CloudBuster is free to listen to and always will be. This means that the station has to be paid for by something else: ADVERTISING.
ok no, obviously not advertising.
Memberships, the shop, and donations will keep us alive, if we can grow as a community and demonstrate how useful we can be.
This page sets out what it costs to keep the station on air, what is not currently being paid for, and what we will do next if we can afford it.
Last updated: 04/11/2026
| Item | Use | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Radio broadcast platform | The stream itself, and the scheduling and player systems behind it | £612 |
| UK music licensing | PPL and PRS, so we can legally play recorded music | £430 approx |
| Mixcloud Pro | Hosting the show archive | £108 |
| Web hosting and domain | The website, the forum, and the shop | £65 |
| ICO data protection fee | Required by law to process member and customer data | £52 |
| Contingency Fund | Small allocation to protect from sudden expenses | £120 |
| Total | – | £1,387 |
| – | – | Approximately £115 a month. |
Note on the shop: Payment processing is charged per transaction and is taken off before shop profit reaches us, so it is not listed above.
What is not being paid for
Wages.
The station is run by one full-time manager, who is unpaid and covers what costs he can from his own Universal Credit. Several volunteers give their time part-time, also unpaid, doing DJ slots, artwork, moderation and admin, technical and business advice and moral support. (cloudBusterradio.com/work-with-cloudbuster/)
We are not going to pretend that is a sustainable long-term plan! It is what makes the station possible for the moment, and it is one of the reasons we’ve developed the Membership system. Sustaining culture through community is a core message of this project, and this is how we live by it.
Where the money comes from
In order of how much we rely on them:
Memberships. Paid supporters pay £4, £10 or £25 a month depending on tier. This is the most useful income we have because it is predictable, which means we can commit to annual costs like licensing and hosting without wondering whether next month will cover them. It’s important to model CloudBuster this way – Memberships go from free to paid but all designate someone’s place within the community equally.
The shop. Profit from merchandise goes into the costs above. When you buy something, what reaches the station is the margin left after production and postage have been paid. It is not a large amount per order, but it adds up, and it doesn’t depend on the same people renewing every month. We don’t want to sell any old shite just for the sake of it, and we value partnerships with suppliers and designers.
Donations. Not something we can plan around, but a really welcome addition. We’ve held off on offering station perks for this because it’s hard to know what’s fair, but let us know if you think it would useful to offer station-based thank yous in some way.
Support CloudBuster
What we will do next
Ordered by priority rather than price;
Necessary means something breaks – or an obligation is missed – without it. Next means it meaningfully improves the station and we would do it now if the money was there. Later means we would like to, but not before the others.
| Priority | Item | Use | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Necessary | Hosting/Domain | The current hosting offer expires and renewal is more expensive. This can be brought down if we shop around, so the cost is the current maximum. | +£157 a year |
| Next | Higher broadcast tier | Higher music storage and higher listener caps – only necessary when listener numbers get too high for the current tier | +£312 a year |
| Next | Our own video and live chat hosting | No more relying on third-party platforms for streams and chat. Price will be higher depending on RAM & Storage need. | +£60 a year, working estimate |
| Later | European licensing | Lets us play rights-protected music legally to listeners outside the UK (Looking at Global/semi-Global as well) | +£220 a year |
| Total | – | – | +£749 |
How we will pay people
The intention, once the station covers its own costs, is to split whatever is left between a wage for the manager and payments to contributors. The manager would take a percentage, and the remainder would go to the people who make shows, artwork and the rest.
Nobody has been paid so far, and we do not know when that will change. If it does, this page will say so, and it will say how much. We’ll keep you updated over at the forum as well.
How to check this
These figures come from our own invoices, supplier pricing pages and research. They are updated once a year or when something important changes. If you want to see a receipt, or ask how a number was worked out, email members@cloudbusterradio.com. If you think we have missed something, tell us and we will add it.
This is all designed to build a circle of trust and mutual care – We facilitate the strengthening of community, while the community keeps CloudBuster alive. As Action Reports and the Community Hub become more populated with experiences and groups reaching out, we’ll find more people who belong in an ecosystem of active aid and art appreciation.
