1. Let's get your station on air
Welcome to the part where running a radio station stops feeling theoretical and starts feeling dangerously doable.
You're about to upload a track, build your default playlist, and schedule your first broadcast. In other words: you’re about to stop babysitting your station and start letting it run itself.
In this help article, we’re going to cover the basics of how Radio Cult can automate your station’s broadcast. Once you’re finished going through it, you should know 1) how to get scheduled content broadcasted from your station’s stream and 2) basic automation tips to cover the gaps in your schedule
So let’s flip the switch and get your station on air.
Uploading your first media file
This is where it all begins. Media files are (obviously) the heartbeat of your station’s broadcast - automated or not.
Pay attention now, you’ll be doing this often - every time you add new audio, this is the move.
1. On your computer, open Radio Cult.
2. Click the Upload media button in the top navigation bar.
3. Either 1) drag and drop the media file from your computer’s file browser into the modal’s drop zone or 2) click the Click to upload button to open your computer file browser and select the media file from there.
That’s it. Your first track’s in and will begin uploading.
That’s one small upload for you, one giant leap for your station.
Creating your first playlist
You’ve got media - now let’s give your station something to fall back on when nothing is scheduled.
Playlists aren’t the only media type we support and required to broadcast a single piece of media. But if you want your stream to be broadcasting audio when nothing else has been scheduled, you’ll need at least one playlist.
We’ll explain our default playlist functionality in greater detail further down. For now, let’s create your first playlist:
1. Click the Media button in the top navigation bar to head to the Media page.
2. Click the Playlists button in the side navigation bar to head to the Playlists page.
3. Click the Create playlist button.
4. Type the playlist’s name into the input.
5. Click the Confirm (tick icon) button.
Your playlist is good to go, but it's still empty. Let’s fill it with some music so your station actually has something to play.
Adding media to your first playlist
Playlists are quite powerful in Radio Cult. But to prevent an information overload, we’re just going to demonstrate the basics.
So let’s populate the playlist we just created with the media file you uploaded moments ago:
1. Click the playlist created in the previous step.
2. Click the Add media (+) button.
3. Click the media file uploaded in the previous steps.
Your playlist isn’t empty anymore, and your station’s starting to sound like something - the world’s almost ready to hear you.
Setting your default playlist
This is the key to keeping your station sounding alive 24/7.
When nothing else is scheduled, your default playlist takes over - it's what fills the silence.
Setting it now ensures your stream always has something to play, even when you're not actively managing it:
1. Click the Set button.
Your default playlist is set, which means if someone tuned in right now, your new playlist is exactly what they'd hear.
Creating your first event
Up until now, you've been setting the foundation - now you're taking control of the schedule.
Events let you broadcast specific content at specific times. Whether it's a live show, a themed block, or a one-off special, this is how you decide exactly what plays and when.
So let’s create your first event and have it broadcast the playlist we created a few moments ago:
1. Click the Schedule button in the top navigation bar to go to the Schedule page.
2. Click any time on the calendar - though preferably now or very soon.
Tip: To create a longer event, drag your mouse down the page while you’re selecting the time.
3. Add a Title to the event.
4. Click the Playlist button in the Media section.
5. Click the playlist created in the previous steps.
6. Click the Create event button.
Your station’s first event is scheduled - and while we kept it simple for now, events can be vastly more configurable once you're ready to dive deeper.
Listening to your station's first broadcast
Everything’s in place - your default playlist is set, and your first event is using that same playlist.
So it’s now time to listen to what your station is broadcasting. These next steps will show you how to listen to your station’s stream.
Once you press the play button, you’ll hear the media file you uploaded earlier being broadcasted across the internet. Either because the event we scheduled earlier is currently happening or because nothing is scheduled, so your default playlist is playing.
1. Click the Home button in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the Play button in the Listen section.
Your station is live - sit back and enjoy the music you’ve set in motion.
Huzzah - your station should now be on air.
If you followed these instructions to the letter, then it will be broadcasting a single song 24/7. It’s doubtful that this is the ideal state for your station. But hopefully, we’ve demonstrated enough here that you can quickly remedy that by:
- Uploading more media, and
- Creating more events.
This will only get you so far. To learn more about what Radio Cult has to offer your radio station, click here.