Friday, January 16, 2009

R.I.P. Indie 103.1

KDLD/KDLE flipped from Modern Rock to Spanish "El Gato 103.1" yesterday. They'll continue the format as an online station. Here's part of the statement from their website:
"Indie 103.1 will cease broadcasting over this frequency effective immediately. Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge. Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option --- to play the corporate radio game."
Indie 103.1 was like a better-run college station with a bigger budget and name DJs including Henry Rollins from Black Flag, Dave Navarro of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols. The station logo was designed by Shepard Fairey, the guy who also did the iconic Obama CHANGE poster. KDLD is licensed to Santa Monica, California and KDLE is licensed to Huntington Beach.
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5 comments:

  1. Harvey PookaJanuary 16, 2009 at 8:17 AM

    Here is an article about it:

    http://laist.com/2009/01/15/farewell_indie_1031.php

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dan SysJanuary 16, 2009 at 9:51 AM

    Sad news.....another great radio station bites the dust. Listening to a station that broadcasts only on-line just isn't the same.

    ReplyDelete
  3. simsJanuary 19, 2009 at 7:18 PM

    If there isn't a big enough audience of hipster poseurs in LA to maintain a station like Indie, then it simply can't exist anywhere.

    The final statement is pouting sour grapes. Corporations exist to make money, so that's your job when you work for one. Too bad the celebrities who got such an ego stroke out of working there won't put their money where their mouths are, buy the signals, and run the stations at a loss.

    Now, that's indie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. GregJanuary 20, 2009 at 5:37 AM

    Touche.
    I subscribed to Steve Jones' podcast. He was very proud of the fact that he was allowed to play and do whatever he wanted on his show. But when you round up three of your ex-pat friends and talk about Premier League soccer for an hour you could almost hear the people switching stations.

    ReplyDelete
  5. William Ryan KusFebruary 19, 2024 at 9:38 AM

    I just found two of those bumper stickers in an old shoe box. I remember walking into the station and getting those. Not sure what I was expecting when I walked in. I am wondering where I should put them. On my bumper?

    ReplyDelete