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How Do You Broadcast on the Radio?

How do you broadcast on the radio? Here's everything you need to know to get your shows online and in front of millions of listeners.

by Mike Cunsolo in Production

Last updated 23.08.2024

This is a picture of a white man with dark short hair wearing a red hoodie. He is looking into the camera. His hands are joined together over his chest. He stands in front of a mixing desk and a black microphone on a boom arm. The background is neutral.

How do you broadcast on the radio? If you need a quick and easy solution then we have the answer. This guide shows you just exactly what you need to do to broadcast and connect with your listeners online.

What You Will Need

Around 67 million hours of online radio is consumed in an average week in the UK (RAJAR Q1 2023). That accounts for less than 1% of the world population, so there's a huge market out there for potential radio broadcasters like yourself. However, you need the essentials to get on the air.

Studio-Grade Microphone

Extremely popular among broadcasters, podcasters, and voice over artists. The Rode Podcaster is their "go to" microphone. It is great at cancelling out background noises. You can plug it directly into your computer via USB and start using it straight out of the box. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

This is a stock image of a Rode Podcaster Mic, a silver and white long microphone, against a white backdrop.

Alternatively, if you are looking for something a bit more professional then try the Electrovoice RE20. It's an industry standard in the UK and loved by popular broadcasters like Ryan Seacrest. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

This is a long khaki and silver Electrovoice RE20 microphone against a plain white background. The microphone is horizontal.

Stand & Shock Mount

A microphone cannot stand on its own as it needs to be held in place. A stand and shock mount can stabilise and reduce vibrations from accidental nudges. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

This is an image of a black Basic Shockmount against a plain white background. It is triangular at the top and rounded in the centre.

Pop Filter

Often harsh sounding words that begin with Ps and Bs can come across as distorted. A way around this is to use a muffler or pop filter. Simply add it to your mic. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Headphones

Broadcasters often spend long periods recording or broadcasting shows for their station. So, you really need a good comfortable pair of headphones that will last. The Sony MDRZX310 are ideal if you are looking for an affordable pair of entry level headphones. They are lightweight and foldable, so you can easily carry them with you on long journeys. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Alternatively, try the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x. They have over the ear padding, so noise is blocked from outside and they're really comfortable for long periods of use. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

This a stock image of a pair of black Audio Technica ATH M50X headphones, with the earcovers pushed together. The background is white and plain.

The equipment you need depends on what you want to do. For example, will you have live callers phoning into your station? Will you have guests joining you in your studio? We have a few more recommendations for basic, advanced, and professional broadcaster setups here.

Radio.co: All-in-One Broadcasting Solution

Share your content to millions of listeners online. Easily manage your shows and connect with your audience using Radio.co. Everything you need is included in an all-in-one solution, so you can broadcast online today.

Try it for yourself! Create your own radio station. Start your 7-day free trial by clicking the button below.

Start Your 7-Day Free Trial

Configuring Your Station

In your Radio.co Dashboard you can manage everything. Monitor your tracks, broadcast live shows, and keep track of your listeners all from within your control area.

This is a gif of the Radio.co Dashboard functionality. It is a white dashboard with red and grey stats on it and a grey locations map at the bottom.

Configure your station by going into Settings -> Profile. Add your station's name, logo, and some info about what it's about. In the Broadcast area adjust your default settings:

Default Crossfade: Set a custom crossfade time across all uploaded files.
Live Anytime: Broadcast live to your station without scheduling an event.
Audio Stream Quality: Change the output format to MP3 or AAC, sound quality (16kbps to 192kbps), and mobile streaming quality.

Manager your listener connections in Security. Control who can and cannot access your stream. There's more info in our help area here.

Uploading Tracks

Store your entire music collection and pre-recorded shows in your Media area. Got a couple of files on your desktop? Drag them directly into your browser.

Managing Media

Spotted a mistake on a track name? All your uploaded media can be customised. Change your track's title, artist, and album name in Media -> Tracks -> Edit (Action).

This is a screenshot of Track Editing, a white screenshot with Title, Artist and Album options in black. The sample track is

With the Track Editor you can customise the album artwork and waveform. For example, swap out the default album artwork with an image 600x600px in JPG or PNG format.

This is an image of how to change Custom Album Artwork for tracks. The same Lily Allen track now shows album art, a black bold L, with Lily, a woman with dark black hair, lying in it in a pink dress.

Tracks sometimes have long intros and don't immediately start. Keep a momentum going in your shows by specifying when you want your tracks to start and finish using the waveform editor. Adjust the cue in and out times using the slider handle. Grab the top of the handle and move it to the side to modify the fade duration.

This is a screenshot illustrating how Adjusting Crossfade in Waveform Editor appears, two red shockwave appearing graphics.

Organise your tracks by using Tags. For example, adding the release date or genre helps manage and find your artists in your media area.

This is a screenshot of how to organise Tags, the tags here being 2009 Tag Lily Allen

Preparing Playlists

Playlists allow you to curate shows and schedule them on your station calendar. Head to Playlists in your Radio.co Dashboard to create your own.

This is a screenshot of how the PI Radio Playlist List appears. A list of colourful Playlist icons are on the left, eg ChilL Sessions, End of Day Drive playlists etc.

You can build playlists from both tracks and tags. Just drag them over and rearrange. They will always play in the order you add them.

This is a white screenshot of how Adding Tracks into Playlists appears. There are various tracks listed here in two columns.

Scheduling Shows

Manage your entire radio show lineup in your station's calendar. Schedule events throughout the week, these can either be:

Playlist: Choose from a list of your curated shows.
Live DJ: Schedule DJ take overs to broadcast on your station. More info on user roles here.
Live Relay: Relay affiliated shows to your listeners. More info here.

In your Radio.co Dashboard -> Schedule, select a day and time to add a new event. Choose the type of event, if you what it to overun into the next event, or repeat for another day.

This is a gif visualising how Creating a Schedule on the Radio.co Dashboard appears. It is a white grid and multiple cells are highlighted in blue/green.

Broadcasting Live

Connect with your listeners online. Anyone with an internet connection can enjoy your live shows. Engage in debates, talk about current events, or play some hot new tracks.

Broadcasting to your Radio.co station requires an encoder and streaming software. Whether you need a simple solution or an advanced alternative, we recommend you check out the following:

BUTT (Beginner)

This is a screenshot of how a BUTT Broadcaster appears. The top of the bar is a navy blue 'stream time' box. The bottom right corner has the word butt in a lighter blue.

BUTT is a simple broadcasting tool that is quick and easy to get setup for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Best of all it’s free and works quite nicely with Radio.co, so we highly recommended it. Download and install BUTT here.

Mixxx (Advanced)

This is a black screenshot with yellow and blue coloured fonts within it. It is how the Mixxx Broadcasting Software appears.

Mixxx is an advanced open-source DJ software for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Ubuntu. You can add your entire music library and manage shows locally on your computer. Mixxx is perfect if you want full control over your music. For example, you can mix together 4 decks, control EQ, and input multiple microphones. Download and install Mixxx here.

RadioDJ (Expert)

RadioDJ is a free Windows broadcasting software that is great for managing music, playlists, and broadcasting live to your online radio station. Getting setup is a little tricky, but RadioDJ is aimed at experienced radio professionals that want more control over their shows. Download and install RadioDJ here.

Whatever solution you need it's best to see what options are available. We have more suggestions on the best radio broadcasting solutions worth checking out here.

Listening into Shows

Get listeners tuning into your shows with custom branded players, integrated streamings links, mobile apps, and internet radio directories.

Custom Branded Website Players

Build your own radio player to fit your website's style and size. Choose from the different types of player layouts, select colours to match your station's brand, and enable social media buttons to share on Twitter and Facebook.

This is a white gif clicking through and visualising how to build a radio player to fit a website's style. There are various customisation options and a share HTML widget at the bottom.

Add your player to any website by embedding a bit of code, here's how.

Direct Streaming Links

Streaming links are direct connections to your radio station. Share them with listeners that prefer to tune into your shows via media players like iTunes. Third-party directories also use these to list on places like internet radio directories (mentioned below). Access your links in Radio.co Dashboard -> Listen -> Streaming Links.

iOS & Android Apps

Tune into your radio station anywhere with mobile apps. Custom build your own branded iOS and Android apps with the help of Radio.co. Design the look and feel, then submit it to us for development. Your app will be available in both The App Store and Google Play, ready for listeners to download and take with them in their pocket.

There is a black smartphone in the centre of the image. On the screen is the Radio.co Branded App. There are multiple bubbles pointing at the phone listing some of the features, eg 'Let people share your station', and 'Use your own icon'.

Grab your apps today from your Radio.co Dashboard -> Add Ons. Submit your apps to us by following this guide.

Internet Radio Directories

One of the biggest challenges radio stations face is getting noticed by listeners. Get discovered by millions of listeners on internet radio directories like TuneIn, Streema, and Dirble.

There is a plain white background with 'TuneIn' written in mint green in the centre.

Millions of listeners worldwide access online radio through TuneIn, so it's definitely the place to be. TuneIn is one of the best radio directories as listeners can easily access your shows, not to mention it’s a free and a simple way to get discovered and grow your audience.

Submit your station.

A royal blue backdrop with 'Streema' written in white.

Streema is a free online radio directory to discover, share, and listen to radio stations from all over the world. There are more than 70,000 radio stations like BBC Radio 1, Absolute Radio, and more than anyone can tune into online.

Submit your station.

Dirble is an open directory consisting of thousands of radio stations that allow you to get found for desktop and mobile listeners.

Submit your station.

There are dozens of popular radio directories you can submit your station to here.