There's more ads down here, and they help support us so, y'know, check 'em out...

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Will Alternative Rock Radio Ever Really Happen In NYC? Spoiler: No.

The subject doesn't say it all, but it says a lot. Alternative Rock Radio will not ever happen in NYC...at least, not the way anyone who likes challenging rock would like it to.

Sure, there are encouraging signs. Each of the big-three broadcasting hegemonies (Clear Channel, CBS and Cumulus) have opened "alternative" outlets in far-flung cities and one of them (the outlet Clear Channel opened in Austin, TX during SXSW) seems to be winning accolades as well it should - with the exception of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, it seems to be playing more or less what I play as "current" at Altrok 90.5 HD2, though with a lot fewer classics.

But New York is Market Number One. And that means that even though it's a market that has fostered more brilliant music than any other city, nobody will ever cut an incoming money supply long enough to dip their toe in waters that have previously proven so advertiser-hostile.

That's the conventional wisdom, anyway. "People who like alternative rock are anti-establishment, anti-consumerist, and anti-selling-out. They hate success, and they view all advertisers with disdain, to a greater degree than those who listen to any other genre."

Which doesn't sound like a bad thing, actually. Except when you're a radio station. When you're a radio station with more income than debts, you tend to like to keep that income coming in. If you've got more debts than income, Alternative's not the thing you think of when you think "what's going to make me money the fastest?" And if you're the lucky purchaser of a station whose owner had to sell short, you're still looking to make money as fast as possible to cover your debt load and your startup costs. In the two recent situations where that happened, the new owners looked to (a.) super-serve with an already-successful iPod-proof format (sports radio on WFAN-FM), and (b.) fill the glaring market hole whose fans have no problem with commerce (country on WNSH.)

The only way Alternative hits in the big city is with an owner who eats, sleeps and breathes Alternative. That owner doesn't exist.

Which leaves non-commercial radio. You might suggest I'm biased in this regard (and you'd be right) but logically, with a commercial band, especially in Market One, run entirely by people whose love for radio and music extends only as far as the money it can make them, the only hope for refuge is the noncommercial band. (This goes doubly for our own local Market 53, which has the same mindset as Market One, but without the management talent. How else can you explain one broadcaster burning bridges and salting the earth when they finally had to pull the plug on their largely inept stewardship of a legacy modern rock station? Yes, they blamed the listeners, publicly, in an open letter. As their shiny new country station loses market share to the aforementioned WNSH, can public castigation of the loyalty of their listeners be far behind?)

So to those whose dearest wish is to see a commercial alternative rock station, I can only ask two things:

1. Does the aphorism, "Be careful what you wish for", mean anything to you?

2. Why treat the rather outstanding non-commercial alternatives like so much chopped liver?

(Full disclosure: the author obviously has rather strong ties to Altrok 90.5 HD2, a non-commercial Modern Rock station that serves the best chopped liver around.)





9 Comments:

Blogger Dave said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

1:57 PM, June 24, 2013  
Blogger Dave said...

Why not launch a Kickstarter to start up a new WHTG? A new radio station based out of Monmouth County, but using both the airwaves as well as iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc? Expand the market online, keep the great alt rock market that still exists...success?

1:58 PM, June 24, 2013  
Blogger Sean Carolan said...

Well, that's part of the problem - a Kickstarter would have to raise about $20M just to get the signal at 106.3 in Monmouth County back. That's a lot of money and a lot of cooks stirring the broth. Just keep buying lottery tickets...

2:29 PM, June 24, 2013  
Blogger Dave said...

Well, why not a new station then? Forget $20M...maybe a campaign to raise a big chunk of $1-2M? I know, I know...it is still a lot of money.

http://radiostationsforsale.net/

Crazier shit has been done.

3:12 PM, June 24, 2013  
Blogger Steve said...

Why not get WXPK-FM in White Plains a better transmitter so I can listen to it in NJ?????

11:02 PM, August 09, 2013  
Blogger Sean Carolan said...

Because you can already listen to 90.5 The Night and Altrok 90.5 HD2 in New Jersey. The Peak's good, but they're pretty much doing what 90.5 The Night's doing, and 90.5 is doing it just as well (if not better) and without commercials. Generally a win-win, I'd say.

3:59 PM, September 06, 2013  
Blogger Steve said...

I must admit I'm a little rusty when it comes to HD radio. I don't own a HD receiver - are they expensive?

9:23 PM, September 06, 2013  
Blogger Sean Carolan said...

HD Radio's an interesting technology that isn't quite cooked yet. Though it does get me out on the air, it's a signal that not many people have the radio to receive, and since its cost is greater than zero, not many see the value in getting one. (They can cost as little as $35 for a little portable one.) More people have smartphones with the TuneIn app on them, I'd suspect (if you happen to have one, look up "ALTROK" and tune in...)

1:26 PM, September 10, 2013  
Blogger Steve said...

Thanks for the tips!

3:39 PM, September 10, 2013  

Post a Comment

<< Home

 
Please Look At Our Advertisers (Or The Website Gets It)
Congratulations, you've found the hidden text.
 
Welcome to Altrok.com, also available at AltrokRadio.com and AltrockRadio.com. Here's where the remaining listeners of several fine radio stations have retreated, regrouped, and built a replacement strong enough to stand on its own. It builds on the independent legacy of New Jersey's FM106.3, New York's WPIX and WLIR, Oklahoma's 105.3 The Spy, the pre-buyout mindset of KROQ, WBCN and WHFS and of every other alternative station that was destroyed at a moment's notice - not because they weren't making money, but because there was bigger money to be found elsewhere.
 
We've stood by as truly independent alternative rock radio died. Sure, something called "alternative" took its place, but we know for sure that anything that "tests well" with soccer moms just ain't alternative. (Even if some of us happen to be soccer moms.) So we've taken matters into our own hands.
 
This really is independent alternative rock radio, visible here at Altrok.com and audible at our web radio station. It has the classic music that fired our passions back in the day - or that we maybe only heard about from our elders - but it's mostly made of the new music that does precisely the same for us now. We're paying attention to scenes all over the world, watching the energy build, and waiting to see what it creates. Wherever it happens, we'll make sure you can hear about it here. We've been slowly building all this since 2001, and now that you've noticed us, we're glad you're here.
 
Of course, it's only here because you want it to be here, and it can only stay if you help it along - especially by checking out our advertisers (they support us) and by listening (the more that listen, the more visible we are.) Please use the "feedback" link above to let us know whether it works for you, and what you want it to be as the future unfolds. (And if you need help hearing it, let us know that, too.)