SWR3 plays current pop and rock hits under the line "Einfach gute Musik," simply good music, live from Baden-Baden in southwest Germany. You can stream it live and free right now on Radio Shuffle, wherever you are in the world.
What SWR3 Plays
SWR3 is a hot adult contemporary station for listeners between 14 and 49, mixing current hits with a broad range of pop, rock and electronic music. It is produced in Baden-Baden, with regional studios in Stuttgart and Mainz feeding the central newsroom, according to German Wikipedia's entry on SWR3. Its official slogan is "Einfach gute Musik. Einfach SWR3."
Born From a Merger in 1998
SWR3 went on air on August 30, 1998, when the public broadcasters Südwestfunk and Süddeutscher Rundfunk merged into Südwestrundfunk and their pop channels SWF3 and SDR 3 became one. The launch was marked with a festival called "Start ins Wildall" that featured Herbert Grönemeyer. SWF3 itself had been running since January 1, 1975, and among the presenters who built their careers there was Elmar Hörig, who worked on SWF3 and SWR3 from 1980 to 1999, as the SWF3 article notes.
The Moose and the Comedy
The station's mascot is the SWR3-Elch, the moose, once nicknamed the Black Forest moose, and its logo was redrawn in 2013 as an abstract circle with antlers. Comedy is part of the identity too: series such as Feinkost Zipp and Taxi Sharia have aired on the station, and on holidays the SWR3 spielt verrückt events let listeners request the music. It also takes part in ARD-Popnacht, the shared late-night pop programme that has run since 1990.
New Pop Festival
Since 1994, the station and its SWF3 predecessor have staged the New Pop Festival in Baden-Baden, an annual pop event that SWR3 has continued every year since 1998, according to the festival's own entry. It gives the station a strong live-music identity to go with its playlist.
Tune In
From SWF3 in the 1970s to a national pop favourite, SWR3 has kept its moose and its good-music promise. Stream SWR3 free on Radio Shuffle to hear it live.