Now THIS kinda troubles me..

This week in the news I read where Yahoo! and AOL may both discontinue their webcasting businesses. They are saying that the 38% increase in the amount of royalties they pay are
(paraphrase mine): making their Internet radio businesses no longer viable.

For most of 2007, many webcasters (myself included) have lived under a cloud of uncertainty about their futures. We don't know ehen the other shoe is going to drop - the klunky boot that will knock our streams off the air once and forever.

The threat of competition is behind it all. Not the need for artists to be paid their "fair share."
If that's really the case, then why wouldn't SoundExchange's executive director take a pay cut (he makes in excess of $200k a year) so that the artists actually could see a little increase? No, the funds have to come out of other folks' pockets.

Trouble is, my pockets don't have much left in them.

After seriously considering taking WJJD Internet radio professional..I've changed my mind.
And here's why:

Imagine spending months - maybe a couple of years - working to build a viable business out of an Internet radio station. Building an audience..finding sponsors..all the traditional radio work.
Then one day..to find that your streaming provider, be it AOL, Live365, LoudCity or another one..is closing down.

There's just no way to build a viable business here.

As long as the costs stay close to what they are, WJJD is not in danger. But, as a personal broadcaster, I can't sell ads. WJJD has made nothing in 2007. I'm paying for it out of pocket.

Trouble is, my pockets don't have much left in them.

In all honesty, folks, I'm looking at other options to continue radio broadcasting at this point.
Musicbox 1610 is just the beginning.

Pursuing Low Power Radio vs. Internet Radio

Sometimes I think I'd be better off to just stay..well..retired.

Some days, I tune into the new 1610 and think, "Well, I got 'er on the air. I know she don't go far and there's not much potential..but golly, this little station is just a lot of fun."

Then I'll think, "But it's about $1200 in the red. Maybe I SHOULD try to sell some air time on it."

Other days I'll think that it's pointless to make anything out of 1610 and I should position the internet station as a PRO station and sell air time on it. It reaches more people..

..But then everytime you go LIVE, it kicks off your listeners, and I have to manually enter the artist-track-album-time on every song that I play..so I'll decide I don't want to go LIVE after all..

See? I told you it'd be easier to stay retired!

I'm having an absolute blast with 1610. The format is fun, I've been doing a lot more live shows, and I can listen to it everywhere in the house. It also doesn't stop playing to ask me, "Are You Still There?"

Lately I've been leaning more towards either low power FM (LPFM) or some form of low power AM (LPAM). I'm looking into a local silent LPFM now to see what, if anything, could be done with that particular station/frequency. I believe the LPFM is holding a license, but the organization itself has been dissolved by the state. I've sent out the proper notice..so far, no response.

The best LPAM docket, which was filed back in 2005, was one that I was a signatory on, along with a number of other parties. Together we are considered the active LPAM people. In 2005
there were roughly 12 of us. I believe a few other parties signed on, even though they were not LPAM'ers, bringing the total signors to 19.

The FCC likes the idea but there are some engineering details that they've requested be worked out. I don't know what they are, but..

Musicbox 1610 is located here on our farm, where we have 17 acres. I have both a 30 foot and a 50 foot tower, both which were donated, available. I got to thinking that if a testing site/station is needed I'd offer to be one of the testing sites.

We don't have any TIS stations on 1610. Matter of fact, Musicbox is the only station on the expanded band here. Any wattage from 10 to 100 and maybe 250 could be tested here without interfering with any other licensed stations.

Whether anything comes of it or not, I want the LPAM folks to know that a lot of behind the scenes activity is going on. I'm in this fight along with the other LPAM folks.

We're all hoping that something happens to give us viable radio stations.

I'm an Uncle..Again!

I'm happy to report that my sister, Carrie, gave birth to a baby girl around 6:25 this evening.
Phoenix Reign Ley weighed in at 6 lb. 2 oz.

We're all breathing sighs of relief that mother and baby are healthy and doing well. Carrie was in the hospital for weeks due to problems during her pregnancy with Samaurai.

Mom is in Miami and will stay there until around the middle of December to help Carrie, especially in keeping Sam busy and occupied!

Hope for Low Power Radio?

I was encouraged to note that the Senate Commerce Commitee passed the
Community Radio Act of 2007, sending it on to the full Senate. This bill would
open the door for more LPFMs all across the country.

That's good.

Although I don't believe the Tallahassee market has any frequencies left on the FM band, I'm still encouraged that finally some high-up people are seeing that the homogenized formats and
lack of localism are hurting radio.

Radio's strength is that it has the capacity to allow one-on-one communication, like one friend speaking to another. I understood this concerpt very well while I was going to college to study
radio, and then as I worked in the business.

Today radio sounds like they are reading liners off index cards..if it's not a brokered program or a satellite feed.

I was a little disappointed that Tallahassee's one LPFM sounds like it is running a satellite feed.
That is not the intended purpose of the LPFMs being established.

My real hope is that, next, the FCC and powers that be will make LPAM possible. That looks like my personal only chance to ever get a viable radio service.

Keep in mind, I applied for a commercial FM station in 1988. Out of the 13 applicants, I was one of the final three. They ultimately granted the licence to the Z-Rock applicant. That application,
engineering and FCC fees cost just over $11,000 - which went down the drain. I have never had
enough savings to go through the process again, although in 1995 I did pursue purchasing a
station in South Georgia - but the financing didn't go through. I've looked at a couple of other stations - but didn't attempt to make any offers.

I have located two frequencies that would work for LPAM, with 100 watt facilities on a 50 foot tower. Either frequency would work, while several others would work if the power is limited to 30 watts.

I'm ready to go for it, FCC. I'll take 100 watts, 50 foot tower, on an AM - and be happy! All I
want is ONE station.

Please.