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They’ve actually posted something similar to this on their web site, saying that they’re not hurting anyone, and providing some measure of joy to a troubled community.
Nice try, but they’re still illegal and misrepresented that in the news article (which they’re probably regretting doing).
If they were really serious, they could have 1) acquired a license, 2) gone with a network of part 15 transmitters or 3) gone internet only. Instead, they took the easy way out. In doing so they thumbed their noses at everyone who did things legally, and who, I’m sure, had just as much or more justification for being on the air.
Agreed. Given the situation there they most likely would have been eligible for a LPFM license back when the filing window was open. But not any more.
Not that I am encouraging pirate radio in any way but licenses are very expensive and very hard to get. Even in an area where there are no stations locally and lots of place to go on the dial. Maybe if you had a realistic chance of getting a license at an affordable cost there would be less pirates. You are told you need a license but why is it so unlikely you can get one?
I don’t get the connection between a town of opioid addicts and a pirate station?
AMRadiolegend’s post.
Mark, that’s what my post was getting at. They are attempting to justify their pirate operation with the fact that the town has some serious issues (i.e., “cancer is ramped (sic)”, unemployment is high, etc.).
Also, re your previous post, licenses are not supposed to be easy to get. Otherwise, you’d run out of a scarce resource (frequencies) with no assurances that you were getting bang for your buck (so to speak).
As for expense, you also need to have some funding to properly run a radio station. You need to have the appropriate test equipment to determine if you are running legally, and not interfering with any other services. You need to have studios and some employees (even if volunteers). I don’t think the FCC wants a radio station to basically be a $50 Amazon Chinese transmitter special, coupled with a tape measure, running out of a closet.
To bypass the proper procedures is to do disservice to the many that have gone the legal route; I’m sure that there was hardship (financial and otherwise) amongst those as well.
Hi Mark, Actually LPFM licenses are free. The cost of equipment varies. It seems that our 250 watt transmitter, EAS receiver, antenna and 100 feet of coax was less than $6K.
I have to agree with the general consensus. “Our town sucks, drugs are rampant, so we deserve an illegal radio station” doesn’t fly.
They had already been streaming and continue to do so.
Bringing a “little joy” to their community with classic rock to cheer up the opioid addicts? Listening to music made by some of the most famous drug users in history? I mean, really. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up with classic rock, and listen to it quite regularly today. But saying “We have a drug problem. Here’s some Black Sabbath to help”. Really? The drug references in the music of the 60’s and 70’s, especially the classic and album rock genre’s is off the chart.
It’s not like the town is devoid of music. Radio Locator lists quite a few stations available there, including one listed as being in town. The city data site also lists quite a few strong AM and FM stations.
Maybe they’d be happier if someone opened a new bakery — that didn’t bother meeting health department standards? Some yummy donuts should help. Maybe an illegal casino or two? It’s well established that poor people love to gamble. That would cheer them up, and after all anything that will being a little hope into their lives should be allowed, laws be damned.
The legal concept of “we’re not hurting anyone so it’s OK” is never valid. They DO sell advertising. Could this take business away from other stations? Then it’s hurting someone when you can take dollars and listeners away from others with illegal competition.
Radio locator indicates 33 stations for Williamson. city Data.com lists 13 “strongest” AM stations and 20 “strongest” FM stations. I doubt you spin the dial and hear nothing.
I’m not saying their heart isn’t in the right place. But you can’t just violate federal law, especially during a nationwide crackdown on illegal radio, and expect the industry and Part 15 crowd to welcome you with open arms. Hell, it’s not even letal for someone to SELL you a 25 watt FM transmitter in the USA unless it’s certified, and we know that no 25 watt transmitter is going to be certified. Unless of course you’re an LPFM and buy a certified commercial transmitter.
TIB
I guess us Album Rockers will be forced into a discrimination class action lawsuit. Album Rockers are no more druggy`s than Hip Hop Rap being all thrusters.
I know more gangsta authority bucking Rap and Hip Hop than I can count on my fingers and toes yet that is OK.
TED NUGENT NEVER DID DRUGS he spoke loudly how DRUGS destroy you not help you. He is all for guns and loves the wild.
Album Rock is often Worshiped just like Jesus Christ and John Lennon was killed for his loud and upfront statement. Sorry that’s just the way it is it is worshipped by many and with folks who have lots and lots of money. Money pays the bills money can help build a city money can help improve things that are wrong in a city. You want something to be fixed you can call in an album rocker to come and help you before you can count on a rapper. Have someone in your family with cancer? You can count on an album rocker to help you I can guarantee that. Ask somebody who listens to something like Busta Rhymes or brother Bill brother Bill being repeated for 20 to 30 minutes if they will help you with your dying wife or dying sister or dying whoever and they’ll say dude I don’t have no money for that.
So you may ask why Williamson needs an album rock station? That is why because I am sure if they get more upscale folks who have money living in that town they will have a better City. But a real album rocker who scans the radio dial and finds nothing but rap and hip hop on the radio will never move into that town. That is how I judge a town in the first place if I can’t receive a classic rock or album rock station in that town I’m not going to live there because it tells me that the crime rate is going to be astronomically High.
- You put in a few high-end audio shops in the town of Williamson West Virginia and I guarantee you they will be the first folks who will be paying the taxes that’s going to fix the roads for that town. I am one person who is more than sick and tired of the Stigmata Us album rockers have gotten for many years. And I for one is head on and very Headstrong when I say that there needs to be a class action lawsuit it is long overdue and I feel that once it is passed and some of these big broadcast companies are sued to almost nothing then we’ll get our album rock stations like we should have. And in my opinion and this is only my opinion put the rap back on am like it belongs leave FM for the album Rock The Classical the real country the real gospel music stuff that is played with real instruments. Since rap is all about bass it doesn’t require any sort of high-end audio at all so mono AM is very suitable for rap music.
Yes I’m more than ticked off and like I said I’m going to see if I can get some folks to help these people file a class action lawsuit and it will happen I’m going to also see if I can get some of my album Rock lawyer friends to do some pro bono work because I think this type of thing has been long overdue and I hope that this suit is very headstrong and hits home because it’s long overdue.
How Is It That
TheLeg’s diatribe on the glories of AOR versus the grime of rap is SOME OF THE BEST RAP LYRICS I”VE HEARD IN A LONG TIME.
TheLeg may not be a poet, but he is surely a rap lyricist!
Consider: “Album Rockers are no more druggy`s than Hip Hop Rap being all thrusters. I know more gangsta authority bucking Rap and Hip Hop than I can count on my fingers and toes. I for one is head on and very Headstrong when I say that there needs to be a class action lawsuit it is long overdue and I feel that once it is passed and some of these big broadcast companies are sued to almost nothing then we’ll get our album rock stations like we should have. And in my opinion and this is only my opinion put the rap back on am like it belongs leave FM for the album Rock The Classical the real country the real gospel music stuff that is played with real instruments. Since rap is all about bass it doesn’t require any sort of high-end audio at all.”
Thumpity bump bump thumpity bump bump.
Williamson can have an album rock station…as long as they follow the rules.
Sorry, but album rock doesn’t give you any special rights to flout the law.
I have to say that I’m rather flabbergasted by most of Thelegacy’s post, and would like the thread to stay on topic.
Although I did like the rap, co-authored by Thelegacy & Carl.
How is it off topic we’re talking about discrimination and a gutter monopolistic takeover of the radio waves and handed to the little children like it’s a piece of candy.
I sure do hope that my broadcast engineer is right and that most of am will go digital and the frequencies between 1620 and 1700 are left analog and left at low power levels for hobby broadcasting up to about 10 watts. Then you’ll get rid of the pirate problem but until then I can almost guarantee you there will always be a radio pirate. There is a void there is monopolistic companies trying to dictate what you should listen to.
Have you ever noticed that very few UK artist are played on the radio? And what about the artist from Canada there are plenty of great rock artists from Canada that are literally blocked out from United States radio. Again we’re talking about a void we’re talking about discrimination and we’re talking about the reason why people pirate. More importantly we were talking about why there needs to be an album rock station in Williamson West Virginia and I’m giving you every single answer that I know deep down in my heart as the reason why it should be that way. But don’t just ask me ask the people that are die-hard album rockers and I’ll tell you what they’ll think. Some of you would not be very well-liked in in a hippie Community or an album rock-based Community you would be thrown out on your head.
There are a lot of album rockers right here in Deltaville Virginia where I live. They also think the same way I do many of them are boaters many of them run seafood shops many of them like I said our highly educated folks. Like I said and I’ll continue to say it’s an elite cult it is a religion thus it needs to have the same respect as a god caster. You can have a K-Love station on every corner but not a true album rock station what’s wrong with that? Do you see the Stigmata that I’m seeing?
Well I’m done I’m going to go ahead and make sure my disciples are happy with some great album Rock.
The legacy, this is about a pirate radio station. It doesn’t matter what their format is. This Forum does not tolerate promoting pirate broadcasting. We all know your passion for album rock, but that isn’t the issue here.
There are HUNDREDS of Classic Rock stations in the USA. I work for one of them. We compete with another one that’s 70 miles away. We beat them in the ratings due to our greatly expanded playlist. That’s TWO 100,000 watt FM classic rock stations 70 miles apart in the sticks of northern Minnesota.
The Storq network provides a satellite classic rock format with many stations. I don’t remember the number but it was over 100.
There are far more classic rock stations, and album oriented rock stations than there are classical or jazz stations. Perhaps they should be suing too.
I actually AM a broadcast engineer. Have been for well over 30 years. I maintain and work for three stations, two 100,000 watt FM and a 5000 watt directional AM (where I also happen to be the morning show host). I’m sure I read the same trade publications and news bulletins as your friend. AM will eventually go digital. Probably not before I retire (I’m 60). The chances that the upper end of the band will be given over to 10 watt hobby broadcasters are zero. You can write that down on a note by your calendar and 30 years from now when I’m long gone you can sit around with a cup of coffee and say “damn the old fart was right”. I also read the same “secret bulletins” from Nautel, after having installed two of their transmitters in the last 5 years. We’re also about to replace a 40 year old RCA FM transmitter, but had to go with Gatesair because the Nautel was physically larger and won’t fit in the space available. But boy were they sales pitching hard!
The Williamson station is clearly run by two people who LIKE classic rock and want to play it. They state they want to serve their community with a local station, offering local news, weather and ‘traffic reports” (in a town of 3,000?). If that’s their honest goal they would have gone with a country format, since by far country is the most listened to format in the country and simple odds would be that more would listen to that, rather than classic rock which has less than half the audience of classic rock. Their second choice would have been news/talk, the number two most listened to format on the air in this country. To appeal to the broadest market, these are your top formats. They stated they took a poll to determine format. The did a Facebook poll, where they asked listeners of their classic rock stream “which do you prefer, classic rock or today’s rock?”. Classic rock won. Surprise. When asked of a group of classic rock listeners. Many of whom aren’t even near the area. Had they polled the 3,000 residents of the town the data shows country would have won by a more than two to one margin.
They needed to start legally. It may be too late to go back.
Also interesting, I happen to own a record store. probably 50% of our sales ARE classic rock. These are not “rich” people coming in buying it. It’s probably half teenagers and half fried, retired hippies. All nice folks and I’m happy to take their money. Our second biggest selling category is probably vintage jazz (a close tie with rock and roll oldies from the 50’s). Both of these tend to go to people who are more of the “rich” category.
Oddly, even though country is the most listened to radio format, it’s probably our worst selling category. Country fans just don’t buy records.
There are hundreds of radio stations in this country that are NOT owned by the big corporations. I work for three of them. And I could list probably twenty more in the region without even having to think about it too much. And you are right that there’s a ton of music from other countries that don’t get played. Wanna know why? They play what attracts listeners, and what sells ads. That’s how the business of radio works. That’s why you have public radio stations, education stations, college stations, etc. who all play this sort of thing. We have a local public station right here. 100,000 watt FM 99% of what they play is NEVER on commercial radio, and it’s supported mostly by listener donations and memberships, and underwriting “ads” from quirky businesses like coffee shops and my record store.
Heck, this morning on commercial AM I played two cuts from a rockabilly band from Australia. The stuff is out there, it’s just not on the mainstream stations.
TIB
FWIW iHeart Radio/Clear Channel itself has over 100 Classic Rock stations in the USA.
It’s hardly an unrepresented format.
Who could you possibly sue and on what grounds? There are no laws on what format stations must be, and in fact the FCC doesn’t ask or care. The market takes care of that. Formats that generate enough revenue to cause a station to operate thrive.
I’d like to sue my local bakery for not having enough sprinkle covered donuts — but again — on what grounds?
TIB
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