What platform to use for archiving my radio show?
October 26, 2024 11:11 AM
I am 5 episodes into a radio show that I co-host on a weekly basis and I'm looking for a robust system for archiving my past shows. In my initial search it looks like there are 3 contenders: Soundcloud, Mixcloud, and Archive.org. I'm looking for advice on which of these to consider and/or alternatives I haven't even thought about. Do you have experience archiving radio shows? Any recommendations and/or advice.
Background: This is a two hour music program on a local community radio program that broadcasts locally but also streams online. The radio station actually uses Spinitron, an automatic archive that is useful, but very limited. The station's archive only saves the last two weeks of shows, and for legal reasons, when you stream those archives the player doesn't allow you to skip ahead (or back) you have to listen to the stream straight through.
However, DJs can republish their shows however they'd like. I'd like to have a way for people to access my old shows and be able to at least skip around as needed, Also, to the degree possible, I don't want to have to deal with worrying about copyright strikes, etc. Here's my current research:
Background: This is a two hour music program on a local community radio program that broadcasts locally but also streams online. The radio station actually uses Spinitron, an automatic archive that is useful, but very limited. The station's archive only saves the last two weeks of shows, and for legal reasons, when you stream those archives the player doesn't allow you to skip ahead (or back) you have to listen to the stream straight through.
However, DJs can republish their shows however they'd like. I'd like to have a way for people to access my old shows and be able to at least skip around as needed, Also, to the degree possible, I don't want to have to deal with worrying about copyright strikes, etc. Here's my current research:
- Archive.org is what a few of the stations DJs use now. It has the benefit of a media player that allows you to skip ahead, and hosting there seems to be a gray area as far as copyright is concerned, some of the djs have music going back for years and have never had problems with someone taking it down, and it's also free. But archive.org is not really a place where people discover or promote music shows, and in the last month they've had some real struggles with lawsuits and people hacking into the site. So not sure if this is ideal.
- Mixcloud is my leading contender right now, there are few shows there that follow the model I'm looking at. You publish a show and anyone who is subscribing gets a notification and can listen on a player. They also seem to be the platform that deals with copyright in the most reliable way, my understanding is that the company has negotiated with music companies so you can publish music in a relatively open manner without worrying about copyright strikes, etc. The downside seem so be that not a lot of people know or use Mixcloud.
- Soundcloud (or more specifically Soundcloud Go+) is very wellknown for music, but less so for radio shows, and so I can't really speak to the pros and cons.
I agree with noloveforned that archive.org is more likely to still be around in years to come, even taking the lawsuits into consideration. Also, it's hard to predict the future, so if archive.org ends up being a good host for even 5-10 years, that could be a good solution for that time span, and who knows what services might be available 10 years from now.
I would also agree with noloveforned that you could always do multiple services, if you have the time (and, for any paid options, if you have the budget).
The thing that rules out Mixcloud for me is that the free tier is now limited to 10 shows, so if you want more than that, it's currently about $150/year (less if you prepay for a year).
If I were you, and I were starting a new show with potentially lots of episodes, I would probably give archive.org a try as a starting point, and add on Mixcloud and Soundcloud if you had the time, budget, and inclination.
As for discoverability and promotion - I think even with services that supposedly do offer a lot of that, it's still really easy to get lost in the noise. You're more likely to connect your shows to your listeners by mentioning the archives in your show, and including links on whatever online presence the show already has.
My own experience with discoverability on Mixcloud is that it's not fantastic; people do sometimes "find" my archives there, but not a lot.
Hope that helps! Thanks for creating radio!
posted by kristi at 7:34 PM on October 26, 2024
I would also agree with noloveforned that you could always do multiple services, if you have the time (and, for any paid options, if you have the budget).
The thing that rules out Mixcloud for me is that the free tier is now limited to 10 shows, so if you want more than that, it's currently about $150/year (less if you prepay for a year).
If I were you, and I were starting a new show with potentially lots of episodes, I would probably give archive.org a try as a starting point, and add on Mixcloud and Soundcloud if you had the time, budget, and inclination.
As for discoverability and promotion - I think even with services that supposedly do offer a lot of that, it's still really easy to get lost in the noise. You're more likely to connect your shows to your listeners by mentioning the archives in your show, and including links on whatever online presence the show already has.
My own experience with discoverability on Mixcloud is that it's not fantastic; people do sometimes "find" my archives there, but not a lot.
Hope that helps! Thanks for creating radio!
posted by kristi at 7:34 PM on October 26, 2024
Whatever service you use, I would also make copies on local media (a USB-connected drive for example) for your own use later.
posted by TimHare at 8:08 PM on October 26, 2024
posted by TimHare at 8:08 PM on October 26, 2024
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I have been meaning to get setup on archive.org as well because the shows are more likely to still exist there in 50 years.
So... Both?
posted by noloveforned at 11:20 AM on October 26, 2024