Blog

Stories, guides, and lessons from the people building independent radio

Guides, product updates, and reporting on online radio. How to set a station up, keep it running, and grow the audience around it.

36 articles

Latest articles

Automate your radio station with Connect

Build next week of shows, and the rest of your station admin, just by asking an AI agent or by using our API

Automate your radio station two ways: ask an AI agent like Claude or ChatGPT, or call the RadioCult API. Schedule shows, manage your library, and wire your station into your own tools. Included on Premium and Business, or add it to Starter or Growth.

ConnectRead post
CharlieJuly 22, 20268 min read

Agent Skills for the RadioCult API

Give your AI coding agent the know-how to build against the RadioCult API correctly, first time

Agent Skills teach Claude, Codex and Gemini to build a custom radio player, schedule site, audio uploads and schedule automations against the RadioCult API. Free to download.

APIRead post
CharlieJuly 15, 20268 min read

Does your internet radio station need a website?

Does an internet radio station need a website? Usually yes, but not always a big one. How to match your owned presence to your stage, from a link-in-bio to a full CMS site.

WebsiteRead post
CharlieUpdated July 10, 20267 min read

How to Boost Listener Engagement

Adding a Chat Room to Your Online Community Radio Station

A live chat room turns passive listeners into a community. Here is how station chat lifts engagement, how on-site rooms compare to Discord and Telegram, and how to moderate and run one well.

Chat roomRead post
BarnsUpdated July 10, 20269 min read

How to embed a player on your radio station's website

A practical guide to embedding a live radio player on your station website: iframe snippets, custom builds via the API, placement, mobile, and now-playing widgets.

EmbedsRead post
CharlieUpdated July 10, 20268 min read

How to Get More Listeners For Your Online Radio Station

A practical 2026 guide to getting more radio listeners: niche programming, a consistent schedule, directories, short-form clips, collaborations, SEO, community and analytics.

EngagementRead post
BarnsUpdated July 10, 20269 min read

How to Start an Internet Radio Station From Home

A practical, step-by-step guide to starting an internet radio station from home, covering equipment, studio setup, encoders like BUTT and Mixxx, hosting, licensing and promotion.

SetupRead post
CharlieUpdated July 10, 202610 min read

The Top Scheduling Tools for Community Radio Stations

A practical guide to scheduling tools for community radio: recurring rules, volunteer teams, pre-records versus live, and fallbacks that keep you off dead air.

SchedulingRead post
BarnsUpdated July 10, 20268 min read

The Best Internet Radio Software

Compare the best internet radio software for live broadcasting and 24/7 automation, from free tools like BUTT and Mixxx to paid suites, on Windows and Mac.

SoftwareRead post
BarnsUpdated July 8, 202615 min read

How to broadcast radio from your mobile phone

Learn how to broadcast live radio from your mobile phone using iziCast on iOS or BroadcastSelf on Android. Turn your phone into a portable radio studio.

BroadcastingRead post
CharlieUpdated July 8, 20268 min read

Radio Listener Analytics

How to Use Your Stats to Understand and Grow Your Audience

Learn how online radio stations use listener analytics, from location and device data to session duration, to sharpen programming, prove reach to sponsors, and grow.

AnalyticsRead post
BarnsUpdated July 8, 20269 min read

How Our Radio Listener Analytics Work

And Tips To Optimise Your Data Accuracy

See how RadioCult listener analytics work, from event-driven sessions to bot filtering, plus practical tips to make your station data more accurate.

UpdatesRead post
BarnsUpdated July 8, 20268 min read

How to Start a Radio Station for Free

You can start an internet radio station for free using Icecast, an encoder like BUTT, and Ngrok to put your home computer online. Here is how, plus the trade-offs.

FreeRead post
CharlieUpdated July 8, 202610 min read

Is radio still popular in the UK

Is radio still popular in the UK? The latest RAJAR data shows 50.6 million adults (87%) tune in weekly, and online radio has pulled further ahead of AM/FM.

UKRead post
BarnsUpdated July 8, 20266 min read

Is radio still popular in the US

Is radio still popular in the US? The latest Nielsen and Edison data show radio reaches 92% of adults monthly and leads ad-supported audio at 61%, as online listening grows.

USARead post
BarnsUpdated July 8, 20266 min read

Radiojar Alternative: How Does RadioCult Compare?

Looking for a Radiojar alternative? See how RadioCult compares on free trials, mix support, Soundcloud and Mixcloud integrations, mobile and stream quality.

ComparisonRead post
BarnsUpdated July 8, 20266 min read

Starting an Online Community Radio Station in 2026

Your in-depth guide

To start an online community radio station, plan your audience and format, pick a streaming platform, set up basic equipment, and build a web and mobile presence. Full guide.

Getting startedRead post
CharlieUpdated July 8, 202622 min read

How to stream from OBS to Icecast

One streaming client to rule them all. Let's configure OBS to stream video and audio.

OBSRead post
CharlieUpdated July 8, 20265 min read

Custom Roles

Build radio station team permissions that fit exactly how you work

RadioCult Custom Roles let radio station owners set team permissions from scratch: control exactly what each person can see, do, and manage. On Premium and Business plans.

Team managementRead post
CharlieJuly 6, 20266 min read

Get An Alexa Skill For Your Radio Station

Introducing our Alexa Skill Add-On

Get a custom Alexa Skill for your radio station so listeners can tune in on Amazon Echo by voice. We handle the development, hosting and backend setup.

Alexa SkillRead post
CharlieJune 26, 20263 min read

Accurate Now Playing Metadata on TuneIn

Introducing Our TuneIn AIR API Integration

Send accurate Now Playing metadata to TuneIn with the RadioCult AIR API integration. Real-time track updates for live, scheduled, and pre-recorded shows.

TuneInRead post
CharlieJune 26, 20265 min read

A Concise Explainer on how our Analytics Work

A brief guide on how our analytics functionality is powered. Level up your station with one of our many tools designed to make running a community or independent radio station easier.

AnalyticsRead post
BarnsApril 1, 20266 min read

An Explainer on Digital Radio and the UK’s Small-Scale DAB

How British Independent and Community Radio Stations Can Access It

An introduction to the intricacies of digital radio and the UK’s small-scale DAB. As well as some tips for how British independent and community radio stations can access it!

Digital radioRead post
BarnsApril 1, 20267 min read

How does stream quality impact your station?

You want your station to sound the best. How can you do that when other streaming providers limit your stream quality? RadioCult lets your stream in any bitrate you want, on all our plans.

AudioRead post
CharlieApril 1, 20263 min read

How to Create a Logo For an Online Radio Station

The best free and paid tools for creating a logo for your online radio station

Your internet radio station’s logo matters. Here are a range of tools to give you some design inspiration and get your station a logo quickly.

LogoRead post
CharlieApril 1, 20265 min read

How to Do an Internet Radio Show

Learn how to do an internet radio show, from choosing a live or pre-recorded format to planning talk and music content that keeps listeners coming back.

Radio showRead post
CharlieApril 1, 20267 min read

How To Upload Mixes to Soundcloud

With a few simple steps integrate your station with SoundCloud and upload mixes directly from RadioCult!

SoundCloudRead post
BarnsApril 1, 20263 min read

Pro.Radio 7.1 Now Fully Compatible with RadioCult

Pro Radio 7.1 is now fully compatible with RadioCult, letting you build a polished station website with built-in streaming, artwork and song titles.

Pro RadioRead post
CharlieApril 1, 20263 min read

When Does Christmas Music Start on the Radio?

It's a question as old as Christmas itself. We're here to answer it. This is the type of hard hitting journalism from the RadioCult team that you've come to expect.

ChristmasRead post
CharlieApril 1, 20264 min read

RadioCult v1.3.0

We have been working hard these past few months. We are very excited to present to you RadioCult v1.3.0. Let’s show you all the goodness

New releaseRead post
CharlieFebruary 19, 20233 min read

Going all in

We are going all in on RadioCult to truly make it the best way to run a 24/7 online radio station so you can keep your energy on the broadcast.

BeginningRead post
CharlieJanuary 19, 20234 min read

Ready to put it into practice?

These guides are here to help, but the best way to learn is to start broadcasting. Set your station up and work through the rest as you go.

Start a free trial and have your station on air in minutes.

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