Broadcast live to your online radio station using the best audio streaming software built by and for radio professionals.
As a radio broadcaster you need the best audio streaming software to effectively manage your station. However it can be tough to find the right all-in-one solution to manage your music, build curated playlists, and broadcast live radio shows without any technical headaches!
That’s why we have put together the top best audio streaming software solutions worth checking out. Plus at the end have your say! Which one you do you think shines brighter then the rest? Vote for the essential tool radio broadcasters should use.
Winamp - The Old Familiar
Kicking off this list is the well-known Winamp. It's an old familiar having been around for 20 years, but don’t let its age fool you! To this day you can still get it for free and it comes with everything you need to manage your music and radio shows - For example, curate your tracks into custom playlists and add plug-ins for additional features,
plus it runs quite smoothly in comparison to other media players like iTunes.
Coupled with the SHOUTcast DSP plugin, you can take your shows online. Broadcast your curated playlists to your radio station, even hook up a microphone to talk live to your listeners. Winamp is a good audio streaming software solution if you want something tried and tested.
SAM Broadcaster Pro - Rock Solid Media Management
SAM Broadcaster Pro is a well known and advanced piece of broadcasting software. It has a media management system, virtual mixing decks, relays,
statistics, and much more useful features.
Controlling your shows are the cornerstone of SAM Broadcaster. Get access to multiple mixing decks and control and synchronise your audio with ease. Mix shows together with faders, EQ sliders, and improve your vocals with an FX voice feature to alter how you sound.
SAM Broadcaster comes with a commercial license, meaning you have to pay to unlock the full version, however you can get a free trial to see if it’s right for you.
Traktor - A DJ's Delight
Traktor is from leading innovator Native Instruments in the music industry for hardware and software. Designed for both DJs and broadcasters like Pete Tong and Richie Hawtin, it’s ideal for managing your station’s media and mixing shows together due to its easy hardware integration.
Hook up an industry-leading Traktor DJ controller to seamlessly manage your shows for professional DJ mixes. Have up to 4 decks at any one time to pre-load tracks, sync to the master track, and manipulate your station’s sound the way you want.
Get Traktor DJ for both Windows and Mac with a 30-minute trial to see if it’s right for your radio shows.
AltaCast - Simple Windows Encoder
AltaCast, formerly known as Edcast, is a free Windows encoder for live broadcasts to your online station. Radio broadcasters and professional DJs looking for a simple solution will feel right at home with AltaCast. It’s a very simple in terms of design and the features that come with it - For example it’s main function is to grab your sound card's audio, like a microphone’s input, and broadcast to your station.
Like every free piece of software AltaCast requires a little bit of work to get setup. You need the C++ 2010 runtime and the latest Lame_enc.dll file for MP3 support. Download them both along with AltaCast to setup your audio streaming software.
Virtual DJ Pro - Professional Mixes Without Expensive Hardware
Virtual DJ Pro is an audio mixing software solution for DJs and radio broadcasters alike. Available for Windows and Mac, it comes with old school style vinyl and CD based mixing desks for beat mixing and media management cueing.
The idea behind Virtual DJ is that absolutely anyone can start mixing tracks together without the need for loads of expensive equipment, instead giving you everything you need to make awesome sounding mixes just like professional DJs.
Mixxx - Technical Mixer for Radio Experts
Mixxx is advanced open-source DJ software. It’s completely free and works with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems like Ubuntu.
It’s ideal if you handle quite a lot of tracks and recorded shows as it comes with an advanced library management system. Use it to update your track’s info like titles, artists, and albums using a built-in ID3 tag editor. When broadcasting from Mixxx your track’s details get shown to listeners via the player, so it comes in handy as everyone can see what you’re playing.
Mixxx is great for beat syncing tracks with up to 4 decks. Invite guests on board by adding several microphones at once and easily map external mixing decks with MIDI controllers. If you broadcast live shows often then you can repeat them by recording in Mixxx and adding them to your library.
BUTT - Free & Easy to Use Encoder Available on All Platforms
BUTT is by far the easiest tool to broadcast live to your online radio station. Free and easy to use, it offers a simple way to get online no matter if you’re on Windows, Mac, or Linux systems.
BUTT comes with a built in encoder, which means you don’t need additional software or a plugin to connect to your station. Broadcast using external equipment like microphones, mixers, and even pre-built mics. However it only handles live feeds like talking into a mic or through your computer’s sound card, so you can’t play audio from a media player unless you using Soundflower (Mac) or Stereo Mix (Windows)to broadcast all your computer’s audio and with Voicemeeter Banana / VB Audio Cable for you can manage your pc sounds as you like.
