New music seekers say farewell to AM/FM as first choice
Larry Rosin of Edison Research has this to say on his blog about the new music discovery market and radio: “Our tracking data shows that over the course of the last 13 years ‘Radio’ has been supplanted by ‘Internet’ as the source Americans turn to first to learn about new music.” It certainly has, as […]
Inside Wisconsin’s Low Power FM “broadcasting craze”
Midwestern reporters are talking about a “broadcasting craze” in Wisconsin, as five Low Power FM radio stations take hold across the state. These stations broadcast or will broadcast to communities 30 to 80 miles west of Milwaukee. They’re all around 20 to 40 miles apart from each other in a 40 mile area. The latest […]
LPFM Watch: Report on 250 Watt Proposal; Prometheus Barnraisings
A slow week here in August for low-power FM, with no new construction permits approved in the last week. There was no other LPFM action from the FCC, with no applications canceled or denied, either. Here are some recent stories of note: Radio World published a thorough overview of REC Networks’ proposal to the FCC […]
College Radio Watch: NextRadio Contest, Vampire Weekend Member’s College Radio Memories and More News
Summer break is rapidly drawing to a close and college campuses will soon be a buzz of activity as students return for the fall semester. I’ve been on my own break, traveling to the Pacific Northwest (which also allowed me to record last week’s Radio Survivor Podcast live in the studio in Portland, Oregon!), so […]
Notes on the Meteor Guitar Gallery of Arkansas’ low power radio future
Here is some backstory on how a community radio station will soon be broadcasting from a guitar store. In the beginning there was the Meteor Theater of Bentonville, Arkansas. One Mr. Harry Kelly, a lover of movies, built it for around $30,000. The Meteor, as it came to be called, opened in 1927, premiering Venus […]
Digital Watch: Bluetooth Is Magic for Podcasts and Internet Radio
Call me late to the party, but I’ve finally fallen in love with Bluetooth audio streaming. At this point most readers should be familiar with Bluetooth, which facilitates pretty easy wireless connections between devices of all kinds. In this case I’m specifically discussing using Bluetooth to send audio from a computer or mobile device to […]
“We need our bats.” Radio Lillooet considers its non-human constituents
From community radio station Radio Lillooet off the Fraser River of British Columbia comes a work-in-progress titled “Old Planet, Young People.” The final product will be eight pre-recorded documentaries on environmental research in and around Lillooet. But a lot of the program seems like it will be about critters. There is, in fact, quite a bit […]
This is My Jam and the hazards of indie music curation
The music curation site This is My Jam says that it is going into a kind “time capsule” mode, starting in September. “This means you won’t be able to post anymore, but you’ll be able to browse a new archive version of the site,” My Jam says on its Tumblr blog. I regret that I […]
Radio Survivor Podcast #10: WFMU’s Audience Engine Plans to Empower Community Media on the Internet
Pioneering community radio station WFMU wants to better empower community media on the internet. That’s why the station created Audience Engine, providing tools for publishing, community building and fundraising that don’t surrender control to third-party platforms like Facebook. WFMU station manager Ken Freedman joins to explain how the platform will help make stations sustainable when […]
College Radio Playlist Reports and College Radio’s Role in the Record Industry
A few months ago I wrote about an amazing collection of vintage college radio playlists that were recently sent to me. From the 1970s and 1980s, these playlists were mostly handwritten and typed affairs that were compiled by college radio station music directors. (more…)