People have been trying to figure out when to apply the "Christian" label to music for years. Are we a "Christian radio station" or "Christians who run a radio station?" 😂 We suppose it depends on your definitions, but sure, we'd call ourselves a Christian radio station. The people running Real FM are Christians, and our mission is clear and transparent: to share our hope in Jesus with as many people as possible.
That said, everybody is welcome to gather and grow with us. If you're not a Christian, our hope is that our music and DJ's resonate with you so much that by the time you realize it's Christian, it's too late! You already love it. And if you are a Christian but just not always a very good one... well, welcome to the club! You'll fit in great here. We play music and host conversations about faith for people that need help to have faith.
Yeah, most of the time! How’s that for an honest answer? 😅 Look, you’ll never hear anything profane or raunchy on Real FM, ever. In fact, that's one of the biggest differences between us and other hit music radio stations. But we also don't shy away from addressing the real stuff we all deal with in life, even when it’s a bit uncomfortable. Now, we know lots of kids who LOVE listening to Real FM, and we think that's awesome! So you have our promise: if we are about to get into something you may not want your kids to hear, we’ll always give you a heads up first. Also, to be clear, most of our "adult" conversation topics will be found on Real FM podcasts rather than on the radio.
We play whatever music is trending right now, whether it’s pop, hip-hop, indie, EDM, or songs that are hard to categorize. Basically, we play hit songs and songs we think are about to become hits. You’ll probably hear a little bit of everything, but we’ll do our best to keep it accessible to as many people as possible. Some songs and conversations on Real FM are directly spiritual in nature and others aren’t, because God is relevant to every aspect of our lives. We play songs about our relationships with God, each other, and the world around us. Whether you think we’re getting it right or missing the mark, we’d love to hear your feedback.
For a few reasons! First, we find that most of our listeners already listen to a mix of Christian and mainstream music, so we're meeting them where they are. Second, distinguishing between "Christian" and "mainstream" is actually kind of difficult. How would you categorize a love song from an artist who is signed to a Christian music label? What about a song with spiritual references from an artist on a mainstream label? Instead, we keep it simple: play good, edifying music! Third, and on that note, we believe music can be edifying without necessarily being directly spiritual. For example, God designed us for loving relationships, and He's the source of all joy. So songs about love or even just having a good time are a great fit!
One more note here: we generally don't blanket-exclude artists from our station because of their behaviors or soundbites. Instead, we evaluate music on a song-by-song basis. Why? We just don't know the details of artists' personal lives. Who's to say who is living in "right relationship" with God and who isn't? Not us, that's for sure. We're not in the "judging hearts" business (we think Paul would agree... check out 1 Corinthians 5:9-13).
Absolutely! Many of the artists we play aren’t signed to major record labels. That said, the songs we play have to fit with our accessible sound and meet a high level of production quality. If you make music that meets that criteria, send us your best song and we’ll take a listen and give you some feedback.
We really hope so. We're actively seeking opportunities to put Real FM on the radio, but it's easier said than done. In the meantime, we're excited about Real FM's growing reach as a mobile app.