Download SHOUTcast Radio Tools

HOW TO SETUP YOUR OWN INTERNET RADIO STATION!

You can start your own internet radio station and be listed on the SHOUTcast.com Radio Station directory in two ways. Based on your level of technical expertise and the tools available to you, you may wish to either setup your own server, or find a hosting solution from a third party.

Broadcasting through a third-party server or stream hosting solution: Using Winamp with the SHOUTcast Radio DSP Plug-in

If you would like to start your own internet radio station without the hassle of running your own server this is the solution for you. You can host your radio broadcast through a willing third party that will handle the actual streaming for you, leaving you to only worry about what you want to play on your internet radio station! You can search the Internet for the streaming host solution that fits you needs and your budget. You can get more information about what type of streaming host solution is right for you on the SHOUTcast forums.

Once you have a streaming host in place, you can use the Winamp media player along with the SHOUTcast DSP plug-in to start broadcasting. This plug-in is responsible for sending the audio source feed of your internet radio station to your streaming server, from where it is broadcasted out to your listeners.

Instructions - Windows

1. Download Winamp by going to the Winamp site.

2. Download the SHOUTcast Radio DSP plug-in for Winamp. The DSP plug-in is available here.

3. Once you have downloaded the SHOUTcast Radio DSP plug-in, close Winamp if its already running and double-click the installer file that you downloaded in step 2 above, and follow the onscreen instructions to install.

4. Start Winamp and open Preferences (CTRL-P) and click on the DSP/effects subcategory under the Plug-ins tree. See below for example:

5. Once you have the SHOUTcast Radio DSP plug-in setup and properly configured, it will broadcast whatever is currently playing on Winamp on your internet radio station in real time!Please refer to the README that comes with the DSP installer for more instructions on how to use the SHOUTcast Radio DSP, including how you can chose whether to make your station public (i.e., list on the SHOUTcast Radio directory).

Instructions - Unix, Linux & MAC OSX

Not a Windows or Winamp user? Don't worry, we've got you covered! For our advanced users on Mac OS X, Linux and Unix, the UNIX/Linux version of the SHOUTcast Radio DSP permits input from a soundcard in addition to MP3 files on disk. Please refer to the example .conf file included with the archive for more information. Please note that this method of broadcasting is currently in beta and therefore unsupported. Please use at your own risk. Download the SHOUTcast Radio DSP for Unix/Linux/MAC OSX here.

Broadcasting from your own server:
Setting up the SHOUTcast Radio DNAS Application

This tutorial is recommended for advanced users.

If you chose to setup your own server, you will need lots of bandwidth and a stable connection to the Internet. What do we mean by "your own server"? By that we mean a computer host, usually a pretty powerful one, which you can use to serve websites from. In that regard, a SHOUTcast server will be responsible for identifying in the SHOUTcast Radio Directory your radio to your listeners.

Downloading the SHOUTcast DNAS application and setting up your server should take approximately 45 minutes of your time, but may take longer depending on your level of technical expertise.

Ready? Let's get started:

Installation instructions for each platform are below:

The configuration parameters and what they all mean, including how you can choose whether to make your station public are explained in the Documentation.

GLOSSARY of Terms

Complying with copyright laws

Musical compositions and sound recordings are creative works that are protected by the copyright laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) and other countries. Under U.S. law, the owner of a copyright has the exclusive right to (and to authorize others to) reproduce the work, use parts of the work in a new creation, distribute the work in whole or in part, and to publicly display or perform the work (including on web pages and through webcasting). With few exceptions, it is illegal to reproduce, distribute or broadcast a sound recording without the permission of the copyright owner. It is your responsibility to comply with the copyright laws of the United States and other countries in which you broadcast and to pay all applicable royalties to the copyright owners when you become a webcaster. Keep in mind that SHOUTcast Radio is available internationally.

There have been recent amendments to the copyright law regarding webcasting of sound recordings. These new provisions allow webcasting under the terms of a statutory license, as a way to help webcasters get permission without having to go to each sound recording's owner. The statutory license, however, has strict requirements that you must follow. Some of these requirements include the payment of license fees, limitations on the number of songs from the same album or artist that may be played in a three hour period (called the sound recording performance complement); a prohibition on publishing advance playlists; and a requirement to identify the song, artist and album on the website. There are other requirements as well. The Recording Industry Association of America provides quite a bit of information on copyright law as it applies to webcasting, and both ASCAP and BMI have created license agreements that they are willing to grant to webcasters that they believe conform to the provisions of the new copyright rules for webcasting. For additional information on the statutory license and other aspects of webcasting, please visit the following sites:

If you are uncertain about what you can and cannot do, we suggest you check with the copyright owner or the owner's representatives (such as through the organizations above), or consult a lawyer.