Worldwide FM is a freeform

internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

service that highlights "

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, Popular music, mainstream popular music culture. Underground styles lack the commercial success of popular music movements, and may involve the use of avant-g ...

, culture and stories from around the globe." Founded in 2016 by DJ

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

, longtime host of the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

program ''Worldwide'', the platform features a rotating roster of international radio DJs and programming. As of 2020, Worldwide FM has a monthly audience of more than 400,000 listeners. In September 2022, it was announced broadcasting would be paused at the end of October 2022, something that never happened.

History

Worldwide FM was launched in September 2016 by

in partnership with Thris Tian (Thristian Richards) of Boiler Room and

WeTransfer WeTransfer B.V. is a Dutch Internet-based computer file transfer service company that was founded in 2009 and based in Amsterdam. In 2024, the company was acquired by Bending Spoons. History Early history WeTransfer was founded in 2009 by Rinke ...

as an extension of Peterson's Worldwide brand. Test broadcasts took place earlier in 2016. In 2017, Peterson and Worldwide FM were awarded the Jazz FM Award for Digital Initiative of the Year. Worldwide FM is part of an ecosystem of Peterson-led projects, many under the umbrella of Brownswood Music Ltd.; Worldwide FM is managed by Brownswood's content production company Mistral Productions. The platform works in collaboration with Peterson's

Brownswood Recordings Brownswood Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Gilles Peterson in 2006. The label has released an eclectic range of music, reflecting Peterson's diverse musical taste. The roster includes Oreglo, Ben Westbeech ...

and Future Bubblers initiative with

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

. It has also been a digital venue of the

Worldwide Awards The Worldwide Awards, formerly known as the Worldwide Winner Awards, are an annual awards celebration curated by radio DJ Gilles Peterson and currently hosted by Worldwide FM and Radio 6 which celebrates up-and-coming musicians on an international ...

and worked with the Worldwide Festival. Worldwide FM is directed by the Brownswood Music team of Peterson, Simon Goffe, and Dan Moss, with co-founder Thristian Richards. Of note, the platform shares the name of the Peterson-curated in-game radio station in ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'', which was released in 2013. The station was updated in 2014, to coincide with the release of the ''Enhanced Edition'' of ''GTA V'' for the

eighth generation of video game consoles The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017. The ge ...

. It was updated for a second time in 2021 for ''

Grand Theft Auto Online ''Grand Theft Auto Online'' is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 1 October 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 18 November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbo ...

'', and included multiple exclusive tracks including the final MF DOOM track, a collaboration with

BADBADNOTGOOD BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and Hip hop production, production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinsk ...

. As of 2021, the station regularly broadcasts from studios in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(WWFM's headquarters),

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Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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, and

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, among other cities. In 2019, the company began a new round of funding through

CrowdCube Crowdcube is a British investment crowdfunding platform, established by Darren Westlake and Luke Lang in 2011. Model Equity-based crowdfunding is a new fundraising model for entrepreneurs. Individuals' investments are pooled, allowing entrepr ...

. In 2022, the station announced a pause in normal operations beginning November 2022 due to a need to find new financing options; Peterson remains as the sole host.

Listenership

After launching in 2016, the station had 130,000 listeners a month. In January 2019, Worldwide FM reported 365,000 monthly listeners, of which 34% are based in the UK, 11% in Japan, 11% in the US, 7% in France and 7% Germany. A year later, this number had grown to over 400,000 listeners. Worldwide FM experienced a sharp rise in listenership during

COVID-19 lockdowns During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Non-pharmaceutical intervention (epidemiology), non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar socie ...

, leading to about one million listeners in April 2020.

Accolades

* 2017: Jazz FM Award for Digital Initiative of the Year * 2017:

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

for Best Online Radio Station * 2020:

for Best Commercial Promotion (nominee)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

Mixcloud Select channel
Internet radio in the United Kingdom Internet radio stations World music radio stations Radio stations in London Brownswood Recordings