Month: January 2022

KRSQ (101.9 MHz) Customer Review

KRSQ (101.9 MHz) is a 100,000 watt commercial radio station in Laurel, Montana, serving the Billings, Montana area. They switched to NextKast onAir this year and are super happy with the result. The ease of use allowed all staff to quickly become comfortable with the software. In addition the merging with Marketron traffic, integration with MusicMaster, and built in encoders for online streaming made the transition much less stressful. I would like to welcome them to the Team of NextKast OnAir Broadcasters as we evolve into this market.

11 Quick Tips on Starting an Internet Radio Station

1. Decide On Station format
This is the most important part, make sure to pick something you are
passionate about, because it takes time to build an audience, so you will
need the drive to keep going.

2. Get stream hosting
Your stream host is the second most important part, they need to be
reliable. Luckily today most stream hosting providers would not be in
business unless they are reliable. Your stream host will be the server
that serves the stream to your listeners.

3. Decide auto DJ or Automation
Many stream host give free auto DJ functionality with their hosting
accounts. This will allow you to upload music to your stream host, and have
the auto DJ play it. Off course there are limitations to what can be done
using this setup, and off course using radio automation software will
produce a much more polished internet radio station

4. Make sure to look into licensing
Remember you will need music royalty licensing your station to pay
royalties to artist who’s songs you play.

5. List your station in directories/ Tune In Api
Once your station is running and a bit fine tuned, list your station in as
many directories you can find. From my experience these are the
directories that get you the biggest audience.

TuneIn – use the tuneIN api to get best results
iTunes – They have strict listing rules, pay attention
Any others found by Googling ‘internet radio directory’ etc..

6. Be consistent 24/7
Stream 24/7 with a consistent format. People tune in from all over the
world, and must find what they expect when they expect it.

7. Create the format/organize music
Create a format, just merely playing a list of songs probably won’t cut it.
Organize your music into categories, create clocks/rotations that create a
feel…

8. Sound Processing is important
Sound processing is important, and you will only be able to do this if you
are using radio automation software. The better your stream sounds, the
more likely you will retain listeners.

9. Voice Tracking or Live Hosting
Giving a personality to the station and talking on air now and then builds a
bond with the audience and gives you an edge, but this is work…

10. Promote at local events
Print cards and give them out at events, post banners at events, market on
social media without being annoying.

11. Be Patient
It takes time to build an audience.. your dream of 10,000 people tuning in
on launch date most probably wont happen… but if you work at it, you can
build a respectable audience size.

12. Social Media
Promoting on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram can be
very helpful to gain new listeners, but this needs to be done very carefully. Posting every song you play
on Twitter will not entice your audience, and in fact will make you loose your intended impact.
Use social media sparinglly for getting the best results.

more to come………………….

Customer Testimonial (David Hudson)

If not for Nextkast, I would’ve given up on Internet Radio long ago. I run two stations. One with NK Broadcast, and the other with NK Pro. Nextkast is amazing… from automation to reports. You can run it in full automation or live assist. Voice Tracking or mobile voice tracking, your choice. Insert sweeps, drops and commercials with ease. I’ve said it before I wish Nextkast was available back in the 70s/80s. My broadcast career would’ve been much smoother. I can’t say enough good things about it… It’s great!!!

Version 6.2.0 (1/8/2022)

1/8/2021

NEW
1. on lineIn press or playlist macro trigger of lineIN, selected sound card will display (BX & onAir)
2. selectable soundcard on playlist macro linein (BX & onAir)
3. show trigger state on main screen from satellite switcher (broadcast tools switcher or Axia GPIO) (onAir)
4. Manual play button on Sweepers will also play from sweeper imaging folders (Pro & BX & onAir)
5. Improved workflow for MobileVT host/jock profile creation and scheduling (BX & onAir)
6. Improved many scenarios using playlist macros and satellite switching (BX & onAir)
7. ability to hear on air audio and use MIC live in noSoundcard / Virtual server mode when connected. Found in broadcast settings ‘Cloud Audio'(Pro & BX & onAir)
8. New preview file download progress in VTModule

FIXED
1. mapped categories now use correct category type for crossfades and picker (BX & onAir)
2. fixed go to Auto mode from playlist macro (BX & onAir)
3. Fixed serial out for playlist macros (BX & onAir)
4. fixed manual vtjob export using MobileVT (BX & onAir)
5. Fixed multiple soundcard voicetrack playback not to crossfade (BX & onAir)
6. Fixed track import to be more flexible for different MusicMaster database configurations (onAir)
7. Improved iPass tolerance to escape characters in artist or title
8. Fixed some scenarios when switching from manual to Auto mode with start next button (Pro & BX & onAir)
9. fixed timing issue when voictracks are not marked to accomodate for fadetime when intro until is set on incoming song. (BX & onAir)

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