WOXY (internet radio)

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For other uses, see WOXY.

WOXY "97X" is an Internet-only freeform rock and roll radio station based in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.

It was one of the first stations in the United States to completely transition from terrestrial FM radio to broadcasting solely as an Internet radio station (KNAC is a previous example). The WOXY-FM broadcast facilities and license are now owned separately by First Broadcasting.

1 Broadcast History
2 Awards and recognition
3 WOXY programming and services
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Broadcast History

[edit] FM Broadcast

From September 1983 until May 13, 2004, WOXY had an over-the-air broadcast at 97.7 FM out of Oxford, Ohio. The station benefited from a large youthful audience at adjacent Miami University as well as listeners in urban and suburban areas of Cincinnati and Dayton, but a majority of its broadcast area was rural. The first song played when WOXY-FM made their transition to a modern rock format in September 1983 was "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" by U2. This was also the very last song played by the station to close their terrestrial transmission.

In 1998, WOXY began to experiment with webcasts, and listeners tuned in from around the world; the Internet listenership continued to grow. The station continued to broadcast online while building a website with message boards and information to create a community of modern rock.

[edit] Pre-WOXY years

Prior to becoming WOXY in the mid-1970s, WOXY used the callsign WOXR. Like WOXY, the music of WOXR was largely targeted at Miami students. WOXR also played listener requests. WOXR featured a blend of top 40 and album cuts during the day, an hour long oldies show at 5 PM, with the evening music again a top-40/album rock mix that became more and more album-oriented as the night got later. WOXR was known for playing uncensored versions of songs such as Steppenwolf's recording of "The Pusher" (written by the late Hoyt Axton), Country Joe and the Fish's recording of the "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" (which containing the "f-word" that most stations bleeped out), and late at night played uncut versions of long songs such as Neil Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "Down by the River" and Traffic's "John Barleycorn Must Die". WOXR was among the few US stations to play the cult classic "Je t'aime... moi non plus" ("I love you... me neither"), performed by the late Serge Gainsbourg and his partner Jane Birkin, which most stations refused to play (or were forbidden to play) because of its sexual explicitness in the form of the lyrics being sung to a background sound of a female orgasm (which some say was the sound of the couple actually having sex).

WOXR also showed an irreverent on-air personality, in the form of identifying itself as coming "from the city by the water tower" (a take-off on Chicago's WLS identifying itself as being "from the city by the shore"). WOXR played on the culture shock many Miami students from large cities experienced at the start of the school year when they found themselves confined to a town much smaller than their hometowns by identifying itself as being "Down on the Farm", sung to a twangy beat. Every April Fool's Day, WOXR would play the same song repeatedly for an entire hour (then playing a different song repeatedly during the next hour, etc.). WOXR featured contests with prizes consisting of album rejects (called "The Worst Contest"). One of their newscasters always referred to then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as "Hank" Kissinger. Another newscaster who was a Boston native and Red Sox fan would only give the score of the Red Sox game, while failing to mention the scores of any other games.

They also featured on air classified ads identified as the "Dog-Gone Bulletin Board". This was a pun based on classified ads often being used by dog owners to let everyone know that their dog was missing--or "dog-gone."

WOXR was also among the few FM stations at the time to carry live broadcasts of sports events. During the 1970's, WOXR broadcast games of the Miami University football and basketball teams and the Cleveland Browns, tapping into the vast Southern Ohio fan base that the legendary NFL team cultivated long before the Cincinnati Bengals were established.

[edit] Internet broadcasting

In January 2004, the decision was made by owners Doug and Linda Balogh, who had run the station for decades, to sell the FM broadcast facilities. They left the operation of the company when it stopped broadcasting terrestrially. The original terrestrial radio position, 97.7FM (local to the Southwest Ohio region), was sold but the rights to the name "97X", the internet domain (woxy.com), and the extensive music collection were retained in anticipation of becoming an Internet-only station.

However, appropriate funding for the transition did not initially appear, so the station was forced to shut down operations on Thursday, May 13, 2004 when ownership of the FM facilities was transferred. The next day, representatives of anonymous angel investors contacted the station staff, and on July 12, 2004 WOXY resumed netcasting. As a subtle nod to U2's Irish background, the first song played on the web-only format was "Orpheus" by the Irish punk/Britpop band Ash.

They also launched a secondary stream of audio, WOXY Vintage, in 2005. This additional channel features a 30-year mix of music that spotlights the history of modern rock and alternative music.

On February 6, 2006, WOXY announced they would be moving to a subscriber-based model. In an effort to counteract a lack of advertising revenue, subscribers were to pay $9.95 per month for 128 kbit/s streams (both the main channel and the vintage channel) as well other perks including special content and contests.

The station was one of a number of stations offered in the Internet radio section of iTunes.

[edit] Suspension of broadcasting

Despite popularity with listeners, the station's capital was running out, and the costs to operate far exceeded any income from subscriptions, fundraising, or from Internet advertising.

On August 31, 2006 WOXY released a statement announcing that they would cease broadcasting. The last broadcast was September 15, 2006, and transmission ended around 5:38 pm.^[1]

Bryan Jay Miller, the station's general manager, stated in a written announcement on the station's website that "barring something exceptional happening in the next two weeks, we will silence our broadcasts."^[2]

The last few songs the station played underscored what they believed to be the finality of the suspension of broadcasting, including the songs "Mourning Air" by Portishead, "Acquiesce" by Oasis, "Fight the Power", by Public Enemy, and the final track, MC5's song "Kick Out the Jams".

[edit] Resumption of broadcasting

On September 19, 2006, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Bill Nguyen expressed interest in purchasing the station and resuming online broadcasting.

A fan of modern rock, Nguyen was contacted by a station listener through his music trading website la la. In an unusual approach, Mr. Nguyen not only met with staff members and the station's current anonymous owners/investors, but also used the station's message boards to get feedback from listeners before formally making an offer.^[3]

Nguyen's proposal was to invest between $5 million and $10 million into WOXY.com, and allow the station to remain in Cincinnati. The DJ's would retain editorial control. He would also link lala.com to WOXY, to allow WOXY listeners to purchase music that they've heard on the station directly from his existing site. He also proposed coordinating live performances in San Francisco and other locations that would subsequently be broadcast on WOXY.com. ^[4]

A deal was reached, and the station resumed online broadcasting as of 10:10 am EST on October 10, 2006. ^[5]

[edit] Awards and recognition

Since it began broadcasting, the station was a highly-regarded radio station, winning accolades from many prominent newspapers and magazines such as Rolling Stone, Spin, and USA Today

The internet-only incarnation of the station was named Internet radio station of the year at the 2005 Plug Independent Music Awards.

[edit] WOXY programming and services

What's Happening Weekend Report: A prerecorded message played throughout the week highlighting local events, incoming concerts, and the occasional event on a broader scene (national and international events outside of the region).
Modern Rock 500 countdown: The Modern Rock 500 countdown took place every Memorial Day Weekend. The station played back what it felt were the 500 best songs in its history over the course of three days. While there was no MR 500 in 2004 because of the end of the FM broadcast, it returned in 2005 and 2006 on the WOXY Vintage webcast.
97Xposure: The station sponsored 97Xposure, a Tri-State area-based "Battle of the Bands" for local talent. It served as the "jumping-off point" for local bands such as the Ass Ponys to make their way to the national stage.
Putting the "Gee" in Ecology: A series of public service announcements that provided helpful instruction on how to conserve energy and preserve resources for the individual listener. Such suggestions as putting a lid on a pot of water to quicken boil time and sundrying laundry provided common sense alternatives to wasteful consumption that was unique from the common "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" refrain.
The station ran a number of unique advertisements. Local advertisers had the typical low-budget but yet targeted audio advertisements. One memorable ad that ran on WOXY was the "Rock 'n' Roll Grocer", which featured the chorus of The Ramones song "Rock 'n' Roll High School", with the comically flat voice of local grocery store owner Frank Eavey saying the word "grocer" dubbed over "high school."

[edit] Trivia

The station's tagline: "97X, Bam! The future of rock n' roll" was quoted by Dustin Hoffman's character Raymond Babbitt in the movie Rain Man.
Current Fox News Channel anchor Bill Hemmer was a DJ for WOXY-FM.