MusicSubmit Artists SDC Radio Networks Submission Guidelines Update

Dear MusicSUBMIT Artist --

We have given your music a good listening too! Now we need to get the music from you. We receive over 100 new CDs and MP3 emails per week asking us to play their music.  Over the past decade, we have placed music in rotation on an average of six (6) weeks.  Now, we have to cutback on airplay due to the amount of music rotation requests.  Please send the CD to our address below:

SDC Radio Networks
Kenny Smith, PD
2380 Parkway Place, Suite 100A
Memphis, TN 38112-2500

We'll try to add you to our SDC Radio Networks Music Syndicated Playlists and review pages at one of our SDC Blog Radio Magazines in the next coming 15 days.

Let us face it -- this is a game of numbers. As artists, you are not going to set at your computer or appliance and wait to listen to your song(s).  You just want to make sure that you are on the play list.  We appreciate that.  Please let your fans and new fans know that at KDTN Radio One Music, they must vote on your music to keep it in regular rotation.

The majority of the recording artists just check the station registry search engine to make sure that their songs are listed and playing.

So what we get is very low numbers on actual listeners, but in reality between the promoters, record executives, fan clubs, etc., the average artist is referenced search an average of 1,500 to 5,000 hits per day, just on our stations.  Once you are play listed with us, its easy to get more stations.  We have been around for over 15 years.

As a radio broadcasting station, we pay royalties to ASCAP, BMI, PRS and SESAC and your Country's Music clearing houses to play your music, and it would be a shame if you do not get your radio broadcasting share.

Make sure track are properly tagged with artist name, song title & cover art. (Google “How to properly tag MP3” or use iTunes Player, it will help you brand yourself effectively via our radio player. We will not do this for you so please make sure you tag it before submitting.)

• Make sure to submit links to all your social media accounts: Twitter, Facebook, official website…etc.
• We will promote your songs via Twitter and when your song is tweeted we ask for you to retweet or respond to them to stay engaged. NO RETWEET NO AIRPLAY!
• Track will remain in rotation a minimum of 2 weeks. Some tracks will remain in rotation longer then 2 weeks, however #SDCRadioNowplaying #SDCRadioPromotions via Twitter will end after the 2nd week.  We also place your Picture/Cover Art on 30 second SDC Radio Networks Video Ad compilation that appears on Youtube.com.

How To Guarantee Radio Airplay from TRS Radio 24/7: https://vimeo.com/86474048

NOTE:
Can Not Stress This Enough. Please Tag Tracks With Artist Info…e.g. Artist Name, Track Name, COVER ART…This Will Insure That You Brand & Info Will Appear On The Radio Player! It Will Benefit You Greatly!!! Any track not Tagged properly will not be aired no matter how good the music is.

It is strongly suggested that you register your songs with one of the above fore mentioned house music clearance organizations that watch out for your music worldwide!

Viacom's opening up their recording labels to artists.  If you need a "label" for your music you can imprint your music with MTV Records, VH1 Records, CMT Records, and CBS Records logos. Their brands were built off the power of music and now they have built a platform that puts the power in the hands of artists. The doors into MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo have never been more open — so what are you waiting for? -- http://www.mtv.com/artists/about/

How To Get Your Music on Pandora Radio:
http://canyoncreekmag.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-to-get-your-music-on-pandora.html

However, you still need a good promotions venue like MusicSubmit.com to promote your product to stations and reviewers.  Just because you have a label does not mean you will get played!

KDTN Radio One Music
http://www.live365.com/stations/kdtn

SDC RadioMIXX
http://www.live365.com/stations/sdcradiomixx

SDC Radio One
http://media.spacial.com/player/cheapeststream/index.html?sid=13798

SDCOG Radio One
http://sdcogradioone.caster.fm

KDTN BlogTalk Radio
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kdtnradioone

SmithBits Talk Radio
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smithbits

Thanks for your music and considering us!

Sincerely,
Kenny Smith
SDC Radio Networks
http://www.facebook.com/kenneth.h.smith1
http://www.twitter.com/kdtnradioone

Note from MusicSUBMIT.com:
If you're mailing a CD to this company, be sure to write 'MusicSUBMIT Artist' on your package.

RUSSIA BUILDING UP TROOPS AND ARMS ON THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE FOR INVASION OF ALASKA?

RUSSIA BUILDING UP TROOPS AND ARMS ON THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE FOR INVASION OF ALASKA?

MEMPHIS TN (IFS) -- On the international dateline that runs between Siberia and Alaska's Bering Sea, the buildup of Russian troops and armaments starts to take place on Siberian sea shores.  Satellite images from just days ago, shows an unprecedented buildup of Soviet troops and arms on the Siberian coastline.

It may just be for an exercise that was planned at sometime in the past, or it maybe something that was just planned after President Obama's sanctions against Russia.  President Putin has promised that he will retaliate with sanctions of his own against anyone who places sanctions on him.

Their intentions are on coming back over the time zone and into Alaska and down the coast through Canada and into Washington State.  Russia wants Alaska back, just like he wanted the Ukraine.  It was a great mistake back in 1868 when the Czar sold off Alaska to the United States.  This is a good time to get it back for the Motherland.

The Japanese military attempted this move back in 1942 when they occupied several islands of US soil.  The Russians have not forgotten this little invasion trek and will use it again to invade the continental United States.

The North American Advance Radar Warning System, back in the day known as (NARAD)along with the National Guard of Alaska and other United States Armed Forces which include the Canadians have their radars and weapons squarely pointed to the international date line.  Do we trust Putin or no?
This is the first time since the end of World War II that a sitting diplomat has out and out lied to an official government representative for no apparent reason.

As Vice President Joe Bidden speaks to the Allies at the Poland meeting, the Russians understand that the United States is just "blowing smoke" and the United front from the Allies does not exist.
President Putin will take this sign as weakness and continue his march through Poland and up and around the Bering Straits just to prove his point, that the United States is all talk.

As Putin marches forward, the locals who believes that they will get more income and presences from the Russians will fine out in the coming months that they have made a terrible error and they can not reverse it.
Their price for siding with the Motherland is going to be more poverty and harder times.  They will be worst off than before the invasion and the election that they were bullied into voting for does not work.  But its OK.

They'll just go with the flora and sue do national high that will lead them to nowhere to run.
Getting back to the buildup on the Siberian eastern coastline for the invasion of Alaska.  Well, this writer is just rant and raving about nothing much.  Or is he?

Gatsby's Green Light

Gatsby's Green Light is a postivity party that sounds like Dave Matthews met the Grateful Dead. The Foreve Smile is the bands full length album.

What are people saying about The Forever Smile?

“With their impressive debut album, The Forever Smile, Gatsby’s Green Light has created much more than a great album; they have created a sense of hope, inspiration and community with their positive outlook that mixed with their excellent music could start a revolution! ” Reviewed by: Justin Kreitzer – Rating: 4 out 5 stars

“Following on the heels of Annalee earlier in 2013, The Forever Smile is well-played and crafted; chock full of head-bob inducing riffage and craftsman-style tune-smithing.  And with an ingrained social ethic to boot, Gatsby’s Green Light is bound to play well to the Dancing Bear/Phish-sticker sporting crowd in all their variegated manifestations.  Though to simply write this one off as yet another jam band that is long on ability and short on creative vision would be to sell it a bit short, despite the persistent stereotypes out there backed up with a tangible amount of real world empirical evidence.  The Forever Smile is, at center, a really listenable and enjoyable record pressed by a group of accomplished musicians who know what they’re up to, and the result is both a good listen and, should you choose to hear it, a call to arms.” Reed Burnam – Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

Want To Enhance Your YouTube Videos With Clickable Links? Here’s How!

YouTube is great (our free YouTube guide explains this assertion in greater detail). You can upload videos, share them with the world…you can even monetize them with Google advertising.

In the past two years, YouTube has also (at last!) added the ability to include clickable links in your videos, an invaluable help to explain something you might be discussing; contextualise whatever you’re showing; or just provide a link back to your website.

As a result there are three ways to create clickable links in YouTube videos, whether they’re ones that you’re embedding on your website from a third party source, or if they’re videos you have created yourself.

Creating Clickable Links In Your Own YouTube Videos

YouTube’s method for adding clickable links to your own YouTube videos demands that you have a verified account, which enables external annotations. You can ensure this by signing into YouTube, opening Video Manager > Partner Settings and checking your account is verified.

If it isn’t, go to Channel Settings > Advanced and find your Associated website. This should be the site you own that will be used as a target for the links you are about to create. Click Verify to begin the process, which is straightforward but may take a little time. Several methods are provided for verification — the HTML upload and the option of adding YouTube’s verification code to the header of your web page (especially if it is something that is easily editable like a WordPress blog) are particularly recommended.

With your site verified, open the Video Manager. Across the top of the screen you should see a toast notification to Enable your account for external annotation links. Click Enable, then Uploads. Here, choose the video you want to add a link to and selectAnnotations from the menu.

You’ll probably want to pause the video before proceeding. Click Add annotation, select the type you want to use (choose from Speech Bubble, Note, Title, Spotlight and Label), insert the text to be displayed and use the text editing tools to determine how the annotation appears. Use your mouse to drag the annotation around the screen as per your requirements. You should also notice the Start and End fields, which control when the annotation appears in your video and for how long.

When you’re happy with these, check the Link box and in the resulting menu selectAssociated website, entering the URL of your site as previously specified. A preview link will help you check the URL entered. To complete adding the link to your YouTube video, click Save, then Publish.

Take the time to view your video on YouTube and click the link to check it works as intended. YouTube permits you to edit and republish annotations as often as is required.

Add A Clickable Link With Mozilla Webmaker

If you don’t own the videos you’re embedding, but want to add a link, the simplest method is to go to Mozilla Webmaker, select Tools > Popcorn Maker > Start from Scratch and get to work. You will need to create an account on the site before you save anything.

On the right-hand side, paste the YouTube (or Vimeo) URL of the video you want to add a link to. The clip must be one that is publicly available and can be embedded.

Once the clip is found it will appear below this in the My Media Gallery section. Double-click to add it to the main view, or drag and drop. The clip editor will appear on the right, useful for making any changes to the video length and volume.

Below the main viewing area, you’ll find the layers displayed. Your link will be displayed as a layer, so click Add a layer, then click into the layer area and select Textin the right-hand menu.

Use the Basic tab to add the link Text and URL; you can also adjust the position of the text here, while the Advanced tab controls font type, size and colour. You should adjust the position of the text layer to ensure the link appears at the correct time code.

When you’re done, click Save. The right-hand pane will display some settings, but most important is the Embed tab, where you can specify a size for the video and grab the embed code to add it to your website. The link(s) you created will now be displayed on the video when viewed through your web page.

Add Clickable Buttons With LinkedTube

A similar system to Mozilla Webmaker’s tool, LinkedTube is a web-based console that adds links to your existing YouTube clips and like the method above this is intended for embedded videos only – the clickable links will not be visible when viewed on YouTube.

Begin by finding the video you wish to embed. It doesn’t have to be one of your own, but it must be one available for viewing publicly. The video should also have embedding enabled.

Copy the URL, and open www.linkedtube.com. You will find a panel on the right-hand side where you should add the video URL, the text for the button you want to create, the URL, and any mouse over text. Note that when the URL is added, the LinkedTube tool will strip it down to the ID string.

Paste the URL into the YouTube Video field, then complete the other fields as required. If you’re using this video to make some extra cash, you might add an affiliate link in the Button URL field (for more information about affiliate links, our free 50 page Monetization Manual explains in greater detail).

As you make changes, use the Update Preview button to see how they will appear. When you’re happy, click Save & Get Code, where you will find the Embed Code ready to be copied and pasted into your website or blog.

Conclusion: Three Ways – Or More?

We suggest using the first method whenever possible.

Note that added clickable links or buttons won’t be visible on YouTube with these methods, which rely on third party tools adding overlays to your videos. If you’re not already making money from your own YouTube videos on the site itself, you can at least use other people’s videos and one of these clickable links, embedding the results in your own web page or blog.

However, for simplicity, the LinkedTube option is probably best, but the Mozilla Webmaker method offers more flexibility and is certainly more suited to longer videos. The native YouTube method can only be used if it is your own video that you’re adding links to.

Of course, we may have overlooked another secret way of adding clickable text to a YouTube video, so don’t forget to tell us in the comments.

Featured This Week on The Jazz Network Worldwide: Vocalist Daina Shukis Promotes Her Vintage Musical Catalogue with Collaborations from an Array of Jazz Masters

Daina Shukis’ music catalogue is comprised of jazz, rock, fusion, avant garde and blues songs recorded live from some of the most well known clubs in New York City.

• 

'Living on the lower east side of Manhattan at the birth of the new wave pop art culture I experienced the creative force of this time period; A blast from the past into the future.' - Daina Shukis

(PRWEB) March 03, 2014

Daina Shukis is an international entertainment veteran whose relationships with musical masterminds throughout her career has resulted in some classic live recordings from some of the most noted venues in New York City ie. the Bottom Line and CBGB's. The trilogy of music being shared are Daina and the Tribe LIVE at "Soundscape with Jeremy Steig and CBGB's power trio, Daina and the Tribe "On a Jungle Boat Ride" and "Mystic Rendezvous" instrumental.” Clear vocal tones over textures of complex rhythms, finger cymbals add an ancient world ethnic flavor to some songs. Dania is known for composing her own musical and vocal accompaniment for her choreography and since dancing was an integral part of her shows, space to develop improvisational climax was part of the musical structure.

Daina’s career has spanned the gamet from singing to dancing and acting, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance/Drama from New York University. Her songs range from a sensuous jazz/pop style to blues and rock. Her brilliant originals had the stellar accompaniment of Jeremy Steig-flute, Leni Stern-guitar, Dan Wall and Tom Coppolla-keyboards, Marvin Horne-guitar, Jerome Harris-bass, Akira Tana-drums, Fernando Saunders-bass, Jimmy Madison-drums, Ray Mantilla and Don Alias percussion, Joe Chambers and Fred Alias-drums, Paul Ramsey-bass, Lee Finklestien, Butch Cambell, Aubrey Dale, Sam Brown and John Saegert-guitar, Gene Perla-bass, Greg Carter-back up vocals and drums. "Cruise Control", "Cocoon", "Cruel World" and "Voodoo Queen" are co-authored with Jeremy Steig. These friendships lasted many years and their support of her music and dancing career resulted in the albums and videos she extracted from her vault of memorable performances.

"I am so excited to bring these vintage audio recordings of my band "Daina and the Tribe" to the world community via the Jazz Network Worldwide and this new press release of my latest three albums. Living on the lower east side of Manhattan at the birth of the new wave pop art culture I experienced the creative force of this time period. A blast from the past into the future,” says Daina.

“Here is a cool song with a soul, it makes me feel like I am listening to a Indian mix with a touch of African, very mysterious beats and the amazing touches of bells and drums. This is a very special song, that you want to listen when you are trying to get some creativity or inspiration to make something. The theatrical voice of the singer is very special and mystical, she is passionate and have very good vibrations and tones that make you vibrate and relax. It sounds like a religious song that will bless you and inspire you to rebirth and travel into heaven.” (Review from Reverbnation)

“I remember these famous venues in New York in the 70‘s where Daina’s music was performed. I can almost picture the audience in my mind closing their eyes and letting Daina and the Tribe take them on a inspirational journey,” says Jaijai Jackson of The Jazz Network Worldwide.

Daina is currently in the studio working on some new material and plans on releasing a new project by the fall of 2014. Be sure to come by The Jazz Network Worldwide to catch Daina’s feature athttp://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com. To learn more and to purchase, go to Daina’s official website athttp://www.jazzrockndance.com.

SDC Radio Networks Music Add-ons for March 2014

sdc radio networks music add-ons for March 2014

The Wendy Williams Show Moves Up the Viewing Chain

MEMPHIS TN (IFS)-- The View has long been the king of the 10 O'clock slot for over fifteen years now.  But coming up slow and steady and breathing down the View's neck is the long shot Wendy Williams Show.  Wendy over the past several years has been moving up the viewers ladder to numbers now in the double digits.

The success of her show is that she is the only voice, where the "Views" many voices starts to cancel out each other and lots of "traffic" issues plug up the information that is being given.

Williams an ex- Radio DJ and personality has made her transition to television in a big way.  Williams' guest appearance on "Dancing With The Stars" place her in the national lime light.  She has always made her show a friendly place, with very little surprises, and on one occasion, she has made a live guest appearance on the View while taping her own show.

Williams guests and information relay systems are personal and one-on-one.  The overall success of the show is about more time spend on the subject matter and not chasing the clock.

L.A. sheriff's deputies charged in jail beating

Two L.A. sheriff's deputies charged in jail beating amid ongoing probe

BY DAN WHITCOMB

LOS ANGELES Fri Feb 7, 2014 5:57pm EST

0U.S. »

(Reuters) - Two Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies accused of punching, kicking and pepper-spraying an inmate, then falsely claiming that he attacked them, have been indicted on federal charges amid an ongoing probe of the country's largest jail system.

The indictments against deputies Mariano Ramirez and Joey Aguiar came two months after 18 other current or former members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were charged with corruption and civil rights violations at the county's jails.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who had faced mounting calls to step down amid the jail investigation and allegations of mismanagement of the 10,000-member department, announced last month that he would retire rather than seek re-election.

Ramirez, 38, and Aguiar, 26, are accused in the U.S. District Court indictment of punching and kicking a handcuffed and chained inmate at the Men's Central Jail, said Thom Mrozek, a U.S. Attorney spokesman.

The two deputies also allegedly pepper sprayed the victim, who is identified in court papers only as "BP," and struck him with a flashlight, Mrozek said.

According to the indictment, Aguiar wrote a report of the incident in which he falsely claimed that the victim had tried to kick and head-butt him. Ramirez claimed in his report that the inmate had viciously kicked at the two deputies.

Both men face a maximum sentence of decades prison if convicted, although federal sentencing guidelines typically call for considerably less time.

The 18 deputies indicted in December were accused of subjecting inmates and visitors at two jails to unjustified beatings or detentions and trying to cover up their wrongdoing.

Seven of the defendants, including two sheriff's lieutenants, were accused of conspiring to obstruct a 2011 federal investigation into allegations of excessive force and smuggling of contraband by deputies in exchange for bribes.

The indictment also said the two lieutenants and others tried to prevent contact between federal investigators and an inmate informant after his cover was blown, altered records to make it appear the informant had been released from jail, then re-booked him under false names.

The indictments come more than a year after a blue-ribbon commission blamed Baca for failing to halt a persistent pattern of excessive force against inmates by his deputies.

A separate report by the American Civil Liberties Union cited the sheriff's department in 2011 for a number of abuses, including a finding that some deputies had formed gangs that encouraged assaults against inmates.

The Los Angeles County jail system ranks as the largest in the country, housing some 18,000 inmates.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, editing by G Crosse)

Greg Pope

Greg's new single Greg's new single "a girl like you" is the perfect feel good country song.  And if you haven't heard "a big girl now" you have to check it out.  The next "Butterfly Kisses."  One of those career songs that Artists dream about writing.  

Writing with names like Dierks Bentley, Don Pfrimmer and Kyle Cook of Matchbox Twenty, Greg's skills grew and his resolve intensified. Taking inspiration from country artists like George Strait and Kenny Chesney as well as rock legends like U2 and Journey, he molded those influences into a sound all his own. He searches for stories and melodies in the people he meets and strives to create music that will stand the test of time.

Excelling at piano at the age of 8, and guitar at 11, Greg Pope's drive to understand and master a variety of music - from rock to pop to country - help to shape his unique voice and sound. Ultimately, it was country music that won him, driving him to focus on his songwriting and make the move to Nashville.

Greg's new album, "The Great Unknown", was released August 1, 2011 and is available on iTunes and CDBaby.

Amy Barbera's iHeartRadio Station

http://www.iheart.com/artist/Amy-Barbera-324476/

Works with Everything Radio Broadcasting - Streaming with BUTT (Broadcast Using This Tool)

Streaming with Butt (Broadcast Using This Tool)

SDCOG RADIO ONE

http://sdcogradioone.caster.fm

Butt, which stands for Broadcast Using This Tool, is a straightforward piece of streaming software which is able to run on Windows, Mac and Linux. It can be downloaded free of charge from this website, where installation instructions are also available. Unlike Edcast, it does not require the separate installation of the LAME MP3 encoder as this is included in the package.

Setting up your stream using Butt

On opening the Butt software, you will be presented with a screen that looks like this:

Click on the "settings" button to get started, and it will load the Settings window adjacent to the main Butt program window:

Then, to add your streaming details, click on the "ADD" button under "Server".

The settings you need to add are as follows:

• Server type: IceCast
• Name: the name of your station - this is simply for internal use
• Address: live.canstream.co.uk OR, for new clients, radio.canstream.co.uk
• Port: supplied to you by email
• Password: supplied to you by email
• Mountpoint: supplied to you by email

Click ADD, then "Save Settings." Then, click the play button on the main Butt window, underneath the LCD-style display. It should then connect, and begin streaming the output from your Line In socket on your encoding machine. The meter below the display shows your level - this should peak at the top of the green lights, and not go into the yellow or red, or distortion will occur on your streamed output.

DOWNLOAD HERE:  http://butt.sourceforge.net/

Worldwide there are over 4,303,580,330 other Internet Radio Stations

Too many radio stations?

". . .Many listeners especially younger ones do not want to hear excessive sweepers and jingles or branding' line above: Imaging can help to distinguish yourself from the about 4303580330 other internet stations with a similar music style. Something which is even more difficult when it's a non-stop station. . ."


Here is a point to ponder. Having visited these forums for some time I see the same thing happening again and again. That is - loads of stations desperate for DJs! It gets easier (and cheaper) to launch a station but filling them with live content is hard as there seem to be only a limited amount of DJs looking for stations. It amuses me when I see stations on here grab ANY DJ that says they are looking for a slot. Often with the line "you seem to suit our station really well". No I am in the same boat as everyone else in that I am always looking to increase the amount of DJs on my station but part of me thinks there are too many stations with too few DJs. When I look into a lot of stations I see 2 best friends doing 2 shows a week trying to get more people desperately. Now I do not want to stand in the way of people's dreams/plans but I see so many stations fold because they just can't get enough interest. I wonder if syndication is the way forward for people starting out. Get enough followers who are interested in what you do then try and build them up into DJs themselves. When there are enough of you then formulate a station.  Anyway, enough of my ramblings. What do you think? Please feel free to disagree with me.
thanks, Edd - Owner of A1Radio.co.uk


Its quite ironic that you started this topic as I posted a similar topic on another forum some time ago, I did read your original post some time ago but did not have the time to reply when I initially read it.

Below you can read the topic that I posted on the other forum but incidentally my views have slightly changed since posting it and I also sympathise with you in trying to get quality DJs for your station.

We recently posted asking for DJs but in a different manner to some of the other stations, we asked for prospective DJs to get in touch if they felt that they had something that they could offer our station as we are quite unique in our target audience who are Taxi Drivers! Some of the demo's that I listened to were OKish and I tried to offer advice to those who sent the demos in so that they could improve their demo but I felt that from some of the replies that we received when we offered feedback that the DJs were getting upset!

When listening to internet radio stations I have come across some very professional presenters and some who are excellent and also some who are truly appalling but the thing that strikes me about all of them, good or bad, is that they all take pride in what they do and they all enjoy what they are doing so to that end, who am I to criticise.

Just imagine if all of the good presenters got together and formed an internet radio station then we might be able to put something together that could actually rival traditional commercial radio.

But anyway enough of my ranting, here was the topic that I posted some time ago:

Internet Radio Stations asking for DJs sometimes make me laugh?

It appears to me that nearly every single internet radio station struggles to attract DJs/Presenters judging by the posts on other forums and yet when prospective DJs/Presenters reply to the thread they are directed to "apply online" and sent of to a webpage or asked to send a CV to a given email address as though the station owner is doing the DJ/Presenter some sort of favour by condescending to allow the DJ to broadcast on their hallowed radio station!

Well lets be totally frank here, their station cant be that good otherwise they would not be posting every week asking for DJs would they?

Also when prospective DJs do reply to a thread they are very rarely responded to by some of the people running these stations!

If you are running a radio station and want to fill up your schedule and a DJ expresses an interest in broadcasting on your station then basically you should do all the chasing, after all you are not offering any payment for their services but rather they are offering their services on a voluntary basis to help you with the promotion of your station and to enable you to attract more listeners to your station.

I get the impression that when some people start up an internet radio station they get a bit above themselves and think they are something better than they are, well when you start paying DJs lots of money then I would personally allow you that stance, but when you are asking for volunteers you need to be humble and thank them for their interest and their help with your station. Please don't forget that most DJs will also bring along their own listeners with them who will tune into your station.

Running a radio station can be very time consuming with chasing after DJs and programming in pre recorded shows, setting up radio imaging and other stuff, it can also get quite expensive the more you get into it.

Where some are concerned it would be better to DJ on someone else's station rather than set up another radio station that will be short of DJs and keep posting asking for Presenters?

Well I have had my moan, what do you think......lol

Well it was some time ago that I posted my thoughts and I see by looking in the volunteering section that exactly the same things are happening. I say good luck to us all in getting DJs etc but my my its going to be tough. Since posting I have added a couple of great DJs to my station but its very tough out there! Often once approached when I look into the quality of the persons applying it is very low! Now I feel a bit mean and don't intend to sound elitest (my own technique needs lots of work) but its very rare that a £5 tesco headset mic and a hooky copy of SAM is going to result in a slick (ish) show/DJ. I am very fortunate in that I built myself a radio studio and that many of my DJ's have a very strong technical ability which usually results in a half decent output. Good luck to all out there and may your stations be successful.

I agree to some extent but I think the real issues are with the operational methods/quality control of some stations. I come from a former pirate background but also work with licensed FM community stations in the UK (BTW I would say A1 radio is equal to the best of these).

firstly there are definitely different types of stations and listener demographic - for instance many EDM fans are perfectly happy with a "non linear" form of listening to radio (such as pre recorded mixes or a repeat of a live show) with non stop beat mixed music and minimal chat / jingles (this varies on genres, some shows do have MC's and rappers who are equally popular). Often this is because they are spread across the entire world so what might be prime time evening in England is the early morning in Singapore and vice versa!

Other stations clearly want to emulate the popular "zoo format" radio of the 1980s, or talk formats or specialist documentary content. All these, done well, are as good as and often even better than the national or local broadcasters - they do not have the technical limitations of FM audio transmission or the obsolete encoding formats used in DAB, nor the politics and bureaucracy, nor the Communications Ministry breathing down your neck like a normal broadcast station (or even have to hide from them like a pirate must!)

But there are a great deal of less good stations. I see many where the websites are half done, in barely intelligible English (or the local language) and the audio content (when actually present) is grossly distorted to the point of being unlistenable (a particularly bad practice is to stream above 0dBFS audio level, just because your soundcard might allow it without everything sounding rough doesn't mean the distant listeners equipment will tolerate this), or the stations output is often erratic.

In some cases the people running the stations are very young indeed, still in their teens and high school age so this can be forgiven. Its after all better than what happened when I was a teen - which usually involved building a stentor or similar low budget FM transmitter or worse getting involved with some pirate stations which in my country (UK) were also linked to drugs dealing and crime (to replace confiscated equipment) or just provide courage to the operators as well as illegal broadcasting!

I admit I did all of these things once and I did have fun but some close calls and and now at age 40 feel a bit sheepish about some of it, and lucky I did not get in too much bother!

But for these young people I would also still suggest they team up in a bigger group and work together, and that they do it for a fun pastime or because they genuinely like their music or content, not simply to be "cool" As that is one of the good aspects of what we did as pirates (albeit often because the cost of equipment was too much for just one person alone).
Last edited by General Lighting; 27th February 2013 at 10:42 AM.

Hmmmm, a little intrigued with the previous post, what part of the UK are you from? You make it sound awful, pirate radio stations linked to drugs and crime. Theres none of that where I am from, pirate fm stations were like 20 - 30 years ago.

Yes there may be too many online radio stations, however many of these are auto-dj systems on servers, and this shines through, auto dj systems are nowhere near as good as a proper playout system, theres no such seg's, no sweepers and pretty poor rotation. The stations with a good sound, good rotations and a good online presence shine through online today.

Originally London though lived in SE England and now in East Anglia.

It definitely happened and still happens to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the stations and who was involved. Drugs and crime are always in the shadows of any music scene, even mainstream pop, hence why the Councils and Police put what might seem like heavy restrictions and controls on gigs, raves and festivals. all it is is that young people seek new experiences and sometimes get into bad situations doing so, thankfully we have various social structures in place to protect them (such as Ofcom licensing community broadcasters and the rise of internet broadcasting)

Even more recently a pirate in my region (across the border in North Essex) closed not because Ofcom got to them (in spite of their TX antenna being infiltrated into an Arqiva site!!!) but because the "station manager" was funding it by the sales of home grown weed and imported cocaine, for which he received 10 years imprisonment (his running of the pirate was only mentioned as a side issue in Court).
Last edited by General Lighting; 14th April 2013 at 01:07 PM.

On this note it depends how the auto-DJ is used, I agree that it is not the best thing for playing out sequential tracks/short content and there are affordable or even free playout systems around (radiodj.ro is promising though requires some tech skills to deploy), and charliedavy in Essex UK makes some other affordable software).

That does of course mean you need to leave a PC switched on 24/7 in your home studio, though hardware is cheap these days, and even a second hand one that would not play todays computer games will suffice.

But with the auto DJ software provided here there is no reason why it cannot be used to play out larger blocks of audio content like a pre-recorded show which can have any kind of imaging that you want. it is well suited to the style of EDM shows where a DJ spends more time on beat mixing than talking/interviews, and can be set up to schedule shows well (there seem to be no more gaps than you would get if you actualy had a bank of analogue tape carts and reel to reel machines like the old days!)

Also many listeners especially younger ones do not want to hear excessive sweepers and jingles or branding.

Its not like a normal analogue station where these are used to distinguish between competing stations in a packed frequency allocation (especially if users still have analogue tuning radios) or only the RDS display shows the branding (and it is illegal to make it dynamically change in most EU countries as its viewed as a traffic safety risk).

Those listeners know what they have tuned into as they selected it from a website or mobile phone app - so interaction is as well served via websites, forums etc and real humans behind them who act as part of a community...


I make use of Radionomy's Online Radio Manager, a kind of a auto-dj system, and you can do everything you want with it. In fact, I play lots of jingles, compared to many other non-stop stations.

And the rotation depends on yourself, how you fill music folders/build the clocks/etcetera.

About the 'Also many listeners especially younger ones do not want to hear excessive sweepers and jingles or branding' line above: Imaging can help to distinguish yourself from the about 4303580330 other internet stations with a similar music style. Something which is even more difficult when it's a non-stop station.
Last edited by Female81; 15th April 2013 at 10:29 AM.

This is true, but I think its a manner of getting the right balance and also the format.

For instance I think for our local community radio station that also transmits on FM there is not enough imaging, (which I am working on sorting out) but with the specialist dance music online station I help out (there are streams for each genre) some prefer non stop music (they know who the DJ's are) and jingles only before and after each show.

I know that in NL even the pirates put a lot of effort into imaging, I heard one from EPC (a seasonal pirate) where they trying to sound like a SLAM FM type jingle, with all the sound/voice effects and then the voiceover hesitates and forgets what he means to say, then a girl reminds him they are broadcasting from the potato storage barn
Last edited by General Lighting; 15th April 2013 at 02:40 PM.

Clay Aiken Considering a Run for Congress

Clay Aiken Considering a Run for Congress: Report
Articles /News

By Billboard Staff | January 03, 2014 12:30 PM EST

Getty Images


"American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken is taking a serious look into running for Congress this year in his home state of North Carolina, according to a report in the Washington Blade. The singer, who also landed second-place on "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2012, has been consulting with political operatives for a possible run as a Democrat in North Carolina's 2nd congressional district.

Sources told the Blade that the 35-year-old Raleigh native has spoken with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and has sought the help of political strategist Betsy Conti, who has worked with Al Gore and former North Carolina Gov. Bev Purdue.

Census-driven redistricting by the state has transformed the 2nd into a relatively safe seat for the GOP, making a victory by Aiken, an openly gay Democrat, an uphill battle. The seat is currently held by Republican Renee Ellmers, who in 2012 defeated Democratic nominee Steve Wilkins by a 56%-41% margin.

If he should decide to run, Aiken would likely not be the only Democrat in the race. Former state commerce secretary Keith Crisco is expected to announce his candidacy next week. The filing deadline is Feb. 28 and the primary is set for May 6.

In the meantime, Aiken is "sounding and acting like a candidate" when speaking with political consultants in his home state and in Washington D.C., where he reportedly met with pollsters last month.

Aiken has not commented on the report, nor has the DCCC.

Since rising to fame in 2003 during the second season of "American Idol," where he lost to Ruben Studdard, Aiken has released five studio albums and performed on television and Broadway. As an activist, he founded the National Inclusion Project, which advocates for children with disabilities, and he has worked with UNICEF. In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed him to the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.