Click here to rock
An Internet radio station sponsored by Singha enters its fourth year
After more than three years of operation and a regular following of 500,000 visitors, the Internet radio station Rock Onlines by Singha can officially be called a success.
"After the first few months of service, our site collapsed as we had more than 200 regular visitors to our Web page and our bandwidth was only 5 megabits per second," says Aree Tankam, the site's founder and main DJ. "Now the bandwidth is increased to 8Mbps and the site has been developed from audio only to audiovisual. I'm aiming to expand my fan base through the presentation of music videos and concerts on DVD.
"We are a rock-oriented online radio station but we are distinct from others because we have DJs making live broadcasts and giving out further information on songs, artists and concerts to the audience, as well as communicating with them in the chat room," he says.
From 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday, the station is automated to play easy-listening songs from such foreign record labels as Universal, Warner Music and Sony.
Aree, under the pseudonym of "Payuhin Guru", then takes the microphone for a live broadcast from 3 to 6pm. DJs Phai and X man the decks from 8 to midnight.
Aree's show has a different format each weekday. Mondays it's 1960s folk by the likes of Bob Dylan or Joan Baez. On Tuesday, it's heavy metal, including black metal from Norway. Blues, neoclassic rock and guitar heroes like Jimi Hendrix are heard on Wednesday. Electronica, big beat, progressive, house and trance are on Thursday. And progressive rock and world music are highlighted on Friday. Music videos and clips from concerts are shown in the first hour of his airtime.
"Our charm is that we tell the story," says Aree.
The station started with five professional DJs, among them Norasate "Seed" Mudkong and Khuntong Asunee na Ayudhaya, but they later left.
"Most listeners preferred listening to the way I DJ. I'm a selling point," says Aree.
Programming is mainly sourced from Aree's own collection of CDs and DVDs. There's also plenty of interaction with listeners, through quizzes and giveaways of CDs, DVDs, Tshirts, caps and concert tickets.
"The Internet tends to become like a graveyard if it's not regularly updated. I have to be active all the time," he says.
He's also planning to throw in live interviews and maybe even some live shows.
"That's for the future though because the bandwidth must be increased to over 20Mbps and we need more investment," he says. "But I do have two new programmes starting next month, one about books and the other about travel. Music involves every part of the world. So we'll introduce the release of new music books or magazines to the accompaniment of music. For the travel part, we cooperating with the Tourist Authority Thailand. We would like to play Laotian music while we'll showcasing Luang Prabang as a travel destination or some seafaring music if we're talking about going to the sea."
Aree is looking for a location to build a new studio and a gallery he'll call Book and Beer where fans can listen to music, watch videos and concert DVDs and check out Aree's pile of 10,000 books and magazines - all while sipping Singha beer.
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