Setting up a Community Radio Station in Limerick

colmmcl

Hi all, how goes it,
I have an Irish online Radio Station Network 1 Club 4 Radio, i play all the hits from the 90s back to the 50s, currently i am rolling out my "total 80s" station "which is still in development", i can accumulate between 500 to 1000 hits a day on each station.
what i would like to do is rally a team around the my radio network, and develop it to apply for a radio licence. I want to have a station dedicated to Classic Music from the 1950s up to the 1990s.
Would anyone be interested in this idea, as it would take a couple of years of go from Internet radio to Fm

Fair play to you..if I was in your area I would be interested in helping you out.Is there already a community station in Limerick? Would that make it more difficult as usually one community station per county is the norm? I wish you all the best.Its a pity no one in Tipperary would plan such a thing,because what is available to me is dire.

Ryan2me

colmmcl Not to be a downer but I think it wont happen. There is already , 3 community stations in Limerick,
1.West Limerick
2.East Limerick
3. Wired FM
So I doubt they would be as easy giving a license out. sorry. but if you do go about it good luck xx

colmmcl

Thanks for the reply,
West limerick recently received there 10 yr license but owe a fortune in bills,
East limerick as far as i know didn't get passed its 1 year license due to a lot of broadcasting issues
Wired fm is a temporary run station, that broadcasts 48 hours a week,
I understand applying for a license can be difficult but it can be achieved with the correct team in position , a 2 year plan is accurate enough to get from Internet broadcasting to Fm or even Am ,
I also volunteered at one of the radio stations you mentioned above, and believe me they are so far removed from a community radio .

Bard

No offense, but I think you're looking at the wrong license there as "Classic music from the 50's to the 90's" doesn't cut it when it comes to putting together a community station.

colmmcl

Your correct , but the music genres are just a platform , that can change but going down the community broadcasting license is a lot cheaper then an independent license , bci like to get new applications for the 1 year temp licence, if you meet regulations you get a 5 yr license followed by a 10 yr license , but they are always looking for new ideas in communitty broadcasting,

end of the road

if i were you i'd just stay on the internet, the BAI won't give you a licence if they don't think its financially viable, even though its not their money their the financial advisers and experts <snip> save yourself the hastle, its the BAI's way or no way. they probably won't give you a licence for the format your internet station does, the excuse being it might interfear with listenership to the local commercial station or some reason like that. good look with your venture anyway.

colmmcl

Thanks for the info, I know they issue temp licences for Christmas fm and they have a set genre of music , every second person has a smart phone these days, but Internet radio can still seem alien to people. Even thou Fm is is everywhere in most rooms, in a house , work , car , . Most community radio stations are NOT finacially viable, but running on little to no budget, I know I worked in one, it's will be a long road ahead, but I have a plan , in a few years vehicles will have standard build in Bluetooth devices that will connect to Internet radio, I can do it already with my phone to bluetooth car radio

L.Jenkins

Instead of going down the route of setting up a commuity radio station, why not commercialise your internet station with a view to one day setting up a local radio station with the right funding, that's if the BAI would provide a license.

colmmcl

that would be why id need a team around my radio station.
with a team of people all these issues could be tackled.

STB

colmmcl wrote: »

Your correct , but the music genres are just a platform , that can change but going down the community broadcasting license is a lot cheaper then an independent license , bci like to get new applications for the 1 year temp licence, if you meet regulations you get a 5 yr license followed by a 10 yr license , but they are always looking for new ideas in communitty broadcasting,

Who has told you this ? Either way you may have become confused along the way.
The BAI give out 1 month MAX (over 12 months) temporary licences for music driven stations. You have to satisfy all kinds of technical and access issues in the first instance. Its very expensive.

The 12 month temp licence only applies to community licences. There is no guarantee of any full time licence after that.

Community Radio and Music driven formats are poles apart. Whilst you might think that serving a community of 80s music lovers is community radio, it wont wash with the BAI!!

The Christmas FM licence is a one month, once a year licence for charity. It is probably an example of the best use of a temporary licence out there and I am sure one that the BAI are happy to continue with licencing on a yearly basis.

There have been other temporary 1 month licences for Choice FM, Premier FM, The Rock, Zenith, college stations and various others. Again, there are no guarantees of any sort towards full time licences after that! Any such full time licence would involve a competitive process.

However, what you are talking about is a full time time commercial licence. This involves a competitive process whereby the BAI identify that X area could do with a new entrant. They haven't done it provincially in years and its mega bucks territory. (Nova was the last niche format from memory)

Niche music genre driven radio stations are commercial radio. They are not something the BAI are interested in licensing. The present stations tend to go bananas. Sorry to rain on your parade but it wouldnt be commercial viable in Limerick anyhow imo.

end of the road

STB wrote: »

Sorry to rain on your parade but it wouldnt be commercial viable in Limerick anyhow imo.

how do you know though? while you are probably right, surely he and his investers should be able to decide that for themselves rather then the BAI deciding that for them and thats the end of it because the BAI are always right and everyone else is wrong. just because you or the BAI believe it to be the case is no excuse for him not to be able to apply for and receive a licence, if it works out great if it doesn't so be it, thats how businesses work in the real world, not in this nanniest protectionist world the BAI live in.
i'm not disagreeing with you by the way but i believe the BAI should have no say whether something is commercially or financially viable. theirs no BAI to decide that for other businesses so why should radio be any different, and the finite amount of spectrum isn't an excuse either. the BAI are a regulator, not a bank, financial advisors or acountants.

colmmcl

So are we all onboard so.....!
What about the BCI
Or are they all under the same umbrella
The BAI issued a 10 yr licence to west Limerick 102 fm knowing that they owe over 140k they spend more then they take in, they didn't meet community broadcasting relegations.
If I got this off the ground the music genre is not paramount to the station. What is paramount is a broadcasting service to an area big or small that works to assist the public in ways that certain stations don't do.
Overall I agree with your last comments and if it was rejected by the gods of radio.
I have the option of continuing to broadcast online.
But that's plan b

L.Jenkins

The BCI, was the Broadcasting Commission Ireland originally tasked with providing license to new and old radio stations (and tv) alike. They with the Broadcasting Complaints Commission were rolled into one, the BAI or Broadcasting Authority Ireland.

If you're truly intend on setting up a station, then I wish you good luck and you won't know what the gods of radio have to say unless you try.

colmmcl

You can have the first request

Fuzzy Clam

STB wrote: »

Who has told you this ? Either way you may have become confused along the way.
The BAI give out 1 month MAX (over 12 months) temporary licences for music driven stations. You have to satisfy all kinds of technical and access issues in the first instance. Its very expensive.

The 12 month temp licence only applies to community licences. There is no guarantee of any full time licence after that.

Community Radio and Music driven formats are poles apart. Whilst you might think that serving a community of 80s music lovers is community radio, it wont wash with the BAI!!

The Christmas FM licence is a one month, once a year licence for charity. It is probably an example of the best use of a temporary licence out there and I am sure one that the BAI are happy to continue with licencing on a yearly basis.

There have been other temporary 1 month licences for Choice FM, Premier FM, The Rock, Zenith, college stations and various others. Again, there are no guarantees of any sort towards full time licences after that! Any such full time licence would involve a competitive process.

However, what you are talking about is a full time time commercial licence. This involves a competitive process whereby the BAI identify that X area could do with a new entrant. They haven't done it provincially in years and its mega bucks territory. (Nova was the last niche format from memory)

Niche music genre driven radio stations are commercial radio. They are not something the BAI are interested in licensing. The present stations tend to go bananas. Sorry to rain on your parade but it wouldnt be commercial viable in Limerick anyhow imo.

There is no such thing as a month licence. It is a 30 day licence which can be spread out, with the agreement of the BAI, over 12 months.

STB

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

There is no such thing as a month licence. It is a 30 day licence which can be spread out, with the agreement of the BAI, over 12 months.

I know exactly how long it is. As have Kevin, Walter, Garvan, Dara, Joe, Paul etc

Simplicity, nothing more. Is that all you could contribute ?

You really should know better.

I really do actually know what I am talking about and who I am talking to.

end of the road wrote: »

how do you know though? while you are probably right, surely he and his investers should be able to decide that for themselves rather then the BAI......

Because I do.

And yes I am sorry to tell you that Mr X's investors do not make the decisions etc.

Go back and read my post and you will understand how it works. I am sorry but if it were all that simple we would all have radio stations operating out of our bedrooms.

Fuzzy Clam

STB wrote: »

I know exactly how long it is. As have Kevin, Walter, Garvan, Dara, Joe, Paul etc

Ah, name dropping again:rolleyes:


A month is defined by a name, e.g, January, Febuary etc. Unlike a decade which can be any period of 10 years, a month is not any period of 30 days. There is no such thing as a month licence.

end of the road

exactly, its a 30 day licence, not a month licence, you can go on for the month or you can spread the days out over the year, for example some of the stations have operated at weekends only. this gives them 15 weekends in which to operate. or in a couple of cases they have come on random days.

STB

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Ah, name dropping again:rolleyes:


A month is defined by a name, e.g, January, Febuary etc. Unlike a decade which can be any period of 10 years, a month is not any period of 30 days. There is no such thing as a month licence.

Name dropping "Again" ? What is your problem ? (Sorry I cannot find a suitable emoticon)

Yes it is 30 days. I used 1 month for simplicity.

Most stations have used it on a 2/3 day weekend basis, except for college rag week type stations and Christmas FM.

I thought the auld b***hing only happened on Radiowaves :rolleyes:

JamesReeves

What part of Limerick would you be setting this up ?

colmmcl

the city area

JamesReeves

colmmcl wrote: »

the city area

Im out in Raheen if ya needed a hand

colmmcl

Thanks James - il keep it in mind - have you experience in radio

JamesReeves

colmmcl wrote: »

Thanks James - il keep it in mind - have you experience in radio

have done Wired Fm for 2 years and in Sept., will be doing a co-op placement there

DestructiveApe

Have no experience in radio but will volunteer to help you out in any way i can, think it's a excellent idea and i'm hopefully starting and degree in tv, radio and new media in september . Best of luck with this anyway!

colmmcl

thanks,

im currently in the process of setting it up.

www.radiovera.ie

going to begin as an internet radio station, and go from there.

DestructiveApe

It seems like an excellent thing you have going here, i'm really looking forward to your launch .

Black Suir

Someone should set up a Community Radio Station to cover West Waterford and extend it into South Tipp and North and East Cork, and make it real professional. While WLR do a good job as a local station in the area, they tend to give most of the coverage to events in the city. Maybe if they was some opposition it might change things.