Planning Your Internet Radio Station with SAM Broadcaster Pro

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Chapter 1 of 14

Planning Your Internet Radio Station with SAM Broadcaster Pro

Before you install a single piece of software, spend time planning. The decisions you make now will shape your format, your workflow and your hardware choices.

Decide Your Station Format

Your format is the foundation of everything. SAM Broadcaster Pro works with any format, but your choice affects how you build rotations, schedule programming and attract listeners.

Common formats for internet radio stations:

  • Classic Hits — recognisable songs from the 1960s through 1990s
  • Country — mainstream or classic country
  • Rock — album rock, classic rock or active rock
  • Adult Contemporary — soft, broad-appeal pop and easy listening
  • EDM / Dance — electronic music and club tracks
  • Jazz or Blues — specialist format with a loyal audience
  • Talk Radio — interviews, commentary and voice-led programming
  • Community Radio — local interest, mixed format, volunteer-driven

Pick one format and commit to it. A focused format builds a dedicated audience faster than a mixed approach.

Understand the Cost

SAM Broadcaster Pro is paid software, available from Spacial at spacial.com. Budget for the licence cost before you begin, plus ongoing streaming hosting fees from your chosen provider.

Decide Your Operating Style

  • Fully automated — SAM plays music 24/7 with no live intervention
  • Live with automation fill — you present live shows, automation covers the rest
  • Voice tracked — you pre-record presenter breaks and SAM plays them on schedule
  • Mixed — live at peak times, automation overnight

Hardware Requirements

Minimum recommended specifications:

  • Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 (6th generation or newer)
  • 16 GB RAM
  • SSD storage for the system drive, with additional space for your audio library
  • Wired Ethernet connection — Wi-Fi is unreliable for continuous streaming
  • Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit)

Recommended additions:

  • UPS battery backup to protect against power cuts
  • External drive for audio library and database backups
  • A dedicated broadcast PC — avoid running SAM on a machine used for other heavy tasks

Plan Your Audio Library Folder Structure

Before installing SAM Broadcaster Pro, set up a consistent folder structure on your hard drive. A clear layout makes library management much easier from day one.

Suggested layout:

C:RadioMusic
C:RadioJingles
C:RadioSweepers
C:RadioCommercials
C:RadioShows
C:RadioIncoming