The Radio Room

Myself and a couple of friends are attempting to get a radio project off the ground, the future is in no way certain, but with support from a few key people we may just be able to brighten up a little bit of someone's week. Watch this space

For those lucky few to hear myself and Dan's second series of shows on Derby's Radio Freedom in April '99 here's the complete set of playlists for all five of our programmes during RF-RSL3. Also archived are my programmes for September's RF-RSL4, there was no Dan this time & the show was only an hour long, but basically the same policy of good, accessible, broadly alternative music (and hopefully not as retentive as that description makes it sound...). Finally, the details of my show on the brief, but perfectly formed, RF-RSL5 are included here as well.

The future for Radio Freedom is not clear, although the people who work on the station created what we believed to be the most interesting and musically diverse station in the area, getting funding for a project which explicitly does not follow the predictable Top40 programming of a commercial local radio station is nigh on impossible. Staions broadcasting music beyond the over-hyped, over produced pop trash the average ILR station is more than content to shovel down your ear, have an ongoing battle against advertisers, who want to target markets defined as the average radio audience (ABC1 etc.), and an audience apathetic to anything which generates the slightest thought beyond the day to day hum-drum, or, challenges the traditional structures and forms of popular music. Radio can change but it needs everyone who is becoming increasingly sick to death of this dross to do something, bombard your local station with letters, phonecalls, e-mails, whatever asking for more from them, it's in their interest to keep as many people listening as possible. Alternatively, see what support you can drum up for putting on your own station, it's not cheap - the RA licence fee is £4000 up front and that's before PPL and PRS fees, and then there's getting DJs. It's not easy, but stations like XFM managed to force the Big Boys to sit up and take note and, as with Kiss FM, they did the only thing they could; buy out & water down, change is paramount and everyone has to play their part in achieving it.

I'll try to get down from my soap box for a while to say that if Radio Freedom does return, they'd be only too happy to take whatever help they can get, one more pair of hands for radfred is also much needed prior experience if you want to try and get any further in broadcasting. So if you're enthusiastic about music or radio in general, interested in what happens on the other side of the microphone, or would just like to get involved next time, contact Radio Freedom for more information on joining the team, all help is much needed & someone offering to lighten the load is always appreciated.

Some links to radio or radio related sites:

UK Radio.com - UK Radio based content provider including up-to-date news, email facilities and regular newsletter.

The Radio Authority - DTI department responsible for policing the airways and granting licences. Update: The RA's time is about up. Due to the expanding nature of broadcast communications, through many different media, the UK Government have decided to gather the ITC, RA, Oftel and one or two others together into one big hole, and given it an original sounding name - Ofcomm
The Broadcasting Standards Commission - Are you an offended entertainee as a result of an irresponsible broadcaster? or are you simply unable to understand the way it was presented? The BSC decide whether Bernard Manning and Chris Morris really do deserve the same treatment.

BBC Radio 1 - starting to veer more towards independent commercial radio with their recent choice of new presenters. However, it still manages to broadcast a range of music far more interesting and diverse than any commercial station. John Peel and Annie Nightingale are worth the Licence Fee alone
Mark Radcliffe and The Boy Lard - Fansite for Radio 1's daytime schedule highlights. See also uk.media.radio.radcliffe
Glebe's Thrift Funnel - Site dedicated to media terrorist Chris Morris, a man who's always funny & often shocking.
The Tip Top Club - Kid Tempo & The Ginger Prince immortalised on the Web for their short lived but still classic radio and TV adventures. Update: Unfortunately this site has gone off-line, anyone who knows of any more online resources, please get in touch

Atlantic 252 - Todays nearest equivalent to Radio Luxembourg.
Virgin 1215 - Commercial version of Radio 1 without the diversity, nationally broadcast on 1215MW but squeezed onto the FM band in the London area.

IRN - Independent Radio's preferred national news service.

RadioWorks - Independent consultancy and resources organisation for commercial radio. Includes plenty of relevant online information & links to broadcast resources.
Vibe Music Imaging - Audio production company responsible for most of the idents and trailers of BBC Radio 1 and much of the EMAP radio network.
Radio Advertising Bureau - Radio advertising distribution company.

Total Rock - Information source for Tommy Vance's Friday Night Rock Show on VH1 and second home of the Rock Radio Network plus a ton of Other Stuff™. The design is a bit cluttered but it's Rock, so who cares, deal with it.