A pub atmosphere expanded into an online radio
Radio Soho and SOIVA deliver great music to listeners
Through SOIVA, Gastropub Soho’s distinctive, non-mainstream music selection is available to listeners around the clock via the Radio Soho online radio station.
Based in Tampere, Finland, Soho has been serving customers for over two decades. “For some, Soho is a place to eat; for others, a pub for beer, or a sports bar. Many come simply to listen to music,” describes restaurateur Kari Venekoski.
Radio Soho brings the pub’s atmosphere and background music into listeners’ homes using SOIVA Studio. The online radio has been on air for several years now. “During the pandemic, many restaurants had to close. We wanted to keep the flame alive, and Radio Soho kept playing. People sent us photos of themselves enjoying Soho beers at home while Radio Soho played in the background. Our pub quizzes also continued throughout the pandemic via the online radio.”
Restaurateur and radio operator Kari Venekoski.
Less repetition, more music
Venekoski starts his day by listening to what’s playing on Radio Soho. He also builds playlists track by track himself. Song suggestions come from Soho’s music-oriented staff and customers, listeners, and distributors.
“SOIVA’s catalogue offers plenty of music for our playlists. We also buy a lot of records ourselves and receive music from fresh local bands,” Venekoski says. Sometimes a brand-new release simply has to be played at Soho right away.
Radio Soho’s programming grid and playlists follow the same basic principles as national mainstream radio stations, but the playlists are broader. At Soho, music is also themed around sports and local events.
“A lot of the groundwork is already done by SOIVA. Sometimes I check which album a song is from and listen to what else is on it. Our A-list is a more energetic evening rotation, while the E-list is a morning list where genre doesn’t matter, but the music is calmer. The calmer tracks from a new album go on the morning list, while evenings feature more rock. The C-list is for new tracks, which are played at least once a day. Songs that have been in heavy rotation for a long time are moved to the B-list,” Venekoski explains.
Punk, reggae, rap, or jazz – in harmony and uncensored
In Soho’s DJ booth, the radio plays via SOIVA at the push of a button. If a DJ comes in, a live set can be broadcast on the radio just as easily. Pub quizzes can also be streamed effortlessly through SOIVA.
“SOIVA is easy and convenient to use. But content is the most important thing of all. For example, we once used a larger mainstream system where only clean versions of rap tracks were available. That doesn’t work for us. We don’t censor anything,” Venekoski laughs, adding that among the Soho crew there are sometimes discussions like, ‘Did you really think about the situation where you put that track on?’
“There are some songs we played 20 years ago that we no longer play. Sometimes time just moves on. Humour-based music is also tricky and can age very quickly.”
Radio Soho’s regular curated programming includes Punk-museo, DJ Jukola’s own radio show, and Kaikki on jazzia (“Everything Is Jazz”). There are no commercials on the station, apart from occasional collaborations with DIY festivals or live gig nights. Radio Soho’s own jingles, of course, are played, Venekoski notes.
Radio Soho – Proper music for proper people: radio.gastropubsoho.fi