Radio 80000: By a Community, for a Community
For its DJs and organizers, Radio 80000 is family. For its fans, it’s the sound of Munich’s subculture. A visit to the studio of the web radio station, which—since 2015—has thrived on its community like almost no other Bavarian station.
Leo Bauer doesn’t have time on Friday mornings. That’s when the interior designer—just as he is doing on this sunny July day—cycles to the Zirka event venue in northern Munich to spin records as DJ Trompete. In the small studio, equipped with a mixing console, microphones, and a computer, Bauer points to the digital display showing his playlist. “My 348th show,” he says, turning up the volume: Radio 80000 is on the air.
In 2015, Bauer founded the online radio station together with his friend Felix Flemmer. “I thought we’d do this for a few years. I never expected the radio station to end up with so many cool people,” he says today.
Twenty volunteers now share the organizational workload required to run the online radio station. The number of DJs and musicians who put together the shows, on the other hand, runs into the hundreds. They are therapists, photographers, teachers, or students. What unites them is their love of music.
There’s hardly a single up-and-coming artist from Munich who hasn’t DJed on Radio 80000. It’s often the first platform for their music, a gateway to residencies at Munich clubs, and a ticket into the scene. “Through Radio 80000, I’ve become familiar with DJ equipment and the people in Munich’s music scene,” says photographer Sophie Wanninger, who regularly hosts shows as DJ soshy. She’ll be on the air this afternoon.
Not just online: Radio 80000 also brings people together
While the first songs from DJ Trompete’s playlist are playing in the studio, he checks the chat window on the radio website. Messages keep coming in—greetings from friends and members of the community. An anonymous user writes “Bom Dia.” “Probably from Portugal,” says Bauer. Around 3,500 people will tune in to the online player today and visit the Radio 80000 website. That’s the station’s average daily audience. But its reach extends far beyond web radio. Nearly 30,000 people follow the station on Instagram, and 7,500 on SoundCloud.
Through this community, the radio producers get to interact closely with people at events in and around Munich. This week in July alone, the radio station is providing the music for an event at the Lenbachhaus and a street festival in Munich. “We collaborate a lot with the Haus der Kunst, but we’ve also been invited to a festival in Croatia and to other radio stations across Europe,” says Bauer.
In the world of online radio stations, Radio 80000 is a bit of a rarity for two reasons. “We’re very persistent and are among the online radio stations that have established themselves over the long term—even compared to projects that were at times bigger than us,” says Julian Borngräber. He’s part of the organizational team and is in charge of the studio this Friday afternoon. His colleague Maria Margolina, who is keeping him company on the beer bench in front of Zirka, adds: “What’s unusual is that we create a community for others, but are also organized as a community ourselves. That’s really exciting—though it does lead to a certain amount of instability.”
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Borngräber is familiar with the problem. When an email comes in, at best 20 people feel responsible for it—at worst, no one does. The radio producers have since taken steps to address this. “We meet once a month on-site for a large meeting. Then there are smaller subgroups, each of which is managed by one person: the studio, team meetings, programming, events, and communications,” explains Borngräber. Nevertheless, so many requests come in that the volunteers barely have time to respond. Some exciting opportunities fall through.
Many of the inquiries are applications from up-and-coming artists. Whether they’re allowed to DJ on Radio 80000 depends on their musical repertoire. “We favor shows that aren’t just suited for the club scene, but are a bit more diverse,” says Leo Bauer. “We want to represent the breadth of Munich’s musical landscape.”
New formats and the desire for central studio spaces
That’s exactly what the musicians at Radio 80000 appreciate. Sara van der Weck, also known as DJ Witch Craft, has found confirmation through the station that her own musical taste also inspires other listeners. “I love the radio because it’s allowed to be so unique. We don’t have to conform; we’re free to play our own style.” In the future, Radio 80000 won’t just play music. “We’ve already had open calls for spoken-word formats,” says Maria Margolina. Those will also have a place on the radio station.
But they lack the funds to turn all their plans into reality. The City of Munich financed the studio equipment when they first moved in, but since then, the radio producers have been fending for themselves again. What many of them hope for is long-term funding—in part so they can rent a studio in a more central location. “We could gain more visibility again and have a place where our community can hang out,” says founder Leo Bauer.
Until a new space is found and paid for, the door is open to just about everyone. Leo Bauer puts on the next record. “So many cool things happen here every day,” he says. “You just have to keep your eyes open.” Show 348 is on.
Bannerbild: Jan Robert Dünnweller
