Radio hosting FAQ: answers for station owners

A computer in the studio with the mixing desk output connected (or an audio interface), an internet connection with a stable upload (1 Mbps is enough for 128 kbps), a hosting service and the encoder the provider indicates. With that, the station is on air online within the hour; the website player, directories and app come next.

With INOVANEX, the 500 concurrent listener plan at 128 kbps AAC costs US$ 12.59 a month (US$ 0.42 a day), in US dollars with no VAT added, including encoder, player, statistics, delivery network and transfer. Other providers publish lower prices with lower quality, no network or listener-hour caps: the comparison puts them on the same basis.

If the station has been on air for a while and the plan is already sized, annual billing usually brings a discount and saves the monthly payment. If the station is growing, stay month to month until you know your real peak, then move to annual on the right plan. Always check the renewal price.

The listener who arrives when the plan is full cannot connect. Panels show how many times it happened; when it does, move up to the next plan (at INOVANEX it is an immediate change, nothing to migrate). Better to move up a plan than to lose listeners during the big show.

For the listener it makes no difference: both deliver audio over HTTP and work with almost everything. What matters is that the host also delivers HLS and gives you an HTTPS URL. Shoutcast and Icecast hosting covers the details.

128 kbps AAC for music radio; 96 kbps AAC is enough for talk. 64 kbps MP3 is audibly compressed and only makes sense for listeners with very limited data. Above 128, everyday listening barely improves and the listener's data use doubles.

AAC: at the same bitrate it sounds better, especially below 128 kbps, and every current phone and browser plays it. MP3 only if your audience has very old devices that can't decode AAC; in that case the provider can offer both mount points at once.

The one your provider supplies and sets up, if it is its own encoder with audio processing (the case with INOVANEX). Otherwise BUTT (free; Windows, Mac and Linux) is the simplest and most stable; RadioBOSS, SAM Broadcaster and Mixxx include an encoder for stations that automate from the PC.

Because FM goes through an audio processor (compression, limiting, multiband EQ) and the stream often doesn't. Process the audio before the encoder: with a hardware processor, a plugin, or an encoder that includes one. It is one of the most audible differences between providers.

A music library on the server that airs when the encoder isn't sending. It avoids dead air if the studio connection fails and lets you schedule hours with nobody in the studio. 10 GB (about 2,500 songs) is a good starting point.

That is latency: a few seconds on Icecast (the player buffer) and 10 to 30 seconds on HLS. It is normal; just keep it in mind for time checks or "call now" contests with stream listeners.

How many people are connected at the same time. Most plans are sold by that number (the peak), not by daily or monthly listeners. The calculator estimates the peak from your daily audience.

Each directory has a free sign-up form where you enter the stream URL, logo and details. Use a stream URL on your own domain that points to the provider, so a future move means changing one record instead of every directory.

Country, approximate city, device and browser or app, yes. Personal data, no: streaming does not identify people. For real interaction there is your own app (chat, quizzes, voluntary sign-up).

Usually yes, and it depends on where you operate and where your audience is: in the US, organizations such as SoundExchange and the performing rights organizations; in the UK, PRS and PPL; elsewhere, the local collecting societies. Some hosting plans bundle licensing for certain countries; INOVANEX does not include it, so check with the licensing bodies that apply to you.

If part of your audience listens in the car, or you want to reach them without depending on social media, yes. The radio station app page explains what it needs and what it costs.

Support that answers while you are on air, which means always: published hours, an emergency channel and response times in writing. And support that understands radio (encoders, processing, directories), not just servers.

No, if you keep both services active for a few days and update player, apps and directories before cancelling the old one. The step by step is in this guide.