## Radio Buena Vida

**Country:** Scotland, UK

### Broadcast Platform
**Radio.co**

Mostly reliable with a fairly fast turnaround on service issues. Scheduling works well and storage capacity is manageable as long as old shows are cleared out weekly.

However, support is largely automated and rarely answers every question in the first reply, leading to long back-and-forth threads. The platform sometimes makes unannounced changes that affect the player's appearance (e.g. incorrect images showing instead of the station logo), and the clock/timer occasionally displays incorrectly. Scaling up to a bigger package is expensive.

### Live Broadcasting Software (Encoder)
**BUTT**

Very reliable overall, though only one support contact is available if issues arise. If the stream drops, the current setup forces a choice: keep the BUTT recording running and lose live stream audio, or stop and restart the recording (requiring manual splicing of two files afterward).

The audio source setting must be checked every time BUTT is opened, as it defaults to the webcam mic if equipment is powered on in the wrong order. Ambient/quiet music used to cause dropouts, though this happens less now. Shows are started and stopped manually, so recordings capture the actual show cleanly with no dead air or jingles.

### Studio Software / Audio Mixer
**Rodecaster Pro**

Used for pre-streaming limiting, compression, and as the microphone. Works well overall, though the mute button sits very close to the power button, occasionally causing hosts to mute themselves accidentally. The booth monitors mute automatically when hosts are talking to DJs who are mixing, and DJs use two separate headphone sets — one for mixing, one for hearing themselves speak — which can be a bit tricky to manage.

### Website Host
Hosting is managed externally by the station's website manager. It runs on 100% renewable energy, with the provider planting up to 10 trees (via Ecologi) per order/renewal. Included features: unlimited email support, 99.99% uptime SLA, cPanel & WHM, WordPress manager, daily backups with free restores, 360° security & anti-malware, high-performance UK cloud hosting, LiteSpeed caching, and a PHP version manager.

The main drawback is that the manager periodically makes backend changes that break the site, and has a habit of changing passwords without notice — locking the whole team out of email and website access.

### Website Type
**WordPress**

A very basic setup, originally built by a friend mainly to host the web player. It has no archiving or search function, and the "listen" option is hard to find. A full website overhaul is a current funding priority.

### Primary Archive
**SoundCloud**

Offers good global visibility and reach — well recognised, widely used, and easy for listeners to access shows. Downsides include no ownership of content, copyright takedown risk, a poor search function, and a slow/clunky upload process. Shows are listen-only and not downloadable.

### Back-up / Alternative Archive
Hard copies stored on external hard drives. This carries ongoing risk of drive failure or file corruption, and is an extra manual task to maintain.

### Chat Room Provider
**Chatango**

Adopted originally because NTS used it. It's clunky, difficult to log into, and often blocks new users just for saying hello, mistaking them for bots. A move to Discord is planned but hasn't happened yet. An alternative under consideration is reverting to a "burner phone" for messages sent privately and read out on air — since the same small group tends to dominate the visible chat, and public visibility can discourage people with something to say from participating.

### Automation
Two custom-built scripts handle:

- **Automatic Instagram image generation** to promote each show
- **Automastering** of shows (pre- and post-broadcast)

The Instagram generator has saved significant time, previously requiring a team of 4 volunteers — though the team doesn't know how the script works internally and needs documentation from the original volunteer for future-proofing. Despite being fast and easy, many hosts forget or don't use it, leaving some shows without promotional images. The automastering script works well, though the team is curious whether others would choose different limiting, compression, and normalising settings.

### File Storage
Mostly **Dropbox**, with some **Google Drive**.

Dropbox is preferred and all automation is tied to Dropbox folders, which volunteers also use to upload SoundCloud shows. Both are big-tech platforms, so an alternative would be welcome.

### App
None currently — but hoped for in future.

### Funding

- 60% — Café/bar income
- 32% — Grants
- 5% — Events and merchandise
- 4% — Donations

The café/bar doesn't turn a profit due to high hospitality running costs, but has created 1 full-time and 5 part-time jobs (two of which are held by station team members, who rely on these wages). No staff are fully dedicated to the radio, and most radio-related work remains unpaid. As in many countries, public funding is shrinking, and most funders will only support short-term additional/adjacent projects rather than core radio running costs.

**Main public funders:** Creative Scotland (Scottish Government), The National Lottery, The Glasgow Wellbeing Fund, Culture and Business Scotland