There’s no great lesson in this post.
It’s just a simple, and admittedly anecdotal, case study about a listener who is consuming a lot less terrestrial radio than he used to.
That listener is me and the turning point was the demise of Q101.
Not because Q101 was groundbreaking, because it was consistent.
It was good to have on as I sat at my desk attempting to compose brilliant blog posts.
Now I find myself without a station that delivers a mix of music I can listen to for long periods of time.
To illustrate my dilemma here’s a snapshot of my choices at just after 3pm Monday:
- 97.9 The Loop (Classic Rock): Yes “I’ve Seen All Good People”
- The Drive (Classic Rock): Bob Seger “Her Strut”
- 93 WXRT (AAA): Jimi Henrix: “Foxy Lady”
- 101.9 the Mix (Hot AC): One Replublic “Good Life”
- Kiss 103.5 (CHR): Britney Spears “I Wanna Go”
- B-96 (CHR): Kesha “We R Who We R”
At 42 years old I’m a little younger than most classic rockers. I like it but still want some newer rock and alternative music.
It feels like there isn’t a Stone Temple Pilots song anywhere in my future let alone Rise Against and you can forget about Avenged Sevenfold all together.
And while I’m diverse enough to enjoy Britney and Kesha in doses, listening to CHR for any length of time gets old pretty fast.
So now I listen to more Pandora and Slacker.
I will also stream alternative and rock stations from other markets but it’s just not as engaging.
The concert dates are all for another city and the content that replaces commercials in the stream is usually insipid and repetitive.
In the car I listen to a lot more satellite radio generally scanning up and down the spectrum of rock and pop stations looking for a song.
As I said, no great lesson here, just a look at how easy it is to displace even one of radio’s most committed consumers.
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Megan
September 28, 2011
This is exactly what chicago is going through. And hell, i cried at knowing i’d never hear Avenged Sevenfold on the radio again. I don’t think we’ll ever get over it being off the raidio.
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
Megan:
Thanks for reading the piece and taking time to comment.
I cried too, just on the inside since it’s not too manly 🙂
Mike
stu
September 28, 2011
I got your STP, avenged, and rise against… signal gets sketchy in downtown, but 95.1 can be your new rock station. tower is on the WI-IL border, 50k watts covering chi to mil…
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
Stu:
I’m so glad you commented. I was going to mention WIIL Rock and it slipped my mind. I am a fan I just can’t get the signal at my desk nor a good chunk of the time I’m in the car. I wish you guys had a full signal.
Thanks for the read and the comment.
ami (@essence_me)
September 28, 2011
I totally agree- I have to listen ot terrestrial radio as I drive a lot doing home visits at work and I miss Q101, the app is great but hassle when you have to keep stopping every 15-20 mins for work. And I also agree, 95.1 is the only other station besides XRT worth listening now. But miss the very entertaining as well as infomative banter betn Q101 DJs :((
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
Ami:
The app is fine just like a lot of alternative streams are but they just can’t capture the experience of listening to a living, breathing local radio station.
Thanks for your comment.
diego
September 28, 2011
I felt this way too, but once i started listening to other stations online i realized that q101 played the same songs over and over generally and i am so sick of hearing 75% of the songs q101 played. Bands i now hate after years of q101 : foo fighters, red hot chili peppers, green day. Bands i wish they played more of : mgmt, the black keys, florence and the machine, foster the people. Its like they were stuck in the 90s or something. Q101 seemed to rarely emerge into new alternative making me think for a while that alternative was dead when its not. Idk… basically i was sad for a while too, but now i realize q101 to me was basically untapped potential. It did introduce me to slightly harder rock though and i enjoyed electra cause she was interesting.
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
Diego:
Point well taken, Q101 wasn’t necessarily breaking new ground or way out on the cutting edge. But to me it was reliable and easy to listen to.
And I agree with you about Electra.She is one of the best.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Brian
September 28, 2011
As the quality of music declined, so did Q101’s. The station thrived on the boom of 90’s music and then declined as iTunes diluted the music experience. I still attempt to tune into Q101 after The Loop and The Drive aren’t playing anything good. I still have to remind myself that Q101 is gone and I greatly miss it.
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
Brian:
No doubt the music wasn’t as hot as it once was and that meant Q101 wasn’t the same as it was in the glory days but, like you say it was a solid option that filled a hole in the market.
Thanks!
Mike
Sid
September 28, 2011
Yes, WIIL rock is very good and you get to hear a nice blend of modern rock and the 80s rock hits, very rarely will you get good alternative music on there. Nine Inch Nails, STP, Blink 182, classic alternative bands are played very few and far between. I cant even remember the last time I heard Radiohead on the airwaves! There’s nothing that can emulate what Q101 did for Chicago and it is sorely missed.
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
Syd:
Very true. WIIL Rock is a rock station and I enjoy it for rthat reason but it still leaves us without any alternative on the radio in Chicago.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Jason Rudolph
September 28, 2011
Mike – you really need to check out Spotify. Pandora, Slacker, all of these things are good – we do spend a fair amount of time on Pandora in the office, but Spotify is changing EVERYTHING about music. Especially since you’re at a desk all day with good internet….
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
Thanks Jason. I just started playing with Spotify, I will definitely dig deeper
Zach (@ZSpang)
September 28, 2011
Unless your company blocks things like music.google.com, spotify and grooveshark. Then Q101 was pretty much the only thing we had.
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
That’s a good point. Not everyone has access.
thanks for reading and commenting.
Thomas Pollack
September 28, 2011
The wife and I have not (regularly) listened to broadcast radio since ’03; Malatia ‘BEZ told us what they think with their endless membership drives, ‘XRT’s holier than thou attitude and extended commercials drove us away, not to mention Q101’s ipod shuffle. We do very nicely with XMU, The Loft, Franks’/40s, last saturdays’ The Met Opening Night Live. We miss ‘GCI (AM) Dusties circa ’94 and ‘NIB yet we realize than times do change, but corporate plundering of local stations (WGN anyone?) has convinced us to stick with (corporate) satellite.
Mike Stern
September 28, 2011
Thomas:
Interesting choice to stick with satellite. I wonder if that’s in the car or at home as well?
Thanks
Mike