Comment by solomonb

Comment by solomonb 18 hours ago

Continuing to work on a Low Power FM community radio station for the East San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. We have started promoting and putting on local events and are trying to fund raise to build out the station. Raising money is hard! We did a big show in Burbank where several hundred people showed up but we only netted $800 after expenses. :(

We were featured on our local NPR syndicate which is neat: https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-activities/new-grassroots...

https://kpbj.fm/

Since this is hackernews, i'll add that i'm building the website and archiving system using haskell and htmx, but what is currently live is a temp static html site. https://github.com/solomon-b/kpbj.fm

jimhi 12 hours ago

This is sick - I happen to run a site for DIY and community organizations like yours. We have proven the best way to fundraise is to throw events like you did but to upsell people on a recurring donation when they get the ticket.

On the off chance you are throwing another event, I would love to help you raise much more than $800 one time (my site is https://withfriends.events/)

Reply View 4 replies

solomonb 12 hours ago

Thanks! We are working on another event for december. Our goal is to do a show roughly every 3 months. Whats the best way to reach you?

Reply View | 1 reply
- jimhi an hour ago
  
  Email in the profile or james@withfriends.events
  
  Reply View | 0 replies
mnky9800n 10 hours ago

How do you raise money for an event and also keep track of things for taxes?

Reply View | 1 reply
- jimhi an hour ago
  
  Short answer is I would just recommend one of the tons of tax software out there specific to LLC, individual, 501c3. My site helps with the raising money part and just integrates and gives advice for that
  
  Reply View | 0 replies

ztetranz 17 hours ago

I wish you good luck.

This might be a naive question which you've probably been asked plenty of times before so I'm sorry of I'm being tedious here.

Is it really worth the effort and expense to have a real radio station these days? Wouldn't an online stream be just as effective if it was promoted well locally?

A few years ago a friend who was very much involved in a local community group which I was also somewhat interested in asked me if I wanted to help build a low power FM station. He asked me because I know something about radio since I was into ham radio etc.

I was skeptical that it was worth the effort. The nerdy part of me would have enjoyed doing it but I couldn't help thinking that an online stream would probably reach as many people without the hassle and expensive of a transmitter, antenna etc.

I know it's a toss up. Every car has an FM radio. Not everyone is going to have a phone plugged in to Android Auto or Apple Car Play and have a good data plan and have a solid connection.

I also pointed out that the technical effort is probably the small part compared to producing interesting content.

Reply View 2 replies

solomonb 16 hours ago

I have a lot of thoughts about this!
1. Radio is COOL. As a fellow ham I think you would agree with me on this one so I'll leave it at that.
2. Internet streaming gives you wider but far less localized audience. We will have an internet stream, but being radio first shifts the focus to local community and local content.
3. Internet streaming and radio have related but not entirely overlapping histories and contexts which impacts how people produce and consume their content. I love the traditional formats of radio and they are often completely missing in online radio which IMO models itself more often on mixtape and club DJ culture.
4. AI slop is ruining the world. I have this belief that as AI slop further conquers the internet we are going to get to a place where nobody trusts internet content. People will seek out novelty and authenticity (sort of how LLMs do lol) and I think there will be a return to local content and community.
5. Commercial radio sucks. The LPFM system is a wonderful opportunity to create a strong, community driven alternative to corporate media.

Reply View | 1 reply
- jollyjerry 14 hours ago
  
  Radio is so much fun to learn. It’s liberating to learn for curiosity and joy rather than commercialization. The community is welcoming, and while not directly translatable for most paid work, it does teach general problem solving skills.
  
  Reply View | 0 replies