This Was Solely For School, But Now I’m All Worked Up

Los Angeles Rock Station Indie 103 Going Web-Only, Quits “Corporate Radio Game”
By Daniel Kreps
Rolling Stone
January 15, 2009

Los Angeles’ Indie 103, one of the nation’s most renowned alternative rock stations announced that they would end their FM broadcast, effective immediately, and exist only on the internet. The station said in a statement that, “Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge.” Indie 103.1 debuted on Christmas Day, 2003 and has consistently played music that you couldn’t find on any other station. In 2008, Rolling Stone named Indie 103.1 the nation’s best radio station. Prince, after deciding that he wanted nothing to do with corporations and record labels, even deemed the radio station worthy of playing previews of 4 of his new songs back in December of 2008.

Living in Riverside, and working in Los Angeles, I knew the exact location, on each freeway, when I would be able to clearly receive Indie 103.1. Listening to 103.1 was the highlight of my very long day and when I heard that they would be going off the air, I was devastated. It says a lot about the world today when stations that play unique and underground music can’t afford to stay on the air. We treat radio the same as we treat education, and television; eager to set standards and develop labels for groups that perform to certain standards: Advanced, Proficient, Basic, Below Basic, Far Below Basic. If a station isn’t performing as well as other stations, then clearly no one wants to listen to it. If a school isn’t receiving high enough standardized test scores, then clearly teachers aren’t doing their jobs. The Powers That Be have developed these labels, so it simply must be true: a group that performs in the Below Basic category must be unintelligent, unsuccessful, and unsalvageable. No one takes into consideration that some children just cannot do well on tests, or that some television shows have smaller, but more devoted viewers, or that the way radio listenership is measured might not be entirely fair to all the stations. Indie 103.1 challenged the powerhouse stations with fewer commercials, longer playlists and DJs with interesting opinions and tastes in music and now they are off the air. Perhaps it is because Indie 103 was a legitimate threat to the other, more powerful but mainstream radio stations. It wouldn’t be the first time fear of a potential opponent put someone out of business.