Taking Back The Airwaves: Why An Indie Station Would Be Good For Austin

Former WOXY Space

The last decade has been a particularly good one for Austin, musically speaking. The city continues to attract some of the best talent to play its venues; several of our hometown heroes have achieved national and international prominence, and the ever expanding diversity and reach of our four major music festivals continue to demonstrate our city’s dedication and passion for the art form.

However, casual music fans would never get this impression of Austin’s music scene based on what is played on commercial radio here. With two companies (Clear Channel and Emmis) owning more than half of the city’s frequencies, it is no surprise that the quality of music played on these stations leaves a lot to be desired. With playlists becoming more homogenized and predictable, the overall chances of hearing something new or different are slim to none unless you actively seek out other alternatives. In a city as musically inclined as Austin, one has to wonder why the city lacks a commercial FM station that dedicates itself to turning listeners on to independent and alternative music full-time. There are reasons to believe that an indie-minded commercial station would not only succeed here in Austin, but it could also do wonders for Austin’s musical reputation far beyond the blogosphere and those in the know.

One of the primary reasons why an indie station would be good for Austin is that FM radio still has some unique aspects to it that the internet and other mediums simply can’t offer. During my time as an intern at WOXY (Full disclosure: I have also interned for KGSR), I got to experience firsthand many of the tenants of radio that have all but disappeared as bottom lines have become top priorities. The music that was played on the station came from the DJs engaging in active listening and discussing the quality of the music with one another and they were willing to give almost anything a chance. This sort of human element in music selection is something that sites like Pandora can’t offer, and it’s something that many of the big stations have done away with in favor of charts and focus groups.

Rather than let numbers and charts dictate what would be played and how often you heard a certain group, each song during a live set at WOXY was handpicked by the DJ on duty. The amount of freedom and autonomy they had in choosing the music, the risks they were willing to take, and their passion for breaking new sounds was nothing short of awe-inspiring. There was a time and a place where this was the essence of what it meant to be an alternative radio station, and though WOXY was an internet only station during its brief existence in Austin, there is no real reason as to why its approach wouldn’t work on a commercial station here. Last I checked, a big reason why people have become disillusioned by the current state of radio is that the all the vitality and excitement of a bunch of music nerds sharing their favorite records has been lost in the name of ratings. Austin is a city filled with people who take their music seriously. Shouldn’t those who have control over what gets played share those sentiments?

Another benefit of an indie station is that it would give Austin listeners a unique opportunity to hear music that wouldn’t be played on any other commercial station. While there have been several crossovers that have seen airtime (Phoenix, Arcade Fire, etc.), there is still an overwhelming number of groups and styles of music that no commercial station in this town would touch with a ten foot pole. An independent station could change that. Those who don’t have the time or means to discover music on their own would have the opportunity to hear something different for a change, and those who keep up with what’s happening in music would have a unique frequency to hear most of their favorite bands.

An indie station can also serve as a launching point for local talent, something which Austin has no shortage of, and act as an outlet for a venues to promote upcoming shows. While there are other ways in which bands and venues can promote themselves, there is still something to be said for the amount of exposure an FM audience could bring. With the ability to turn listeners on to new music, as well as serving as a sort of hub for the local artists and venues, an indie station would have almost limitless potential as to the kind of good it could do for Austin’s music scene.

Although this piece is meant to be a discussion starter and not a business plan, one of the primary questions that will come out of this, hopefully, lively debate is how such a station can be financially stable. I believe that an indie station could be profitable in Austin if it took the right sort of approach. The key to this would be appealing to local businesses that share the same sort of independent spirit the station would be trying to foster. If they were to offer these businesses lower rates than other commercial stations, there is a very good chance they would take the opportunity. The station would at once be working to sustain itself and promote local business, something that Austin takes pride in doing already. Additionally, these companies would be advertising to a demographic that is already receptive to them, so it’s a potential win-win for everyone involved. While I’m not a business expert by any stretch of the imagination, I believe that Austin has the right pieces in place to make this approach work.

Another potential criticism is the fact that there are several other outlets for indie music in Austin, namely KVRX, KOOP, and the Statesman’s recently launched Austin 360 Radio, and that a commercial station isn’t necessary. While each of these options have a built-in base of followers and various positive features, they also have their limitations. They are simply not enough to have the same kind of impact that a commercial station could potentially bring. The station I’m advocating would be a full-time professional station, one that can co-exist with the other stations while working to push Austin’s musical reputation forward.

And in the end, that’s what it’s all about. For too long, Austin has been in a kind of doldrums for commercial radio that has been completely counterintuitive to all of the forward progress we have been making. An eclectic, music oriented station with knowledgeable DJs and a willingness to play music other stations won’t play would be a breath of fresh air, one that could represent the role we play as a city in being on the cutting edge music. While there will be naysayers and critics to this idea, I believe that there is still room left in this world for a commercial station that puts the music before everything else, and what better place to make it happen than our own backyard?