What Fuse FM does

Fuse FM is the University of Manchester's student radio station, operated as a volunteer-led society under the University of Manchester Students' Union. First broadcast on 15 February 2001 on 106.2FM (originally proposed as 'Mint FM' before being renamed), the station relocated to state-of-the-art studios on the first floor of the Students' Union in April 2012 with support from the BBC, the Your Manchester Fund, and the Students' Union. Since September 2011, Fuse FM has ceased FM broadcasting and operates exclusively via online streaming, running approximately 30 weekly shows between 9 AM and 10 PM during the academic year, with on-demand listen-back via its website and third-party platforms including Mixcloud and Spotify. Its programme slate spans music genres, talk, news, comedy, arts and culture, and DJ sets. A companion sub-brand, Fuse TV, produces video content on YouTube. The organisation also runs club nights and an annual Alive Festival, and in October 2025 launched a branded merchandise store.

The station is run entirely by volunteers — approximately 150 in total, comprising 30 committee members and 120 presenters — under an elected Station Manager and Deputy Station Managers. It has no commercial revenue model and no customers in the traditional sense; funding flows from student activity fees via the Students' Union, supplemented by grants and minor merchandise sales. Its core technology is a professional broadcast infrastructure centered on a Studer Micro console housed in the Students' Union, integrated with an online streaming distribution layer and a content-managed website. Marketing and audience engagement run through Instagram, Twitter/X, the station's website blog, and live events. Music broadcast is covered by PPL and PRS for Music blanket licences.

Fuse FM's strategic role is twofold: it provides University of Manchester students with hands-on access to professional-grade broadcast equipment and a development pipeline into media and creative industries, and it serves as an entertainment and music-discovery outlet for the student community. Notable alumni include Jack Whitehall, and in 2024 presenter Robin Collins won 'Best Content Creator' at the International Student Broadcasting Championships — the only European nomination in the category. Distribution is regional (Greater Manchester and UK digital listeners), and the station operates within a single institutional ecosystem with no subsidiaries, no parent company, and no formal investment structure.

Name

Fuse FM

Legal name

Fuse FM

Website

https://fusefm.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fuse FM is the University of Manchester's volunteer-run student radio station, broadcasting approximately 30 weekly shows via online streaming from professional studios within the Students' Union. It serves the university's student community with music, talk, news, comedy, and DJ programming, funded through student activity fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110), Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

University/Educational Local Stations (College Radio, Campus TV) (MPABACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Internet Radio & Streaming Broadcast Stations (Simulcast/Online-only) (MPAIAEAE), Radio Streaming & Catch-Up Audio Platforms (MPAIADAJ)

Keywords

• Student radio broadcasting
• Online radio streaming
• Live event programming
• Digital content publishing
• Community broadcasting

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Non-commercial Student Organization: Fuse FM is a volunteer-run student society without a commercial revenue model. It operates as part of the University of Manchester Students' Union and is funded through student activity fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fuse FM is the University of Manchester's student-run radio station, broadcasting live online from professional studios within the Students' Union. It produces approximately 30 weekly shows spanning music, talk, news, comedy, arts and culture, and DJ content, and operates on-demand show archives, a blog publishing platform, and live club-night and festival events. The station is volunteer-led, with merchandise sales (lighters, USB drives) as a small add-on offering.

Product overview

Fuse FM is the University of Manchester's student radio station (est. 2001) offering a unified broadcasting platform centered around live online radio streaming with approximately 30 weekly show programs spanning music, talk, news, comedy, arts & culture, and DJ content. The service comprises a core radio broadcasting product delivering live audio streams (9am-10pm daily during academic terms), an on-demand show archive for listen-back functionality, and a blog content platform publishing news articles, music reviews, and artist interviews. The portfolio extends to live events including club nights (Push the Tempo, Groove Street) and the annual Alive Festival, plus branded merchandise. A companion sub-brand, Fuse TV, produces video content documenting station activities and live performances.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fuse FM Online Radio Broadcasting Live online radio broadcasting service from professional studios within the University of Manchester Students' Union, offering approximately 30 weekly shows across music, talk, news, comedy, arts and culture, and DJ sets, aired 9am-10pm daily during the academic year.
• Fuse FM Show Archive (Listen Back)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• XLR (Withington venue)coreOthersXLR is a Manchester venue that hosts Fuse FM club nights and events. Fuse FM takes over the XLR basement for events like Groove Street and Push the Tempo.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Xpression FM: Xpression FM is the University of Exeter's student radio station, broadcasting online with student volunteers producing music and talk content. Its operational structure, audience (university students), and digital-first distribution closely parallel Fuse FM.
• Spark FM: Spark FM is the University of Sunderland's student radio station, operating online with student volunteers. Its non-commercial, student-led model and broadcast-on-digital-only distribution directly mirror Fuse FM's structure and audience.
• Bailrigg FM: Bailrigg FM is Lancaster University's student radio station, run by student volunteers and broadcasting online. It shares Fuse FM's volunteer governance model, music-led programming format, and community-engagement mission within a UK university setting.
• Purple Radio: Purple Radio is the University of East Anglia's student-run online radio station, operated by volunteers and producing music, news, and talk content for a university audience. Its scale, mission, and operations are highly comparable to Fuse FM.
• Smoke Radio: Smoke Radio is the University of Westminster's student-run online radio station. It mirrors Fuse FM's volunteer-based operations, online streaming distribution, and focus on music, talk, and entertainment programming aimed at a UK university audience.
• Leeds Student Radio (LSR): Leeds Student Radio is the student-run radio station of the University of Leeds, broadcasting online to a UK university audience. Like Fuse FM, it is volunteer-led, produces music and talk programming, and operates as a non-commercial student media outlet — making it one of the closest direct comparables.
• Demon FM: Demon FM is the student-run radio station associated with the University of Northampton, broadcasting online via volunteer presenters. Like Fuse FM, it operates as a non-commercial student society producing music and entertainment programming.
• University Radio Nottingham (URN): URN is the student radio station of the University of Nottingham, broadcasting on 1350 AM and online. It shares Fuse FM's volunteer-led university radio model, multi-genre programming approach, and online streaming distribution, serving a directly comparable student listener base.
• Radio LaB: Radio LaB is the University of Bedfordshire's student-led community radio station, broadcasting on FM and online. It shares Fuse FM's volunteer-driven model and focus on serving a university and local community audience with music and talk content.

Others

• Manchester Media Group (MMG): MMG is the parent student media organization at the University of Manchester that operates Fuse FM alongside The Mancunion newspaper and Fuse TV. It is not a direct competitor but the institutional umbrella under which Fuse FM operates, making it a closely adjacent ecosystem participant.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/FuseFM
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/uomfusetv
• Instagraminstagram.com/fusefm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fuse-fm

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fuse FM