Materia FM — building and operating a complete media platform

Context

Materia FM is an independent online radio. The project started from a simple intuition: a francophone audience exists for demanding music programming, available anywhere, all the time.

Problem

An online radio is not just a page with an audio player. A continuous stream must run 24/7, music programming must be managed, tracks and shows exposed — and all of it maintained with limited means.

Constraints

• Controlled infrastructure budget (self-hosting).
• Zero broadcast interruptions: the stream must hold 24/7.
• A single person operates the system in practice.

My role

Founder and sole contributor: product, architecture, development, infrastructure, continuous operations.

Approach

Product first: which features make a radio listenable (reliable stream, track information, continuity), which ones wait (user accounts, personalisation). Technology is then chosen for those needs, not the other way around.

Architecture

• Angular web frontend, focused on readability and mobile performance.
• Backend and APIs for programming and metadata management.
• Audio distribution chain (FFmpeg) and self-hosted Linux infrastructure.
• Automated music scheduling and transitions.

Key decisions

• Self-hosting over managed services: controlled cost and full control, at the price of owning operations.
• Automated scheduling with possible human override: the system runs on its own, humans keep the last word.
• The stream as a service contract: every technical change is weighed against broadcast continuity.

Challenges

The central challenge is operations: a 24/7 stream turns every change into a risky operation. Updates, certificates, permissions and hardware failures must be anticipated, documented and reversible.

Outcome

An online radio that has broadcast continuously for several years, with a loyal audience, operated by a single person thanks to automation.

What this project demonstrates

Full ownership of a digital product: design, engineering, infrastructure and operations — with no divide between “building” and “running”.