about the outsiders
The Outsiders Music Show started with a pilot back in early March 2024. After a couple of weeks of fine tuning, episode 1 was streamed live and archived to mixcloud.com on the 21st March. 112 shows later (subject to me updating that total each week here so I don't look slack) here we are now.
I posted on Facebook to all my old and current indie pop friends, I asked if any one wanted to start an indie pop radio station? The idea was met with complete silence. I instantly thought this was therefore an idea worth pursuing. That's how my brain is hard-wired unfortunately. So where could a privateer have their own show, play copyrighted music and be as accessible as possible to the general public with an internet connection?
Turns out there isn't much choice. I chose Mixcloud. For £9.00 a month I can stream live as much as I want, save each show without limitations and have it available to listen to on demand from a secure reliable platform.
What do you need to start an online show? Assuming that you have next to nothing, not that much. A computer of some description is rather important. Some people do a show from a tablet or a mobile phone. They are crackers but I admire them tremendously.
HARDWARE: A modest laptop will do (although I like as many screen inches as possible so run with a desktop windows 11 PC and two 27" monitors) If you are going to talk, and why the hell wouldn't you, you can start with a half-decent gaming headset. Something like the Hyper X Cloud II is ideal. It has superb stereo sound and the mic can be enhanced with free software so it doesn't sound quite so 'Call Of Duty' on Twitch.
Going up a notch would involve you buying an audio interface to connect a better mic to your computer. There are plenty of YouTube videos to show you various choices and budgets.
SOFTWARE: I stream and record the show using OBS. It's free open source software. I master the show with Audacity. Again it's free. I will no longer type the word free as I continue, just note that everything I use is, you guessed it, free. I create the graphics for the show, promos and website using either paint.net or GIMP. Any admin work is done with Libre Office. Video production is covered by Davinci Resolve or Adobe Express for quick simple things.
There are 8.3 billion people in the world, 6 billion are connected to the internet. How many people do you want to listen to your show or station, how many people listening would you consider worth your time and effort? It's a valid question, because the answer is, the amount of shows and stations with no real listeners whatsoever is the vast majority. Always bare in mind that no one asked you to do it so don't expect anything in return.
I posted on Facebook to all my old and current indie pop friends, I asked if any one wanted to start an indie pop radio station? The idea was met with complete silence. I instantly thought this was therefore an idea worth pursuing. That's how my brain is hard-wired unfortunately. So where could a privateer have their own show, play copyrighted music and be as accessible as possible to the general public with an internet connection?
Turns out there isn't much choice. I chose Mixcloud. For £9.00 a month I can stream live as much as I want, save each show without limitations and have it available to listen to on demand from a secure reliable platform.
What do you need to start an online show? Assuming that you have next to nothing, not that much. A computer of some description is rather important. Some people do a show from a tablet or a mobile phone. They are crackers but I admire them tremendously.
HARDWARE: A modest laptop will do (although I like as many screen inches as possible so run with a desktop windows 11 PC and two 27" monitors) If you are going to talk, and why the hell wouldn't you, you can start with a half-decent gaming headset. Something like the Hyper X Cloud II is ideal. It has superb stereo sound and the mic can be enhanced with free software so it doesn't sound quite so 'Call Of Duty' on Twitch.
Going up a notch would involve you buying an audio interface to connect a better mic to your computer. There are plenty of YouTube videos to show you various choices and budgets.
SOFTWARE: I stream and record the show using OBS. It's free open source software. I master the show with Audacity. Again it's free. I will no longer type the word free as I continue, just note that everything I use is, you guessed it, free. I create the graphics for the show, promos and website using either paint.net or GIMP. Any admin work is done with Libre Office. Video production is covered by Davinci Resolve or Adobe Express for quick simple things.
There are 8.3 billion people in the world, 6 billion are connected to the internet. How many people do you want to listen to your show or station, how many people listening would you consider worth your time and effort? It's a valid question, because the answer is, the amount of shows and stations with no real listeners whatsoever is the vast majority. Always bare in mind that no one asked you to do it so don't expect anything in return.
Dave Fennessy was born in Stepney, east London and brought up in Silvertown overlooked by the Royal Docks. As soon as he could he legged it to south east London as living on an industrial estate with awful transport links has its limitations. DNA wise he's 71% Irish and 12% English with a London accent. He was never the same after discovering John Peel, Dolly Mixture, The Chefs, Young Marble Giants, Trixies Big Red Motorbike and the indie pop explosion of the mid eighties that was in turn inspired by 60's girl groups, Ramones, Undertones, The Jam and many others. He ran The Fountain Club in Deptford Broadway, a small anti-music biz live venue with clean toilets, curtains and carpets. He had all his favourite groups come and play in his local pub. He still thinks that was a fantastic idea as it saved on train fare.
He's happily married and lives in Folkestone but can't see the sea. He's kind to animals, politically left wing but extremely right handed. The Outsiders is his latest musical project. He does everything so he doesn't have to pay anyone else to do it. He only plays things he likes and supports. He will never get anywhere with that attitude.
He's happily married and lives in Folkestone but can't see the sea. He's kind to animals, politically left wing but extremely right handed. The Outsiders is his latest musical project. He does everything so he doesn't have to pay anyone else to do it. He only plays things he likes and supports. He will never get anywhere with that attitude.
