5MBS community radio station presenting mainly classical music around clock from 1995 to Adelaide metro area

Volunteers present the mainly-classical music programmes around the clock on the Adelaide metropolitan radio station 5MBS. 

Broadcasting mainly classical music 24 hours a day to the Adelaide metropolitan area, 5MBS began operating as a volunteer-run community radio station from 1995.

Based at the Adelaide suburb of Hindmarsh, with no paid staff and funded by listeners’ contributions, 5MBS presented its music on 99.9MHz and a live stream via its website. 5MBS was started by the Music Broadcasting Society of South Australia incorporated in March 1995, with hundreds of members, and more than 100 volunteers to present programmes.

After test broadcasts from 1995, 5MBS operated from February 1998 under temporary community broadcast licences from the Australian Broadcasting Authority before being awarded a a permanent 24-hour seven-day licence on 99.9FM frequency in in 2002. With sister stations 4MBS Brisbane, 2MBS Sydney, 3MBS Melbourne and in Canberra, 5MBS broadcasts a mix of classical with jazz,blues and world music, as well as supporting Adelaide's local arts community.

It was 5MBS policy to include a proportion of Australian compositions and performances in its programming, especially concerts and recitals recorded in Adelaide. The station provided concert recordings free to performers and used them on air in some programmes. Supporting the wider arts community, 5MBS had several musical organisations as access groups that prepared and present their own programs. The station also promoted the groups’ concerts and recitals.

With permanent fixed costs – transmitter site rental, electricity, building rental – to run the station running into the tens of thousands of dollars each year with a reliance on membership fees just to break even.