AM and FM radio frequencies are controlled by governmental licensing authorities. Shows broadcast over those frequencies by by people without licenses are part of a culture known as “pirate radio.” In some countries, pirate radio broadcasters set up shop on the water, outside the jurisdiction of any country, but many governments still considered it a violation of the law if the signal was received in their country. For me, when I hear “pirate radio” I think of Christian Slater crouched in the hills fiddling with his transmitter in the movie, “Pump Up the Volume.”

Pirate radio still happens, but podcasting has provided an alternative means for wannabe radio jockeys to distribute their content without risking legal consequences. So I have to wonder what the founders of “Broadcast Your Podcast” had in mind when they came up with their device that lets you broadcast a podcast over an FM channel.

I learned about Broadcast Your Podcast from Karin Hogh, a journalist in Denmark who listens to For Immediate Release. Karin sees potential for the device: “eg. to broadcast during events and later podcast the audio.” Karin’s email included a link to an art-centered blog that proclaims the device useful because…

Not everybody has access to podcasts. Not everyboday can afford the hardware, connectivity, or has time to listen. What kind of democratising notion is it if it requires a capital outlay, an understanding of computing, and free time to browse before one can participate? What is the nature of this new media democracy?
Additionally, whilst you reach an international (niche) audience with a podcast, you can’t reach the people in your own street.

There’s no arguing that the technology is cool. Just plug the pocket-sized device into the audio jack on a digital media player and you can send your signal over an FM frequency for 100 meters (about 300 feet). And to make the units even more enticing, Broadcast Your Podcast is giving them away. Podcasters simply submit a request from the Broadcast Your Podcast website. There’s even an online manual describing the steps to make your own.

Still, it seems like a bit of a step backwards to me. I can see some applications, but they’re limited. In the meantime, I wonder about the legal implications of transmitting an FM signal; the law is different in every country. And what about the asynchronous, time-shifted nature of podcasts? If it’s broadcast over FM, don’t you have to be listening at the time it’s presented? And why would I care if people on my block heard my show?

What uses, from a communication standpoint, can you think of for Broadcast Your Podcast?