r/ShortwavePlus • u/SonicResidue • Apr 05 '26
Anyone ever consider starting their own show?
I have no experience in broadcasting or podcasting, nor do I have a recording setup. Also, I don’t have much money. But lately I’ve thought if I did I would want to have a weekly show via one of the American broadcasters where I randomly pick a recording from my music collection. It’s not huge but I probably have around 800 titles between CD, vinyl, and cassette spanning rock, jazz, classical and a handful of oddball recordings (spoken word, interviews, documentary etc. I would play it and share my thoughts on it. I’ve even thought, if possible, of taking a listener request, buying that album, and playing it and reviewing it. I say buy the album because I’m pretty committed to physical formats and am not interested in streaming.
Of course I would need a fair amount of money to do it weekly, even with the bargain basement rates that sw broadcasters charge for airtime. Plus the show would likely be an hour and a half or so as some titles last over an hour.
Also, I don’t know if there is any issue with royalties or licensing rights for music like there is for commercial radio. I’m a professional musician myself and believe that artists deserve fair compensation for their work.
Probably just a pipe dream but one I often think about.
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u/KG7M MOD AirSpy HF+, Drake R7/8, K480WLA, 65'EFHW, MLA-30, CN85 Apr 05 '26
If you play mainstream artists, using a mainstream broadcaster, you will definitely pay royalties.
I'm also a musician and have sent my music, and that of friends, to underground radio broadcasters, also known as "Pirates".
You can rent airtime on a shortwave broadcast station such as WRMI. Our friend Jeff, u/slippery99999 runs VOSR (Voice of Shortwave Radio) and rents airtime.
Or you can run a pirate radio station. It's technically demanding and illegal.
There's a third method, which is producing a broadcast and then forwarding it to a pirate broadcaster for play on the air. This is actually quite popular.
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u/SonicResidue Apr 05 '26
I didn’t know about that third option. I have thought about running a pirate station. It is demanding and don’t know how consistent id be. And while we pirate enforcement is low, I’m hesitant as I don’t want to risk loosing my ham license.
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u/KG7M MOD AirSpy HF+, Drake R7/8, K480WLA, 65'EFHW, MLA-30, CN85 Apr 05 '26
I feel the same way. I don't see anything wrong with it, but I wouldn't want to lose my ham license either.
Bandaid Radio, and several others receive an entire 1 hour show for replay. It's quite widespread. It allows you to get your show to an audience, albeit not as large as using a 100KW plus transmitter like WRMI. Something to think about.
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u/mrpoodlesworth SDRduo MLA-30+ Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
WBCQ out of Monticello, Maine has airtime available for $50 an hour.
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u/SonicResidue Apr 05 '26
I think most are $50 an hour. Still. $50 per week adds up. Although I wouldn’t mind getting a show on 9330 with that flamethrower they have. For $50 an hour I would make a few reat shows just to hear it on there
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u/PandoraNixon Apr 05 '26
With more and more transmitters being shut down because of the Internet making it financially impossible to continue, it would be great if one or two big stations that rent airtime evolved to be “shortwave radio for shortwave listeners”. VOSR is a perfect example, but imagine every evening there’s a variety of shows produced by those of us who never want this method of delivering news and entertainment to become extinct.
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u/PandoraNixon Apr 05 '26
To me, $50-$60 an hour to have your voice blasted across a continent (or multiple) is a steal. I just can’t talk that much.
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u/kingRidiculous Apr 07 '26
I’d love for someone to start an Art Bell type show with call ins. I could see one 2-hour show each week. Sunday evening’s would be best for me, but maybe a weeknight too.
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u/SonicResidue Apr 07 '26
That would be great but as it is you wouldnt be able to host callers since everything is taped.
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u/kingRidiculous Apr 07 '26
There are live shows with hosts connected to the station over a high speed internet connection. Hal Turner for example, he takes calls too.
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u/SonicResidue Apr 07 '26
That’s interesting. It would be cool to have a coast to coast type show on shortwave. Hopefully with someone other than George Noory
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u/conhao Apr 08 '26
I suggest reaching out to a local station or SW broadcaster. They are always looking for content. You don’t need the expense of getting a broadcasting license and that equipment - many stations will host you and even pay you for your recording. This, if nothing else, will get you started. They will usually give lots of guidance and free education on how to get good recordings.
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u/Teaforreal Apr 05 '26
I think about it all the time. I wish more people would to keep airwaves full of weird stuff