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EDITOR’S NOTE – Back in July of 1994, Atlantic Records briefly entered the world of Low Power Broadcasting with its Holland Tunnel Low Power Radio Project. After almost two years of operations, the effort was suddenly shut down for reasons unknown. What follows are a few historical articles that provide a tantalizing peek at ‘what could have been.’ These articles are offered here in the hopes of rekindling interest in this unique venue.

Title: Atlantic sets up department for low-power radio.
Source: Billboard, Dec 10, 1994 v106 n50 p12(2).

Full Text COPYRIGHT BPI Communications 1994
NEW YORK–Spurred on by the success of its low-power radio promotion this summer outside New York’s Holland Tunnel, Atlantic Records has created a separate department dedicated to the burgeoning world of 100 milliwatt–1/10 of a watt–radio outposts. Atlantic’s division for low-powered radio ventures will be headed by Bob Kranes, former PD at WBCN Boston and WLIR (now WDRE) Long Island, N.Y.
More…

The label hopes not only to move more product by exposing artists through the alternative outlet, but to bring in outside advertisers and turn the mini-stations into revenue streams. This summer, in an attempt to expose passengers stuck in traffic near the Holland Tunnel to new music, Atlantic stuck a transmitter on the roof of a nearby Texaco station and beamed out, for 500 feet, the music of B-Tribe on 1510 AM (Billboard, Aug. 6). Because the AM signal is so weak, an FCC license is not required.

According to Kranes, the Holland signal is up and running once again. This time, instead of simply hearing music (Hootie & the Blowfish are currently being featured), commuters are encouraged to call in a special number when they get to work to win prizes, such as Atlantic product (samplers, cassettes, CDs) and free tunnel tolls for a month.

The plan, though, is not to keep low-powered stations exclusive to Atlantic. For instance, Kranes describes the possibility of working in conjunction with a shopping mall. The label could hook up a transmitter to the building’s roof, make incoming shoppers aware of the signal, promote Atlantic product on the air, and sell ad time to mall retailers so they can tip off shoppers to sales.

The second Atlantic “station,” located on the Queens, N.Y., side of the Midtown Tunnel, is scheduled to go on the air by the end of the year. Kranes says there may be as many as 25 outlets dotting the city by next summer, with plans on the books to head to distant, traffic-choked towns.

— End —

Title: Watts new in promotion; Atlantic Records signs on two low-power stations to spur sales.

Source: MEDIAWEEK, Jan 2, 1995 v5 n1 p8(2).

Author: Cheryl Heuton

Abstract: Time Warner’s Atlantic Records VP Danny Buch came up with a unique idea to promote a new dance band’s music when local radio stations did not given them air time. Buch began a weak-signal radio station, which was exempt from Federal Communications Commission regulation. The music was broadcast to commuters entering the Holland Tunnel, in New York City, NY. B-Tribe’s album sales increased 21% during the promotion, and Atlantic will establish a radio ventures department, as a result.

— End —

Title: Radio stations show how low they’ll go to win an audience.
Source: Marketing News, April 10, 1995 v29 n8 p7(2).
Author: Chad Rubel

Full Text COPYRIGHT American Marketing Association 1995

Abstract: Low-power radio stations are now being used as a marketing tool. Before, these facilities were utilized exclusively to disseminate information on traffic, weather and services. However, Atlantic Records Corp. has found a clever application for these radio stations. It is now used to test the reaction of customers to its recordings.

At one test, a recording group experienced significant sales increase when it songs were broadcast by Atlantic’s low-power radio station to the Holland Tunnel in New York. As a result of this success, Atlantic intends to use its radio station to promote the latest from Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. The radio station will be situated in a facility near the concert venues where Plant and Page will perform.

Unregulated by the FCC, low-power radio stations can also be used by car ferry service firms, government agencies, museums and grocery stores. It’s a radio station with only one-tength of a watt, with a limited broadcast radius of a half mile. Yet it may be the hottest new ad vehicle. Long a standard at airports and public facilities, low-power radio is now being expanded for commercial purposes.

Danny Buch, Atlantic Records vice president of promotion, said the firm started experimenting with low-power radio last July. The signal was aimed at commuters outside the Holland Tunnel in New York. The transmitter was on the roof of a Texaco gas station. To test the station’s viability as a promotional tool, the company played Atlantic artist B-Tribe on the low-power station. That was the group’s only airplay during the initial two-week experiment. Buch said the artist’s sales went up 21%, and the test received extensive TV and newspaper coverage.

In a three-day experiment in December, commuters were greeted by interns wearing signs that read, “You winn! Listen to 1510.” The station encouraged people to call (212) YOU-WINN from their cars or when they got m work. All callers won a prize, ranging from cassettes and compact discs of Atlantic artists to a grand prize of free tolls for a week. In one day, Atlantic received so many calls (about 700) that the phone system was blown out at Time Warner, Atlantic’s parent company.

From the phone calls, Atlantic has developed a customer mailing list that would be “enticing to advertisers,” said Bob Kranes, director of low-power radio ventures for Atlantic. Buch estimated a potential daily audience of 300,000 between 1510 AM and another station outside the Lincoln Tunnel on 1410 AM.

“This is a major market concept,” Buch said. “Normally, test markets are smaller.” “Low-power radio represents the sort of direct-to-consumer marketing that can have a tremendous impact on artist awareness, as well as translate into sales,” said Atlantic Records president Vat Azzoli. Atlantic’s next major use for low-power radio will be during the spring and summer tours of former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. With a transmitter on its roof, an 18-wheeler truck filled with memorabilia will be parked just outside the concert site.

The truck will be provided by Miller Genuine Draft, the tour’s sponsor. “With the Page/Plant tour, we’re creating an “Unledded” Zeppelin radio station,” said Buch. “It’s a groundbreaking marketing line.” Buch got the idea for a low-power radio station after hearing a broadcast from Marie Callendar’s restaurant in Los Angeles. The restaurant beamed its menu and daily specials to the surrounding area. “The Marie Callendar signal was very strong,” said Buch.

Low-power radio has been around for years, providing information about traffic, weather, and services. The Federal Communications Commission does not regulate stations with 100 milliwatts (1/10 watt) of power or less. Small and medium markets generally have AM stations with 1,000 or 5,000 watts, and most major cities have stations with 50,000 watts, the maximum level in the U.S. Buch said the amount of power is not important as “all advertising is reach and frequency.”

He noted the breakthrough in low-power radio came when “we finally found the equipment to make it work.” Andrew Milder, president of Business Broadcast Systems, said the distance the signals travel depends on the height of the transmitter. Milder, who started working with low-power stations in 1992, created the stations for Atlantic and Marie Callendar’s.

While the technology for low-power radio stations has existed for years, there were problems in making it work. “The transmitters were not as good,” said Milder. “The audio component is now more significant.” Milder said low-power stations used to run continuous loop cassettes. Now the stations use digital recording systems with solid-state equipment. Audio messages are recorded onto a chip in a computer.

For a restaurant, the computer’s built-in clock switches the menu message from breakfast to lunch at the appropriate time. Also, by being able to store different messages, the programming can be more entertaining. “It’s a dynamic as opposed to a static message,” said Milder. He said the low-power station technology means “valuable information for the customer and valuable meaning for the advertiser.”

Milder also came up with the “talking house.” Prospective buyers could park by the house and listen to a description of the home any time of the day without leaving the car. The methods for using low-power radio so far are only the beginning of the possible functions for the format. “In view of our long-term plans, which include broadcasting to additional congested locations and coordinating promotions with local malls, stadium parking lots, and existing billboards, the possibilities are truly limitless,” Kranes said.

At a shopping mall, a transmitter could be placed on the building’s roof. Incoming shoppers could be made aware of the signal, and ad time could be sold to mall retailers. Other possibilities in Atlantic’s future range from audio books to providing sound for the huge Spectra-color video screen in Times Square. In addition, the company has initiated discussions with outside advertisers and agencies for further cross-promotion, including pointing commuters to commercial stations once they’ve passed out of the low-powered signal’s limited range. Other possible uses for low-power radio include these:

A car ferry service advertising to people stuck in traffic.

Government agencies advertising rest stops and fast-food establishments that travelers will encounter on highways.

Museums, grocery stores, fast-food restaurants, and housing developments using the medium for ads.

Businesses in smaller areas could offset the cost with other advertising, especially if the arrangements are logical tie-ins.

A supplement to on-line services so that companies could send information by modem in response to inquiries.

— End —

Title: Atlantic’s Holland Tunnel station reined in.
Source: Billboard, May 6, 1995 v107 n18 p81(1).
Author: Phyllis Stark

Full Text COPYRIGHT BPI Communications 1995

Atlantic Records had some explaining to do to the FCC when a listener complained that the label’s low-power station outside the New York/New Jersey Holland Tunnel could be heard for at least two miles.


The FCC says it contacted Atlantic and “obtained a promise to adjust the transmitter power down to a level that will comply with [FCC] rules.”

— End —

USNET: rec.radio
From: Xxxxxxx ([email protected])
Subject: ATLANTIC RECORDS SEEKS INTERNS

Date: 08/17/1995

The Low Power Radio Ventures Department of Atlantic Records is looking for fall interns to start immediately. We are looking for several ambitious college students who live in the New York City area and have a strong desire to pursue a career in the record or radio business upon graduation. Applicants should have college level experience in one of the following fields: radio/tv, telecommunications, marketing, or advertising. Applicants must be able to obtain college credit as this is an unpaid internship program. The position involves approx. 20 hours of work per week.

Send a cover letter, resume, and 3-minute aircheck cassette tape to the following address:

Atlantic Records
Low Power Radio Dept.
(deleted)

— End —

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.

Sign Along I-90 Gets Out Agriculture’s Message

KATE LYONS-HOLESTINE.
Copyright Seattle Times, Seattle, Wash.: Jan 15, 1998. pg. D.6

GEORGE, Wash. – The AgFARMation electronic billboard along Interstate 90 recently was recognized by the American Farm Bureau as one of the nation’s top agriculture education projects for 1997.

The 40-foot-tall sign flashes short messages about agriculture to about 25,000 passing motorists each day from its site near the George freeway exit. People also can turn to 1610 AM, a low-power radio station, that broadcasts more in-depth information about the messages.

Sign Along I-90 Gets Out Agriculture’s Message

KATE LYONS-HOLESTINE.
Copyright Seattle Times, Seattle, Wash.: Jan 15, 1998. pg. D.6

GEORGE, Wash. – The AgFARMation electronic billboard along Interstate 90 recently was recognized by the American Farm Bureau as one of the nation’s top agriculture education projects for 1997.

The 40-foot-tall sign flashes short messages about agriculture to about 25,000 passing motorists each day from its site near the George freeway exit. People also can turn to 1610 AM, a low-power radio station, that broadcasts more in-depth information about the messages.

Organizers of the project will be in Charlotte, N.C., this month to assist other farm groups interested in having a similar sign.

“This gives AgFARMation some national recognition and an opportunity to promote the concept,” said Bob Holloway, one of the original organizers. “If someone in Ohio steps up and does this and someone from California and Florida . . . then perhaps we will have some real impact.”

Tom Flint, who first suggested the sign idea two years ago, said he would like to see similar signs up along I-5 in the Seattle area and in other areas of the country.

“It’s been one of our goals to duplicate this in other areas,” he said. “We hope other states see the benefit it has and try to replicate what we’ve done. We’re just a drop in the bucket, but if two or three or more states do this, then the impact multiplies substantially and that’s what we want to do.

“Our goal with the AgFARMation project is to have it make a difference, and the more projects that are out there in different states and communities the more impact it will have,” he said.

Flint, an Ephrata-area farmer, now serves as president of the AgFARMation organization.

“The goal of the project is to bring the non-ag community and the ag community together,” Flint said. “The sign and the radio station are tools to accommodate that.”

A group of 21 area farmers and business people formed a nonprofit corporation to finance the $370,000 project. They began constructing the sign in March, and it began flashing messages to people traveling along I-90 late last spring.

AgFARMation is prohibited from including advertising on the billboard by the federal and state Departments of Transportation. Messages include such information as the average age of American farmers, how much wheat the U.S. exports and the value of the state’s apple crop.

“I have to think that most people in agriculture are concerned about getting the right story to people,” Flint said.

“This is a way farmers have that they can do themselves and not have to worry about someone interpreting what they’re saying.”

Credit: THE WENATCHEE WORLD

RADIO BEAT

Copyright SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER Mar 6, 2003
A new radio station is on the air in Auburn.

True, you have to be parked almost under the transmitter to hear it, although there are reports that it can be heard up to a half- mile away from the station.

But Auburn Community Radio went live on March 3 at 1500 on the AM dial, according to Paul Nelson.

Nelson runs a company that produces public affairs programs for commercial radio, runs the poetry and literary organization Northwest Spokenword Lab, is a host on KPLU-FM and has been a major driver behind the low-power AM station in Auburn. The radio station’s transmitter is on top of the former livery stable at 14 S. Division St. that serves as Spokenword Lab’s home.

RADIO BEAT

Copyright SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER Mar 6, 2003
A new radio station is on the air in Auburn.

True, you have to be parked almost under the transmitter to hear it, although there are reports that it can be heard up to a half- mile away from the station.

But Auburn Community Radio went live on March 3 at 1500 on the AM dial, according to Paul Nelson.

Nelson runs a company that produces public affairs programs for commercial radio, runs the poetry and literary organization Northwest Spokenword Lab, is a host on KPLU-FM and has been a major driver behind the low-power AM station in Auburn. The radio station’s transmitter is on top of the former livery stable at 14 S. Division St. that serves as Spokenword Lab’s home.

Although the station is now on around the clock, the lineup is limited to “a couple of programs and a couple of songs.” The offerings will expand as more volunteers are trained. The station is also Webcasting at www.auburncommunityradio.com.

Auburn Community Radio took advantage of regulations that allow for low-power AM operations. Nelson said the glacial pace of the Federal Communications Commission’s issuing of low-power FM licenses “is really what forced us to go to this expensive plan.” The Auburn effort is getting technical assistance from the engineer from a Vashon group awaiting a low-power FM license.

Two FCC commissioners are holding a field hearing in Seattle tomorrow over proposals to modify or drop rules on ownership of television and radio stations; critics such as Nelson argue that dropping the rules would further eliminate what little local content there is in radio.

“The very least they could do is give communities low-power FM,” Nelson said.

In other radio notes:

Last week’s item about the sound artifacts being collected by the Museum of History and Industry should have mentioned they’ll be broadcast in the coming weeks on KPLU-FM (88.5).

KGRG-FM (89.9) will provide live play-by-play coverage of the Green River Community College Gators men’s basketball team in the community college tournament in the Tri-Cities this weekend. The first scheduled game is 10 a.m. tomorrow.

“The Play’s the Thing” at 11 p.m. tomorrow on KUOW-FM (94.9) presents Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal.”

Club for Growth President Stephen Moore is the guest on “Republican Radio” at 10 a.m. Saturday on KKOL-AM (1300).

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals campaign coordinator Andrew Butler will discuss PETA’s Web-site strategies on “WebTalkGuys Radio” at 11 a.m. Saturday on KLAY-AM (1180).

Live performances on KEXP-FM (90.7) on Saturday include Laura Veirs, 3 p.m.; The More, 6 p.m.; and Asahi, 8 p.m.

Jim Wilke’s “Jazz Northwest” at 4 p.m. Saturday on KPLU-FM features a recent performance at Tula’s by the Don Lanphere Sextet with special guest Ernestine Anderson.

The Consul performs on “Sonarchy” at 11 p.m. Saturday on KEXP- FM.

Kate Daniels interviews Eleanor Cooney, author of “Death in Slow Motion: My Mother’s Descent into Alzheimer’s,” on “Sunday Morning Magazine” at 5:30 a.m. on KRWM-FM (106.9).

Lizz Sommars’ guests on “Conversations” at 6 a.m. Sunday on KISW- FM (99.9) and KBSG-FM (97.3) include Dr. Susan Smith Kuczmarski, family therapist and author of “The Sacred Flight of the Teenager.”

Paul Nelson interviews John de Graaf about overworking in America on “Northwestern Exposure” at 6 a.m. Sunday on KKNW-AM (1150) and “Focus” at midnight Sunday on KING-FM (98.1).

Don Riggs’ guests on “Introspect Northwest” at 7 a.m. Sunday on KMPS-FM (94.1) and KYCW-AM (1090) include Jason Goodwin, author of “Greenback.”

“Kids Care” at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on KKDZ-AM (1250) continues its series on asthma with Dr. Larry Larson of Northwest Pediatrics in Tacoma.

The Sunday edition of Jim French’s “Imagination Theatre,” heard at 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on KIXI-AM (880), includes a new Harry Nile mystery.

Chris Cashman, son of longtime local broadcaster Pat Cashman and himself a local radio host, is joining KSTW/11 as a host of projects as “Mariners Bullpen.”

P-I reporter Bill Virgin can be reached at [email protected].

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.

Westerly, R.I., Radio Station Will Try to Fill the All-Disco Vacuum
Cynthia Needham. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: Jan 20, 2004. pg. 1

Copyright 2004, Providence Journal, R.I. Distributed by KnightRidder/Tribune Business News.

To see more of the Providence Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.projo.com

Jan. 20–WESTERLY, R.I. — Disco fever is stayin’ alive in South County, at least that’s what Chris DiPaola would like you to think.

Westerly, R.I., Radio Station Will Try to Fill the All-Disco Vacuum
Cynthia Needham. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: Jan 20, 2004. pg. 1

Copyright 2004, Providence Journal, R.I. Distributed by KnightRidder/Tribune Business News.

To see more of the Providence Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.projo.com

Jan. 20–WESTERLY, R.I. — Disco fever is stayin’ alive in South County, at least that’s what Chris DiPaola would like you to think.

On Feb. 7, DiPaola will sign on a new all-disco-all-the-time radio station — WCTD 96.9, “The Party” — to a low-power FM frequency that can be heard in parts of southwestern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut.

If that combination doesn’t attract a few listeners, the tagline’s got to get them: “You’re always invited to our party.”

DiPaola promises that he’s not an aging disco addict; at 30, he’s too young anyway. And truth be told, if he had his way he would have gone the classic rock route.

But the disco market was wide open and begging for a beat, DiPaola said.

“There are already enough stations in South County doing classic rock,” he said. “I wanted to do a format that no one else is doing, something that will give people a reason to listen.”

As far as DiPaola knows, “The Party” will be the only 24-hour disco station anywhere in the Northeast. A number of stations do disco shows, mostly on Saturday nights, he said, but none commit themselves to the groove on a full-time basis.

With 15 years in the business, DiPaola, owner of another Westerly- based station, WBLQ, is a radio veteran. DiPaola started working after school at a radio station in Hope Valley when he was 15 years old. Experience, he said, has taught him that success comes when you listen to your listeners.

WBLQ for example specializes in soft rock, news and sports talk, programming that’s popular with the senior set, who often rely on the radio for news.

Though “The Party” will share space and equipment with WBLQ, the new station will target an entirely different audience, he said — the 30-55 group, which will likely include out-of-state tourists who flock to the South County beaches in search of summer sunshine and a little Barry White.

When it debuts at noon on Feb. 7 with a four-hour show from My Mary’s Restaurant on Route 1 in Westerly, it will broadcast most clearly in Westerly and Hopkinton where it’s antenna is located. It will also come in through parts of Charlestown, Richmond and Stonington, Conn., and has a potential of reaching 50,000 people, he said.

Then again, he added, he’ll be happy with 8,000.

That kind of reach doesn’t come cheap. DiPaola said he convinced My Mary’s owner Bob Lucey to help foot the cost of new equipment, including a new transmitter and mixing board, once costs climbed into the thousands.

With financial details now in place, DiPaola said it’s all a matter of sitting back and letting the music do its thing.

Saturday Night Fever, look out. It’s party time.

Credit: Providence Journal, R.I.

Copyright Confederated Umatilla journal Jan 31, 2004

The long-awaited Tribal radio station will become a reality when it goes on the air at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 2.

Under the call letter KCUW, the low power station will operate at 101.1 FM and is expected to reach much of the Umatilla Reservation and parts of Pendleton, according to Debra Croswell, Communications Director for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Copyright Confederated Umatilla journal Jan 31, 2004

The long-awaited Tribal radio station will become a reality when it goes on the air at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 2.

Under the call letter KCUW, the low power station will operate at 101.1 FM and is expected to reach much of the Umatilla Reservation and parts of Pendleton, according to Debra Croswell, Communications Director for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Listeners can tune in during the lunch hour on Feb. 2 to hear the station’s first live broadcast, which will include interviews with community members and CTUIR official, plus music, news and promotional giveaways.

Following the live kick-off, the community is invited from 1-7 p.m. to an open house behind Wildhorse Casino on the east end of the maintenance building. Visitors may drop by for a studio tour and refreshments. Visitors should enter at the main Wildhorse Resort entrance and follow the signs.

The Programming scheduled is still being developed, but the station will carry a variety of locally-generated music, news, sports and community programs, as well as nationally generated satellite programs such as Native America Calling, National Native News and Native Sounds Native Voices.

The community station will be staffed primarily by volunteer disc jockeys who will entertain listeners with a variety of traditional and contemporary music, including native groups, hiphop, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock, classical, country and other genres.

Several news and community affairs programs are planned that will keep the Umatilla Reservation community informed of local events and issues.

The station plans to do live remote broadcasts from various community events such as pow-wows and basketball tournaments, and some Tribal government meetings may also be transmitted over the airwaves.

The station is seeking additional volunteers to play music, develop and deliver news, and cover sports and community events. DJ volunteers may play the music of their choice or fill time slots where certain types of music, news and other programs are needed. DJ Volunteers are also needed to conduct community affairs, news and other programs.

Training will be provided to volunteers prior to them going on the air.

Volunteers who do not want to be on the air are also welcome. Assistance is needed in developing and maintaining the programming schedule, coordinating volunteer schedules, maintaining files required by the Federal Communications Commission, soliciting underwriting donations from local businesses, promoting the station and other office tasks.

Anyone interested in volunteering at KCUW should contact Croswell via email at [email protected]

Volunteers are invited to help assemble and test the studio equipment, which will be installed under the leadership of the Prometheus Radio Project – consultants who specialize in helping communities developing low-power FM station.

Construction of the studio will take place during the week of Jan. 19 and volunteers are invited to participate any time during the week.

Further details about the studio build, including hours when CTUIR staff and Prometheus consultants will be on site, will be posted on the KCUW web site www.umatilla.nsn.us/kcuw.html or are available by calling the CTUIR Communications office.

Following the studio assembly and testing, training for KCUW volunteers will be held on Jan. 24 and 25 at the studio. Prometheus Radio Project staff will provide training on how to operate the studio equipment, staying in compliance with FCC regulations (what you can and can’t say on the air, for example), and other on-air techniques.

Anyone wanting to participate in the training should contact Croswell to sign up.
Article copyright 2004 Confederated Umatilla Journal.