Why Pirate and Why FM if you are online?
There is a simple answer so lets deal with the second question first!
We were formed way back in 2008 as Paradise FM Limited and have spent every year since trying to get an FM licence for a radio station here in Barbados to service two important areas.
Firstly, the needs and expectations of the most important source of income to the island, its tourists! Sadly without tourists Barbados would be just a little outcrop in the Caribbean, but due to all of the tourists who flock to our shores each year, Barbados is the vibrant, busy, most desirable place to come to, and spend your much needed vacation time. The choice of the rich and famous, some of whom have also made it their home. In Barbados you will find Hollywood Superstars, Sporting Icons and even Rihanna, sitting in our little rum shops drinking and mingling with the locals like long lost friends! Barbados is the most friendly place on the face of the planet. We realised back in 2008 that so many things happened on the island every day that our tourists had no way of knowing what they were missing out on, and our primary mission was to be able to publicise these events and invite our guests to come out and enjoy all Barbados has to offer. But how could we achieve that?Our founder and CEO had been doing the previous year on one of the local radio stations Love FM, and the popularity of his morning show took off, he was advising of daily events around the island and even telling the many tourists who listened how to get there. The station was getting listeners entering daily competitions to win meals, tickets for events etc from places where the station had previously never had listeners, and even the locals were amazed by the number of events even they had no idea was taking place. Sadly the station management decided that the show did not really fit their demographics, Love FM was aimed at a younger, female crowd who wanted music and content more in keeping with its name Love! The much loved show was no more and tourists went back to having no idea on what they were missing out upon each day! Secondly, the show also boasted a Saturday afternoon sports show, much loved by any one with the vaguest interest in sport, which was aimed at bringing all of the sporting news from around the globe, be you from the UK, USA, Canada or even Outer Mongolia, if it was happening we were covering it! Bajans tuned in by the thousands because they follow world sports too and this was THE show in Barbados for sport every Saturday, no matter where you were from, and that was lost too. So our solution was a radio station aimed at two core areas, our tourists and anyone who loves sport!
Our founder, Terry Bent, reached out to a man who has radio stations around the world, and is also responsible for bringing a majority of the British tourists to the island through his airline and travel company, Virgin, Sir Richard Branson. Sir Richard thought it was a fantastic fit and wanted to brand it as a Virgin station for a small share of the company, to fully publicise it on all Virgin Atlantic incoming flights, and to work with us here on the island, what could go wrong? The Barbados Broadcasting Authority.
After years of being knocked back with absolutely no reason being given, and still today a pending licence application going unacknowledged, Virgin Radio International got fed up of the situation and pulled out, but not one to give up we decided after many suggestions of “starting a Pirate Radio Station” to go down the avenue, legally, and go online! The thought of trying to moor a ship miles out to sea in the hurricane season was a non-starter so we decided the digital answer was the far safer option. That said once the BBA realise that their regulations are archaic and that their act cannot control the online broadcasting market, perhaps they may have a change of heart and issue us an FM licence? Which is where we are today, and explains Why Pirate? and Why FM.
Our online 24/7 radio station Pirate FM Barbados can be found in a variety of ways, the two easiest are by using either Streema or Tunerr both of which are fantastic streaming Apps simply click on either of these links:-
Streema – https://streema.com/radios/Pirate_Fm_Barbados
Tunerr – http://tunerr.co/radio/Pirate-FM-Barbados
The stream is fully automated at present, much like a lot of the terrestrial radio stations now, as and when live shows start happening we will keep you informed via our social media pages so be sure to like our pages!
Pirate FM Barbados 