A lot of music lovers prefer to create their own playlist rather than depending on the music player to shuffle. So, if you ever had a fantasy to own your own broadcasting station, then the good news is yes you can own a radio station as long as you own a personal computer and you have a broadband connection available.

Step to Follow when setting up the radio station

It is possible to fulfill your wish of having your own radio with the below steps:

First step is to have a good microphone if you are willing to speak something to your listeners. For instance, if you want to say something about the song that you are going to play or regarding the station identification or whatever comes to your mind.You will also require some apps to play the music files, for turning the audio into a source which can be streamed and the last app for acting as a server so that you can share the stream with the outside world.
There are many options available for such apps from which you can choose. For example you can use apps like Winamp for playing music, Edcast for turning the music into a stream and Icecast2 to act as a server. This is just for your reference. You can find many other options available.
In case, if you plan to broadcast in an MP3 format, then it is necessary to download a .DLL file since its compatibility is higher with the old audio players. It is very easy to access it. You just need to download the zipped file. Once it is downloaded, unzip it and make sure to put this .DLL file in the root directory of the app that you are using for playing the music files. You can most probably find it in C:/Program Files/ app.
You also have to make estimation for the number of listeners you want or expect for your radio. This should be done even before streaming any music file. Most importantly your internet connection should have a great speed that must be capable enough for sending data to other computers, since streaming of music files completely rely on it. With a better upstream speed, more listeners will be able to access your radio and also they will receive a good quality of the audio.
You can also go for a dedicated radio server instead of using your home server. This will save you some money too since its price will be comparatively cheaper that what you would end up paying for the home connection. Also, another advantage is that these servers will be easy to configure.
But if you want to stick to your home server then first download and install an app dedicated for server say for example Icecast2. Once it is installed in your system, go to its configuration menu and open the icecast.xml file. You will be able to see a sources tag in which you must fill the number of audience you are planning for your radio station and in the password tag you must enter a password to be used for the app.
You will also be able to see a relay password and admin password tags which are not necessary to be filled. Also, there will be a hostname tag in which you need to enter the IP address of the network.
Next you have to configure the Edcast or any other app which you are going to use to turn the music into a stream. Once all your settings are done perfectly, time to share great music so that it can actually grab attention of the audience. There is no fun to have a radio broadcasting set up unless you have a good count of listeners.
Lastly, one of most significant aspect of the whole broadcasting set up is copyright law. Generally, when you legally broadcast someone’s music, it is essential to take permission of the recording company as well as the artist who were responsible for the production and distribution of those music recordings.
You can get your radio station licensed with a payment based on monthly basis depending upon the number of listeners you have. Or you can approach various bands for their music for free if they do not have any contract with any music company.