Frequently Asked Questions

Radio Stations use frequencies emitted from a transmitter in order to broadcast on the FM band!

In order to legally broadcast on FM frequency bands you have to obtain a license from the FCC. 

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States.

BDS Station (Broadcast Data Systems) tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs.

Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.

Internet radio is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted broadly through wireless mean. 

A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet.

Campus or college radio is run by a college, university or other educational institution. An alternative to commercial broadcasting.  They are distributed through FM, TV, Internet radio and throughout the campus. 

Commercial Radio rely on advertisements to generate their profits, because outside companies pay commercial stations for ad placement. The station is like an auditory billboard, charging a price in exchange for giving other companies exposure to their listeners

Non-Commercial Radio tend to be labors of love. They are generally run by smaller staffs, often consisting of volunteers and community members who are simply in it for the love.

Notes: 

Almost every FM station offers an online radio stream. However internet radio stations can’t broadcast on the FM band without a license from the FCC. 

Billboard manages a wide range of charts based on a number of factors, including physical sales, digital downloads, radio airplay and streaming. 

You need to sell, on average, 450 to 500 albums in the first week to get on a Billboard chart. Or get between 562,500 and 1,687,500 streams. Or have a combination of the two. 

Here are a few streaming services: 

Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, MixCloud, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Tidal, Deezer, Pandora, Jango, Napster….

104.9FM WRBB Boston is a college, non-commercial, bds, fcc mandated station. 

Copyrighting your song is mandatory for protecting your music against plagiarism and theft.

This requires registering your songs and music with the US Copyright Office (USCO) this increase your leverage, protection & power, when it comes to making money and negotiations. 

1. Make a physical copy
2.File the forms with the USCO 

Please note that every piece of recorded music has two sides that the industry treats separately

- The publishing copyright (written composition)

- The master copyright (sound recording)

3. If you want to claim the copyright for the composition or underlying musical work; fill out Form PA (Performing Arts).

If you want to claim the copyright for a sound recording or recorded performance; fill out Form SR (Sound Recording).

If you’re the single owner of both the composition AND sound recording, you only need to fill out ONE form – SR. 

Use the authorship statement in Space 2

Please note you can save money if you are copyrighting an entire album or EP by submitting all the songs at once

https://www.copyright.gov/

The Sound Recording = Master Rights

The Composition = Publishing Rights

The 3 main types of royalties that come from publishing rights are…

Performing royalties: Royalties obtained  by live performances of a song. 

Mechanical royalties: Royalties from physical copies of a song and digital streams and downloads. 

Sync licensing royalties: Royalties are generated when a song is broadcasted through media 

When you own your masters you stay in control 

WRBB broadcasts on the FM Band in the Boston area! If you are outside of the area you can listen live on www.wrbbradio.org or the TuneIn app, or just ask Siri to play WRBB on your electronic device.