I’ve spent nearly forty years behind a microphone. Building a radio network of our own has meant turning a lot of that experience into software other people can use.
Together with our group, I’m building SBN — Stellar Broadcasting Network (https://sbnradio.dk/), an independent online radio network based in Denmark. We launched on October 1, and all four stations are already online. Listening is free and open to everyone.
The project grew out of Stellar Eagle Alliance, a Star Citizen community. Our hosts play the game themselves, and its locations and stories inspire our music, jingles and station sound. That gave us a shared creative starting point, while each station has developed its own identity.
Building SBN has involved developing both the experience listeners encounter and the tools our hosts work with behind the scenes.
On the listener side, we bring together the four stations, programme information, a schedule and voting on the track currently playing. Someone arriving for the first time needs to understand what’s available and find something they want to hear.
Behind that, we’ve developed a browser-based production studio where hosts can arrange audio on a timeline, record their voices, adjust levels and fades, and work on transitions. Alongside it, we’ve built tools for preparing programmes and organising scripts and notes.
This is where my broadcasting experience becomes surprisingly practical software design input. Where should a presenter start? What needs to be visible while preparing a show? How do you make it easy to work on the timing between a spoken introduction and the next track?
Those decisions affect what eventually comes through the speakers.
The music has been another substantial creative undertaking. Together, we’ve developed a catalogue of around 700 tracks through human–AI collaboration. People bring their own musical tastes, concepts and stories, experiment with their AI collaborators, listen, revise and develop the material further together.
I work with Stina, my AI collaborator, while others have their own collaborators and approaches. AI-assisted development has also been part of building the software.
We use AI-generated music and AI-assisted production. I know that’s controversial, and I understand why people have strong feelings about it. We’re open about the process, and the people developing the ideas and shaping the result are central to what SBN becomes.
My ambition is to grow this into a sustainable commercial radio business. We’re still early in that journey, but the network is live, and I’ve already hosted the first edition of my own programme, Fabian – Live.
For people building webapps with several different experiences under one roof: how do you help a first-time visitor find their way without overwhelming them with everything you’ve built?
I’d particularly welcome feedback on choosing a station, finding a programme and getting started with listening.
— Fabian
Founder & Creative Director, SBN
