You have built your audience, and now it is time to turn those listeners into revenue.
Unlike traditional FM radio where commercials are read live by a DJ, internet radio allows you to automate your monetization. AzuraCast has powerful built-in features that let you play ads exactly when you want to—without interrupting your live broadcasters.
In this guide, we will show you how to set up two types of automated ads on your AZ-StreamingServer AzuraCast station: Pre-roll (when a listener connects) and Mid-roll (scheduled commercial breaks).
Method 1: Setting Up “Pre-Roll” Ads (The Welcome Audio) #
A pre-roll ad plays immediately when a listener hits the “Play” button on your website or app. This is the most valuable ad inventory you have because it has a 100% listen rate!
In AzuraCast, this is done using the “Intro” feature on your Mount Point.
Step-by-Step Setup:
- Log in to your AzuraCast dashboard and select your station.
- On the left menu, click Broadcasting > Mount Points.
- Click the Edit button next to your primary mount point (usually
/radio.mp3). - Scroll down to the Intro Autoplay section.
- Click Browse and upload your MP3 ad file (e.g., “Sponsored-By-Geico.mp3”).
- Click Save Changes.
Note: AzuraCast will now seamlessly play this file to every new listener before connecting them to the live broadcast. Keep pre-roll ads short (10 to 15 seconds) so listeners don’t get frustrated and leave!
Method 2: Setting Up “Mid-Roll” Ads (Commercial Breaks) #
Mid-roll ads play periodically throughout your broadcast, just like standard TV or radio commercials. You can use AzuraCast’s advanced Playlist feature to insert these automatically.
Step-by-Step Setup:
- Go to Media > Playlists.
- Click Add Playlist and name it “Commercial Break 1”.
- Under the Basic Info tab, look at the Type section. You have two great options for ads:
- Play exactly once every $x tracks: Perfect for inserting a 30-second ad every 5 songs.
- Play exactly once per $x minutes: Perfect for playing an ad every 30 or 60 minutes.
- Scheduled: Use this if you want an ad to play at exactly 12:00 PM every day.
- Set your preferred schedule type and click Save.
- Finally, go to your Music Files, select the MP3 files for your commercials, and assign them to your new “Commercial Break 1” playlist.
Method 3: Third-Party Ad Networks (Advanced) #
If you do not have your own direct sponsors, you can connect your stream to audio ad networks like TargetSpot or Audioburst.
To do this, you generally provide your AzuraCast stream URL to the ad network. They will wrap your stream in their own software, dynamically insert localized ads based on the listener’s IP address, and give you a new URL to share with your audience.
⚠️ Pro-Tip: Volume Normalization #
Nothing makes a listener turn off a station faster than a quiet song followed by an ear-shattering, overly loud commercial.
Make sure all your ad files are normalized to the same LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) as your music library before uploading them to AzuraCast!
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