How to make a radio app for your station

As of 2022, there were more than eight billion mobile devices in use across the world. And with a global population of slightly less than eight billion, that means there are now more mobile phones than there are people alive. Smartphones have become so prevalent and ubiquitous, that any radio station not meeting their listeners where they are is missing a golden opportunity to expand their station’s reach.

So if you operate an online radio station or have the aspirations to do so, you need to know how to make your own radio station app. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the three options available for giving your station a mobile presence:

1. Aggregator app.

2. Mobile add-on (through a streaming provider), and

3. Custom app.

Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
Aggregator app	Zero upfront and ongoing monetary costs	Not your own app
	Quick and easy to implement	No custom design
	Potential to increase listenership due to larger user base	Potential lack of bespoke features
Mobile add-on	Your own app (at a relatively lower cost)	Limited custom design
	Bundled together with a service you’re already paying for	Potential lack of features
		Unclear ongoing monetary costs
Custom app	Your own app	Large upfront cost
	Fully custom design	Ongoing maintenance costs
	Fully custom suite of features	Slow and complex to implement

Aggregator app

The first option you should consider is adding your radio station to an aggregator app. As the name suggests, this type of mobile application aggregates the audio streams of multiple stations in one location. Offering the users of these apps a wide range of different audio content to listen to.

This approach has both costs and benefits which must be thought through. The biggest cost of going with an aggregator is the application will never be your station’s own. It will not exclusively feature your station’s stream. It will not be guaranteed to be styled to your liking. Nor will it necessarily contain the features and functionality you want most in a mobile application.

The lack of control your station has over an aggregator app is also the source of the key advantages to going with this option. First is the monetary cost involved. An aggregator app is generally free for a station to join, but the biggest saving is actually from the fact that your station doesn’t need to develop and maintain an entirely new app (which as we’ll discuss in detail below, can be prohibitively expensive).

Secondly, the time and effort to join these aggregator apps is minimal compared to the other options. Once you’ve signed up, your listeners will be listening in no time on their smartphones. Lastly, these sorts of app have the potential to increase your station’s audience. These apps already have an existing user base listening to stations beyond yours, but the chances of them discovering your station on an app they already use is far greater than them finding your station in the wild.

Here at Radio Cult, we offer our very own aggregator app (available on both iOS and Android) to all stations who sign up to any of our plans at no added cost. Your station is added to our app right after you’ve signed up, so your listeners will be able to listen to you on their mobile devices as soon as you’re ready to start streaming with us. To check out all of the features we offer on our mobile app, click here.

The interesting thing with aggregator apps are that they aren’t either or. You can sign up for an aggregator app and have your station streaming to listeners on mobile right away, while still investigating and building your own custom app.

At the end of the day, it’s all about meeting your listeners where they are. The more options to listen you can give them, the better.

Mobile add-on

The second option for giving your radio station a mobile presence is signing up to a streaming provider which offers mobile apps as a paid add-on. They are distinct from aggregator apps as they are dedicated apps and will only contain your station’s stream. Such streaming providers who offer mobile add-ons to their core service include Radio.co and Radio King.

The advantage of this approach is the relative cost you’ll incur, when compared to building a custom app from the ground up. Your station can get it’s very own mobile application at a fraction of the upfront cost of a custom app. Additionally, you likely need a streaming provider anyway, so bundling the cost of both can make a lot of sense.

There are some significant disadvantages to pursuing this option though. In a similar vein to the downsides of aggregator apps, add-on apps have limited customisation when it comes to both design and features.

These apps are what is known as white labelling, where the respective streaming provider has created an app ‘template’ which serves as the basis of all the apps it provides and only allows limited aspects to be customised to suit the needs of individual stations. So unless the design and feature suite you have in your head coincidentally matches what can ultimately be provided, you’re unlikely to get the mobile app of your dreams.

Lastly, all the ongoing fees you’ll end up paying for these add-ons aren’t always obvious. These apps are advertised as a done deal but that’s rarely the case, with many fees being hidden from you on initial purchase. The monthly fee you’ll pay to the provider is stated clearly. But the ongoing Apple developer fee for iOS apps ($100 USD) and the one-off Google Play fee for Android apps ($25 USD) that must be shouldered by your station is usually only stated in the fine print.

Additionally, even though these apps are advertised as low stress and no work on your end, at the end of the day you are the final publisher of the app. The app bundle gets sent to you to upload to the App Store and Google Play Store. This means you need to jump though all the legal and technical hoops that it entails.

Custom app

The final option we’ll discuss for giving your station’s listeners a mobile home is developing your own custom app from scratch. These sorts of apps are a further extension to the add-on types we discussed earlier, they are again dedicated apps which exclusively broadcast your station’s stream. But, also (in an ideal world) are designed entirely to your liking, whilst also containing all the features you desire for your station’s own app. To create such an app, generally requires a professional mobile developer.

The advantages of going the custom route is obvious - it says it right in the name. Your station’s app will be custom designed. It will have the potential to look exactly as you envisage. With enough time and resources, It will function exactly as you intend. Further, as the app is entirely yours, the look and features of the app aren’t static across time. If you feel the application is missing something, you aren’t subject to the whims of some third party to get the ball rolling to make the change.

The disadvantages of the custom approach is how resource intensive it is. Unless you’re friends with a mobile app developer, the initial cost to develop a custom app can easily exceed $10,000 USD. Further to develop such an app isn’t the work of a moment. There will be a significant lead time between deciding to commit to a custom app and the actual moment your listeners can hear your stream through said app. The costs don’t end after the app has been released, you will need to maintain it for as long as it's available.

We would generally not recommend a station pursue creating their own app. We do have some experience when it comes to mobile development, so we are closely aware of the effort required to undertake such an endeavour. An effort which is usually greater than first estimated. Further we speak to large range of stations in our day-to-day business who echo this sentiment. They do want a mobile presence, but they also recognise a custom app isn’t the right solution for their particular stations.

A custom app isn’t the wrong solution for all stations though. If you have an extremely dedicated base of fans who have been clamouring for a dedicated app or if you have a relatively large listenership that can justify the necessary outlay, then strong arguments can be made to the go the custom route.

Conclusion

If you run your own online station or hope to do so one day and have been wondering how to make a radio app, we hope this blog post has been informative. The best option for your respective station, will depend greatly on your station’s particular needs. The amount of money you’re willing to spend and the amount of time you’re prepared to expend will dictate the ideal solution for your station. It's worth repeating again that these options don’t have to be exclusive of one another. Giving your listeners multiple options to listen to your station on their smartphones is never a bad idea.

FAQs

Is it possible to make your own radio station?

It certainly is, check out our dedicated blog post on the subject for more information.

Is there a free radio station app?

In fact there are many. Radio Cult’s app is free for end users. Whilst other popular apps include TuneIn and iHeartRadio.

Can I make an online radio for free?

You definitely can, refer to our blog post on this exact topic.