About Us
Love Music, Love Erewash - on 103.5, 96.8FM and on-line - welcome to Erewash Sound!
Launched in late 2004 by a team of experienced volunteers, the radio station made its first FM broadcast in Summer 2005 on a short-term licence from central Ilkeston. Plans were then made to apply for a full-time 5-year licence, supported by a high-profile ‘Back The Bid’ campaign to gather public support and raise awareness.
24 hour internet-only transmissions commenced in January 2007. 12 months later, a licence application was submitted, and a full-time licence was granted by the broadcast regulator OFCOM on 24th April 2008. Work then began to bring the radio station back to FM as soon as possible.
The internet service closed down on 7th February 2010 with FM test transmissions starting a week later. Erewash Sound launched on 96.8FM on Saturday 6th March at 9:00am from studios at Bennerley Business & Enterprise College in Cotmanhay, coinciding with a special launch party at and hosted by Ilkeston Co-op with special guest - Ilkeston born celebrity Robert Lindsay.
In September 2019, the broadcast regulator, OFCOM granted a second frequency - ultimately confirmed as 103.5FM - and, as of 7am on Monday 12th October 2020, you can now hear us in more places, using this frequency too!
Erewash Sound is a genuinely local radio station, run by local people for local people. We are a not-for-profit community interest company, run by a team of dedicated but experienced volunteers, and a board of non-executive directors. This means our advertising and sponsorship revenue - plus other income - is used almost exclusively to cover running costs and develop the station further.
Our daytime output consists of music from the 1950s to today, local news and information, interviews, hourly national, international and local news, weather, travel. sport, competitions and chat, all delivered by our team of warm and friendly presenters. Night-time sees a diverse range of specialist music programming. See our ‘Music Policy’ page for more details.
Can I get involved?
If you consider yourself to be a team player - absolutely! So, if you fancy a new challenge, want to put existing skills to good use, or learn some new ones, whether you want to work on-air or behind the scenes – you can help run your local radio station! To find out more on our current recruitment initiative and opportunities, visit this link. You can also find out about the Erewash Sound Academy here.
Why might I hear different presenters on different days?
Whilst we'd love to have the same presenters in the same slots each day, and every week, the voluntary basis on which the station operates means this isn't always possible - particularly weekday day-time. So we work hard to utilise the team we have to ensure you still get what you like most about the station - all the great songs and plenty of local content - so the surprise may only be in who's presenting - that's all!
I love what you do – how can I help?
Tell your friends, relatives – in fact, anyone you know who might not know about us. Whilst we’d love to spend lots of money on promotion, as a non-profit making social enterprise, costs of running the radio station are considerable, so word of mouth is very useful and cost effective.
Without support from the public and local and regional businesses, the community at large stands to lose a vital and clearly much needed service that will not be replaced and is not available from any other broadcasters - i.e., once it has gone, it has gone.
If you run a business, radio advertising is a powerful way to get your message across. Click here for more details - we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised how cost effective it can be.
Why not show your support by buying station goodies, from T-shirts, caps and fleeces to car stickers, pens and other merchandise? These are available from any roadshow or by mail-order.
You can also buy tickets to one of our regular events which have historically included 'Erewash Sound Presents', The Goldmine Gathering and our 80s Party Night. Keep an eye on our website home page and listen out for details of what type of event we're staging next then book yourself in!
Other ways to support us include selecting us as your cause in playing the GivingLottery, you can donate via our LocalGiving page, or why not sign up to easyfundraising and use the portal to access many if not all of your favourite on-line shopping sites and more besides? For everything you buy via the app, once you select Erewash Sound as the beneficiary, the vendor pays us commission on top, each time you shop! Find out more here.
You can also donate money to the radio station at roadshows or by post, or even arrange a fund-raising event for us! Contact us to talk things over.
Thank you.
