Alvhin Adendorff
The onset of the internet totally transformed the way the world listens to music, but it also transformed the world of radio broadcasting.
In the early 2000s, radio outside of the commercial sphere was largely restricted to community and pirate radio stations. Meanwhile internet music stations occupied only a small corner of South Africa’s radio scene, providing music that appealed to niche and alternative audiences.
However, the last couple of years have seen an unlikely explosion of new independent music-focused internet radio stations like A11 Radio, Hamshack Radio, Lilies, and The Other Radio.
For many years the most successful online stations were either versions of commercial radio stations or not purely musical.
But that is changing.
This is because the emerging platforms use the word “radio” – but they don’t operate at all like traditional radio stations.
None of them run for 24 hours per day and the show creators provide content to the platform for free.
With Covid-19 bringing music venues to a standstill for the last 18 months, a number of DJs, producers and other musicians have time available to create shows and share music.
These stations also usually cater for alternative music communities and therefore offer something that is not readily available on mainstream radio stations. This means they are not competing for the same audience and have a better chance of building support.
Unlike venues, the stations are not limited by geography, so they can draw listeners from audiences all over the world. This also creates the opportunity for stations to collaborate with similar ones outside of South Africa.
South African-based DJs have been featured on Worldwide FM, a respected international radio station founded by Giles Peterson. Many of these DJs – like Aaron P, Atiyyah Khan, DJ Okapi, Lerato Lichaba, Simbad and Siyabonga Mthembu – are involved in or appear on these new South African independent stations.
It is not clear at this stage how far this new boom in internet radio will go. But for now, there has never been a better time to enjoy alternative music presented by some of South Africa’s finest DJs.
Image source: @TouchHDOnline
