1 CommentChain Radio had a very successful launch in the past month and has been broadcasting nearly 24/7 since (minus some pesky DDOS attacks) and has seen incredible growth and it now appears that another two cryptocurrency radio stations are on the horizon.
Today we’d like to introduce the second cryptocurrency radio station of the three total we will be interviewing.
BitFM (no site at the moment) is a radio project that had originally been announced some six months ago but had been lying dormant. A recent flurry of activity though has shown that the team behind the station are serious about bringing it to market and we sat down with David from BitFM to speak with him about his plans for the station and what we can expect from them in the near future.
Mike: We’ve seen several other stations cropping up and preparing to launch in the cryptocurrency space. What makes Bit-FM different from other sites?
BitFM: Bit-FM is a station ran by a team of people that have a wealth of experience within the Internet Radio Station sector. I ran several Online Stations over the year’s that didn’t really have a large target audience such as BitFM. They were just community stations that were listened to by local people. The team at Bit-FM all have an interest with CryptoCurrencies and most of us hold some coins. The majority of us come from a mining background and therefore know the importance of dedication. Theres a lot of things, in my opinion, that will set Bit-FM aside from the other main broadcasters. Bit-FM will have some very cool features, integrating it with other media outlets focused on CryptoCurrencies. I’d rather not spoil all of the surprises so you’ll have to come and see us when we’ve launched! We hope to become the dominant CryptoCurrency station by the middle of 2015.
Mike: Can you give us a sneak peek of some of the programming you intend on running on the station?
BitFM: Unlike the rest of the Dominant stations online at the moment, we will not be using Syndicated Radio Broadcasts. Syndicated Radio Broadcasts are pre-recorded shows by other companies, that can be aired to fill empty schedules. BitFM will never use this form of Radio and we will ensure that 80% of our programmes are broadcasted live. A couple of teasers for you, we aim to schedule different genre shows. So for example, were currently drafting a reggae slot that will be broadcast every monday night. Apart from our Music Shows, we will also be aiming to bring some interviews on the air direct over VoIP. However, each presenter still decides what type of show to broadcast, whether this be a Genre related show, or a talk show, this will be listed on the schedule before the show airs.
Mike: What is the licensing situation looking like with Bit-FM? We know that Chain Radio was able to secure some licenses to operate and those have proven to be pretty costly from what we have learned here at Coin Fire.
BitFM: The licensing requirements differ from country to country. Unfortunately for Chain Radio, licensing in the United States is very strict and expensive compared to that of the UK. As we will be broadcasting from the European Union (Mainly the United Kingdom) we only need to secure a Internet Radio Station License from the PPL. The PPL will pay royalties to artists on our behalf and we only need to pay a fixed amount each year. BitFM are currently in discussions with the PPL to define our restrictions and their requirements, with a view of securing the license prior to broadcast.
Mike: What are your plans to sustain and keep the Internet radio station online? We’ve seen the passing of BTC-Radio almost immediately and so many have been nervous to get overly attached to a station.
BitFM: The station itself has been shown a lot of interest by members of the community. I myself have invested a large amount of cash into the station to get everything in a Tip Top condition prior to launch. Unlike the other stations that have sadly disappeared, we will not be solely relying on Donations to keep the station afloat. The original idea behind the station was to ensure that the stations costs could be 100% filled by listener donations. This aspect has changed and we have a couple of plans to ensure that the station will stay running longer than any of our competitors. The majority of other stations also need volunteers to broadcast and administer the website to ensure it stays alive. We are looking at options that may mean presenters on the station may be paid per show in the future, to ensure quality of the show broadcast and more importantly, the sustainability of the service and talent.
Mike: We know no one likes to give a launch date but any vague idea when things could be spinning up and going live?
BitFM: The original Launch Date was to be at some point in December, but with other stations popping up across the community, we need to ensure that we ‘Get our Foot in the door’ well before anymore stations start to broadcast. Expect to see us on air before November 2014. An official Launch Date will be released in a future press release.
Mike: What prompted you and your team to look at this space?
BitFM: Again, it just so happens that the group of people involved in this operation all come from a Mining Background. We would sit and listen to other non crypto stations whilst setting up our ASIC’s and GPU’s and by chance, one of us in the group asked “I wonder if there are any CryptoCurrency Radio Stations”. This led us to look for a Station that we could become loyal listeners to. It ended with no Success. This is why we are now looking to fill this void – We know we would have listened and been loyal supporters to this site if it was around in the early days.
Mike: What most excites you and your team about cryptocurrency?
BitFM: One of the main things that excite the team about CryptoCurrency is the evolution of Technology. We all come from a mining and IT Background and we are all therefore keen on the advancements that CryptoCurrencys are providing. We all like the diversity of CryptoCurrency’s and the original idea’s behind them. I am all for privacy and against censorship and believe that Bitcoin is one of the leading tools being used right now to ensure privacy is kept and that those that attempt to censor the internet are stopped.
Mike: Are you purely focusing on Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as well?
BitFM: The station itself will always be Bit-FM. You won’t see us starting Doge-FM. However the station itself will talk about other coins as well and it won’t be 100% focused on just Bitcoin. All coins deserve to get mentioned and we will aim to cater for all currencies.
It appears that BitFM is likely going to be launching in the next few weeks. Coin Fire will be keeping our eyes on it, Chain Radio and the third station we will be interviewing later this week. Our entire team is excited to see so many offerings built around this space as it simply increases the chances of those unfamiliar with the cryptocurrency space tuning in to one of these stations and getting interested in cryptocurrencies.
