I hear a lot of grief from my teenage sons over my musical preferences. I tend to listen to classic rock when they prefer alternative, modern rock or top 40.
I'm always searching for classic rock radio stations, both on the car radio as we travel and streaming online either on my computer or smartphone. We've memorized the dial location of certain stations in Nc (95.7 The Ride in the Charlotte area, 100.7 The River inside the Triangle) and tune in when driving through their signal area. I could enjoy stations I listened to in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tenn., we were young now online.
One of my favorite online classic rock stations was blueridge.fm, or Ridge. I first discovered it inside radio section of iTunes on my small computer. I later found the station's website and downloaded an app that allowed me to listen to the stream on my smartphone. I often tuned in while I was washing dishes at night, mowing or working on the pc.
When I first visited the station's website, I came across the man responsible for it used to be a disc jockey in Asheville while using handle of "Radar." Since I grew up about an hour away in Bryson City, I used to be familiar with the station where he worked. After transforming into a fan of blueridge.fm, I emailed and expressed my appreciation.
Radar emailed back an agreeable note, and it turned out he visited several sites near my hometown. So I've always felt a robust connection to the station, in most cases when I found myself inside the mood for streaming classic rock, I turned first for the Ridge.
Over the weekend I tuned in and noticed an ominous note: The stream would end April 4. Next, i visited the station's website and discovered what had happened. Radar had been unable to secure sponsorship to underwrite the $350 30 days fees, and he simply couldn't foot into your market himself any longer. A few listeners had pledged support, and not enough to keep the station going.
At lunch Wednesday, I confirmed that the stream was no longer available. Radar posted these on his website: "That's all folks! Not see here, move along - LOL. As a result of everyone for listening, in over 120 countries, just amazing. We tried we merely couldn't make money. Last song played - Long & winding road. Why? Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway sometime. So long from 'The Ridge' & Many thanks for listening. Last one out - Hit the lights."
I have to admit that I felt a little bit of guilt that I never sent money to help support the station. Those of us in the news business have often lamented how readers expect to visit our websites for free and resist efforts to spend to read articles. Yet I was doing the same thing on blueridge.fm.
In many cases, other sources exist online, therefore if a web user runs into a website that expects payment, he'll just find an alternative. Other classic rock stations stream online, either as Internet-only stations or regular FM or AM stations that stream their broadcasts. However the reason that I returned on the Ridge is I found Radar's mix of music most appealed to my tastes. I would argue that no news sources cover Davidson County like the-dispatch.com.
Once someone becomes used to something being free, trying to charge for it becomes difficult. Many news sites are starting to erect paywalls in which readers are asked to pay a certain amount to view an account or pay a set amount frequently. For now, the-dispatch.com remains free, although which could change in the future.
What users need to realize is the sites must be profitable, either through advertiser or user support. Gathering good news or playing music is expensive. Those expenses include salaries, hosting fees and royalties. If your site brings value on the reader or listener, then he should be willing to pay a reasonable fee.
Apple's iTunes proved that music lovers would buy songs rather than download pirated tunes on the internet. Perhaps some day that same transition will occur for newspapers. A music track sites also are attempting to take this route.
But none of that saved Radar and blueridge.fm. I had the impression the site was a labor of love, but in the conclusion the financial burdens became a lot of. I'll find other sources to know classic rock, but it will not quite the same. Sadly, the light's gone out.
Author Resource:
For all supporters good on the internet music, our company offers a numerous genre of music through www.pickradio.net .
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")