Getting Started in Commercial Radio

[therealdeal08]

Hello all, first time poster. Excited to be on a forum, packed with such knowledge and thoroughness. Not sure where to start, but am a lover of music, and a fan of the not knowing what song is next spontaneity radio brings.

My end goal is to create a commercial FM radio station in the Bay Area (northern California). From what I've gathered on various sources on the net the steps I need to take (oversimplified of course) are: Get a commercial FCC license, once approved, construct the towers/equipment (?), then get the studio/staff ready. An oversimplification by many degrees, looking to fill in the gaps to how to get the ball rolling? Anyone on here with prior knowledge of going the commercial high power FM route, or any idea on how to even check if that is FCC feasible in the area I am in? I have a great concept, a solid vision of a beneficial radio station to create, any am pretty much at the crossroads of where to start, and where can I get the information I need.

 

[fineshot1]

I am not real familiar with the FM broadcast industry but I would think it would be most cost effective to purchase an FM station or part of a FM network of stations for sale. A lot of the headaches of building one would be bypassed. Just seems like the common sense route to me if this is possible.

 

[N_Jay]

Getting a new license in a populated area is probably impossible.

Buying a station is the most common way to go.

As for your idea and format, I would research existing stations with similar formats and find out how well they are doing.

The fact you like music is interesting but the station LIVES (or dies) on how well it can sell advertisements.

Have you worked, interned, or hung out at any stations?
Have you been involved in a non-commercial station (high-school, college, community, etc,)?

 

[trace1]

While it does take a little more than being a "lover of music, and a fan of the not knowing what song is next spontaneity radio brings" maybe the following links will help just a little...

How to Apply for a Broadcast Station

How to Start a Radio Station

HOW TO START UP A FM RADIO STATION IN THE UNITED STATES

How to Start Up a FM Radio Station

Radio Industry - Starting a Radio station

You'll be getting a bill for my consultation fees!

My Dad was a Radio Announcer (DJ) when I was growing up, spent many an hour hanging out in the control room. My oldest brother grew up and became a Radio Announcer also, so I spent A LOT of time hanging out at the stations that they worked at over those many, many years.

I'm certainly not an expert in the rules, regulations, etc., etc. for starting your own or buying a radio broadcasting station but I can tell you, it is going to be a lot of hard work and a lot or research will need to take place before taking on such a project.

The radio business is hard and there are a lot of "strange" people that work in it and a lot more "strange" people listen to it...

 

[rfradioconsult]

The ONLY way you could hope to get a FM broadcast license in a top tier market would be if you had a bank account with at lest 6 zero's following the dollar amount, and maybe a 50 before the zeros. There isn't any frequencies available for assignment for a new stations in most markets and the construction costs would be considerable.

There may be an AM station located in the surronding communities that could be purchased for somewhat less, but you may want to ask a "Radio Broker"

You may want to consider building a Internet Radio and broadcast over the Internet.

Good luck,

 

[k8wha]

Business Side of the Station

Hello all, first time poster. Excited to be on a forum, packed with such knowledge and thoroughness. Not sure where to start, but am a lover of music, and a fan of the not knowing what song is next spontaneity radio brings.

My end goal is to create a commercial FM radio station in the Bay Area (northern California). From what I've gathered on various sources on the net the steps I need to take (oversimplified of course) are: Get a commercial FCC license, once approved, construct the towers/equipment (?), then get the studio/staff ready. An oversimplification by many degrees, looking to fill in the gaps to how to get the ball rolling? Anyone on here with prior knowledge of going the commercial high power FM route, or any idea on how to even check if that is FCC feasible in the area I am in? I have a great concept, a solid vision of a beneficial radio station to create, any am pretty much at the crossroads of where to start, and where can I get the information I need.

I see the other post have given you some really outstanding information. You also need to consider the business side of the venture.... You will need capital to fund the project as a first requirement. You may have a great plan in your head but you need the Business plan on paper to present to investors/bankers. From a legal perspective, you will need to set up a business entity. This can be as simple as a SOle Proprietorship or a more complex corporation. Legal notices of plans to do business under an alias will be required along with a Federal Employer ID number for when you have more than yourself as an employee. Since you live in California, your state Department of Comerece should have all the information you will need in setting up a small business.May state have on-line filing capability. Registration to do business in California should be your first step.

It is really tough to get a business up and running but not impossible. Good luck with your venture!

Dick
K8WHA

 

[rfradioconsult]

A final word. Commercial radio depends on advertising revenue which is tied to the number of listeners, usually calculated by the time of day. Many small station owners have gone belly up by treating their station as their private jukebox; to be successful you have to determine what listeners want to listen to. Maybe the area supports talk radio but not hip hop, so you may need to program talk radio to be successful.

 

[gmclam]

FM Broadcast

My end goal is to create a commercial FM radio station in the Bay Area (northern California).

Even areas nearby like Sacramento are a "saturated market". What the big boys have been doing for the past couple of decades is buying failing stations in nearby markets (Auburn, Shingle Springs, Cameron Park, etc) and then getting them re-licensed. This is more of a legal task than it is a technical one.

From what I've gathered on various sources on the net the steps I need to take (oversimplified of course) are: Get a commercial FCC license, once approved, construct the towers/equipment (?),

You will need a construction permit from the FCC. But they are not going to give you a permit for San Francisco since there are no open frequencies. If you were to go to a rural area where there are open frequencies, then an early step in the process is to do a signal evaluation, this is a technical process often done by law firms specializing in getting you a construction permit.

then get the studio/staff ready. An oversimplification by many degrees, looking to fill in the gaps to how to get the ball rolling?

Have you ever considered how much the electric bill is for operating a full power broadcast station? When you get this staff "ready", will you be paying them a salary? While this aspect of the endeavour is the 'easiest', it is not simple nor trivial.

 

[Don_Burke]

I have been working in broadcast radio for over ten years now.

Music radio is a tough business and has become much tougher over the last few years with the encroachment of MP3 players, internet radio, and satellite radio.

Finding someone willing to put up money for a rookie owner is going to be tough.

I would start by getting a job at a radio station to get some experience. You may not like it as there is a world of difference between having the radio on and being on the radio.

 

[jim202]

One major area that no one has mentioned is trying to obtain a local building permit to construct
a new radio tower. If the big cellular companies that have deep pockets are having trouble, do
you think your going to walk in and just have your tower construction permit handed to you.

Then your going to have to go to the planning zone meetings to hear all the people cry and
wine about how bad your going to make the natural skyline look with your ugly tower. The
NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) people can tie you up for years in trying just to obtain the
required permit to construct your new radio tower.

Next issue that has been lightly brushed over is the cost of doing what your plans are. Just
the tower alone will run you between $20,000 and $50,000 for the steel, installation and
insurance. On top of that you need the antenna, coax feed line and a tower crew to put
the antenna up on the tower. That will run you from between $3,000 and $10,000 for the
labor. Don't forget to add the antenna cost and the coax cable to this total price.

As you can see, it gets real expensive real fast. Forgot to mention that if the tower goes
above 200 feet, you will need to file an application with the FAA to even be able to erect
the tower. This approval will depend how far your from an airport and what the airport
elevation and the tower base elevation are. This alone can take from 3 months to a year
to get you approval back.

Then there is the small issue of obtaining the FCC license for your station. As others have
said, there is probably no channels available. Even if there was, the process could take a
good length of time. Plus you pay dearly for the license, depending on the power class
you get into. Gee, more money that has to go out.

Hope you have some real deep pockets, just to get started with the basics. Haven't even
mentioned the staff you will need. Then there is the small problem of trying to generate
a revenue stream to support the station, staff, mortgage, electric bills and advertising.

Good luck with your desires.

Jim