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London pirate radio - news and discussion

ska invita said:
Listening to Rinse today, and supposedly they are trying to get a petition together to go legal. They wont get it mind - the authority that gives out those licenses are a bunch of ____ , but it was encouraging to hear lots of Rinse listeners complaining that if they go legal the station will go shit. I agree with them - inevitably it will go advert mad, and lose its soul. Look at Kiss and Choice (better still don't).

However, it is worth remembering that people who run these station do it for the love: on the whole DJs dont get paid (on Don FM you had to pay them to play!) , you have to put up with getting all your equipment nicked - its one big headache really. There's a few pennies to made out of ads, but barely.

Someone posted "I dont like any of the music on any of those stations" - fact is its the peoples love of the music and the scene that makes these stations run - if your taste in music isn't being represented, its down to people from your scene to get it together. When you think of it that way you realise just how much hard work goes into pirates - especially now they're 24/7.

*P.S. I noticed DeJa Vu 92.4 FM isnt on the list, just in case you want to have it more complete! (http://www.vulive.co.uk/)
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You were saying? LOL
At the time of writing, I think they've kept it real although a lot less MCs.
 
A post I made in 2009... Happy to say I got it 100% wrong!


ska invita said:
Listening to Rinse today, and supposedly they are trying to get a petition together to go legal. They wont get it mind - the authority that gives out those licenses are a bunch of ____ , but it was encouraging to hear lots of Rinse listeners complaining that if they go legal the station will go shit. I agree with them - inevitably it will go advert mad, and lose its soul.
Click to expand...

Got there license and still never have any adverts somehow. I am curious how they make ends meet
 
ska invita said:
Got there license and still never have any adverts somehow. I am curious how they make ends meet
Click to expand...

Interesting. They were granted a 'community radio licence', which does limit the amount of running costs that can be covered by advertising/sponsorship, IIRC it's 50%, the rest has to be covered by donations, selling merchandise, holding events or if very likely grants, etc.

It is, however, strange they are not running any ads at all. In normal times, do the DJs promote their own gigs, in which case they could actually pay fees to be on air? Do they run fund raising events, or have a supporters club? I see they sell merchandise & records via their website.

Radio Caroline holds an annual fund raising weekend, when listeners are encouraged to donate, almost £50k was raised this year, or join the supporters' club at £7.50pm, their web shop brings in more cash, selling specific Caroline merchandise and more general pirate radio stuff, such as books, CDs & DVDs. Plus they do boat trips and tours of their ship, the Ross Revenge, that is anchored on the River Blackwater, which are during non-covid times always fully booked during their monthly broadcasts from the ship.

But, they still run ads, although nowhere near the level on mainstream commercial stations, but their costs are high, having to maintain the ship, rent on their studios & office in Kent, more rent for the former BBC World Service site & mast, which is used for their 1 Kw AM transmitter, that costs a fair bit in electricity, plus pay to be on around 6 or 7 small scale DAB outlets across the country. The 'staff' remains all volunteers, no one is paid.

Whereas, Rinse's cost will be a tiny fraction of that, if you can find cheap premises, the electricity bill will be low enough for a fairly low powered FM transmitter, with volunteer staff, and record companies supplying both back catalogue and new releases free of charge, there's not that much in other outgoings TBH.

EDIT - Oh, they have their own record label, so that's probably subsidising the radio station.

Rinse Recordings
 
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cupid_stunt said:
Interesting. They were granted a 'community radio licence', which does limit the amount of running costs that can be covered by advertising/sponsorship, IIRC it's 50%, the rest has to be covered by donations, selling merchandise, holding events or if very likely grants, etc.

It is, however, strange they are not running any ads at all. In normal times, do the DJs promote their own gigs, in which case they could actually pay fees to be on air? Do they run fund raising events, or have a supporters club? I see they sell merchandise & records via their website.

Radio Caroline holds an annual fund raising weekend, when listeners are encouraged to donate, almost £50k was raised this year, or join the supporters' club at £7.50pm, their web shop brings in more cash, selling specific Caroline merchandise and more general pirate radio stuff, such as books, CDs & DVDs. Plus they do boat trips and tours of their ship, the Ross Revenge, that is anchored on the River Blackwater, which are during non-covid times always fully booked during their monthly broadcasts from the ship.

But, they still run ads, although nowhere near the level on mainstream commercial stations, but their costs are high, having to maintain the ship, rent on their studios & office in Kent, more rent for the former BBC World Service site & mast, which is used for their 1 Kw AM transmitter, that costs a fair bit in electricity, plus pay to be on around 6 or 7 small scale DAB outlets across the country. The 'staff' remains all volunteers, no one is paid.

Whereas, Rinse's cost will be a tiny fraction of that, if you can find cheap premises, the electricity bill will be low enough for a fairly low powered FM transmitter, with volunteer staff, and record companies supplying both back catalogue and new releases free of charge, there's not that much in other outgoings TBH.

EDIT - Oh, they have their own record label, so that's probably subsidising the radio station.

Rinse Recordings
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its weird
no ads
barely any live events - an occasional thing here and there, a couple a year Id say (used to to boxing day party quite regularly)
limited merch (a couple of tshirts)
the label is very part-time, and limited pressings, more true to the scene promotion....cant be a big income stream (last release was 2015 https://www.discogs.com/label/28975-Rinse-Recordings?sort=year&sort_order=asc&page=2)
they've a studio on brick lane (or thats where its been for years, may have changed) cant be that cheap
id love to know the reality of it
 
Rinse have moved into a new studio from what Uncle Dugs was saying on Friday. His first show in it.
I don't listen to the station apart from his show so don't know much more about it.
 
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Fozzie Bear said:
ska invita

It’s a good Q. Sarah Souljah now seems to be heavy into arts funding so maybe that?

future.london

Sarah Lockhart - Foundation for Future London

Sarah Lockhart has worked tirelessly in London within creative and youth culture for the last 20 years. Her passion is to blend diverse communities with mainstream environments using collaboration and respect.
future.london future.london
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If you get official arts council funding you have to display the logo I think?
Supposedly it's become a badge of shame and resentment this year as arts outfits are dying off from Covid, whilst a handful survive by getting such funding
 
ska invita said:
If you get official arts council funding you have to display the logo I think?
Supposedly it's become a badge of shame and resentment this year as arts outfits are dying off from Covid, whilst a handful survive by getting such funding
Click to expand...

Aye. Or maybe they still make the DJs pay like with the pirates?
 
For any extreme anoraks, like me, you maybe interested in this book, BANNED BY THE BBC - How I Became a Radio Pirate - by a co-funder of Radio Concord, the original anarchist station that transmitted from squats, they used to feature the Squatters Estate Agency which listed properties ripe for squatting, promote free festivals, and other alternative causes & stuff.

It grew out of the west London squatting scene between 1971 and 1977, sometimes broadcasting from the house in Maida Vale where Joe Strummer lived with the 101ers. This was a politicised counterculture station, and would comment on issues like Northern Ireland and housing rights. “They have even been critical of the Queen,” the Daily Mail reported. One time, they were busted while broadcasting so stuck a mike through the letterbox to try and interview the GPO & police live on air.

From the book's website -

When the pirate radio ships were banned by the British government in 1967, their legacy was continued by clandestine land-based pirates, risking capture at every broadcast to break the BBC’s radio monopoly.

Co-founding notorious Radio Concord in 1971 until 1977, this personal memoir spans the never-before-told inside story of pirate radio, squatting, punk music, social issues, and revolutionary politics I experienced in the demi-monde of London in the 1960s and 70s.

Why was my phone tapped? What made the police, Special Branch, crime reporters, and even the post office pursue me? Free speech, and privacy rights come at a steep price in any age, as we now know in this post-Manning, Assange and Snowden world.

Highlights include squatting the Queen’s Windsor Castle Great Park, scaling Mick Jagger’s House, befriending Joe Strummer, and dancing naked at a Stonehenge Free Festival. Mingle with hippies, judges, intellectuals, politicians, techies, artists and rock stars. For life context, I include experiences at Jimi Hendrix’s disastrous last concert, crashing a Rolling Stones private rehearsal, and a motorbike ride with Bison in the Badlands…
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There's some short reviews on the website, and a copy of a court fine issued in Jan. '75 at £10.00, which according to the B of E inflation calculator is equal to around £85 now, bargain!

Banned by the BBC - Pirate Radio in 1970s London - Book < DO NOT USE THE 'BUY NOW' BUTTON, it takes you to Amazon US and with shipping it ends up at £21.11, luckily I managed to cancel that order, when I found it also available on the UK site at £13.32 & free delivery, link: Banned By The BBC!: How I Became a Radio Pirate: Amazon.co.uk: Levine, Arnold M. D.: 9781735807485: Books

More about the station -

I remember one particular Radio Concord transmission where three sites had been prepared in advance, the first was a house in Elgin Avenue where there was only power for the rig, but no lights. The rig was enormous, built on a milk crate, it had 813's in the pa, and another huge tray held the power supply and capacitors. We sat in the bay window looking out on the street (where the aerial was strung the whole length of the road), suddenly there was Eric Gotts (GPO - responsible as the time for raiding pirates) in the front garden peering in. He could not see us in the dark, one of the Concord helpers (a French army deserter) ran down to the basement unplugged the rig and PSU, ran with it and climbed over the back garden fence. How he managed this I'll never know, must have been the army training.

Anyway Gotts started to look bemused, the signal bearing had suddenly changed, when our site went off air, the next one had turned on. He eventually wandered off and we drove to the next site which was now on air, if I recall correctly this was located at Hornsey Rise in Goldie House, a squatted block of flats. These flats had open balconies connecting the front doors, and while we were there a women decided to throw over a washing machine (or fridge I can't remember) at her bloke who was legging it away at ground level. Certainly an eventful night which culminated in Arnold (driving his red open top MG sports car) being hailed down by the police at about 5am, they were parked facing the wrong way and Arnold just put his toe down and we escaped back to our HQ in Quex Road Kilburn.

Never had so much fun on those broadcasts, we also had a good supply of stimulants to help with the all nighters. That was real free radio
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You have to be an extreme anorak to actually buy this, 'London Pirate Radio Adverts 1984-93 double album', but it was featured on Radio 4's 'Today' show yesterday, available to play again for 28 days, starts just after 2 hours 45.

Luke Owen from Death is Not The End Records talks about the impact of pirate radio in London then together with some extracts from the LP.

www.bbc.co.uk

Today - 15/02/2021 - BBC Sounds

News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

The double album is available to stream or purchase on Bandcamp.

 
I have been thinking about setting up a local pirate station covering New Cross and Deptford.

This has been on my mind a while. I spent a few quid and some time getting fireman’s keys and lift control keys and control room keys from various sources.

I bought a FM transmitter recently too. I am putting together a test session for broadcast.
See how far I reach and decide on power amp needs and or go scuttering about on windy roofs with my gear to get more gain.

Then I need to make some hard decisions on content and broadcast frequency plus frequency of broadcast. I am happy to collaborate on the content if anyone is interested.

Thoughts?
 
No more FM Community Station licences are being issued. Small scale DAB is all they will consider. I am not a fan of DAB.
 
Well I went for 101.6 FM as it seemed a quiet space in the band. First song was Radioactivity by Kraftwerk.

The sound is too quiet. It’s a clear signal but not loud enough. I’m not going to get much work work done today.
 
I’m dumping the Bluetooth and going for a wire jack from pc to transmitter.
Nominate a tune someone and I will give it another go. :)
 
TopCat said:
Well I went for 101.6 FM as it seemed a quiet space in the band. First song was Radioactivity by Kraftwerk.

The sound is too quiet. It’s a clear signal but not loud enough. I’m not going to get much work work done today.
Click to expand...
KM FM is the station I can hear on that frequency where I am.
 
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