San Francisco Creatives Launch Program Audio, a New Online Radio Station

Inside what may be the last drive-through Fotomat kiosk in the country, a new radio station for San Francisco is quietly going live.

Program Audio, a new dance music-dedicated online radio station, opened inside a former photo kiosk in San Francisco, founded by local DJs known as sfcowboy and erika. Their real names: Arthur Javier, also known as sfcowboy, and Erika Martinez, also known as erika.

The station launched on Saturday, March 21, broadcasting for the first time from a 59-year-old space on Haight Street, the last drive-through Fotomat kiosk for film development. The location, tucked into one of San Francisco's most storied neighborhoods, reflects the founders' commitment to rooting the project in the city's own cultural geography.

The pair sat down with NBC Bay Area's Gia Vang on Thursday, March 26, to discuss the station and explain its mission in a segment that aired as part of the network's community coverage.

Martinez and Javier established the club night series and record label of the same name in 2023 as a way to connect San Francisco's dance music community. Program aims to raise awareness about the Bay Area's electronic music scene through events inspired by the music genre's rich history.

As well as playing host to online mixes, Program Audio will act as a space for its community to come together, billed as a "third space for local and international artists."

The online station comes after the duo had to shelve an earlier brick-and-mortar venue project. "While we had to put the club project on pause due to permitting and structural issues out of our control, here's what we've been working on in the meantime," the pair wrote on Instagram just a day before Program Audio's launch.

Martinez and Javier have curated and performed at events across San Francisco and more recently across the country with their team of artists, musicians, and event planners, with program collaborating with everyone from local DJs to major names in the electronic music space. The collective has hosted artists including DJ Crystallmess, who performed at Frank Ocean's Coachella set in 2023, and Japanese electronic music artist POiSON GiRL FRiEND.

The six-point flower logo, designed by Javier, is reminiscent of San Francisco's Summer of Love, a nod to the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood where Program Audio now broadcasts.

With San Francisco's independent arts infrastructure under persistent pressure, the launch of a community-focused, artist-owned online radio station on Haight Street carries weight beyond its modest physical footprint.