Every Halloween season, I hear my fair share of spooky stories — not about haunted studios or ghostly playlists, but about radio station websites. And let me tell you, some of them are terrifying.
The worst part? These horror stories are 100% real. The good news? They can all be avoided with a little foresight and planning.
Let’s dim the lights, cue the creepy organ music, and step into two of the scariest tales I’ve ever come across in my years of helping stations manage their online presence.
Horror Story #1: The Engineer Who Held All the Cards
Once upon a time, a station owner handed every digital key — domain, hosting, e-mail setup, you name it — to their trusted engineer. The engineer had been with the company for decades and was the “go-to” for anything tech-related.
To simplify things, he used his personal email address and credit card for all online services. The domain? Registered under his name. The hosting? Billed to his account. The business e-mails? Tied to his inbox. He just billed the station each month for these expenses.
Despite my warning to get these assets under the corporate name, the owner told me, “He’s been here forever. We trust him.”
A few years after that conversation, the unthinkable happened. The engineer suffered a fatal heart attack.
The station owner suddenly realized that there was only a matter of time before every digital asset would cease being paid for. It took months of keeping credit cards active to retrieve the domain. The registrar required a death certificate and legal proof of ownership before making the transfer.
It was a nightmare that could’ve been avoided if everything had been registered correctly in station-owned accounts and payment methods.
Lesson: Never let any single person — even the most trusted one — personally own or control your station’s digital assets. Domains, hosting, and e-mail accounts should always be in the company’s name, with logins stored safely and shared with at least one other authorized person.
Horror Story #2: When the Owner Passed Away
This next story hits just as hard. A client recently bought a group of radio stations from the family of a beloved local owner who had passed away. Obviously, the station domains and websites were a part of the package deal.
The late owner was hands-on with everything: the websites, e-mail, domains — all under his personal logins. No one else had access.
After his passing, bills continued to be paid for a while… until they stopped. Then, one by one, the websites vanished because the domains had stopped renewing. E-mails stopped flowing. Advertisers couldn’t reach anyone. Online listening stopped.
The new ownership had no way to recover the original domain credentials. With the previous owner gone, there was no way to reset passwords — no way back in.
Their only choice? Start over. New domain, new e-mail addresses, new everything. The digital footprint, SEO, and online brand recognition the station spent years building was gone forever. On-air promos has to be re-voiced and their business cards and stationary had to be reprinted.
Lesson: Your radio station’s digital presence is part of its value. When it changes hands, those assets need to transfer cleanly — not disappear into the ether.
How to Keep Your Digital Presence from Becoming a Ghost Story
The show must go on — and so should your online presence. Here’s how to make sure your station doesn’t end up in one of these tales:
1) Make a Digital Inventory
You’d be shocked how many usernames and passwords your operation relies on — from your streaming provider to your domain registrar to your automation system’s online portal.
Write it all down or store it securely using a password manager. Include:
- What each account is for
- Who owns it
- Which e-mail is used for password resets
- Whether it uses two-factor authentication and where the code goes (phone number, e-mail, etc.)
If your domain registrar or hosting account is tied to someone’s personal e-mail, change it to a company-controlled address immediately. You can always redirect someone’s company email, if the need arises.
Bonus tip: Renew your domains years in advance — most allow up to ten. That way, if something happens, your web presence won’t vanish with an expired credit card.
2) Write a Digital Will or Estate Plan
If you’re the primary owner, make sure your digital assets are included in your estate documents. Decide who inherits them — your business partner, a family member, or another trusted person.
Digital assets are just as important as physical ones now. Your station’s online audience doesn’t stop when you do.
3) Appoint a Digital Executor
This is the person legally empowered to access and maintain your online accounts after you’re gone. They can handle renewals, payments, and updates so your digital footprint doesn’t fade away.
Even if you already have a traditional executor, appoint someone tech-savvy as your digital one — someone who understands what these accounts mean to your business.
Final Thoughts
Look, this isn’t the most fun topic to talk about — nobody likes thinking about death, loss, or losing control of their business. But as these stories show, failing to plan can turn your radio station’s digital future into a horror story.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to take stock of your online assets. Make sure your company, not an individual, securely manages your domains, hosting, and digital accounts. That way, the only scary stories you’ll be telling around the station will be about dead air… not dead domains.
Pic generated by Leonardo.AI
Jim Sherwood is a radio veteran turned digital strategist dedicated to helping radio stations thrive online through engaging websites and mobile apps. As the founder of Skyrocket Radio and host of the Better Radio Websites podcast, he shares best practices to help stations grow audiences and revenue in the digital space. With decades of experience in radio and a passion for connecting content with listeners, Jim ensures that every station—no matter its size—can make a lasting impact online.