horizontal radio - the history

The concept based upon the first meeting in Vienna was discussed at length and further developed by the members of the EBU Ars Acustica Experts Group who attended the meeting in Wroclaw.

link to the basic concept

brief summary of the Wroclav-Meeting...

regional subnetworks - the backbone of horizontal radio


Topic: migration

As an overriding theme 'migration' was choosen at the meeting


Subsequent plan of action:

Members agreed on the following guidelines:


It is also important to have qualified technicians on standby at the stations, both as a support for the artists in the development phase and to handle technical coordination between stations.
The technical risk inherent in live events will be counteracted by recording transmission-quality tapes during rehearsals.


The question of the artistic quality of the programm material generated by this live event is frequently raised: artistic quality is entirely the responsibility of the individual stations participating in the event.

The idea is not simply to open up the lines and broadcast whatever comes down them, but to create local artistic events on a regular exchange basis with other stations.

The success of this particular project, the project as a whole and the individual events therefore depends very much on the choice of artists.


Possible szenarios for public events:

Since horizontal radio has been billed as an official part of the ars electronica programme, particular attention is being given to the idea of presenting the individual contributions as public events.

Media other than radio - e.g. picturephones, video, etc. - could also be mobilized for the public interfaces of the project.


On the question of financing:

Each station will bear the cost of its own contribution (artists' fees, etc.) and the line costs for the transmission. We need to come to an agreement on copyrights and royalties well in advance. Incorporating new technologies into public events could help to attract sponsors (telecom companies, computer firms, etc.)


At the moment the priority is to choose the artists and bring them into contact with each other.


the concept ... network design ... the artists ... horrad