This guide is to provide a simple resource for anyone in education who is considering offering their students a chance to delve into the world of radio broadcasting. Setting up an internet radio station is perhaps the easiest and most cost effective way of bringing the exciting medium of radio into the classroom. Traditionally schools and colleges have done RSL (Restricted service license) broadcasts on AM/FM. This comes with great burdens as it is very expensive to setup, not only in the cost of radio transmission equipment – but also the licensing fee and application process via OFCOM, which can cost a great deal of time and money – there is also then the worry that the license will not be awarded to you.
Internet Radio for Education
How can setting up an internet radio station benefit our students?
Put simply, Internet radio can offer you a highly cost effective and simple method to give your students a rich media experience.
- Significantly cheaper than a traditional AM or FM broadcast
- No sophisticated equipment needed, use your existing PC’s and some free software
- Easily set up a 24/7 broadcast from archived content
- Gives your students real world experience, which other schools may not offer
- Offers something directly engaging to parents and the local community
Ways in which you can set up an internet broadcast using Wavestreaming
Internet radio overcomes those issues and will let you get your students broadcasting in no time. There are no broadcasting license fees to pay, only the cost of your streaming media server (which is what Wavestreaming provides) and then any copyright fees paid to MCPS/PRS and PPL if you’re streaming copyrighted music, which you’d be paying normally anyway with an FM or AM broadcast. You don’t even need any special equipment to broadcast, or a studio! A simple PC and microphone can be used to either broadcast live content – or recorded content can be made and uploaded as a Podcast to our Podcasting service, or to our radio automation system ‘Auto DJ’ which you can then schedule to stream 24/7 – or whenever you like, without the need to even run anything from the school or colleges end! Learning centers looking to set their students up with real world radio studio experience can also benefit from the power of internet radio, as it is very simple to take a live feed from a studio mixing desk and run it via a PC, onto a live streaming server.
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Live Internet Radio
This is a three stage process. The first is your radio studio, which can be a full setup with studio equipment or a simple desktop computer and microphone. The live audio feed is processed by some free software; it is then broadcast or ‘streamed’ from your school/college via the internet to our web radio servers (second stage). You have then formed a live broadcast and the third stage is the listeners, who can tune in worldwide (or using our stream geo locking system, can be limited to any country). Live Audio Source → Wavestreaming Radio Server → Listeners
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Live Recorded
Using this option, you can offer a 24/7 ‘live style’ radio station via the internet, without the need to run a single thing from your end. This is an ideal solution for schools without a professional studio setup. Audio content can be pre-recorded and edited using a desktop PC and microphone. You can then upload the MP3’s with recorded content or music to our servers, and schedule playlists to stream the files in any order you like. In effect, creating a radio broadcast that will sound live – but isn’t.
Learn how to quickly and easily start broadcasting with Cloud DJ
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Podcasting
A simple way to offer audio content for download via the internet. Podcasting isn’t live radio as such, but is generally presented in a live style, for example a Podcast may contain a feature where students interview staff or a monthly ‘audio’ newsletter. Content can be recorded and edited using a PC; it is then uploaded in mp3 format to our Podcasting servers. You’ll have a control panel where you can then ‘publish’ material onto the internet. You can then list the audio on your own website or on directories such as iTunes.
Contact us to learn more about launching your own Podcast series
Showcase
Wavestreaming has helped thousands of stations around the world get broadcasting and get heard. Read some of their stories.
Wavestreaming has been instrumental in legitimising our radio streaming services by giving us the reliable servers we need to keep our clients happy. - LV Rocks Radio
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