I tweeted the following earlier: “affiliations aside, i think that we all agree that @wfnx being sold to clear channel is a blow to #bostonmusic.” Instead of getting into a retweet contest or a social media back-and-forth with everyone who’s confused as to why the Music Editor of DigBoston, the Phoenix’s alt-weekly competitor, is mourning the loss of the latter’s radio station, I think I’ll spell it out for you clearly:
I am a supporter of Boston music and a participant in the Boston music scene, and for that reason, I’m upset about a local independent radio station like WFNX being sold to a national conglomerate like Clear Channel.
We can break this down a little further, if you’d like. Many may gripe about the fact that WFNX play the Black Keys and Beck and Green Day on the hour every hour, sure. I’ve cracked a joke or two at the station’s expense for that very reason and I’m not ashamed of it. WFNX also incorporates the music of local bands into it’s regular programming seamlessly, showcasing bands like Mean Creek and You Can Be A Wesley and Viva Viva alongside the Foster The Peoples and Funs and Joy Formidables that strangers to the Boston music scene may recognize.
To play a Bostonian underdog’s song before or after a major, recognizable single is a GOOD thing by association. It introduces the local band to listeners tuning into WFNX as one on par with the national hit-maker, and hey, maybe the local band will get a few more new listeners out to the show and cultivate more fans. How can that POSSIBLY be a bad thing, for the band, the local venues that support them and their growing fan base? Though there are a handful of fantastic local music programs on Boston radio stations right now–namely Boston Emissions on WZLX, which moved from WBCN after that station was sold in 2009–WFNX is the only station to keep this line between out-of-town headliner and local wunderkind blurred. To lose a station with that kind of programming, regardless of who’s writing the paychecks, is a shitty thing for the Boston music community, plain and simple.
And regarding who was writing the checks? Though yes, DigBoston has published many a Media Farm eviscerating the Phoenix over any industry rumor our anonymous columnist could get their hands on, we count many members of the editorial staff at the Phoenix as friends of ours. When it comes to my connection with the Phoenix staff, the music crew–especially Phoenix Music Editor and WFNX’s Boston Accents host Michael Marotta–and I have been going to the same shows, national and domestic, for years now, and to take delight in an announcement of this nature that directly impacts him and his writers in a very negative way is, frankly, morbid and unprofessional. Michael and I don’t necessarily have the same tastes, and sure, sometimes we scoop each other when it comes to profiling a local band we’re both really excited about. But he’s a fantastic colleague, one whose pieces I read and radio program I listened to, and the man cares very much about doing this city right when it comes to giving Boston bands and members of its music community the attention they deserve. He’s been supportive of me when I’ve posted controversial pieces and when I’ve booked local lineups for various DigBoston events, and I support him and his editorial judgment when it comes to Boston Accents, the Best Music Poll, whatever.
That doesn’t matter so much, though. What matters is that the sale of WFNX means that the future of a program like Boston Accents is TBD, and that in itself is a blow to the Boston music scene.
Am I bawling my eyes out over a shot to the competition? No–hell, I don’t know what’s going on over on Brookline Ave. any more than the rest of the city, and I’m not going to make assumptions about how everything’s being handled behind closed doors. Am I distraught over this hefty setback facing a group of journalists, DJs and producers I respect and value both as colleagues and friends? Yeah, absolutely. And am I worried about what this could ultimately mean for local, independent music coverage on the whole? I don’t want to even get into it.
I love being a member of the DigBoston editorial staff, and I’ve gone on record plenty of times saying that I’m the luckiest music journo in the country because I get to immerse myself in Boston music and call it work. The folks of WFNX and the Phoenix do that as well, and I think that that’s what people need to remember, here–that an outlet and a resource for Boston music may not have a future, and that in itself is a terrible thing.
So. There’s my piece. Support local music, support local musicians, and support your local independent media. Affiliations aside, losing an independent radio station is a blow to Boston music, plain and simple.
© 1999-2013 Dig Publishing LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This is very, very sad for Boston music. However, if it has a potential effect for the BETTER, it could mean drumming up more support for the cities peerless college radio stations. WFNX listeners: go check out WZBC, WMBR, WHRB et al!!! Completely commercial-free, listener supported, local independent stations with decades of experience are just a flip of the dial away!
So what we should likely expect is a Boston radio scene that more closely resembles the Providence radio scene. Even the best scenario will likely leave us with a radio station much like WBRU, lots and lots of corporate crap with the occasional lip service to the local scene.
This is a sad day indeed.
BRING BACK RADIOBOSTON.COM!
I disagree, and I’m a local musician as well. There are radio stations that blur the line of local music and label music–they are called college radio stations, ever hear of them? FNX throwing a miniscule scrap to the local scene late at night once a week hardly deserves my support now. Not to mention forgiving their horrid sense of alternative music from the early 90s to now that clearly sucked the teet of corporate boredom is not going to happen.
Thanks, Hil. <3.
Agreed 100% and for purposes of disclosure I work at http://unregularradio.com and my wife works at a competing commercial radio station. I will miss Julie Kramer’s leftover lunches where she plays the music I wanted to hear, local and national, new and old. Also will miss, Dee Tension and many of the folks over there, Henry Santoro. Poor Adam 12, his second station closing.
Hire Michael Marotta. Hire as many of the WFNX staff as you can.
Lock arms with the college stations as mentioned; WZBC, WMBR, WHRB, etc.
Solidify the Dig as the last bastion against corporate takeover of the Boston scene, and all local scenes.
Cause there’s gonna be Clear Channel, and there’s gonna be everybody else.
Well put Hilary. Sad day for all music lovers. We have been spoiled here in Boston. Most markets hear the same crap over and over again. We are one step closer now to being the status quo instead of an incubator of musical genius.
First WBCN, now WFNX. Running out of good radio options in Boston.
what it all boils down to is $$$$$$. People buy radio statiosn not becasue they like music, its becasue they like money more than music. The same reason people buy baseball teams. To them its a “business” plain and simply and thats that. Thats all this is. FNX being sold is basically some dude saying. “meh, Im not making as much money as I wanted, Im out”, and thats very very sad. Its capitalism at its finest. Unfortunetly its finest is disgusting.
A mostly thoughtful and even-handed article. Shocking that it was written for The Dig.
But we all know the under currents of the ignored younger sibling attitude by the opener “affiliations aside”….I mean… you don’t work for a radio station do you? And even if you did, FNX is not located on Brookline Ave ……..but the envy displayed by the weekly dig , DigBoston, whatever, has been pretty clear over the years. Shedding FNX just means PMG is now focused on crushing their supposed competitors in print/digital media. Good luck to ya. Even the bottom of this website shows the slackness in “Dig this Awards 2010″?? Really?
So let’s see if the Dig can take it as well as it dishes it out by keeping this post up.
WERS is not going to be able to cut it. Their programming is sort of bastardized, with the occasional rarity thrown in. Rock and roll radio has always been a part of my life. Now it’s going away regardless if we want it or not.
Settle down, one who goes by the name Reality Check.
Psst. WBCN is back. Go to http://www.wbcn.com and click on the blue “WBCN Free Form Rock” icon. Instant relief.
Thank you for writing this!!!
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In “Northeast Community and Independent College Radio” – https://www.facebook.com/groups/148693875252110/ – Toni P writes “…I am afraid we will be down to NPR, Clear Channel, and Bible Belt Network radio…”
I’d like to take this opportunity to share information about community and independent college radio, types of radio service that offer a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial and public service. Community and independent college stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular to a local/specific audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial/mass-media and so-called “public” broadcasters.
Community and independent radio stations are operated, owned, and driven by the communities they serve. Community radio is not-for profit and provides a mechanism for facilitating individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own diverse stories, to share experiences, and in a media rich world to become active creators and contributors of media.
Independent college and community stations that broadcast in the greater Boston area include:
BIRN (Berklee Internet Radio Network), Boston (independent college internet – Berklee)
Boston Free Radio, Somerville (Community Internet)
I.B.I.S. Radio (the Independent Broadcast Information Service), JP (independent non-commercial)
WBIM, Bridgewater (independent college – Bridgewater State)
WBRS, Waltham (independent college – Brandeis)
WCHC, Worcester (independent college – Holy Cross)
WCUW, Worcester (community)
WDJM, Framingham (independent college – Framingam State)
WECB, Boston (independent college – Emerson)
WERS. Boston (independent college – Emerson)
WHRB, Cambridge ((1) Harvard)
WMBR, Cambridge (independent college and community – MIT)
WMFO, Medford (independent college – Tufts)
WMUA, Amherst (independent college – UMass)
WMWM, Salem (independent college – Salem State University)
WOMR/WFMR, Provincetown (community)
WRBB, Boston (independent college – Northeastern)
WSCW, Worcester (independent college internet – Worcester State University)
WSHL, Easton (independent college – Stonehill College)
WTBU, Boston (independent college – Boston University)
WUMD, North Dartmouth (independent college – UMass)
WUML, Lowell (independent college – UMass)
Turn off commercial and “public” radio, turn on community and independent college radio!
I omitted WZBC, independent college radio from Boston College, my apologies.
It’s sad to see FNX go but they really dried up after 2001. They were good finding new music until the 90′s when alt-rock was mainstream and then they got lazy and never recovered. Any new music they played was being played on WZBC and WMBR 6 months to a year in advance.
Having all the radio stations owned by one or two companies is such a waste. I’d rather see every college in boston that wants a radio station get one for a minimal charge, and then let 2 non-local companies buy the rest.
There is (and always has been) excellent programming on the greater Boston areas college radio airwaves. Let’s take take this as an opportunity to really support those stations and programs.
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Sorry, not going to miss WFNX. They may have been independently owned but they played major label crap and their playlist mirrors three other commercial stations on the dial. Honestly I don’t need to hear Red Hot Chili Peppers any more.
WFNX lost their innovation when Nirvana broke into the mainstream. They could have continued to feature new and innovative music but they ended up with the same playlists as all the other rock radio stations and they posed no true alternative any more. All that dreadful alt-jock-rock junk from the ’90s did them in.
They easily could have taken a look at the buzz bands on Pitchfork or playing Coachella and made fantastic playlists from those acts in the last decade and gained plenty of new audience members with the kids but they stuck to the major label junk instead.
WZBC, WMBR, and WMFO are where it’s at in Boston in terms of DJ-run free-thinking radio which listens to their audiences and takes the time to find and play the best stuff and we’re fortunate to continue to have them.
What’s the format going to look like after Clear Channel takes over? I won’t be heartbroken if they do away with what they’ve got now.
Good riddance.
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You could listen to college radio, or spend a few dollars and get Sirius. I haven’t listened to regular radio in a couple years because of what satellite offers. Best station is SiriusXMU- it’s what I called a real alternative station. I’ve discovered so many bands there that I probably would never had heard of otherwise.
The article is right. Just because you didn’t like ALL of the stuff they play doesn’t mean they aren’t hugely important to the Boston music scene, sponsoring lots of shows, broadcasting and breaking some local bands, etc. The mainstream stuff at least used to pay the bills. The college stations are not a good replacement. Most don’t play a consistent format around-the-clock.
I have to agree with “sad” here. I am from way up here in NH and cannot get most of these college stations you are mentioning. WFNX was a great MIX of old, new, near and far away music. I wouldn’t have heard SO much of the local bands that were played there and many from say the UK. I don’t have a fancy phone with aps, I don’t have money for Sirius and the likes. I just want to get into my car and keep it on one station and one station only…I don’t have that now. And all the shows I’ve been to because FNX so awesomely supported sooo many great bands…I’m gutted. Truly gutted. Great article btw!
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you happy campers all need a hug:) mainstream music of the 2000′s is with out a doubt, the worst music era that i have lived through. if at 30 i am considered an old maid, then so be it. i’m glad i was not a part of the music movement of the now. you ppl are so busy putting down old music, and you keep saying mainstream. (like corgan was mainstream in 88 when he did jennifer ever). you may see one of your unknowns end up with some hit songs and then what? you’re going to abandon them simply because they are what you narrow minded people call mainstream. so they got a fat check, and were overly played in rotation on a radio station. seriously? your that bitter over it! that’s way to strict for my liking. its all one big D & P show. to me, freddie mercury is amazing to this day, and there are probably kids in their basement making songs that are just as amazing as he did. good music (mainstream or otherwise) deserves to be heard. stop bitching about who makes hit records and who doesnt. because right now you should be worried about who is taking over the world of music as we know it, because its not the chili peppers or nirvana (that you all pout and complain about hearing). its lady gag and justin beiber. that’s your youth, not mine…..congratulations!
WFNX sale price $14.5 mil all access