Whats an RSL?
RSL stands for Restricted Service Licence and is a special type of radio broadcast licence available from OFCOM - the UK's regulator of all things to do with radio, TV and the media. The licence is designed to allow community groups, such as ourselves, and other special short term broadcasters access to the airwaves. More information can be found on OFCOM's web site. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
How often can we do a RSL?
No more frequently than once every 6m and for no more than 28 days on each occasion.
Are there any other alternatives to an RSL broadcast?
Yers. We also broadcast on the internet whilst simultaneously transmitting on VHF FM but last year (2010), we started offering a daily service on the internet from April 5th 2010. This is accessed via our web site via the ListenLive link on the Home page of our website..
How much does it cost?
For RSL2 it cost us nearly £2000 for the two OFCOM licences and a similar amount for the music licences we need to be legal. These licences are required by the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and Performing Rights Society (PRS) alliance, and Phonographic Performance Ltd. (PPL). Altogether it costs us over £4000 for each and every 28 day RSL and that's without expenses for advertising etc. Even when we are just broadcasting on the Internet we have to pay for PPL and PRS music copyright licences plus insurance none of which is cheap. In addition all the Vintage Radio staff are volunteers who donate their time and skills - no one is paid. The YMCA where we are based are incredibly supportive really look after us and are a major contributor to the continuing success of Vintage Radio.
How do we pay for this?
Donations from individuals and businesses plus grants from various awards and grants bodies. You can also help us by buying your on-line goods via our web shop (see Home page). If you click through and buy some goods then Vintage Radio will get a small commission. The price you pay will be the same as if you went direct to the on-line shops themselves. Donations via our safe and secure on-line PayPal system also help. Any donations or commission we make goes 100% towards running the station. No one on the Vintage Radio team gets paid a salary or wage.
I am already a Vintage Radio presenter how can I help keep the station going?
If you present a programme we would like some more of your time to help in supporting the many and various necessary tasks and roles that are required to keep the station functioning. There is a lot of work that needs to be done behind teh scenes in addition to preparing and presenting programmes all of which are equally vital and important.
Do we have enough money? No, not really!
The grants we have received have allowed us to buy a set of equipment to equip our studio - much of which is second hand but which works. Howver, most grants can only be used for equipment purchase. Our major outgoings are the licence costs and we are always grateful for any donations from Friends, individuals and businesses to help us go on-air and continue to deliver the fantastic programmes that won us our award early in 2009. As of 18th January 2011 we still do not have enough money to go on air for RSL3 but we are confident that we will do so - although it will probably be late 2011 at the earliest. We can afford to fund a limited daily internet based service which started in April 2010. If you do know of any way in which we can raise more funds then please do not hesitate to raise this at a planning meeting or the AGM or preferably send us a cheque or make a donation. We have an on-line shopping arrangement. The links are on the Home page. We get a small commission for every article purchased on-line via our new BuyAt shop. In addition we have a safe and secure donation system provided by PayPal. Any credit or debit card will work. A donation of just £6, for example, is the equivalent of about 11p per week for a year.
How can I help? By not being shy and coming forward!
Please do not wait to be asked if you think you might be able to help. We are desperate for people to produce and present more programmes that fits our Vintage Radio style. If you write stories, plays, poetry, produce documentaries on any subject whatsoever etc etc and want another outlet for your creativity get in touch with us now. We also need more technical staff to take on editing and programme production and scheduling roles.
You have already have technical support and presenters, what else has to be done to keep the station going?
We need help for administration of the station - e.g. sorting out mailshots, filing, taking minutes, ensuring the necessary OFCOM and music licences are in place and paid for etc. We need help to publicise and market the station. This involves talking to people and groups, designing and distributing leaflets and developing and delivering a viable marketing and publicity strategy We need urgent help in fund raising, from talking to local shopkeepers to writing to large corporations. We need help to write the fund raising proposals. We need help to write content for the web site to complement the programmes we produce and present. We need help to manage our programme archive If you can help In any of the roles and tasks above we would expect you to ask for and seek help from other Vintage Radio members. We need technical help to redord and edit programmes, schedule teh programmes on our station automation syste, etc. We are a team and we need to spread the load as much as possible. There is a wealth of talent in the Vintage Radio team and we all need to see how we can harness it.
Why should I go to the planning meetings or the AGM ?
Vintage Radio relies on the support of its members. Attending the meetings gives you the chance to voice your suggestions, opinions and influence the way in which Vintage Radio is headed. Going along to the meetings also means that you can hear the latest updates of what is happening. It costs us a lot of money to send out mail shots - money we need for our RSLs. You can help keep costs down by letting other members know by phoning them, having a chat etc. They may be unable to attend the meetings or perhaps they don't have access to the Internet to look at the Vintage Radio web site.
What roles are required to keep Vintage Radio broadcasting?
There are three areas that we always need more help. Firstly, producing and presenting programmes; even for the 21 programme hours a week we rely on a dedicated band of producers and presenters. We want to treble this number so come along and contact Vintage Radio. Why? Creating programmes is fun, rewarding and interesting and they bring pleasure to many people but it takes time. Secondly, we need help on the back office tasks to administer the station. The third area which needs support is technical. We desperately need more technical staff particularly when we go live on the internet and also when we run our next RSL. We will also need technical support to be on-hand whilst the studio is running live. We plan to start live internet broadcasts (as opposed to the pre-recorded ones we are broadcasting at present) from April 2011. We also need people to help record and edit programmes for those programme producers who wish to concentrate on the programme making rather than the technical side.
Why do I have to pay a subscription, it was free when Vintage Radio first started?
When Vintage Radio went on the air in February 2009 and to a lesser extent November 2009 it was funded by the charity Help the Aged as part of their out reach funding programmes. Since Help the Aged has merged with Age Concern in April 2010. Wwhen it became Age UK the charity no longer funded the station so we have had to put in place a subscription system like the local hospital radio groups. This is required to help fund the basic insurance and provide a small sum towards running costs which are very expensive. Despite our subscriptions this is still not enough money to fund us to go on the VHF radio for an RSL so we have to be content with broadcasting on the Internet. Our audience has been increasing month on month since we started in April 2010. We have been fortunate in getting some grants in 2010 to purchase new equipment mainly for external broadcasting, such as handheld digital recorders. But we desperately need funds to provide for the station running costs
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