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: !radiolemmy@lemm.ee
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!

    • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
      12·
      1 year ago

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

        • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
          13·
          1 year ago

          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.

      • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
        11·
        1 year ago

        Glad you like the variety. The goal is to play anything and everything (within reason, of course). Keep those song submissions coming!

  • thegiddystitcher@lemm.ee
    18·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
      9·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • thegiddystitcher@lemm.ee
        9·
        1 year 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 :)

  • plistig@feddit.deEnglish
    15·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
      17·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • rgb3x3@beehaw.org
        2·
        1 year ago

        Definitely provide a visible way to accept donations. No reason you should have to pay for all the costs of running this completely on your own. It’s the fediverse, spreading the load is kinda the point!

        • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
          1·
          1 year ago

          Oh don’t worry, I will. I want to eventually implement a system where people can donate to their favorite DJs and the station gets a cut to help with operating fees. But I will need developers to help me with this. In the meantime I ask for nothing but your ears.

  • Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world
    15·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
      7·
      1 year ago

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

      EDIT: Done. Looking forward to your reply.

  • XbSuper@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

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

  • Hubi@feddit.de
    11·
    1 year ago

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

    • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
      7·
      1 year ago

      You don’t have to do much. Just share your favorite tunes with the listeners. Hop on the mic every few songs to announce the song title if you’d like. Since we’re just getting started, I don’t expect much. I just want you on the air!

  • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
    11·
    1 year ago

    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

    • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
      7·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
        5·
        1 year ago

        i had these tied to company intranets, so running on big ol’ internal servers… employees could dedicated songs on the company radio, and the user would get an email letting them know their dedication was playing soon, etc.

        its a lot more interactive/fun with IRC though

        • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
          3·
          1 year ago

          For now the current plans are to use Discord due to its robust bot support. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use something less-corporate like IRC. No promises yet.

          • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
            3·
            1 year ago

            theres nothing more amazingly connective that irc! its so mature, and the OG bot writing. i once wrote an IRC to AIM connector that let me sit on IRC on a a gen1 t-mobile sidekick

            • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
              2·
              1 year ago

              Well you’ll be the first person I contact to help set this up should I decide to migrate to IRC.

  • Dettweiler@lemmy.world
    10·
    1 year ago

    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. :)

    • Psythik@lemm.eeOP
      4·
      1 year ago

      Fo sho. And yes BUTT is one of the easiest ways to connect to the stream, while still being able to use whatever DJ software or media player you’re comfortable with (if you don’t want to use the Web DJ). Thanks for your interest!

    • wreckedcarzz@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      SAMP, omg. I was a regular player for a while, about 15 years ago now; MTA, too. GTA 3 was the first game I ever modded, and so after a few months it blew my mind that I could play mp in a sp game. Really fun communities.

  • PeleSpirit@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    1 year ago

    Your FAQ for potential DJs wasn’t working for some reason. Great concept, I hope it goes well for you.