LIVE, LOCAL and ASS KICKING... NO MORE

An end of an era is upon us. WCCC the Rock 106.9 has gone the way of so many radio stations before them. The backlash continues. Goodbye Godsmack, System of a Down, Pantera and oh so many more. Hello to the softer side of rock. BLECH.  Some hold out hope that they will see the error of their ways; others have abandoned terrestrial radio for satellite or internet radio. I am one of those converts myself.

Admittedly, I had converted about a month before WCCC pulled the trigger and murdered its former self in order to save itself according to the Management at Marlin Broadcasting. Why did I leave before the end was actually here? I saw the cracks and quite honestly I was bored and needed some variety.  That is the benefit of internet radio. You are your own programmer. The negative of course is that you don’t always know what’s new; you miss out on the latest concert information and the connection to the local music scene.

Back to what this blog is about. The demise of WCCC.  The fans say they sold out; WCCC management’s position is that in order to stay in business they need to cater to an older crowd, “older” being my demographic but then again not quite. They are targeting the 40+ male demographic. Why? Well I don’t have the official reason but if I had to make a guess on what they are thinking here it is.

WCCC for years has been a hard rock station whose listeners tended to be males 18-25 years of age. I say tended because this does not make up the whole demographic of listeners it is just what the majority was.  The cold hard truth and you can argue it all you want is that this age bracket typically isn’t buyers. They aren’t listening to advertising and then purchasing products and services based on what they hear on WCCC.  Columbia Dental and New Balance certainly didn’t get an influx of customers based on their commercials being played 10 times a day.  I don’t see 22 year old males spending thousands of dollars to whiten their teeth or get braces. They are saving their pennies to hit the packy and the next concert.  It just wasn’t working. Do I think that WCCC could have done a better job in this area? Yes, and oh by the way they canned Johnny Promo a few months ago so clearly they knew they had a problem. I think the biggest issue is that it was too far gone.

I am not for one second insinuating that all people in the 18-25 age range don’t spend money in areas other than booze and partying, but what I am saying is that there just wasn’t enough of them to sustain the business and apparently those of us who aren’t considered in the demographic of the old WCCC programming weren’t spending enough either. 

With that said, this is only one aspect of why I think WCCC decided to strip from us the music and jocks that we love. Radio is a vicious business. You are there one minute and gone the next. WCCC is one of the few radio stations left that isn’t owned by a huge conglomerate that owns a multitude of stations. WCCC is owned by Marlin Broadcasting, LLC a company who has had a few different ventures and after trying to find some research on exactly what they currently own I was unable to find any information I was comfortable in quoting.  Radio is a political animal in which if you aren’t with the “winning” team you may not have a job tomorrow and let’s be real ladies and gentlemen there isn’t much out there for radio personalities today. The age of digital playlists and non-commercial radio has all but made them obsolete.  So you can’t blame people for trying to keep their jobs.   

I applaud the people who created the Save the Rock Facebook page especially because I see the page evolving from an attempt to save WCCC and more into saving the music. The music they love by keeping the fans up dated on the latest concert info and music. 

As sad is it is to see the days of LIVE LOCAL and ASS KICKING give way for the greatest hits of Dave Mathews and Journey, the reality is technology, money, greed, the state of our economy and poor management have taken down the last great radio station we had here in Connecticut.  So now my friends we are forced to find other avenues.  Here are some for you to take a look and listen.

www.cygnusradio.com
Cygnus Radio was founded in February of 2005 to promote independent music in a way that is friendly and accommodating for listeners, artists, and staff members. No one person could accomplish this, but a dedicated and passionate team …
Artists who make such fantastic music
Radio hosts who bring it to you in such a way that you care about it
Technicians who build the site and without whom there would be no means of bringing it to you

www.spotify.com
Spotify is a commercial music streaming service providing DRM-protected[citation needed] content from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal.

www.pandora.com
Pandora Internet Radio (also known as Pandora Radio or simply Pandora) is an automated music recommendation service and "custodian" of the Music Genome Project. The service, operated by Pandora Media, Inc., is fully available in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The service plays musical selections of a certain genre based on the user's artist selection. The user then provides positive or negative feedback for songs chosen by the service, which are taken into account when Pandora selects future songs.

And of course

www.radio1041.fm

Although Radio 104.1 doesn’t exactly provide the hard rocking music we love so much it does have its moments and you can find WCCC Alum, Holden Johnson doin his thing and doin it well.

By far my longest blog ever, but I had to share my thoughts and suggestions with you all.

Wherever you go for your music remember to support the artists who make it all possible. Support Live, Local Music wherever and whenever you can. 

You know what music does for you. It’s your therapist, your lover, your friend, and your confidante. RESPECT THE MUSIC.