Broadcasting on the Internet - An exploratory qualitative research into non-commercial internet radios’ sustainability

This study explores the different attitudes of non-commercial/non-profit internet radios. First, it defines and analyses the development of broadcasting with a major focus on the impact of the digital revolution and the internet. Second, the research highlights the staff ‘intrinsic motivations and the practices that they undertake to raise their finance. As internet radios are becoming the more and more relevant in the global, underground culture, the aim of this research is to explore this phenomenon that has been almost ignored by the academic literature. Specifically, this study wants to find an answer to the overall research question: How do non-profit internet radio stations stay economically sustainable, while the motivation of the people in charge is foremost intrinsic? In order to do so, data has been collected from ten in-depth interviews with the staff of as many internet radios and analysed with a qualitative approach. The results confirm that people working for non-commercial internet radios are intrinsically motivated. Thus, their stimulus to broadcast can be found in their willingness to be a space for experimentation and alternative content. They aim to be more than a broadcasting platform namely a community-hub for creative people and listeners, locally and internationally. Since they are advertiser free and non-profit, non-commercial internet radios earn their income by undertaking activities outside the mere broadcasting. As a consequence, they are paid by other cultural organisations for curatorial and programming services, they apply for public funding and they receive private donations. Beside this, non-commercial internet radios use online channels to promote their platforms and the artists that they represent. Thus, despite the countless opportunities that those channels provide to them, some concerns are arising in regards of their content protection and identity. Lastly, non-commercial internet radios are strongly connected to their community, in a relationship that is of mutual empowerment. On the one hand, individuals find in internet radios a place where to belong and voices to identify with. On the other hand, non-commercial internet radios are motivated by their listeners to continue produce their goods and services.