Dan Williams wants to give Cwmbran its own internet radio station
Dan Williams wants to give Cwmbran its own internet radio station
A Cwmbran teenager wants to set up an internet radio station for the town. Dan Williams, aged 16, from Thornhill, wants to bring his experience of helping to run shows on Newport City Radio and Flame Radio to the town.
He told Cwmbran Life: “I think an internet station would be a success in Cwmbran as in 2004 there was a 28-day FM trial station called Crow FM which proved to be a hit. The station allowed many people to get involved in an area that some people may think is pretty tricky. It also brought Cwmbran that ‘localness’ where people felt as if they were having a chat with their neighbour instead of a larger station.
“Cwmbran has remained without a radio station but in those years technology has advanced and smartphones mean that everybody knows what an app is and how easy it is to download them. An internet station can be listened to on the internet and through an app on a mobile phone, iPod, iPad and all these other devices that are constantly being released. As well as that, you can also connect many mobile phones to your car where you can stream the internet station through your car speakers. There would be no difference to listening to an FM station.”
“Go for it”
“Many people that I’ve spoken to so far about the idea have told me to go for it. Several of the people I’ve shared the project idea with are people that I’ve worked with on radio stations and they’ve said they’d also get involved when the project is up and running. I’ve also spoke to people about their companies getting involved with the station.
“I was always fascinated in the whole idea of radio whilst growing up. I would sit there for hours listening to different radio shows and how the presenters would handle them. In 2011 started talking to a presenter at Newport City Radio which is also an internet station.
“He asked if I’d like to go down to the station one day and sit in on his show as a guest to see how it all works and before I knew it I was having a chat with the station manager about getting involved with shows on a more frequent basis. I was going to the station every Friday afternoon or evening and was the producer of a show called ‘Newport City Anthems’. This meant I had to put the show’s playlist together including the jingles for the station, promos for songs, adverts for companies and the songs for the presenter to play.
“Whilst in the production room I would listen to the way that the presenter would run the show and mentally store notes in my head about this. I would then go home and record myself presenting shows on a website called Spreaker where it’s free to make an account and add your own music to make radio shows to share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and plenty of other places.
“As my GCSEs were coming up I couldn’t commit to the station as often as I was required at that point because I had revision for exams so I had no choice but to leave the station.
Flame Radio shuts down
“As the end of 2012 approached I discovered another internet station in Pontypool called Flame Radio. I put together the radio equivalent to a CV which is a demo. This outlined my strong points of being a presenter and before I knew it I was asked to go in for a chat with the station manager about having my own show. The next week I was presenting my own drive-time show on a Thursday playing all the latest UK Top 40 tracks.
“It was announced in 2013 that Flame Radio would be closing so of course I left and then I had no show to be a presenter or a producer.
“The idea hit me to start my own station”
“That’s when the idea hit me that I could start my own right here in Cwmbran.
“I think it could be really successful and help to give Cwmbran the voice that it’s been missing since Crow FM. You can literally start your own internet station with a laptop and a microphone. Of course, to be a more advanced radio station, you need a lot more like a full presenters’ desk which has a lot of confusing sliders.
“I’ll never forget the advice they gave me which was: ‘You keep on keepin on and you’ll be good….but aim higher than us buddy.’
You can get involved if you can work a kettle 🙂
“On a personal level, I also look up to an amazing lady called Shelley McGuire who I’ve known ever since I began my radio career at Newport City Radio. You could almost say she’s my ‘radio mother’. I can go to her for almost anything radio related and she’ll always have the right answers for me.
“Working in radio doesn’t necessarily mean being on air and speaking just in case you’re reading this and thinking ‘I’d like to do that but I don’t have the confidence’. You can of course be a producer, which doesn’t involve too much other than sitting at a desk for a few hours staring at a computer screen and drinking lots of tea or coffee to keep you going.”
Get involved in Dan’s plans
To find out more about Dan’s plans email him on [email protected] and keep an eye on Cwmbran Life.
