Don’t call it a comeback, they’ve been here for years.
So many of my musician friends lament that Clear-channel (iHeartRadio) bought up all the local and national Indie Radio Stations, that there’s nowhere to listen to music anymore, but this is simply false.
The rumor we all circulated was that ClearChannel bought up around 90% of all indie radio in America and killed the artists ability to submit new music to millions of new listeners on local radio. Bon Jovi famously storied the reason his band became famous is he hounded the local radio stations to play their demo (as so many legendary artists have also touched on in their own memoirs). This doesn’t seem to be a conduit to sharing music anymore. However, the myth that Clear Channel / iHeartRadio single handedly destroyed indie radio simply isn’t true.
There’s no actual historical evidence supporting such a sweeping takeover of independent radio by Clear Channel. So why don’t we listen to college radio anymore? Well, the answer is… you should! There’s amazing new music emerging everyday and it’s all there!
My personal favorite is WPRB, which is considered among many to be the golden standard of new music discovery. WFUV is of course, my local favorite here in the NYC area and WKCR, Columbia University’s student-run radio station! Click below to liosten.
If you’re interested in accessing more indie and community-focused stations, LDIAL is a great starting point. You can also explore specific stations like WYEP in Pittsburgh Wikipedia+2IssueLab+2LDIAL+3Kottke.org+3LDIAL+3wyep.org, KPOV in Bend, Oregon kpov.org+1, KZAX near Bellingham kzaxradio.org, or Portland Radio Project in Portland prp.fm+2kzaxradio.org+2.
Clear Channel Communications (now known as iHeartMedia) was once the largest owner of radio stations in the U.S. and a major force in the media consolidation wave of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Clear Channel did become the dominant player in U.S. radio through deregulation and rapid expansion:
A big shoutout to the amazing Adam D. Scott for putting this incredible list together for us!
And below you’ll find an incredible music app that uses fascinating algorithms based on your mood to present indie radio stations from all over the world!
Open Safari (must be Safari, not Chrome/Firefox on iOS).
Go to:
https://www.ldial.org/?_hsmi=377529206
Tap the Share button (square with the arrow pointing up, at the bottom of the screen).
Scroll down and select “Add to Home Screen.”
Edit the name if you want (this will show under the icon on your screen).
Tap Add (top-right).
You’ll now see an icon on your iPhone home screen that looks and behaves like an app, but opens that site in Safari. Pretty cool huh? You’re welcome!
As of 2023, OpenAI is no smarter than Google’s servers, it just speaks as it is. The first
Installing matched tubes in your guitar amp mean better tone, longer life span and a healthier amplifier. Read
