NTS Radio

NTS Radio (also known as NTS Live or simply NTS) is an online radio station and media platform based in the Hackney area of London, England. The station was founded in April 2011 by Femi Adeyemi and produces a diverse range of live radio shows, digital media and live music based events.
The Guardian described the radio as "somewhere between BBC 6 Music’s diversity and pirate radio’s DIY spirit" and has built a reputation for championing underground scenes and a leading voice in alternative culture. Music Business Worldwide reported in early 2020 that NTS has 1.5 million monthly listeners.
NTS has live stations in London, Manchester, Los Angeles and Shanghai. According to the Institute of Contemporary Arts, "NTS Radio is a family of like-minded and passionate individuals, dedicated to supporting exciting music and culture through online radio and events. NTS uncovers the best of the musical past, celebrates the present and cultivates the future of the underground music scene, and prides itself on being open-minded and experimental".
Origins.
The name NTS is an abbreviation for 'Nuts To Soup', which was the name of a previous blog run by Adeyemi.
Adeyemi, who had also been involved in founding Boiler Room, started NTS on a budget of £5,000, inspired by his love of pirate radio, MTV2, US college radio stations like WFMU and the creative community around London nightclub Plastic People (where NTS CEO Sean McAuliffe was a resident). In an interview with Music Business Worldwide in 2020, Adeyemi speaks of starting NTS as a response to a homogenous radio climate; “Pirate radio stations were laser focused on specific sounds and the mainstream radio stations the same… there are so many different tastes in London, why don’t we just set up this thing that plays everything? Let’s keep it as diverse as possible.” 
Programming and creative.
Across NTS two live channels, there are currently over 500 resident artists, music producers, DJs and record collectors globally that make up the regular shows on the platform, most of whom own share options in the company. Regular hosts range from the likes of Sunn O)))’s Stephen O’Malley to The XX’s Jamie xx, Yellow Magic Orchestra's Haruomi Hosono, Mount Kimbie, Yaeji, Zack Fox, Homeshake, Show Me the Body, Moxie, Four Tet, Mark Leckey, Floating Points, PAN, artist Martine Syms, Eclair Fifi, Kelsey Lu, Erol Alkan, queer-punk outfit Limp Wrist, Moor Mother, Fenriz, Young Turks, Kristin Kontrol, Kamaal Williams, Smithsonian Folkways, The Numero Group, jazz musician Angel Bat Dawid, XL Recordings owner Richard Russell, and, until his passing in February 2020, celebrated DJ and producer Andrew Weatherall The NTS breakfast show (broadcast from their London studios) is called The Do!! You!!! Breakfast Show and is presented by Charlie Bones. Bones is often joined by guest hosts and performers, including the likes of Slick Rick, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and Dexter Wansel.
In addition to the regular hosts on NTS, a number of musicians, DJs, artists and other notable figures have appeared as guest hosts or as guests on NTS. These include:
From these guest shows, many have been used by the hosts to as an opportunity to premiere new music, with the following airing their releases as a ‘first listen’ on NTS before official release; Death Grips, Arca, Flying Lotus, Jeff Mills, Dean Blunt, Nicolas Jaar, Kelela, Autechre, Mount Kimbie and Arthur Russell have all debuted on NTS in recent years.
In late 2018, NTS launched a new feature called ‘Infinite Mixtapes' - music-only themed streams without any traditional radio talkover. Originally exclusive to the NTS iOS app, this led to a feature on the Apple Store as ‘App Of The Day’ and now accounts for 20% of their overall streaming figures according to Music Business Worldwide.
NTS video output in recent years ranges from live sessions with artists such as Kamaal Williams and Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Toop, original music videos for Ariel Pink and Klein, and the first-ever livestreamed video performance from Aphex Twin, live from Field Day, London 2017.
NTS programmes live events and club nights across the world throughout the year. This is most prominently the case in London, where NTS has been behind the debut UK shows for the likes of Playboi Carti, Princess Nokia, Arca, PNL, and Pi'erre Bourne.<ref>