TCR fm

TCR FM

Broadcast area	Tamworth
Frequency	106.9 (FM) (2005-2009), 106.8 (FM)(2009-present)
First air date	30/07/2005
Format	Community Radio
Owner	Tamworth Radio Broadcasting CIC
Website	www.tcrfm.co.uk

TCR FM, Standing for Total Choice Radio, is a not for profit community radio station based in Tamworth, Staffordshire with a target audience of people under 30 years old.^[1][2]

The station, based at Tamworth Youth Centre (known locally as TamYouth),^[1][3] is run entirely by volunteers from 14 years old who perform jobs from station management to presenting their own show and news reading.^[1][4] They also provide training courses, to volunteers to provide them with the skills they require to participate in the activities.

Unlike most radio stations, TCR FM does not provide presenters with playlists giving them, and the listeners, ‘Total choice’ over the music which is played out. According to their key commitments with Ofcom,the music played predominantly varies from 80's classics to new chart hits.^[5]

TCR Fm also has strong links with the local community and youth groups getting involved in local events promoting local bands and artists and offering Advertising to local businesses^[6]

History

TCR FM was set up in 2005 and first broadcast in the summer of that year on a 28-day Restricted Service Licence (RSL) with the frequency of 106.9 FM from Saturday 30 July until Friday 26 August. It then went on to host another RSL in summer of 2007^[7]

After completing the RSL in 2007, the directors at the time Daniel Hoult and Martin Summers went on to apply for a 5-year Community Radio Licence^[8] which they were awarded by OFCOM in May 2008.^[9] They started broadcasting on this licence on 31 October 2010, with a start time of 5pm,^[10] with a new frequency, which they use to date, of 106.8FM^[2]

In December 2010 Ofcom found TCR fm in breach of its licence commitment to produce 12 hours of live programming per day. The station struggled to fulfill the hours due to volunteer availability with live hours varying with an uneven spread and most shows at the weekend when young volunteers are available.^[11]

In April 2011, with the agreement of Ofcom, the station was granted a change to the licence commitment to reflect the nature of the service, and the availability of volunteers. The new commitment is:

"The service will typically be live for at least 44 hours per week. Weekends will generally carry more live output per day than weekdays. (Live programming may include pre-recorded inserts, if applicable). The majority of the output will be locally produced."^[5][12]

Listening to TCR FM

There are various different ways of listening to the station these are:

• On FM in Tamworth, Staffordshire on 106.8 FM
• Online via the stream on RadioPlayer UK
• via iPhone app.

UK Radio Player

On 5 December 2011, TCR became a part of the Radio Player UK Project.^[13] The project, founded by the BBC, Global Radio, Guardian Media Group, Absolute Radio and RadioCentre^[14] aims to put all radio stations in one place using the same console making radio listening easier.^[15] The TCR radio player console includes, as well as the live stream:

• A message feature - this allows listeners to message the presenter on air directly from the console
• Real time webcam images - refreshed every 3 seconds direct from the studio Webcam
• "Now Playing" feature - states the current track on air, where available
• Song History - shows the last 5 tracks on air.^[1][16]

iPhone App

TCR FM's iPhone App Logo, Developed by Staffordshire IT Services

On 18 December 2011, TCR FM released a dedicated iPhone App developed by Staffordshire IT Services.^[17] The app features:

• A live Stream
• Real time webcam images
• Replay - Where by the listener can listen back to their favourite shows from the last week
• A contact form allowing listeners to contact the studio direct from the app
• A Sleep Timer
• Settings allowing listeners to choose a preference of stream (Automatic, Low or High quality)^[1][18]

An iPad friendly version of the App was released in 2012, which features the playback service, as well as the ability to set reminders for the listeners favourite shows.

Training Course

The station offers a 7-week training course to all volunteers who wish to be involved with the station.^[4]

The course involves learning about:

1. Technical equipment found in the studio – e.g. how to use the mixer and playout software
2. Radio presentation (a) – how to use the microphone
3. Radio presentation (b) – how to use the microphone and combining this with the technical equipment
4. Production and editing – how to edit music and create jingles
5. News production and presenting – how to present and prepare news
6. Show preparation – what to include into a show and how to source it
7. Demo show – combining all of the taught material into a demo show^[4]

After completing the course, members can decide if they wish to present, news read, audio produce or take part in a mixture of everything.

Presenters and Shows

TCR FM has a wide variety of presenters and shows. Below are all the presenters and shows to date which are advertised online:

Specialist Shows

Take Control Chart

As TCR fm is a station which does not give presenters a playlist and instead offers 'total choice' to presenters and listeners a variety of different music is transmitted. To celebrate this, the station decided in 2012 to introduce a chart show counting down the most popular tracks in any given month. They started this on New Years Day (1st Jan 2012) with a special chart show counting down the most popular tracks played from their launch date. Not only is the chart collated on the airplay and requested, the TCR fm site also allows listeners to vote for tracks via a thumbs up / thumbs down. The chart will be presented by Aaron Beadle on the first Sunday of the month.

Directors & Management Team

Directors

TCR FM is run by a dedicated board of directors of Tamworth Radio Broadcasting CIC who do all the behind the scenes work to keep the station running.

• Hannah Smart & Liam Matthews, Managing Directors – (2016 – present)
• Martin Summers, Managing Director (2007–2010)
• Dean Vultaggio, Director (2007 – 2012)
• Sheena Vultaggio, Director (2007 – 2012)
• Rob Rymond, Director (2007 - 2008)
• Scott Cameron, Director (2009 – 2015)^[19]

Management

The directors of TCR FM are backed up by a team of managers:

• Craig, Head Of Music (2015 – present)
• Alex Farrell, Business Development Manager (2012 - present)
• Liam Matthews, Technical Manager (2012 - present)
• Mike Thomas, Events Manager (2013 - present)
• Gary Jon, Music Requisition Manager ^[19]

Community Involvement and Events

TCR FM as a station regularly holds events and takes part in community activities.

Events held by TCR FM

• Pre-Launch Open Day – in conjunction with TamYouth's open day, the station opened its doors to the public on 1 August 2009 between 10am-4pm where volunteers were on hand to chat about what the station does and to promote their launch.^[20]
• Launch Party – Held at Trinity Nightclub, Tamworth, on 30 October 2009 as a joint party between the two companies. This was broadcast as live on the station all evening. This was for over 18s only due to the venue's age restrictions^[10]
• Under 18's Launch Disco – Held at TamYouth on 5 November 2009 for listeners between 12–17 years old as the station were aware of the previous launch event's restrictions. This was broadcast live on the station from 7pm on the night.^[21]
• First Birthday Party – Held at Q Lounge in Strykers Bowling Centre, Tamworth on 30 October 2010. Included Fancy Dress, live performances from Tamworth band "The Twin Jets" and Sheena Vultaggio and also a DJ set from presenter Scott Cameron.^[22]

Events TCR FM or Representatives appeared at

• Midlands Music Festival – two of the presenters, Erica Dancer and Hannah Smart, went to the Midlands Music Festival in 2010 to be part of the press team and collected interviews and audio clips from artists such as 80's icon's Sister Sledge and new boy band The Wanted.^[23]
• Tamworth Carnival 2010 – TCR FM had a stall at the carnival to promote themselves.
• Zippo's Phoenix Circus – presenter Scott Cameron was invited to take part in a circus stunt when zippo's arrived in Birmingham. Listeners of his show got to decide what stunt he performed, which was to limbo under fire. The audio from this was played out the next morning on the breakfast show and a video was made available online.^[24]
• Volunteer week ‘Fun Day’ – organised by Tamworth CVS, TCR FM broadcast live all day on 3 June 2011 from the castle grounds in Tamworth where they interviewed other community and volunteer groups.^[24][25]

References

External links

• TCR FM
• TamYouth