FAQ

How can I listen?

• Phantom Circuit is first heard on Beachy Head Radio. See BHR's schedule.
• A day or two after the first broadcast, Phantom Circuit is made available for on-demand listening on Beachy Head Radio's Mixcloud page.
• Past editions, since December 2022, can be heard there too.
• Older shows, from before December 2022, can be found on Phantom Circuit's Mixcloud page.
• Listen to the show of your choice via this site's Listen Now section, which also offers full playlists. Most of the streaming links will take you to Mixcloud.

How can I find out about new editions?

• Follow Beachy Head Radio on Mixcloud to receive emails when new editions of Phantom Circuit and other shows on BHR (you will like them too) have been uploaded.
• This site announces new shows over its RSS feed.
• Wherever possible, included artists and labels are mentioned in posts about the show in the social media accounts listed on the home page.

Can I download the shows?

After its initial broadcast, each edition of Phantom Circuit is made available for on-demand listening via Mixcloud, which has licensing arrangements in place for streamed audio. If you have a Mixcloud Premium account, you can transfer the audio to the Mixcloud app on your phone, for offline listening.

Phantom Circuit is not provided as a traditional, downloadable podcast since that would require a music licensing arrangement beyond that which Mixcloud is able to offer, and at much greater expense.

How can I send music?

There is a page just for you!

Why must MP3s be tagged?

1. Tagging your MP3s correctly means that listeners will be sure about who the artist is, what the title of the release is, what the track names are etc.—because all the information is displayed by software while the music is playing.
2. Untagged MP3s suggest that the sender doesn’t consider the music worth taking care over, so who will want to take time to listen?
3. Incorrect tagging makes data handling difficult or impossible. You don’t know what systems are used by the people you send your music to, but you don’t need to; you simply need to tag your MP3s according to the universal standard.
4. In the case of Phantom Circuit, the MP3 files are kept in a system that allows suitable music to be located as efficiently as possible when preparing editions of Phantom Circuit—but for that system to work, the tagging metadata has to be correct.
5. Track announcements in Phantom Circuit are based primarily on the embedded track information.
6. When Phantom Circuit is first streamed on Beachy Head Radio, the station automatically displays the artist name and the name of the current track in a visual display. That extra announcement about your music is made possible by a custom-made setup that uses a tracklist that show presenters compile from MP3 metadata. All the groundwork has been done; all that is needed from the artist is the correct data!
7. Uploads of the show to Mixcloud for on-demand listening are timestamped from that same tracklist, so that, again, the artist name and track name for your music appears while the track is playing.
8. Phantom Circuit has always been free of charge for listeners, artists and labels (no use of SubmitHub!), the submissions process is as easy as it could be (no forms to be filled in!) and the submissions requirements are standard and very easy to satisfy (just send a link to a collection of correctly tagged MP3s!). The show can’t realistically be any more accommodating than that.
9. Your time is valuable—and so is mine. As explained above, correct MP3 tagging is essential for compatiblity with automated systems which benefit you and make production and airing of the shows feasible. If you’re too busy to provide correctly tagged MP3s, understand that I am not going to be able to spend time doing the job for you.
10. The provision of tagged MP3s is a common requirement that you will see published on Web sites for radio shows, reviewers and other people who want to help get music heard by more listeners. It’s not much to expect at all.

Some of the points above hint at just some of the efforts that are made behind the scenes by Phantom Circuit and others to help support artists’ music. All submitters have to do is what they should be doing anyway: tag those MP3s. Thanks!

Will my music be played?

That's the aim. Sometimes though there is not enough time at present or the material just doesn't fit well, regardless of how good it may be. Every valid submission is listened to on its own merits and compatibility.

How can I find out when my music has been played?

• If your music is played and it was submitted recently, you should receive an email. Very occasionally I might fail to do so but I try.
• Listen to every edition of Phantom Circuit! Don't you like this stuff? 😉
• Follow Phantom Circuit on Mixcloud to receive emails from Mixcloud when new editions of the show have been uploaded.
• Follow Beachy Head Radio on Mixcloud to receive emails when new editions of Phantom Circuit and other shows on BHR have been uploaded.
• This site announces new shows over its RSS feed.
• If you have an account on any of the social media services that are listed on the home page, you will be “@-mentioned” provided I can find your account. You can help by stating your social media handle when you email.