How to Build Operate an Internet Radio Station

Buy Web Hosting

1. Purchase website hosting to host your Internet radio station. You can usually choose monthly or yearly payment plans, and, as of December 2010, most hosts cost less than $20 a month for shared hosting. If you want to use a dedicated host that is just for your radio station, the price will go up significantly, sometimes to as much as $100 a month or more.

2. Choose a domain name for your radio station. This is the address your radio station will be found at online once it goes live.

3. Sign up for an account at the domain name registrar of your choice. GoDaddy, 1and1, and NameCheap are all popular and well-regarded registrars, but there are many others. It is free to set up an account at nearly every domain name registrar.

4. Purchase the domain name for your radio station.

5. Go to your website host and obtain the nameservers for the host. The nameservers will usually be located in the control panel, or the host will email them to you when you purchase your hosting account.

6. Copy your website host's nameservers, then go back to the domain name registrar and change the existing nameservers to those of your website host.

7. Add your domain name to your website hosting account.

8. Open up the file manager on your website host. This will take you to the root folder of the website you're going to be building on the domain name.

9. Find Internet radio software to install on your site. Shoutcast is free Internet Radio software that is easy to install and use.

10. Download the Internet radio software you have selected to your computer's desktop.

11. Go back to the window that has the file manager for your website opened in it, and upload the radio software to the root folder of your website. If the software is zipped, unzip it after you upload it.

12. Double-click on the radio software folder and configure the software.

13. Open a new window on your computer and open your Web browser in it. Type in your domain name into the address bar. Your Internet radio site should appear, and if you have configured the software properly, it should be working. You are now the proud owner of your own radio station.

14. Start operating your radio show by uploading content to it.

15. Promote your radio station. A few well placed articles, press releases, forum posts and blog posts should start getting the word out about your new radio station.