Net radio station easy enough to start, but profits harder to get

Two microphones, two guys with headphones, a mixing board for sound levels, phones that can put callers on the air – in many ways, WNIR seems like a classic radio show.

Except that it’s in Bernie Del Llano’s kitchen. Which has obvious drawbacks, but also some benefits.

“We don’t have to worry about the FCC,” he chuckled during a break in a recent broadcast. “You can expect the unexpected.”

Del Llano is a former radio personality from the Lowell, Mass., area who has lived in the Nashua area for more than a decade. He is known here for his work as a DJ at nightclubs and events, including Telegraph events such as Motor Mania and Encore Superstar, and for his 2006 run for the Board of Education.

Now, he and friend Charlie Simoneau are launching an online-only radio show WNIR (“We’re New Hampshire Internet Radio”), trying to join an ongoing transformation of media that is opening opportunities, if not exactly riches. Their wildest dream in terms of income wouldn’t even pay a mortgage.

Still, it could be more difficult, as Del Llano notes: “I’m already in the entertainment business, so I’ve got the exposure.”

Del Llano, 40, and Simoneau, 25, are already on traditional airwaves with a live call-in show two mornings a week on Manchester’s cable-access TV channel, called “Morning Coffee.” Simoneau – a Nashua native, as becomes obvious when he spells his name as “Simoneau, like the plaza” – studied graphic arts and dabbled in production, and has been picking up details about show-hosting from Del Llano.

The pair figured that Internet radio was an obvious move, allowing a “free-form” show in which they could mix the music with discussion of issues – sexual, political, geographic or whatever – that cable access can’t handle.

“I don’t want to say we’re trying to be like Howard Stern … we want to do things that are not talked about,” Del Llano said.

“Besides, we can blow Howard Stern out of the water any day!” put in Simoneau, whose role is to push the envelope a bit. Among other things, he gets to gives the show slogan: “Because we’re not afraid to be dicks.”

The pair plans to start a regular WNIR schedule by Dec. 1, from noon to 2 on weekdays, perhaps with a weekend version. Their show, like most smaller online radio programs, will be a live stream only. Setting up a system for podcasting – online storage so that people can download an entire show and play it at leisure – would be an extra expense.

WNIR has already done some broadcasting (if that’s the correct term for Internet-only radio) have some fans and have taken calls about relationships and other topics. They’ve even done some fundraising shows for charities.

Creating an Internet radio program is hardly an original idea, of course. There are thousands and thousands of them at any given time, from the online streams of big radio stations’ broadcasts, to hyper-focused online-only programming (“sounds of Shalom,” “yoga meditation,” “UFO Paranormal Radio”), to countless streams of music and chat on people’s MySpace pages.

Del Llano and Simoneau’s operation is more professional than many, partly because he is using specialized software called Virtual DJ that he owns for his regular job. Even so, it could be duplicated at a cost of no more than $5,000, covering the laptops, a three-channel mixing board, a couple of wireless phones, plus a $150 license from American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers so they can play music legally.

This is many thousands of dollars less than needed even to create the smallest of over-the-air radio shows, under what is known as a Low Power FM license. And it’s possible to create an Internet radio show with much less equipment than Del Llano and Simoneau use: In a pinch, a cheap laptop with built-in microphone and Internet connection is all that’s needed.

The downside of this media ubiquity, however, is that its hard to get noticed, which means it’s hard to make money.

Del Llano and Simoneau are looking for sponsorships and advertisers.

“The hardest thing to sell, is to sell yourself,” Del Llano said.

After a bit of prodding, Del Llano said his wildest dream would be for WNIR to pull in $2,500 a month. Even that near-pipe dream would bring each man just $15,000 a year, not exactly the road to riches from a part-time job.

Still, at the very least, it’s fun, as they showed on a recent morning while making gentle fun of a survey of the 10 best cities to raise a child in the U.S. The fact that it included Quincy, Mass., particularly puzzled them.

“Stick around,” Del Llano told listeners. “We’re going to have some fun.”

David Brooks can be reached at 594-5831 or dbrooks@nashuatelegraph.com.