About Sunshine FM

Sunshine FM

Sunshine FM 104.9 — callsign 4SFM — is the Sunshine Coast's community radio station, broadcasting from Buderim in Queensland, Australia on 104.9 MHz FM to the Sunshine Coast. Operated by the Sunshine FM Radio Association Incorporated, a not-for-profit organisation, it plays "the widest variety of hit music from the 1960s to the 1990s" under the slogan "More Music, More Memories, More Often." For more than two decades it has provided a quality alternative to commercial and networked radio — and for the past five years it has been the most listened-to radio station on the Sunshine Coast, winning its 11th McNair survey in a row in 2026. Its website is https://www.sunshinefm.com.au/, with studios at Level 3, Tower 1, Kon-Tiki Business Centre, 55 Plaza Parade, Maroochydore QLD 4558 (PO Box 1049, Buderim QLD 4556). Published contacts: (07) 5450 1049, frontdesk@sunshinefm.com.au.

Overview

Sunshine FM 104.9 is the Sunshine Coast's #1 — and the remarkable part is that it's a community station. In a market with five commercial FMs, the ABC and the Brisbane overspill, the volunteer-powered 104.9 has been the most listened-to station on the Coast for five years: 95,000 listeners a week in the 2/2025 McNair survey (market population 325,000) — 7,000 more than the next-closest station. #1 for People 15+, #1 for People 40+, #1 for People 55–64, and #1 weekly reach since 2021. The 29% share for People 15+ — ahead of Hot FM's 27%, Mix FM's 26% and Sea FM's 24% — is the community station beating the commercials at their own game.

History

The 'quality alternative' positioning — the station's own description for more than two decades — was the long game: not chasing the commercials' demographics, but serving the community the commercials underserved. The 2021 #1 was the vindication: the alternative, become the mainstream. The Coast's listeners had been there all along; the surveys finally caught up.
The station's two decades-plus on air span the Sunshine Coast's transformation: the regional centre becoming the metropolis, the 300,000-plus market, the five commercial FMs. Through it all, Sunshine FM's formula held: more music, local information, community service. The 2021 breakthrough — the first #1 weekly reach — was the tipping point: the community station the Coast had been listening to, finally counted as #1. The ten surveys after — and the 11th in 2026 — proved it wasn't a fluke.

Sunshine FM has broadcast to the Sunshine Coast for more than two decades — the community alternative that outgrew the category. The station's rise to #1 is the story: from the quality alternative to commercial radio to the Coast's most-listened-to station, survey after survey. The McNair record — #1 weekly reach in every CBAA national listener survey from 1/2021 through 2/2025, ten surveys in a row, then the 11th in 2026 — is unprecedented for a community station in a market this competitive.

The 40+ audience is the Coast's demographic heart: the sea-changers, the retirees, the working adults who moved to the Coast for the lifestyle and stayed for the community. The 60s-to-90s music — the widest variety of hits, the memories in every song — is their soundtrack: the Beatles to the 90s, the Australian rock, the easy listening. 'More Music, More Memories, More Often' is the promise: the songs they know, the local information they need, the community they belong to.

Programming

Sunshine FM plays the more-music format: the widest variety of hit music from the 1960s to the 1990s, with local news, talk, weather and community content. The 40+ audience is the target — the Coast's working adults and retirees, the demographic the commercials split between them. The station hires experienced music presenters "who's a great fit for a 40+ audience" and comfortable with "short, sharp interviews" — professional standards, community ownership. The facilities, in the heart of the Sunshine Coast's media hub at Maroochydore, are "excellent" by the station's own account: the community station with commercial-grade studios. The 2026 weekday-presenter recruitment — part-time, 20 hours a week, demo reel and CV to the program director — shows the professional operation behind the community licence: the #1 station, still hiring the best.

Buderim — the transmitter town — is the Coast's elevated heart: the mountain suburb above Maroochydore, the transmitter sites with the view. The 104.9 signal from Buderim covers the coastal strip: the beaches, the suburbs, the 325,000-strong market. The Maroochydore studios — Level 3, Tower 1, Kon-Tiki, 55 Plaza Parade, in the Coast's media hub — put the station where the action is: the commercial centre, the business district, the heart of the Coast.

Coverage & Audience

Sunshine FM broadcasts on 104.9 MHz FM from Buderim to the Sunshine Coast — the 325,000-strong market from Caloundra to Noosa. Its audience is the Coast's mainstream: 95,000 a week, #1 in every key demographic. The survey detail tells the story: 29% for People 15+ (95,000 listeners), 31% for People 40+ (69,000) — ahead of Mix FM, Hot FM and Sea FM in both. The community station isn't a niche: it's the market leader.

The association model is community radio's governance: the members elect the board, the board oversees the station, the volunteers run it. Greg Hughes — Chair, Executive Director and General Manager — is the professional at the helm: the community station run to commercial standards. The board — Wordsworth, the Richardsons, Laver, Stewart, Hope — is the community's oversight: the strategic direction, the financial performance, the not-for-profit mission. The 11-survey winning streak is their report card.
The not-for-profit mission — 'a strong commitment to the community we live in,' in the association's own words — is the licence's purpose: the community's station, not the shareholders'. That a not-for-profit community station can be #1 in a 325,000-person market, five years running, is the sector's best argument: the community, given the choice, chooses its own.

Ownership

Sunshine FM is a community-licensed, not-for-profit broadcaster, operated by the Sunshine FM Radio Association Incorporated. The association board oversees the station's strategic direction and financial performance: Greg Hughes (Chair, Executive Director and General Manager), Chris Wordsworth, Errol Richardson (Deputy Chair), Peter Laver (Secretary), Paula Richardson (Treasurer), Vicki Stewart and Kathleen Hope. The station is based at Level 3, Tower 1, Kon-Tiki Business Centre, 55 Plaza Parade, Maroochydore QLD 4558 (PO Box 1049, Buderim QLD 4556). Published contacts: (07) 5450 1049, frontdesk@sunshinefm.com.au, sales@sunshinefm.com.au.

The survey dominance deserves the numbers. In 2/2025: 95,000 weekly listeners — 7,000 more than Hot FM's 88,000, 10,000 more than Mix FM's 85,000, 18,000 more than Sea FM's 77,000. The 29% share for People 15+; the 31% for People 40+ (69,000 listeners). #1 in People 15+, 40+, 55–64; #1 weekly reach since 2021; 11 McNair surveys in a row by 2026. In a market with at least seven stations selling airtime, the community station is #1 — the most listened-to radio station on the Sunshine Coast, five years running.
The 'more music, more memories, more often' slogan is the format in six words: the hits, the nostalgia, the constancy. The station's audience-data page — the sales pitch, the survey tables, the '5 years & 10 surveys in a row' — is the community station selling like a commercial one: the reach, the demographics, the #1s. The sales@sunshinefm.com.au contact is the commercial front door: the sponsors, the community-minded organisations, the businesses that want the Coast's #1 audience.

Digital Presence

The station's website is https://www.sunshinefm.com.au/, with streaming online and the audience data that proves the #1s. More music, more memories, more often — on 104.9 from Buderim: the Sunshine Coast's #1, the community station that beat the commercials, for five years and counting — 11 surveys in a row.