Radio Free Internet?

February 10, 2006 10:10 AM

WOXY.com has begun charging a subscription fee. One of the best radio stations in America, it was a sad day in January of 2004 when WOXY in Cincinnati ceased being a terrestrial radio station. As one of the last truly independently programmed commercial rock stations in the country, it broke new ground and supported many worthy and truly alternative artists and unsigned bands. Unlike other radio stations, it actually lived up to its tagline "97X - The Future of Rock and Roll" -- a slogan you might be familiar with if you've seen Rain Man. Fortunately, with the help of some anonymous "angel" investors it was quickly resurrected as an internet radio station. In the past year or so, WOXY's terrific Live Lounge Act series has seen bands such as Gorrilaz, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Wedding Present, Neko Case play in their studio (The station also makes the performances available as podcasts). Now the station says it's going to have to charge $9.95 a month to listen, in part because of increasing royalties and increasing broadcast taxes. It's worth the money.
posted by Heminator (25 comments total)

Full disclosure: I was formerly in a band and last year we visited WOXY and played a Live Lounge Act. I’m no longer in the band so I don’t have a vested interest in the station per se, though I have met the people that run the station. And as a random bit, after a gig at the 9:30 club my band was interviewed by some guy making a documentary about the station. Though I don’t remember much about the project or the name of the guy making it.
posted by Heminator at 10:10 AM on February 10, 2006

I grew up listening to 97x and concur with all of Heminator's compliments. It was a shining beacon of modern rock in the wasteland of country music that is the tri-state area.

They'll still have a low-quality free stream as well, FYI.
posted by sciurus at 10:15 AM on February 10, 2006

Am I just cheaper than everyone else on the net? I'm amazed at the number of just-okay services out there asking for $5 to $10 a month for a single focused service. For example, AirSet and their $7 a month Verizon integration.

In this case I have a hard time imagining I'd want to spend $10 for -one- station when on the other hand I could get an XM subscription for $12 which would give me 100+ channels.

How do those of you who subscribe to these things manage to not get nickeled and dimed to death?
posted by phearlez at 10:21 AM on February 10, 2006

I started listening to WOXY recently, and it's great, but there's no way that I'm going to pay $10 a month to listen to a single station. That's ridiculous.
posted by jimmy at 10:22 AM on February 10, 2006

I really like 97x too, but I don't usually listen to music from my computer (or an iPod). I want good things to happen for them, but in the meantime my radio is tuned to WLHS, a local high school radio station that does a surprisingly good job for eclectic music.
posted by keli at 10:24 AM on February 10, 2006

Well, the unspoken subtext here is that I'm worried. I'd rather pay 12 bucks for XM too (even though WOXY's way better than their XMU channel). But it would be a really, really bad thing for new music if WOXY went away.
posted by Heminator at 10:31 AM on February 10, 2006

I predict their bankruptcy in 12 to 18 months.
posted by caddis at 10:44 AM on February 10, 2006

KEXP.ORG 90.3 FM Where the Music Matters!
posted by Seth_Messinger at 10:46 AM on February 10, 2006

That does seem pretty steep for just one station. Perhaps they could strike a deal with Sirius and do it that way instead.
posted by spilon at 10:51 AM on February 10, 2006

What Seth said.
posted by iamck at 11:06 AM on February 10, 2006

In this case I have a hard time imagining I'd want to spend $10 for -one- station when on the other hand I could get an XM subscription for $12 which would give me 100+ channels.

This calls for a gratuitous WFMU link. 100% listener-supported streaming free-form, and archives by the galore. The only place I ever donate money to.
posted by scratch at 11:20 AM on February 10, 2006

I really like Radio Paradise. They'll play everything from Johnny Cash to Jesus and Mary Chain to Peter Gabriel, inside of two hours. Yet, somehow, the transitions are always smooth. I've heard very, very few songs I haven't liked on that station.

RP is listener-supported, so if you do enjoy it, please remember to donate.
posted by Malor at 11:25 AM on February 10, 2006

Heh, thought the post was about this from the title
posted by pantsrobot at 11:30 AM on February 10, 2006

It ought to be $9.95 a YEAR. As is, they're edging very close to sattelite radio pricing, which gives you 100 stations...
posted by cell divide at 11:32 AM on February 10, 2006

I hope this fails - not because I dislike WOXY, but because I dislike the idea of Internet radio becoming a pay service. The day that KCMU KEXP starts charging for its service is not a day I look forward to.
posted by pdb at 12:10 PM on February 10, 2006

"97X - The Future of Rock and Roll" -- a slogan you might be familiar with if you've seen Rain Man.

Way to catch the eye of someone who might otherwise have breezed right past this post. Well done, sir.
posted by Gator at 12:16 PM on February 10, 2006

in part because of increasing royalties and increasing broadcast taxes.

Every Internet broadcaster has to deal with that, and they don't need to charge $10/month. I imagine their real problem is that they have a lot of "used to be a real station" costs that someone like SomaFM that's run out of a basement don't have.
posted by smackfu at 12:25 PM on February 10, 2006

Isn't SomaFM located outside of the US (and the RIAA's) grasp?

I think that the RIAA has really fucked up internet radio - and for what? Their own financial gain. Pure and simple.
posted by drstein at 3:01 PM on February 10, 2006

Nope, they're run out of a basement in San Fransisco (thus the Soma). Some further research reveals that the only reason they can keep going is that they qualify under the "Small Webcasters Amendment Act", which has lower royalty rates.
posted by smackfu at 4:10 PM on February 10, 2006

this is one of the few internet radio stations I've listened to, but I can get a subscription to download mp3s or stream fairly unlimited music for about the same price. I'd pay $2, or perhaps pay for single shows of favorite artists.
posted by ejaned8 at 8:16 PM on February 10, 2006

WOXY is the best thing I found on the internet last year. I subscribed and sent them an extra $50.
posted by Meredith at 9:18 PM on February 10, 2006

Bad FPP. The page clearly states that they will offer a premium service for $9.95, with a free service to continue. As it is I have no information on whether the free service is a decline in quality or not.

I'm concerned that the royalty thing will begin nipping at the heels of other services such as my beloved Last.FM.
posted by dhartung at 9:52 PM on February 10, 2006

I was going to post a link to WLHS and was shocked someone else on here would know about it.

Then I realized it was my wife.
posted by Mick at 9:26 AM on February 11, 2006

The page clearly states that they will offer a premium service for $9.95, with a free service to continue. As it is I have no information on whether the free service is a decline in quality or not.

The FAQ says that when you pay, you get access to "128 kbps MP3 and Windows Media streams and 64 kbps aacPlus." It also says on the front page that they'll only "leave [their] 64 kbps streams running until February 13th."
posted by smackfu at 11:09 AM on February 11, 2006

Anybody remember John Record Landecker and the Boogie Checks on WLS, Chicago? Now that was radio. Now I'm showing my age again
posted by spock at 8:00 PM on February 11, 2006