| Community
Radio FAQ
We find that the people who visit our web pages tend
to ask many of the same questions. Please take the time to read through
this page, and you will hopefully save yourself - and us - a lot of time.
Many of these questions relate to CRTC and other regulations. The answers
here are based on many years of work with community broadcasters in Canada,
and reflect the most likely outcome. (I know, I know, you think that your
case is the exception to the rule, and as is usually the case with legal
stuff, there are always exceptions, but please take our word that unless
you have a really strong case you won't be able to get around
the rules.)
Q. I keep reading articles and websites about
LPFM in the United States. Are things the same in Canada?
A. No. The rules governing community radio in Canada
are entirely different. Almost nothing that you read from the U.S. applies
in Canada. In the U.S. it is very hard to start a new community radio
station; in Canada it is quite easy. In the U.S. the restrictions on what
you can broadcast relate to advertising and morality; in Canada the restrictions
tend to be concerned with supporting the development of Canadian programming.
It is simplest to say that whatever you read from the U.S. does not apply
in Canada.
Q. I think that we can make a lot of money by
selling commercials. Is this true?
A. Although there is no restriction on how much money
you could make selling advertising, it is really unlikely that it will
make up a large part of your budget. With perhaps one or two exceptions,
there is no community station in Canada that makes the bulk of it's budget
by selling advertising. Even those stations that do sell lots of ads tend
to spend almost as much selling and producing them as they make in income
- the net after expenses is very little. Assume that the base income will
always come from community support - fundraising from groups and individuals.
Q. Where can I get funding to start a new community
radio station?
A. Again, community fundraising is what you need - getting
individuals and local organizations to pledge or donate money to your
project. Except for francophone and native radio there is almost no government
funding for community radio in Canada. There are few funders who will
fund a radio project - mostly because they don't understand what community
radio is.
Q. Can I start a community radio station myself,
or does it have to be group?
A. A community radio station licence has to be held by
a registered non-profit community group. It can be an existing group,
but generally you want to start a new organization that is set up specifically
to run the radio station. A business or individual cannot apply for a
community radio station licence, although individuals sometimes apply
for licences on behalf of "a group to be incorporated".
Q. Well, we've never made any money from our
business, so we say that we're a "non-profit" business. I don't
want a Board of Directors and members sticking their noses into my radio
station.
A. No, you have to a Registered non-profit organization
with bylaws and Board of Directors.
Q. We would like to give charitable tax receipts
to people who donate - how do we get charitable tax status?
A. The experience in the last two decades has been that
Revenue Canada will almost immediately refuse Charitable status to community
radio groups. This is a long standing policy, and unless you are able
to hire a lawyer well versed in charitable tax law and have the budget
to appeal Revenue Canada's decisions, you should expect that they will
turn you down flatly. The good news is that in Canada there aren't too
many funding sources that you will need Charitable status to access, and
very few people will refuse you a donation just because they can't get
a tax receipt.
Q. How much power do I need to cover my whole
town?
A. That's impossible to tell until you have hired a broadcast
engineer to complete the proper estimates and calculations. We can tell
you that almost all community stations have power in the hundreds or thousands
of watts, instead of the tens or hundreds of thousands of watts
that commercial radio uses.
Q. How much money do I need to start a station?
A. That's impossible to say until your broadcast engineer
has decided what kind of equipment you need, and until you have figured
out where your studios will go. We can say that the Engineering work needed
(see previous question) will cost between $5,000 and $10,000. Aside from
that, $50,000 to $100,000 is not an unreasonable number to equip and launch
a station.
Q. I really just want to play my favourite music.
How can I do that?
A. You really can't. Your licence will require you do
a great deal of community "spoken word" programming, and will
require you to play a wide variety of music like jazz and folk music.
If you only want to play Top 40 hits you really will need a commercial
radio licence.
Q. I talked to the local commercial radio station
and they told me that I can't get a licence from the CRTC because they
would file an intervention against us. Are we out of luck?
A. Not true. The CRTC will seldom take an intervention
from a commercial broadcaster seriously. Your community radio station
will sound nothing like the local commercial station, and the amount that
you might make selling advertising is so small that the local commercial
guys won't ever notice. Most of the big radio companies like Rogers and
Standard don't bother intervening in community radio licence applications,
and quite often actually help new community stations with used equipment
or advice. Really, if your application is solid and you have community
support lined up, the commercial guys will not have anything to do with
whether you get a licence.
Q. I talked to the local commercial radio station
and they told me that it's harder to get a radio station licence in Canada
than anywhere else in the world. They told me that it usually takes at
least ten years and sometimes as long twenty years to get approval.
A. Many people in commercial radio
understand the special role that community radio plays, and are happy
to support our work. Some though will tell you tales like these.
For nearly thirty years the CRTC has actively supported
the development of a community radio sector, and each review of their
policy has removed more and more barriers. In fact, among developed countries
Canada is of one the places where it is easiest to get a licence for a
non-commercial radio station. The waiting time from when you submit your
application is typically measured in months, not years.
Q. What I really want to do is start a hit radio
station, but I don't have a million dollars to spend on a commercial radio
licence. Can I get a cheap community radio licence and then just sort
of slide my hits in and start selling lots of ads?
A. No. The CRTC has seen many people try this, and has
turned them down every time. They're not stupid. Besides, although an
intervention from a commercial radio station won't stop a legitimate community
application, you can be sure that they look carefully at every local radio
application and will successfully intervene against this.
Q. Do I have to broadcast in English (or
French)?
A. Not entirely - most community radio stations have at least a few "ethnic"
radio shows in other languages, and in fact this is the kind of thing
that the CRTC likes to see on community radio.
Q. Can I start a pirate radio station?
A. Because the CRTC has actively
supported community radio, Canada doesn't have a large tradition of pirate
radio. If you do go this route, keep two things in mind. First, without
an engineering study it is very hard to be sure that you won't interfere
with someone else's signal - especially in urban areas. Second, if you
are convicted you could face fines that run into thousands of dollars.
Q. Can you help us to start a commercial radio
station?
A. No. We work exclusively with
community broadcasters. Call the Canadian
Association of Broadcasters and I'm sure they can direct you to consultants
who work in commercial radio.
Still have questions? Email
us!
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