Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles—which, you may remember, previewed those Prince songs a few weeks back—has apparently gone off the air in Southern California, with the 103.1 frequency reportedly being flipped to a Spanish-language format. However, the stream’s still alive, and the station’s just-relaunched Web site would seem to indicate that it’s rebranded itself as “Indie Online,” with a full relaunch in a month. Songs played around the 10 a.m. PT announcement: “My Way,” “Aloha O’e,” “The Underdog” (with the word “survive” bleeped out, maybe intentional, maybe not), “Oh You Pretty Things.” [Indie 103.1 Online via The Daily Swarm]
Well, This Sorta Sucks: R.I.P., Indie 103.1
January 15th, 2009 // 52 Comments
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Very uncool. 99x in Atlanta did a similar thing, and still exists online, but it’s not the same.
Fuck!!! I just tuned in, no spanish yet, but they are playing some punk (Ramones, Clash, etc.) songs with intermittent messages about the switch to online. It was a great not-quite 5 years. I guess my radio listening days are about over…
Thing is, this isn’t the first time a station like this has born, lived and died in LA and it won’t be the last, and I’ve had enough of a long view now to both see the pattern and know the cycle. Way oversimplifying but:
* General sense among just enough people complaining ‘what about the music *we* like,’ matched with research into a sliding demographic scale that says ‘hey there seem to be a reasonable number of well-off ex-rocker/ex-college radio/ex-goth/ex-indie/ex-whatever people around that will pay for the products advertised on a putative station.’
* Station launches in blaze of glory, rapidly develops cachet among vocal subset of folks and/or gets a ‘well it’s better than anything *else* on the radio’ reaction, has enough random sessions and characters on it to thrive for a while.
* The demographic identified at the time and place proves to be not as interested in paying for the products advertised on the station for any number of reasons while the station never entirely develops its own identity. Attempts to ‘refocus’ result in the sharper edges disappearing or isolated, turning off younger listeners who go back to college radio (or these days college radio streams or last.fm streams or…)
* Station dies and its frequency goes to a station aiming at actually pulling in enough listeners to make it viable, leading to the shattering discovery among a lot of people out here who should know better that Spanish language radio is in general far more viable than English language radio (exceptions being the news/sports blowhard hell).
* Cultural amnesia sets again and the cycle begins anew.
Again, WAY oversimplifying, but this is how it is. Indie Radio did last a lot longer than some, though, and different circumstances might have produced a longer run but I suspect its fate was sealed anyway.
This totally sucks- but here’s hoping the online stream continues to be good. Jonesy’s Jukebox and Rollins’ Harmony In My Head were amazing shows and I hope they survive online, though I doubt they will.
@Ned Raggett: Yup, on the money. You’re probably older than I am(28 yrs), but I was old enough to be bummed out when this happened to Pirate Radio and then KNAC. I thought Indie would be around for a long time, but with these points you bring up, along with bringing back memories of how the other stations I mentioned got booted, I guess I was just being naive.
@Ned Raggett: Totally agree. I still can’t understand how WRXP here in NYC survives seeing as their playlist is ALL OVER THE PLACE (Spoon into AC/DC into Peter Gabriel, etc.)
@Ned Raggett: I’m really psyched for 2011, when we get the next iteration.
@RaptorAvatar: I’ll place money that the 2011-version starts like all of the other stations Ned is referencing, by playing a lot of Elvis Costello. For some reason, these stations always start off playing Elvis Costello.
@2ironic4u: funny you should ask, as this ran in the daily news today:
“The city now has three major rock stations: classic rock WAXQ (104.3 FM), alt-rock WRXP (101.9 FM) and K-Rock. With the last two struggling in the ratings, there has been some discussion on whether the city can support three rockers.”
[www.nydailynews.com]
i can’t find numbers to back up this claim easily (anyone know where to look them up?).
@How do I say this … THROWDINI!: All too true (and depressing). I think the one station that maybe didn’t do that that fits the model I describe was MARS-FM and I’m still positive I heard whatever the lead single from Mighty Like a Rose was on there a few times.
I’m still listening to the stream. The Joey Ramone “What A Wonderful World” gets me every time, sniff.
@Ned Raggett: to live and die in LA
@kevink.: Yes, but no Wang Chung memories, please.
@Maura Johnston: I think what’s interesting is that the message explaining the switch to online-only seems to be blaming the new way radio ratings are being calculated. I noticed that recently, Indie seems to be pushing businesses to promote that they listen to Indie all day, offering free coffee, quick on-air shout outs, etc. I’ve read a few articles in the LA Times that the spanish stations in particular are worried about this new ratings gathering system. Its not like Indie’s ratings were any good before, I wonder how far they dropped.
@2ironic4u: that’s how it survives. it keeps it as diverse as possible.
as a fellow new yorker though, I had to look it up because I hadn’t even known that CD 101.9 switched like that, I just listened to it because I’m like a dog left at home alone; radio makes noises that make me feel a little less alone.
@Ned Raggett: The fact that this keeps happening and that LA can’t seem to support a station like Indie for very long bring me back to this book by Sue Carpenter
[www.amazon.com]
and the argument for unprofessional, low-wattage radio stations that will never, ever be approved. (Its a good and quick read, even if you never listened to the station they are talking about, which I didn’t, having lived outside the broadcasting area.)
@Maura Johnston: RXP has struggled the most because it can’t seem to nail down an audience. By going from The Decemberists to AC/DC to Lifehouse, they seem to only be able to keep listeners interest for 5 minutes or so. K-rock has basically become a heritage rock station (playing almost no new music) which isn’t working for them because the meat-and-potato classic rock listeners Q has, don’t feel like having Kid rock interrupt the Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin blocks.
As for ratings, if you look at radio and records online, I think RXP is at about an 0.9.
@Ned Raggett: Before my time out there, but I’m pretty sure MARS-FM was even on the same frequency as Indie 103!
@Invisible Circus: No, that’s NOT how it survives (if it even is surviving). If we’ve learned anything in the last few years, you can’t throw everything on the wall and hope something will stick (as RXP is demonstrating). AC/DC fans (for the most part) don’t feel like hearing The National and Matchbox Twenty in between.
Ok, I’ve heard the message twice played in between Sex Pistols and Black Flag. Someone tell me what the fuck is going on.
PS. How long has it been since “Puffy” has dominated the airwaves?
@Cos: what does the message say?
the online stream is pretty ace. also, it is making me realize that the lack of x in my personal library is a severe error that needs to be rectified asap.
@Maura Johnston: ah, i think i found it.
“Puffy”? Really?
@Maura Johnston: My reaction exactly. Its like the message was beamed in from 1999.
It was actually probably written in 1999 when the last version of something like this went down.
(However, yes, 1999 = ten years of Britney. Feeling old yet?)
@Audif Jackson Winters III: MARS and Indie are (or I guess were) on the same frequency. In fact the station that Indie replaced (the name escapes me) was MARS-esque with an electronica/dance focus. It was pretty good, I liked it just fine, but Indie is way more my speed.
good station. sadly, i don’t think it will be too far before they hit rehearsals.com level (inside joke for maura), whether it’s on the airwaves or on the net.
@How do I say this … THROWDINI!: the station that Indie replaced (the name escapes me)
Groove Radio, yes? Which also tried to migrate to the Net I think…
@agolden: hahahahahahahahaahahaha. oh, man.
I have been listening to this station regularly since discovering it via this blog and the Prince song experiment. I LOVE Jonesy’s Jukebox and am so sad that it seems to be gone now – especially since he was scheduled to have Lemmy on today!!
It was a weird transition today though. No mention at all that they were going off air. I just noticed there were no more ad breaks or DJs and then my internet froze and when I rebooted it, I noticed the message on the station’s homepage. However, I am not terribly surprised. With the new PPM system, they were not even in the top 25 stations.
@Ned Raggett: It was actually probably written in 1999 when the last version of something like this went down.
That would have been what, the station that was on 101.9? I can’t remember the name, but it was pretty good. I think it tried to survive online as well, but I don’t think that lasted. It was probably too hard to listen to a radio station over a modem.
@Ned Raggett: Yep, you’re right, Groove Radio. Is that station still on the net?
Does anyone know if any station has “survived” by moving to online only? It seems that I see KNAC.com bumper stickers every so often. (KNAC was LA’s last metal station.) Did that survive?
@Ned Raggett: I’ve been feeling old for awhile now–I was totally in Indie’s target demo: single, mid 20′s to early 30′s, professional, hating my life.
@How do I say this … THROWDINI!: Yep, Grooveradio.com. Swedish Egil never stops working.
@Audif Jackson Winters III: Sweet. I’ve have to check that out. I love(d) Swedish Egil on both KROQ and Groove. I even have a few Groove Radio mix cds that they put out about the time they went off the air.
@Ned Raggett: Actually, after GrooveRadio and before Indie 1031, the station was Triple A KSCA (Channel 103-1).
There is talk of current L.A. Triple A outlet KSWD (100.3 The Sound) flipping formats as well – their ratings are in the shitter.
NY peeps – WRXP is also on the shopping block – stay tuned!
@How do I say this … THROWDINI!: The last batch of L.A. PPM ratings had Indie 103-1 at LITERALLY a 0.0.
Here’s why the new radio ratings system (PPM) is rough: In the L.A. Metro, only 2800 Portable People Meters (basically pagers that participants have to carry around) are used – that’s 2800 people representing a city of (however big L.A. is currently). And these people get to keep the PPM for almost 2 years!
@owenmeany: “shopping” or “chopping”?
@owenmeany: I forgot about KSCA. But wasn’t that between MARS-FM (early 90s) and Groove Radio (early 00), with a couple of different spanish stations thrown in between? So the run down since the 90s was something like:
MARS
spanish
KSCA
spanish
Groove
Indie
What does that say about the ability to maintain a non-behemoth owned station on this relatively weak frequency. I think its technically two stations, and LA-based one and an OC-based one on the same frequency?
@owenmeany: The last batch of L.A. PPM ratings had Indie 103-1 at LITERALLY a 0.0.
Wow, I guess that’s why they are criticizing the new rating gathering system in their anouncement. 0.0 is the same rating I got under the system — and I’m not a radio station.
I remember this station only very dimly — I don’t even recall the name or call letters — but in 1989 or so there was a sort-of proto-all-over-the-place station that thrived for a year or two in LA, damned if I can remember more details. But it fit the overall arc I described — started out with a ‘hey are you tired of the usual, here’s something that plays all different kinds of stuff’ (and actually did, for a bit) but flared out after a year or two.
@Maura Johnston: My bad. Chopping.
@How do I say this … THROWDINI!: No, it went like this (kinda):
MARS
Jazz FM
CD 1031 (A/C)
Groove (in ’96)
Channel 1031 (Triple A – in ’98)
SuperEstrella (Spanish – in 2000)
Indie 103-1 (Alt – in 2003)
@owenmeany: No worries! I was wondering if Ennis was putitng it up for sale.
@owenmeany: Man, I would have bet money that Indie directly followed an electronica/dance music station, but looking at your list, I’m pretty sure you’re right. Looks like it’ll be another two years or so before I start listening to 103.1 again and Ned’s cycle starts all over again. I’ll miss you Jonesie, et al…
@owenmeany: I remember 103.1 going from one of those pop-dance stations that arrived in the early aughts (I believe it was “Party FM” or something similar) right into Indie.
In its first few years, Indie even ran a bunch of station IDs from supposed “irate” listeners and there was one from a guy yelling “how about some HOUSE and TECHNO!” who sounded way too old to be listening to house and techno.
@Cos: Ha! Aw man. Come on. “Too old” for house/techno? Is there really cut-off? And at what age? I mean, if Swedish Egil can do what he does, I can certainly rock out to Richie Hawtin and Jeff Mills, right?
Right? Hello? Bueller? Is this thing on? Oh, crap.
@How do I say this … THROWDINI!: I think its technically two stations, and LA-based one and an OC-based one on the same frequency?
That’s exactly right. There were times when I was driving on the 405 near the OC / LA border and I could pick up both signals, one slightly out of sync with the other.
@
:O/T, I know, but I was greatly disturbed when OK Magazine broke that same news to me tonight at the CVS:
[www.bestweekever.tv]
@exposition: I had a bit of fun today when I noted in passing to two younger colleagues, “You know it’s been almost ten years since The Matrix was released.” Their exchanged glances and ‘whoa’ reactions were kinda what I expected (not in a cruel way, I doubtless felt the same way when I first realized it had been ten years since I’d seen Star Wars on original release).
The first time I heard Indie 103.1 FM was right after the station launched. I was on my way to do court ordered community service when I heard Indie playing “Holiday in Cambodia ” at 6am… I instantly became a fan of the station. At first the station had No Commercials and No DJ’s, just good eclectic music from the Punk/Rock’N'Roll/Indie genres. The only non-music played was random voicemail recordings of the listeners often complaining about how the station didn’t have DJ’s to name the songs. With time DJ’s emerged as did great programs like Jonesy’s Jukebox, the Mighty Morning Show with Dicky Barrett, Camp Freddy Radio, etc…
Indie provided many great moments in radio that I really appreciated, such as: the Jonesy interview with Johnny Rotten that was cut short when someone cut the cable to the Indie Broadcasting Signal, the 1st Jonesy interview with Lemmy, Dave Navarro calling prostitutes from the back of the LA Weekly, the many Dicky interviews and the one X-Mas Eve that he played “Drinking and Driving (is so much fun)” by The Business. Haha! That is probably the only time that song has been played on Amerikan Radio, Complete Control Radio that gave local & well known Punk bands airplay, and so many other great moments that I don’t remember, don’t care to mention or never heard.
But, on a long enough time-line… everything goes to shit. Dicky Barrett was fired for refusing to water down his show and cater to soccer moms, Jonesy has become a babbling fool playing non-sensical songs on his acoustic, I haven’t heard Camp Freddy radio in a while and how many times do we have to hear MGMT??? I can deal with the Dance Rock so long as it’s sandwiched inbetween some of the music that got me hooked on the station in the first place. However, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Tom Waits, The Stooges, Motorhead, all the local punk bands, or even Q Lazarus (for comic relief) but then again, I haven’t been listening much recently.
Oh well, there was some good times there.
Cheers!
@T’Challa: it was just a cheap attempt at sarcasm.