Club977

TBJ: Your website, Club977.com, says that Club977 grew from originally being a pirate radio station in Florida.  That sounds very intriguing.  Can you expand on your history with radio and we’d love to hear any pirate radio anecdotes?

Well I’ve been in and around the radio industry since about 1989.  Doing everything from Board Op to Program Director.  Radio is in my blood and it wasn’t until the Internet that I really got to do what I wanted to do and that was own and operate my own network of radio stations.

The pirate thing was just a fad.  It was a small hobby to help me pass the time.  I don’t even now if it was really that popular even though it covered a good 20 miles.  That station played 80s music before any commercial radio station in the country even thought of doing that format.

TBJ: How many listeners does Club977 have on any given day?

We’ve experienced major gains in audience for the past 5 years and still enjoy a 15% increase quarterly.  Broadband Internet access has propelled those numbers and with the advent of mobile broadband, I truly believe our numbers will be even higher.  We see over 175,000 tune-ins per day to the streams and about twice that in visits to the websites.

TBJ: Where do your listeners come from—is your audience international or is it mostly a North American audience?

It’s about a 75%, 25% mix.  75% North American and 25% International

TBJ: Your Web site says, “You've found the #1 Listened to all 80s Internet Radio Station in the World.” That’s impressive, how do you promote your Web site?

We’ve done on air promotions that paid people to link to us and we have a staff person dedicated to helping us improve our rankings on search engines.  We also have a great relationship with AOL and Microsoft.

TBJ:  The '80s nostalgia seems to be big these days, how did you design Club977 around that concept?

When we needed a new website, we turned to Techxpress.net.  Bryan Sarlitt and his team of designers and programmers just knew what we were looking for.  I asked them to come up with a few designs and we went with the 1st design they showed us.  They just seemed to know what we wanted in a site and we’re proud of the site we’ve put online.

Technology

TBJ: How about your background with computers and specifically the Internet?  Elaborate on your involvement with TechXpress. Are you a “computer genius” or “geek” (in the positive connotation of the word)?

I’ve been involved in the Internet since the days of the 14.4-baud modems, around 1993 or so.  I used to play very crude games a 100mhz computer but I wouldn’t call myself a computer genius or geek.  There are so many better talented programmers out there and I let them do the “heavy lifting”.  I know a little about html coding but not enough to design and maintain a website.  My expertise is in music programming, that’s why I let the pros at Techxpress.net handle the website design and maintenance.
 
TBJ: What level of computer/Internet sophistication is required to run an Internet radio station?  Does one have to be a so-called geek?  What equipment do you need? In radio voiceover, home recording studios are the new trend. Is the equipment similar? A company called Xirrus, for example, makes a wireless array that is sixteen radios in one.

Now-a-days, just about anyone with a powerful computer and a broadband connection can “start” an Internet Radio Station but it takes financing and experience in programming to run a profitable and successful radio station.  There’s plenty of “radio station in a box” software out there and they work fine if you want to stream your music to a few friends.  Once you want to try and reach a global audience of thousands then the technical requirement and cost grow exponentially.

I work from home in a home recording studio and love it.  Home studios and the equipment in them are just as good or better than the equipment a “pro” place.  I’ve had people remark that my studio has far better equipment than the stuff they work on but for the most part we are all using the same stuff.

Business:

TBJ: Club977 is quite impressive both in terms of the quality stream of music you provide to the Internet as well as your very nice website.  It certainly doesn’t look like a one-man operation.  Is this a full time occupation for you or do you run it in your free time?  Is TechXpress still involved and what do they do?

This is my full-time occupation and it takes up the majority of my time.  I do have great people that work with me.  Techxpress is just one of the companies that help us.  I have many others I could thank too but they might get a little tedious to read.  They know who they are and I couldn’t do it without them.

TBJ: Many of our readers are small businesspersons, entrepreneurs and even students.  Is it possible to start an Internet radio show or station with little or no money and limited time?

Absolutely it is.  Just keep it small and simple and they wouldn’t have any problem getting started.

I think it would benefit any company with an online presence big or small to create a radio station online.  People love music and having a radio station allows them to connect to that audience better.  Not to mention you could run small ads on that radio station directing them to specials on the website.  It’s a win-win situation for all but it’s not something you should go into blindly.  Find someone to help you set-up and do it right.

TBJ: What is your daily schedule like? How much time should anyone considering their own show or station set aside for the daily operations once they have dealt with all of the technical details of setting up their station?

I get up early and work on projects and tasks that need to be completed including marketing, music programming and sales and if there’s any time left over, I relax.

If you’re small, I’d say an hour or two a day would be sufficient to create an online radio station.  Obviously, more needs to happen in the beginning but once you are set-up and running, it shouldn’t be too big of a deal.

TBJ: In preparing for this article I did a lot of research online, looking at stations such as Live365.com, and in discussion forums where people talk about Internet radio.  From what I’ve seen most people doing this are not making a profit—they advertise free Internet radio as you do.  Tom Smith of iTom is one exception, as are you. Many are making little to no revenue to cover their expenses.  Are there any tips you can provide to our readers to help them in this area?  

Grow your audience and create value in your audience.  Advertisers aren’t going to line up at your door, you need to hit the pavement and cultivate those relationships yourself.  It’s taken many years but online advertising has seen tremendous growth this year.  

TBJ: I conducted a little experiment.  Completely un-scientific but I found the results interesting.  I first did this myself and then asked two friends to do so to compare results.  From iTunes I clicked on 20 radio stations in categories related and unrelated to Club977.  Each of these indicated they were broadcasting at 128kbps.   The results I came up with had Club977 consistently providing me with a solid, reliable stream.  On the other hand most of the other stations did not fare nearly as well.  They would give me a stream and then cutout while I received a “rebuffering stream” message.  I found that these stations would frequently repeat this behavior.  Other stations would indicate they were transmitting at 128kbps but when I connected it would actually be broadcasting at 64kbps.  Often I’d get the rebuffering stream message even at 64kbps.  My two friends had similar experiences with Club977 and a few other stations standing out as being consistently reliable.  What is making the difference for the reliable stations like Club977 to deliver a superior musical broadcast?

Spend the money on good equipment and bandwidth and I stress having good bandwidth.  Do not be cheap there.  Some stations can’t handle the load that is put on their servers and some oversell their bandwidth.  That is a big no no.  Make the investment in good bandwidth and equipment and you’ll have a great product that your audience will enjoy.

TBJ: Possibly the biggest issue that government and big business have addressed most aggressively with the advent of the Internet is the rights to music.  Just about everyone knows the Napster story and many of us have heard horror stories about police in Belgium taking down college students, guns blazing in narco-trafficker type raids.  While MP3s are still out there on the Internet, RIAA and government agencies are cracking down, although new music download services such as Zune are debuting.  Many people who see the Internet as a place of freedom for the world community feel it’s kind of spooky how effectively international governments and big corporations have worked together in this regard.   What is your take on this and what resources are available to those who are just getting into Internet radio to ensure that they stay clear of the wrath of Big Brother?

Pay your licensing fees!!!!  BMI, ASCAP, SESAC all have online areas to calculate your royalty rates and they are reasonable.  The RIAA is still negotiating there contracts with us for the upcoming years but for the most part their rates have been acceptable up to this point.  I know there are a few other services that pay your royalty rates for you.  I know Live 365 can and I believe Loud City has a system set up too.

TBJ: How can an individual Internet radio station survive in the iPod/iTunes era?

Internet Radio compliments the Ipod/Itunes equipment perfectly.  Some people don’t like to be their own program director.  They just want a good quality music experience with limited interruptions and the opportunity to interact with the radio station.  Internet Radio gives them this and more.  We aren’t going anywhere and will continue to grow.

Closing:

TBJ: Where do you see Internet radio a year from now? How about Club977? Five years from now? Or is it impossible to predict the growth of the Internet?

I see many of the larger companies (yahoo, aol, msn) expanding their line-up of online radio stations.  I also see the independents growing and merging with other independents to compete.

I see being able to listen to Club 977 in my car within 5 years.  I will be able to travel coast to coast and listen to Club 977 in my car or surf the Internet with seamless broadband connectivity.  I’m already able to do that in Minneapolis now but I see it expanding relatively quickly.

The Internet will continue to grow and surpass any expectations.  The great thing about the Internet is it caters to every single demo and taste out there.  How could it not continue to expand and grow?

TBJ: Other than ‘80s nostalgia, what are the most rewarding aspects of your business?

My listeners.  Without them I would have nothing and I appreciate their support.  There are many choices out there but they recognize we are trying to do something different and because of them, I’m able to do this full-time.  Thank-you.

TBJ: What is the most important bit of advice you would give to an individual or small businessperson considering the launch of an Internet radio show or station?

Keep it small at first and if you must be big immediately, hire a consultant.  You’re going to need it.