Yes. That is what we do. We take care of the technical part of broadcasting, enabling live remotes, radio automation, setting up the servers, managing connections and logging. You can focus on your content while we handle the IT backend of your online radio broadcast efforts.

The backboneServer is the repository for all your music clips, text annotation and images. After building your playlist your station can be run automatically using standard rotation rules. The backboneServer, as your transmitter, also stores all the administrative information about your station such as audience size, when they were listening, the location from where they were listening and other critical information for your advertisers, underwriters and others who want to tr

Backbone Radio client software operates only on Apple Macintosh computers. Apple’s OS X with iTunes and QuickTime was the first to adopt the powerful advanced feature of the MPEG-4 audio standard such as interleaving live and recorded content. It is upon these technologies we built the Backbone Radio client software. Backbone Radio running on an Apple Macintosh is really price competitive with hardware-based radio automation systems such as those from Broadcast Electronics, E

Along with your Internet connection all you need is a Mac and a Mic. An Intel based Apple Macintosh computer serves as your OnAirStudio and OnAirDisplay console to operate and control your online radio broadcasts. Backbone’s cloud based automation system handles all the backend IT functions required to operate your station. Our servers easily scale to thousands of simultaneous connections, log them, manages your playlists, generates reports and is there for you whenever you

There are many ways for people to listen to your station. They can listener to your stations through a web-browser and the embedded player we provide you as a standard part of your system. Additionally, once you have sufficient content to broadcast Backbone sponsors your station for inclusion in iTunes and TuneIn tuners. These tuners enable your listeners to hear your radio station on well over 100 different devices including the iPhone and Android devices with more device

Yes. As a standard part of our service your station can upgrade to all new versions of OnAirStudio and OnAirDisplay as they become available. This helps to future proof your station and broadcast efforts as we are continually updating and improving your broadcast capabilities.

That really depends upon how many listeners you expect to have, the length of time they will listen and the amount of content you would like to store in the automation system for broadcasting. Our entry level package includes everything you need to broadcast up to 15,000 listener hours and 10 days of programming archive. As you grow your listenership and archival requirements we are there to grow with you with the ability to scale to thousands of simultaneous listeners and a

Backbone Radio uses MPEG-4 as its primary streaming format. The new worldwide standard delivers dramatically higher audio quality coupled with significantly faster compression speed. Backbone Radio builds upon Apple’s QuickTime which provides MPEG-4 compatibility. Defined by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), MPEG-4 is the new worldwide standard for next-generation multimedia, including streaming for audio and video. With the free QuickTime Player, browser plug-in, or i

For Backbone Radio to operate make sure it satisfies the system requirements. These are an Intel based Macintosh with 1GB of memory running OS X 10.6 or later and Quicktime 7.0 or later. Follow the installation and configuration instructions on the disk or watch our YouTube videos . If you are still having trouble please contact us at support @ backbonebroadcast.com and we will set up an online training session where we will set up and configure your system.

Most other Internet radio applications focus on only one of the components of professional broadcasting, either the automation of the playlist or the transmission of the stream. Backbone Radio is an integrated professional broadcast and automation service for internet radio stations. As such it compares to traditional, terrestrial professional broadcast automation systems. This integration gives you full control. You generate your own playlists, either manually or automatical

The Backbone Radio service consists of two components: first, a pair of Macintosh-based “studio” applications for live broadcasting and production scheduling, called OnAirStudio and OnAirDisplay, and a cloud based streaming server hosted and managed by Backbone. The cloud-based service is the Internet radio broadcast streaming server that performs 24×7 automation of playlists, scheduling playlists, takes listener connections, and tracks program logs, listener usage and other

Backbone Radio is Internet radio simplified. Backbone Radio is the easiest, most streamlined way to create and operate a professional sounding Internet radio station. It is an integrated Internet radio streaming service that turns your Macintosh into a broadcast and automation studio. An intuitive pair of Apple Mac apps serve as your control dashboard, in conjunction with the powerful cloud-based Backbone Radio service that manages listener connections to your station. Backbo

Why venue audio must include production capability Venue audio infrastructure must be production-native so programming can be created, managed, and expanded without external complexity. Many systems can deliver audio, but they assume you already have a studio, staff, and workflow somewhere else. Venues and rights holders need an infrastructure layer that can host production when needed, while still allowing external production sources to plug in when they already exist. Produ

Why not every stream is a station. Stations are production environments; channels are synchronized delivery endpoints - separating them is the key to scale and monetization. Some audio experiences are full programming services: they need automation, segments, sponsor inventory, and control. Others are simply a feed that needs to be delivered reliably and in sync. Treating everything the same wastes resources and complicates operations. The Stations vs Channels model is a prac

The three-layer model: Contribution, Production, Distribution The Virtual Audio Backbone is a three-layer architecture that separates ingest, programming, and synchronized delivery so each can scale independently. A venue needs to capture audio (from announcers, accessibility commentators, or other sources), turn it into programs (stations), and deliver it to fans in real time. If those functions are tangled together, the system is hard to scale and hard to operate. If they a

How a venue keeps thousands of devices aligned Synchronization is the capability that turns many individual phones into one audience experience. If two people sitting next to each other hear different moments, the system feels broken. Synchronization is what makes the crowd react together. Synchronization is not an afterthought; it is a primary design objective in venue audio. The system must keep device playback within a tight timing window while operating over variable netw

Why low latency without resilience is fragile A single ultra-low-latency path can look fast in demos and fail in real venues; deterministic systems design resilience alongside latency. A solution can be very fast when everything goes well. But in a packed stadium, wireless conditions change minute by minute. If the system depends on one path (only Wi-Fi or only cellular), a brief disruption can cause dropouts or sudden buffering. Fans do not care why - they only know it faile

How cloud-native systems can produce deterministic outcomes Determinism used to come from dedicated hardware paths; now it can come from architecture that bounds variability and controls timing. Broadcast used to mean fixed equipment and dedicated links. That made timing predictable. Today, cloud systems are distributed and virtualized, which sounds less predictable. Architectural determinism is the idea that you can still get predictable outcomes if the system is designed to

Backbone Broadcast will introduce a new model that gives every professional and collegiate venue its own self-contained, cloud-connected digital radio network.

Why 'when it arrives' is not good enough in a stadium Internet streaming is probabilistic - venue audio must be deterministic enough to keep thousands of listeners aligned. Most streaming systems deliver audio whenever the network manages to deliver it. That is fine when you are listening alone. In a stadium, you are listening in public next to thousands of other people. If your phone is even half a second behind your neighbor's phone, you will notice. Determinism is the diff