Opening Up The Platfrom

Online radio is not traditional mainstream media. Online radio is different. Despite being fairly new,

there is still a business case and opportunities for online radio stations in Kenya. In 2022, Radio 254

published a research paper on the online radio landscape in Kenya. Since the publication of the research

paper two years ago, a lot has changed and developed in Kenya’s online radio industry. For starters,

there are now a lot more players active in the industry. Unlike the global market, where majority of

online radio stations operate as hobbyists, it is interesting to note that currently in Kenya several

operators of online radio stations are seeking to run online radio stations as businesses.

As Radio 254, we are committed to promoting and showcasing Kenya music and content to the world

through our online platform. Realizing where our power as Radio 254 is, we have decided to take the big

risk and open up our platform so that more Kenyans can help us in showing the world the greatness that

is Kenyan music. What we are doing is not new or unique but an action we are talking in order to further

grow the impact we already have as Radio 254.

Because online radio stations have typically not been run as businesses or traditional media houses,

majority of online radio stations across the world rely on volunteers or amateurs to host shows online in

order to gain experience or build an audience online. Since October 2020, when Radio 254 was first

launched, Radio 254 has never opened up its platform to allow users on the internet to host shows. To

be honest, we have been afraid of the unknown. What if someone steals our idea? What if someone

finds out what technology we are using? What if someone starts a competing radio station?

In order to grow however you have to face your fears. For us, the next step and growth trajectory is us

opening up our platform to allow others to host live shows. The time has come for us to open up our

platform in order to allow more people make use of it while making it possible for us to reach more

people. To be very honest, this is the direction that the world is headed in fear just got in the way of us

doing it but we are now READY to Open Up The Platform and see what lies on the other side of this.