How to Start an Internet Radio Station legally from Home(Updated Step-By-Step Guide of 2020)

17 min readDec 18, 2020

Riggro Digital- India`s #1 Complete Online Radio Solution: Cloud Automation, Desktop, Smartphone Radio Broadcasting Software & Customized Radio app, Free. [www.riggrodigital.com]

Create Your Online Radio Station with RiggroDigital.com

Learn How to Make a Radio: Start an Online Radio Station Legally & Expand your reach from your town to the other side of the world. There are endless possibilities in Starting an Internet Radio Station from Home. Learn How to Start Broadcasting Legally with this Step by Step guide! Furthermore, you will not only learn How to Start & Run an Online Radio Station from scratch but also convert it into a profitable business! So Start an Internet Radio Station with Riggro Digital & be your Boss. Start now for Free with www.riggrodigital.com

Beginners guide (All you need to know in 9 Steps): How to Start an Internet Radio Station Legally from Home

In this Step by Step guide, you shall Learn, How to Start an Online Radio Station with amazingly simple techniques. You shall Learn How to:

Decide a concept
Find a catchy name
Design a Stunning logo
Learn about Legalities
Radio Programming
Radio Broadcasting Software
Set up Studio
Finding the right Internet Radio Station Equipment list.

Step #1. Learn How to decide your Radio Concept?

Before Setting up an Internet Radio Station, you must analyze the below pointers! This is where your story begins!

So ask yourself:

What`s your Online Radio Station concept?
Who’s your target audience?
Who’s your target community & what content you are going to Broadcast?
Are you going to play songs or is it going to be a talk Radio?
Will you have RJs or you shall Stream recorded content?
Which other Internet Radio Broadcasting Software are you going to use along with Riggro Cast?

Now lets look at the Different Online Radio Station Concepts:

Concept # 1.1 Students driven Online Radio Station: Radio MPSC GURU

This Internet Radio Station Stream Educational, Motivational & Career Related content. If you are an education institution than you must ask yourself- How to Make a Radio for your Teachers & Students? Starting an Internet Radio for them would give them a platform for their freedom of speech & they can On-Air the Studies to the World! They can Stream Live lectures using our advanced Mobile Radio Broadcasting Software. Check Out Radio MPSC Guru on the Google Play Store. This is How you can also build a radio for your school & college campus.

Concept # 1.2 Spiritual Online Radio Station

India is a county of various cultures and religions. Thus Starting an Internet Radio Station for communities connected spiritually can very successful. The best example is Radio Jai Jinendra, Christian Visionary, Nee Swaram, Jay Bhim, and TCO Radio on Google Play.

Concept # 1.3 How to Make a Language & Dialect based Radio:

Bhojpuri is an official language of Nepal. It is a minority language in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, South Africa, and Mauritius. It is also an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern-eastern India and the Terai region of Nepal. So there is a huge scope for a good Listeners base for this language & dialect. This is How you can research your target audiences & Create a Radio Station for your Listeners. Checkout Bhojpuri Radio on the Google Play Store called Radio Prabhat.

Another example is a youth Online Radio Station from Solan, Himachal Pradesh called- Radio Hills- “Youngistan Ka Dil”

Concept # 1.4 Women’s Online Radio Station:

In particular, Starting an Internet Radio for the Women’s community can be a Great thought. Prominently, this Radio can engage, share, discuss, exchange ideas & knowledge. In this context please check out India’s 1st Women`s Radio developed by Riggro Digital called Radio Ragini on Google Play. Similarly, you can also Start Streaming your Online Radio Station with Riggro Digitals- India’s 1st and No. # 1 Broadcaster.

Concept # 1.5 Knowledge-based Internet Radio

Shirwal is a small town located 40 km from Pune. Mr. Nilesh always wondered How To Start an Internet Radio that’s completely focused on knowledge sharing? Since Online Radio can Stream on the least internet resources, he thought to Create an Online Radio Station called Shirwal Radio- “Spread The Knowledge”. The focus was his villagers & the knowledge aspiring community.

Step № 2. Learn How to Choose a Great Name for your Online Radio Station?

Before you plan to set up an internet radio station you must choose a great name that can be easily remembered! It’s most important to explore different names and choose one that best describes your Station! You must choose a name that reflects the identity of your Online Radio station. In doing so, you may consider the specialties in your area. For Instance, it may be the name of your town or something that connects immediately with your Listeners. Example: Food, cultures, dialect, person name, a word that is associated with you. Moreover, choose a tagline with a creative rhyme.

Learn How To Design a Stunning Logo: Before you Start, remember that you must make a creative yet simple logo. Notably, you must choose an appealing yet simple font! Create a design that instantly describes your brand. On the other hand, remember not to choose fancy or complicated fonts. Besides, Focus on readability & boldness. You may refer to our Logo designs; Here.

Step No 4. Learn How To Get Royalty-Free Music & Content:

If you wish to Stream Royalty music, then you can obtain the permissions from the content owners to grant you rights. You can approach smaller brands, YouTubers & upcoming artists who also need a platform to promote their music. Riggro Digital has several clients who play Royalty-Free Music. The other option is to pay their Royalty fees to play their Music. You can bargain with them to charge the lowest Music Royalty.

What is the Option for Not Playing Music?

Bollywood Songs are easily available on Google. So Apart from Listening to Music listeners nowadays want to hear informative programs on the Radio. Eventually, this can be a great opportunity for you to make a Talk Radio. Eventually, you can invite your Listeners to Record & Broadcast their programs. You may get Free content from websites like; Maanch.net, Archive.org & YouTube.

Learn How to Select Topics to Create Programs: There are several topics available around you. The best example is a group of women who don’t need a topic to talk about (LOL). They can talk nonstop! Plan out your daily programs and accordingly invite or go amongst your communities to record their programs on the different topics that you care about. Eventually, you can make your Listeners happy, by Broadcasting their programs on their Radio.

Examples: History of the town, sharing the memories of your city by senior citizens, personal life experiences of successful people, topics by Doctors, guidance by lawyers, ask the mechanics about the maintenance of vehicles, etc.

Step №3. Knowing about our Radio Hosting

Riggro Digital offers the World’s Best Internet Radio Hosting with amazing Features. Our Streaming plans include Free Shoutcast and Icecast Servers. You can Start your Radio career at just Rs. 700/Month. Furthermore, if you aspire to Broadcast on a Bigger scale we suggest you choose our Professional Plans that Start at just Rs. 5500/Month. Our Unlimited Plans Start from Rs. 7500/Month up to Rs.12500/Month. Thus we have everything for everyone. So gear up to Rock the World with the power of 4 in 1 Server by Riggro Digital & Create your Online Radio Station Now.

What is Shoutcast and Icecast Hosting:

SHOUTcast DNAS is cross-platform proprietary software for streaming media over the Internet. It allows digital audio content, primarily in MP3 or High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding format, to be broadcast to and from media player software, enabling the creation of Internet Radio Stations”.

What is Icecast Hosting: Ice cast is a streaming server, which can stream audio (and video) to Listeners. Audio Format supported- Ogg (Vorbis, Theora), Opus, FLAC, and WebM (VP8/VP9).

Step 4. Get the World’s Best Internet Radio Broadcasting Software — Riggro Cast Free

Riggro Digital offers all the necessary tools you need to Create, Run & Manage your Online Radio Station. Get Powerful Riggro Cast, Radio Broadcasting Software with Automation & Auto DJ, Free. Riggro Cast can not only Broadcast & Schedule your Music & content seamlessly on the cloud but also sound like a professional FM Radio Station. It comes with easy drag & drops options including powerful Tools like General Rotation, Interval, Immediate, and Scheduled. So now it is the time to Start uploading your Music and content and Start your Server.

Step 5. Learn How to Build a Radio and Setup Studio Equipment

To Create the best Radio Station, you need the best Radio Broadcasting Software as well as support with which you can Broadcast like a Pro. Riggro Digital not only supports you in Starting your Internet Radio but also helps you to set up your Studio. We guide you to buy the best internet radio station equipment. Our technical team shares with you the list of equipment that you can buy directly from Amazon.

On the other hand, our internet radio hosting with auto DJ also helps you to broadcast on the cloud-like professional FM. Over and above we also offer you Free Training so that your radio stations do well & you make money.

Step 6. Learn How to upload, Schedule, and Broadcasting your content

In the first place it is important to upload your Music and Content. We provide you with Riggro Cast- Your Radio Broadcasting & Automation Software. Once this is done, it’s time to Start your Radio Server. Additionally, you can upload Radio properties like capsules, sparklers, and station identification & make your station Sound very crispy like a Pro. Specifically, you can also Create separate Auto DJ accounts for your RJs according to their Show Schedules. Thus your RJ’s can upload their content and schedule their own shows as per their Showtimes. Once you are set, let our Radio Broadcasting Software with AI )Artificial Intelligence do the rest for you.

Step 7. Riggro Cast- Real-Time Monitoring

Your Radio comes with the #1 Internet Radio broadcasting software and loads of monitoring tools called Riggro Cast.

After Starting an Internet Radio using Riggro Cast, it is super easy to monitor the live statics from our Automation Broadcasting Software. You can monitor live Listeners, total unique Listeners by countries, and more. This eventually helps you to understand the number of Listeners connected there during Live shows. In addition, several other Live statistics and reports can also So Create your Online Radio Station trust on the Worlds Best Internet Radio Broadcasting Software by Riggro Digital

Step 8. Get Free Radio App

Get fully-featured Android Radio App Free which comes along with several Premium features like monetization, social page, news tab, color themes changer, direct WhatsApp & social share, etc.

Step 9. Get Free Google Play Store Listing

Once your Android app is ready we Create your store listing & rollout your App on the Google Play Store. That means we upload your Radio App on the Google Play Store. Thus you can download & share your Radio App amongst your communities across the world & grow your listeners.

Choosing Right Equipments- Internet Radio Station Equipment list

Lets us understand what equipments are required to setup your Online Radio Studio. In the first place you will require a Mixer with audio interface, 2 microphones & 2 Studio Monitor Speakers. Accessories are separate & can be purchased separately. Example- 2 XLR cables for 2 mics, 1 Headphone, electrical extension box, 2 mic stands, etc. Being in this sector since 2005, we would like to recommend the below Internet Radio Station Equipments that are the best fit for your professional or home setup.

Please find the internet radio station equipment list from Amazon :

You may also setup a home studio & the same equipments can be installed by eliminating the Mixer. You may use the USB Microphone which can be directly connected to the Laptop.

AKG P120 — High-performance general purpose recording

Our Internet Radio Broadcasting Success Stories (Clients Testimonials):

Client # 1. Radio Vrishti- “Laye Jeevan Me Mishti”

Mr. Raunak was very doubtful about How to make a Radio? After starting his web- radio, with Riggro Digital, Below are the clients’ Reviews:

“I tried so many options but eventually Riggro Digital is the Best. They converted my passion for a career! I have made my Radio from my computer Love you Riggro Digital ” — Ronak Siddharth, Radio Vrishti, Gorakhpur, India.

Client # 2. Live Waves Radio (United Kingdom)

Mr. Gilbert had asked –“How to Start an Online Radio Station in UK?” Riggro Digital started Life waves Station. Below is Gilbert’s Review:

“I was confused about How to Make my Online Radio station? But eventually Rigrro Digital guided me Step by Step. Thus, I got the Best DJ Radio Software on earth! Now my station is at the top of the charts in UK. Thanks, Riggro Digital.” — Mr. Gilbert Rosario, United Kingdom (UK)

Client # 3. Radio Raagini, Baramati (Pune) India

Raajashri had send a asking “How to start a radio station online?” She wanted the best online radio software including a hassle-free Shoutcast server. So accordingly, Riggro Digital made Radio Ragini-India’s 1st Women’s Online-Radio Station. Below are her heartfelt reviews.

“I had a lot of budget constraints. So I wished if I could get a free radio automation software. Eventually I got powerful Radio SHOUTcast tools. Today we are #1. Thank you Riggro Digital for proving me Worlds best Radio Broadcasting Software, powerful hosting & Free Android app” — Mis.Raajashri Dinkar Agam, President, Raagini Foundation, Baramati ( Pune) India.

Compare: Online Radio Vs TV, YouTube & Newspaper.

You can listen to a Radio Station Online all though you may be busy doing any work. Example: Reading, eating, jogging, running, during a workout, traveling, sleeping, working & more. Moreover, you can Listen to Educational Radio Online & even appear for your competitive exams- Radio MPSC GURU & Radio Espalier. Being a completely unpredictable media, It raises suspense on What’s Coming Up! That is the reason which makes it very unique. Most amazingly just imagine while your driving, you hear interesting content like; ” How Google came into existence, the technology behind touch screens, etc.” Moreover can continue to work without disturbances & still hear interesting facts, News, Music etc. The same content may be available on TV, YouTube or Newspapers. But you have to spend your time, energy & engage yourself. You also require more data to the stream. It will also interrupt your work in hand.

Now, It is very clear that newspapers, TV, as well as YouTube, are visual mediums. You have to engage your eyes, mind & your self to grab information. On the contrary, it is the only medium where you at no extra effort can grasp all the information just by Listening. It is also a very primitive medium in the world of technology by which you can spread your knowledge, information with your Listeners worldwide. It’s a great decision to start a radio station online with Riggro Digital.

How to Make a Radio from your Computer

In the pandemic COVID 19 situation, many FM professionals who were working for more than 15 years have unfortunately lost their jobs! These situations have forced them to think- “How to Make a Radio and become the Boss?” Most of the professionals feel it’s better to start my own station, rather than working for someone else. The demand for work from home has increased. As a result, the immediate need to Build a Radio with Riggro Digital has surfaced and many unfortunate Jobless professionals have made their Online Radio Stations from their computers.

How do Radio Stations make money?

Precisely Radio Station makes money by selling audio advertisements. But with Riggro Digital you can generate your revenue in 2 different ways.

Audio Advertisements
Clickable Poster Advertisements

It is important that you make money from your Station. So precisely, we give you a fully-featured Premium Business App that comes with a monetizable poster advertisement feature. You can upload your poster from a dedicated admin panel. The posters include clickable advertisements, birthday wishes, anniversary wishes, program schedules, locals businesses & activities, etc. Thus you get all the important tools to Start an Internet Radio station & make money. (Ask for a pdf copy).

Is there any License required to start an Internet Radio Station?

When we say Internet Radio Station, it means, a Radio that operates on the Internet. There is no spectrum or Frequency required from the Govt of India. It is basically a social media & thus it does not require any Frequency like FM to broadcast! It works on the internet, just like any other social media like Whats app, YouTube, etc. So there is no need for internet radio licence for audio streaming and it is Legal to Start an Internet Radio Station.

How to Start a Radio Station in India

To Broadcast a FM, SW, MW and (CRS) Community Radio Station, you have to take the permissions from the (MIB) Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, WPC, Government of India. To know more depth about How to an Start FM Radio Station in India, Click Here.

Start Commercial FM Radio in India- Learn more about Broadcasting and Guidelines: Click Here.
If you want to Start (CRS) Community Radio Station in India. Click Here.
To know more about the operational CRS in India, Facts & Figures, Click Here.

Licences to Stream Music

It is important to consider the music royalty id you wish to play the content legally on your radio. For that, you must communicate with the music licensing authorities who come under the association of issuing the Music rights to you. If you wish to play any royalty protected music or content which is NOT FREE, you may contact the owner or the Music association.

The Journey Behind Being India’s 1st & #1 Broadcaster

Starting the 1st Radio Online in 2012 was never so easy. We had realized that indeed this is a huge media . It is a platform for the freedom of speech & expression. It is not possible for a common man to approach commercial FM to showcase their talents. Moreover getting a (CRS) Community Radio Station Licence from the Govt. of India is a very tough & tedious process.

Starting an FM radio for any common man is next to impossible! On the contrary, Starting an Online Radio Station is very easy & does not require any Licences!

Way back in 2012, My organization had applied for the Community Radio Licence to the Govt of India. But our applications were rejected for 3 times. It was very frustrating. So I decided to come up with the concept of Starting an Internet Radio. I wanted this media to be in easy access to every body.

Thus today with over 500+ Stations, Riggro Digital is India’s 1st, #1 and the world’s Top 5 most preferred broadcaster.

My Experiences in the Sector ( Dr. Rakesh Shrivansh- Founder & Director- Riggro Digital)

Air FM Gold, Mumbai- RJ
93.5 Red FM — Programming Head
94.3 Tomato FM (Pudhari Publications)- Content & Programming Head
Big 92.7 FM- Content & Communications Head
A Community Radio Station from Nashik- Chief of Operations (COO)
Founder & Director- Garjato Maharashtra News, Mumbai

Difference between Starting a Free Internet Radio Station versus Premium Online Radio Streaming

It is said that no cup of tea is free in this world! When you get Free Streaming, then remember there is a lot snatched from you even without your knowledge. If you get to Start an Online Radio Station for Free, then the service provider shall use your audio stream to make money. They post pre roll, post roll or mid roll audio ads in your streams. They be only heard in counties which you may never know. So you would never come to know what content is aired on your radio.

The audio may be played before your the start of your stream, in the middle or at the end of your playing stream! Your audio stream can be used to display any content without your consent. You never know your stream can even be misused, if you are not sure about the broadcaster or if not from your country!

I will explain it with an example:

In India food is supplied outside Temples for free is called as Bhandara. Suppose there is a food distributed in Bhandara for free comes from a nearby restaurant ! That restaurant also servers the same food. Would you eat the Free food or go inside the restaurant & buy the same food & enjoy premium services for a small price? This is exactly what happens with the Free Online Radio Station services verses the premium & paid internet radio streaming services.

What you don’t get in Free Internet Radio Streaming Services:

You won’t get stable & reliable dedicated servers. You get week shared servers.
Limited or low Bandwidth. Your stream will buffer & not play properly. Eventually you will lose your listeners.
No Auto DJ accounts
You will not get crystal audio HD streaming quality.
No Scheduling Software- You will not get Professional radio broadcasting software with automation & scheduling. You will only get a simple audio player, just like a windows media player to play your audio files. It will have very low disc space since hard disc on cloud not Free & you cannot upload more audio clips. So you will need to daily delete & upload new MP3 files.
Cannot get personalised Radio App. You shall be listed amongst thousands of radio stations in one app.
Not have your own stand alone Radio Station Identity.

What you get in Premium Internet Radio Streaming Service?

Riggro Digital Exclusive Radio Streaming Features:

Get Stunning Android app & iOS App listing Free!
Get the power of Four in One Riggro Digital servers.
Plays in Dolby HD Stereo & Ultra HD- Blu Ray Sound. ( RD`O Codec Technology * )
Personalized Poster Admobs to make money — Display unlimited Poster Advertisements, local events.
Add Unlimited News papers for user engagement.
Live broadcasting from your Smartphone. Do direct Live show from your phone on your radio from anywhere in the world.Professional Studio Broadcasting.
No Buffering & audio caching technology. That means your radio plays without internet, in case the connection is lost & continuously tries to reconnect.
Plays @ just 2kbps (N-BitRate Compression Technology *).
Direct Social connects. Extremely easy App sharing.
Podcast facility.
World class Features Designed by the World’s best Developers from the USA & India.
Powerful Radio Stream Engines. (Built in BFR- nTechnology)
Easy Swipe Radio Interface with Sleep timer, song request, send us an email, show schedule, about us & News tab.
Powerful Scheduling Software & Auto DJ. No extra expansive Software needed.
Guaranteed 90 % cost cutting with our Automation Technology for FM Radios. No human dependency, no need to keep your studio PCs, Gadgets, AC & Power to be on. Our powerful technology works 24×7! 99.99% guaranteed uptime.

Software Features:

Complete control of your station, any time, anywhere even from your smartphone.
Live Statics & report generator- Eg; know what’s playing live, recent tracks and display album art.

Live & Real Time tracking- Track Live listeners, unique listeners, total Listeners minutes, Unique countries & much more.

Stream your radio station with the World’s Most Powerful Radio Hosting powered by Riggro Digital. [www.riggrodigital.com]