Indie 103.1 has announced on its Web site that, effective immediately, it has gone off the air. In addition, a looped recorded message was put on the air, advising listeners to tune in online from now on.
Blame Britney, they say, because stations struggling to survive in the LA market are being forced to play too much of her music, and Puffy, and "alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge." (Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.)
What a tragic loss for the radio waves, the worst of it being the loss of Jonesy's Jukebox, a show that became the most exciting thing I've found on radio since WRIF in Detroit provided me and thousands of other Motown listeners relief from the horror that was disco (and how could I forget the launch of my college radio station, WRFL, in what was previously music-deprived Lexington, KY).
It's unclear whether Jonesy's Jukebox will be joining the online format, or when that format will start. All the online feed has been playing today is music.
The text from the 103.1 site says about the same as the on-air loop:
This is an important message for the Indie 103.1 Radio Audience -
Indie 103.1 will cease broadcasting over this frequency effective immediately. Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge. Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option --- to play the corporate radio game.
We have decided not to play that game any longer. Rather than changing the sound, spirit, and soul of what has made Indie 103.1 great Indie 103.1 will bid farewell to the terrestrial airwaves and take an alternative course.
This could only be done on the Internet, a place where rules do not apply and where new music thrives; be it grunge, punk, or alternative -- simply put, only the best music.
For those of you with a computer at home or at work, log on to www.indie1031.com and listen to the new Indie 103.1 - which is really the old Indie 103.1, not the version of Indie 103.1 we are removing from the broadcast airwaves.
We thank our listeners and advertisers for their support of the greatest radio station ever conceived, and look forward to continuing to deliver the famed Indie 103.1 music and spirit over the Internet to passionate music listeners around the world.
Indie 103.1, and especially you Jonesy, will be greatly missed on the airwaves of LA.
UPDATE: More from Chris Morris, who hosted Watusi Radio on 103.1 ...
— TJ Sullivan in LA
They will be missed, but there may be a silver lining to this.
ReplyDeleteNow that they are online only, they can pull real statistics on the actual number listeners, opposed to the semi-ambiguous method(s) of guessing who's listening and for how long that radio stations currently use. Going online only has a very good potential to make them much more lucrative to advertisers if enough listeners tune-in.
Also consider that many smart phones are internet ready, and newer cars are wired to connect to these phones. You really don't need to tune into a radio station using the traditional radio.
I have a couple of internet radio apps for my iPhone, which is wired into my car stereo. Not to mention that I listen to the internet radio stations while I'm walking, getting coffee, etc..