sound levels, etc.

For a much more definitive guide, see the SHOUTcast Getting Started Guide on the Winamp Wiki and also the SHOUTcast Forum. Again, there are people who can help you here, but you may have to do some critical thinking on your own to make it all work. I’ve been SHOUTcasting for over four years now and I still make minute adjustments and improvements to my settings and equipment on a monthly basis. You never stop learning.

A bit of non-tech advice

Getting the technical hurdles down may be the easiest part of hosting an internet radio show. Very few people have any idea how hard it is to be live, on a microphone, with people listening, and not sound like a stammering idiot. Here are a couple ideas to consider before going live:

Think about what you’re going to say before you go on. This doesn’t mean you have to have a script or even notes, just an idea of what you’re going to talk about so you don’t freeze like a deer in headlights when you’re up.

Don’t feel like you have to fill every instant of dead air with noise. Don’t “uhhh” and “errr” your way through if you don’t know what to say next. A second or two of dead air never bothered anyone, and if it does, it certainly bothers them less than hearing “uhhh” every third word.

Modulate your voice. Use a conversational tone. For the love of all that is holy, don’t speak in a monotone voice with no inflection like a robot. Your listeners will last about 45 seconds, then move on to something more interesting, like The Weather Channel.

Final thoughts

Whatever your setup, whoever your host is, whatever the content of your show is: have fun. Your listeners can tell when you’re phoning it in, and then it’s no fun for them either. If you aren’t having fun and you aren’t getting paid — why are you doing it? So just relax, appreciate the experience and don’t worry if you screw up. (Some of my gaffes have been the funniest things I’ve ever said on the air, and the most memorable.) Enjoy yourself.

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