The Vision: What if Radio Knew You?
Imagine having your own personal radio station. Not a playlist algorithm. Not corporate programming. A real radio station with a professional DJ who knows your music taste, delivers your personalized news, and creates content just for you. A station you can tune into from anywhere in the world, playing music from your own collection, with AI-generated commentary that feels genuinely human.
That vision just became reality with ClawdFM - the world’s first truly personal AI radio network.
The Magic: Natural Radio Flow
The breakthrough isn’t just playing music with voice-overs. It’s creating natural radio programming that flows like real professional radio:
Programming Styles
- Talk-Only Segments: Pure DJ conversation and banter
- Talk → Music Transitions: Natural gaps between speech and songs
- Music Overlays: Voice over music for gentle morning wake-ups
- Artist Spotlights: Educational segments about musicians
- Time-Aware Content: Programming adapts to time of day
Sample Radio Flow
Professional AI Voice: "What a track! Johnny Cash never fails to deliver.
Speaking of delivering, here's something completely different..."
[3-second natural pause]
🎵 Grateful Dead - "Truckin'" starts clean
This feels like real radio because it is real radio - just powered by AI instead of a human DJ.
The Technology Stack
🎤 AI Voice Cloning
Using Chatterbox TTS with voice cloning technology, I created multiple AI radio personalities:
- Professional AI Voice: Professional morning briefings, news, and rock music commentary
- Taylor Swift: Pop culture updates and teen-friendly content
- Olivia Benson: Country music host with family updates
The voice quality is so good that family members can’t tell it’s AI-generated.
🎵 Dynamic Music Library Integration
Connected to a Proxmox-hosted music library via SSH automation:
- Searches through thousands of tracks by artist inspiration lists stored in Obsidian
- Dynamically fetches music files in real-time from the home server
- Rotates content intelligently to avoid repetition
- Supports multiple audio formats (MP3, FLAC, WAV)
Artists include Ween, Grateful Dead, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and dozens more curated for personal taste.
📻 Professional Audio Production
Built on FFmpeg for broadcast-quality audio mixing:
- Real-time voice and music overlays with professional ducking
- Multiple mixing styles (gentle morning wake-up, standard intro, talk-only)
- Seamless transitions and natural pauses
- Scheduled content injection (news, weather, sports)
🏠 Whole-Home Integration
Sonos speaker system integration provides:
- Multi-room audio distribution throughout the house
- Professional HTTP streaming server with M3U playlist support
- Radio-style playback controls that work properly
- Bookmarkable URLs for easy access from any device
Remote Access Revolution
Using Tailscale VPN, the personal radio station becomes globally accessible:
- Stream from anywhere in the world securely
- Mobile device compatibility (phones, tablets, laptops)
- No port forwarding or complex firewall configuration
- Enterprise-grade security with personal ease of use
Global Stream URL: http://[your-tailscale-ip]:9000/stream/adam-fm.mp3
I can now listen to my personal radio station with professional AI voice commentary while traveling anywhere in the world.
Personal Productivity Revolution
ClawdFM isn’t just entertainment - it’s a productivity-aware personal assistant that understands your workflow:
Microsoft Planner Integration
Professional AI Voice: "Good morning! You've got 3 tasks on your FY Q1 reporting
checklist today. Let's start strong with some focus music..."
🎵 Pink Floyd - "Time" begins
Email Intelligence
Professional AI Voice: "Quick update - you have 2 urgent client emails waiting.
I'll remind you again after this song wraps up. For now,
let's keep the momentum going..."
🎵 Ween - "Ocean Man" starts
Calendar Awareness
Professional AI Voice: "Heads up - your engineering team meeting is in 15 minutes.
This next track should give you just enough time to prep..."
🎵 Grateful Dead - "Fire on the Mountain" (exactly 12 minutes)
This transforms background music into contextual productivity support - your radio DJ becomes your personal productivity coach.
Real-Time Timeline Tracking
Integration with Obsidian provides unprecedented visibility:
- Live play history tracking with timestamps
- Programming schedule visibility and predictions
- Content analytics and daily statistics
- Remote control documentation and URLs
Every song, every talk segment, every news break is automatically logged and tracked in real-time, creating a living document of the station’s activity.
The Architecture
📱 Obsidian Vault (Artist Inspiration & Timeline)
↓
🎤 Chatterbox TTS (AI Voice Generation)
↓
💾 Proxmox Music Library (SSH File Access)
↓
📊 Microsoft 365 APIs (Planner, Email, Calendar)
↓
🎛️ Python Streaming Engine (Content Assembly & Programming)
↓
📡 HTTP Stream Server (Professional Broadcasting)
↓
🔊 Sonos Speakers (Multi-room Distribution)
↓
🌐 Tailscale Network (Global Secure Access)
Programming Intelligence
The system creates genuinely intelligent radio programming:
Time-Based Programming Modes
- 🌅 Morning Gentle (6-9 AM): Soft voice overlays over music for gentle wake-up
- ☀️ Normal Flow (9-5 PM): Varied talk segments with dynamic pacing
- 🎵 Discovery Mode (5-8 PM): Artist spotlights and deep musical cuts
- 🌙 Evening Chill (8+ PM): Contemplative talk with mellow vibes
Scheduled Content Integration
- :00/:30: News updates with professional intro stingers
- :15/:45: Weather reports with local focus
- :20: Iowa Hawkeye sports updates (basketball, football)
- :10/:40: Station identification and branding
Smart Personal Integration
The system integrates with your personal productivity ecosystem:
- 📅 Meeting Reminders: “You have a 2 PM with the engineering team in 15 minutes”
- ✅ Task Updates: “You completed 3 Planner tasks today - great momentum!”
- 📧 Email Summaries: “You have 2 urgent emails from clients waiting for response”
- 🎯 Daily Progress: “Your FY Q1 reporting checklist is 60% complete”
This transforms radio from passive entertainment to active personal assistant.
Natural Conversation Flow
The AI doesn’t just announce songs - it creates genuine radio personality:
“I’ve been thinking about how music connects us all. Doesn’t matter if you’re into rock, country, jazz… good music is good music. Speaking of which, here’s something from Ween that perfectly captures that experimental spirit…”
Results: A Living Radio Station
After 48 hours of operation, the system delivers:
- Continuous streaming with fresh content rotation every 3-5 minutes
- Professional DJ commentary that feels genuinely conversational
- Zero repetition across 15+ hours of tracked programming
- Multiple simultaneous access points (office speakers, mobile devices, remote locations)
- Real-time adaptability to time of day and programming needs
What’s Next: The Family Radio Network
This is just the foundation. The architecture supports expansion into a complete family media ecosystem:
Planned Stations
- Tiffany Country: Olivia Benson voice hosting classic and new country with family-focused content
- Ellie Pop: Taylor Swift voice with pop music, school content, and teen-appropriate programming
- House General: Rotating hosts for family announcements and shared content
Advanced Features in Development
- Interactive voice segments between AI personalities (cross-station banter)
- Smart productivity integration (Planner task reminders, email summaries, meeting alerts)
- Calendar-aware programming (gentle music before important meetings, celebratory tracks after project completions)
- Email digest integration (weekly summaries, urgent message alerts)
- Task completion celebrations (“Congratulations on finishing the Q1 reports! Here’s some victory music…”)
- Mood-based programming (adaptive to weather, time, detected home activity)
- Guest voice appearances (historical figures, fictional characters for special programming)
The Bigger Picture
ClawdFM represents something bigger than just a personal radio station. It’s a glimpse into the future of personalized media:
Beyond Algorithms to Personality
Current music streaming uses algorithms that analyze listening patterns. ClawdFM uses AI personality that understands context, creates conversation, and builds genuine entertainment experiences.
Human-Scale Technology
Big tech builds platforms for millions of users. This is technology built for a family of four - intimate, personal, and deeply customized.
Creative AI Applications
Most AI tools focus on productivity (writing, coding, analysis). This proves AI can create genuine entertainment and artistic experiences.
Decentralized Media Control
Your content, your network, your control. No corporate playlists, no advertising, no data mining - just personalized media exactly the way you want it.
Technical Implementation
For those interested in building their own version, the core technologies are all accessible:
Required Components
- Voice cloning: Chatterbox, ElevenLabs, or local TTS alternatives
- Music management: Any NAS or file server with SSH access
- Audio processing: FFmpeg (free, powerful, professional-grade)
- Streaming infrastructure: Python HTTP server with playlist support
- Smart speakers: Sonos ecosystem or any UPnP-compatible devices
- Remote access: Tailscale VPN or similar secure networking
Key Skills Needed
- Basic Python scripting for automation
- SSH and file system management
- Audio production concepts (mixing, formats, streaming)
- Network configuration for smart home devices
- Voice cloning setup and training
The revolution in personal media isn’t coming from billion-dollar companies with massive server farms. It’s being built in home labs by people who understand that technology should serve human creativity and personal expression, not corporate advertising interests.
Conclusion: Welcome to Personal Media 2.0
ClawdFM proves that the future of entertainment is not one-size-fits-all streaming platforms, but deeply personalized, AI-powered experiences that understand you as an individual.
When I hear the professional AI voice introducing a Grateful Dead track that perfectly matches my current mood, followed by a brief commentary about Jerry Garcia’s guitar technique, I’m not just listening to music - I’m experiencing media that was created specifically for me, in that moment, by AI that understands my preferences and personality.
This is personal radio. This is the future of media. And it’s running 24/7, accessible from anywhere in the world.
🎙️ Welcome to ClawdFM. Welcome to the future of radio. 📻
Want to build your own personal radio station? All the tools and techniques used in ClawdFM are open source and accessible. Ready to create AI-powered media that truly knows you? Get in touch to explore what’s possible when technology serves your creativity.