KUUR: Is It Really 'Your Radio'?

March 30th, 2006 at 08:29am Jeremy Simon 5

Congratulations to the Aspen Post on its launch! Look for silly-bodysuited creatures waving at traffic at Valley intersections holding huge signs that say ‘ASPENPOST.NET’!
Uh, actually… don’t. That would be a KUUR-FM sort of publicity ploy. It’s hard to pin down what bugs me most about KUUR (101.1 FM), the Valley’s newest radio station.

Maybe it’s the forgotten pop that pours from the frequency. Maybe it’s that for the last few months KUUR has oversaturated the Valley’s other media (not to mention those intersections!) with ads that trumpet its presence with the brazen slogan “Your Radio.”
But it’s mainly that this “Your Radio” slogan couldn’t more absurd in light of what KUUR actually sounds like—an algorithm shuffling randomly through an enormous database of vaguely familiar songs, without interruption from real human beings that actually seem to be living and breathing in the Roaring Fork Valley, as opposed to inside some white-walled studio in Dallas, or Indianapolis, or whatever.

KUUR’s depersonalized “personal” approach is somewhat ironic because it actually sort of is a cutting-edge radio station—in that it appears to be mimicking the JACK radio format (audible locally at 92.7 FM, and characterized by a broad but intentionally unfocused playlist) that has taken the commercial radio world by storm.

This “randomness masquerading as diversity” format is a reaction to the criticism commercial radio has received about narrow formats, excessive commercials and obsequious on-air hosts. It would appear to be a profitable format as well, with skimpy overhead costs—since it doesn’t need humans to provide content, only to sell ads.

During KUUR’s first several weeks on air, it broadcast no air breaks or commercials—though it plays tons of prerecorded promos that implausibly quote satisfied “locals” including one who claims to have KUUR on “24 hours a day” (I shudder to think). According to Wikipedia, in fact, corporate for JACK-FM also requires that its stations not use DJs for at least the first few months on that format. I’ve since heard the occasional on-air KUUR break from a live DJ, but it’s rare and the content is negligible.

It’s impossible to say exactly how precisely or for how long KUUR intends to hew to its current JACK-wannabe format. It’s literally impossible, in fact, because despite KUUR’s brand-saturation campaign, the station makes available no substantive information about itself. KUUR’s web site—“yourradio.com” or “youradio.com”, take your pick—is a mere cybersquatter, with no clickable links (except an email address) and no information except station frequencies and a bizarre landscape photo taken nowhere near the Roaring Fork Valley.

So wherefore art thou clues on KUUR? Google a bit, and you’ll find that it is a project of Marcos Rodriguez, president of Everwave here in Aspen. His bio reads, “Mr. Rodriguez has enjoyed great success in buying, reformatting, developing, operating, and selling radio and TV stations… Mr. Rodriguez has created significant capital appreciation for himself and his investors along the way.” Not a word of any particular radio or TV stations, and what content these stations might have broadcast.

Sure, my research obviously could dig a little deeper. But that’s for the paid reporters to do. I’m blogging here, for Chrissake—I’m only paid enough to rant. I did email Marcos Rodriguez a general query about his programming, and got a short response that was cordial but not super-forthcoming, and I wasn’t inspired to pursue the conversation further.

Personally, I listen to radio for content. I like songs, and opinions, and news, and I like a little news and weather and ski conditions and edge and even the occasional Factory Army Surplus commercial or Red Mountain Subaru ad, because it makes me feel like I’m living in an actual community.

(Full disclosure, so my bias is clear: I am an on-air host and board member at KDNK-FM, the Carbondale community radio station. I’m a big believer in “full disclosure,” and I’m sure that thread will arise frequently in my blog. Fellow blogger and KSPN host Sara G: what do you think about this? KSPN happens to be an amazing example of how even a corporate radio station can have a diverse playlist but a distinctive vibe. Good on ya gyz.)
Perhaps I’m judging KUUR too harshly. A friend of mine just flips around the radio dial until she hears a song she likes; she’ll stick with it until she hears one she hates, then she’ll repeat the process. Plenty of people listen to the radio like that, and if KUUR’s goal is simply to make it into your car stereo’s top 6 or 10 preset stations, it may well leap over that very low bar.

Is it a profitable bar? Seems like it could be. But KUUR recently announced that April will also be a commercial-free month. Seems charitable. But I’m guessing KUUR doesn’t get public funds, grants, or private donations, so it’s presumably out to make money, through “commercials” as commercial radio stations are wont to do, and so it’s reasonable to guess that KUUR’s next ad-free month is inspired by the station not selling many ads.

But you know it is for me? Go back to that slogan. Human-sounding voices, local awareness, musical focus, and passion is kinda what makes a radio station your radio.
And by that measure, KUUR is nobody’s radio.

Hi folks. This is the tagline that in a reputable publication would say “Jeremy Simon is a whatchamawhoozit with impeccable credentials.” But here it exists to say: I’m writing an Aspen media blog called “From A to ZG” for Aspen Post, because there’s a lot to be said about Aspen’s media, and so read me (there’s a few pieces already in the archive from Aspen Post’s Beta years), and feed me at jsimon@aspenmusic.org.

Entry Filed under: Music, Media, Aspen