Page 39 - Spring 2024
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So in 2000 I sat with people who shared their 70,000 tracks, 339 Gbyte of music) safely backed
capabilities and experiences and went away up, in a compressed format.. We operate around
to implement local community radio. Now 25 the clock. Our reach is worldwide. Most program
years later there are 304 (May 2024) licensed preparation and broadcasting scheduling is
community radio stations in the UK (mostly “home working”, as is our two hour breakfast-
on FM). I went away and put a broadcasting time show (not from the garden shed but from a
antenna on a church tower, borrowed a comfy living room). We are staffed by volunteers
basement room for a studio and sat with a few many of whom have become enthusiastic
friends in front of a microphone with a simple broadcasters with friends who listen in. And
amplifier, a CD player and cardboard box of all of this has been achieved at less than £5/
CDs. We did that from 7 am to midnight, for hour (a £30,000/annum budget). When I was in
30 days, to establish and prove to Ofcom our University in the 1960s all of this was unthinkable.
capability. We did that on Wirral as a Christian
Yes there is a need for innovation, for an artistic
and Community Radio station, called FLAME, and
flair for broadcasting and for good business
enjoyed it immensely. Our friends also enjoyed
management skills, but there is also plenty of
it and we were convinced that we could repeat
scope for local volunteers to share the fun. Skills
the broadcasts, and learn to do it better. So we
are learnt on the job, and our text book is to
built our own studio in the beer cellar basement
observe other media practitioners.
of an old night club, and for 7 years broadcast
at Easter and in September for a month from a
In the early years we had to find our own
local radio tower, awaiting the opportunity to
transmission sites and operate our own
gain a full time licence.
transmission equipment but the digital
revolution has enabled us to hand that over
From 2009 onwards we started broadcasting
to service providers, at a modest fee. Hence
full-time on 1521 MHz (Radio Caroline’s old pirate
we can concentrate on what we are good at,
frequency … who remembers that ?). We met
broadcasting. The first step of independence
the Ofcom key commitments for community
came around 10 years ago with internet radio.
radio programming (30% speech, 28% original,
Another recent step is into digital radio (DAB …
25% new, 80% produced by the FLAME team).
digital audio broadcasting). So we have now left
We met Ofcom’s desire for “social gain” for our
the analogue world well behind – to the delight
community in terms of
of our listeners who now benefit from high
1. the provision of sound broadcasting services fidelity crystal clear reception plus metadata
to individuals who are otherwise under- that tells them what is being broadcast by
served whom.
2. the facilitation of discussion and the Approximately 30% of our output is speech, in
expression of opinion conversational form … it is said that “the best
radio is a conversation overhead on a bus”.
3. the provision of education or training to We are free to include controversial topics
individuals not employed by the person and overall try to be unbiased. And we include
providing the service people’s stories giving them time to express
their views and describe their lives. That means
4. the better understanding of the particular
that approximately 70% of our output is music
community and the strengthening of the
– someone fittingly described radio as “the
links within it
wallpaper” to me. In the UK, the use of music
AND we enabled, and encouraged access and used to be licensed by PPL and by PRS but now
participation from the local community, and “TheMusicLicence” covers playing of music for
accountability to that community. We built our listeners through the radio and other digital
own broadcasting studio and recording room devices.
in a church hall and hung wires in trees to give
“TheMusicLicence” ensures that those who are
a medium wave broadcasting antenna (we
involved in creating the music we all enjoy, are
were not allowed panning permission for a
fairly paid for their hard work and talent. After
permanent site and had to be well away from
business costs, all the music licence fees go
any houses).
back to PPL and PRS for Music who then process,
Now in 2024, five transmission sites and three allocate and distribute royalties to the music
studios later we are still enjoying broadcasting. creators that they represent. (PPL represents the
We have four computers working continuously. rights of over 130,000 performers and recording
We prepare 70% of our broadcasting content, We rightsholders while PRS for Music represents the
have 0.7 Terabyte (347 Gbyte of programs and rights of over 160,000 songwriters, composers
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