KCVU radio

Thursday, August 12, 2004

And now for something completely different…

Artist: KCUV.com
Rating: GREAT

The music industry has always been a strange beast. I can’t think of any other industry where it’s the norm to low ball it’s new releases and then makes margin on older products. It’s also unique in that so many people; be it label, band, retail or radio, want to get into the “music industry” that they bid their own wages below market value in order to do so. It’s just nuts and you have to be nuts to pursue it!

As we have all seen over the past decade or so, radio has become incredibly competitive. Formats change on a dime, literally, and on-air personalities have become highly disposable. There is an echelon of talent that is well compensated but to describe radio as a cut throat industry is to describe Iraq as a sketchy: quite an understatement.

With the need to drive advertising dollars through their airwaves most commercial radio stations have adopted a format approach that, in my opinion, taken the wonder and magic out of radio and replaced it with a completely predictable, follow-the-leader approach implementing the McDonalds hamburger approach: it’s ain’t exciting but you know what you’re going to get every time you go there. Now don’t get me wrong, generally those folks make a lot more money than I do, and money is the barometer of a successful business; however, that doesn’t endear my ears… especially if I have to listen to BAD/ uncreative commercials.

With that diatribe in mind, as we have found in the retail industry, the true music fan is going to find a method to get exposure to the music they love. As broadcast radio is on the verge of having to deal with satellite and internet radio have the potential to become a force to be reckoned with. They say competition is good for the consumer: we’ll see. I think we can all see what Cable has done for television (I’ll leave that one up to you to decide – HBO serials versus the Game Channel). Anyway, I recently found an on-line radio station that thrills my musical taste buds. Certainly it’s not as good as KIWR’s PS Blues (yes, I am the host) but it’s darn close kids. WWW.KCUV.com is a Denver based AM radio station that also broadcasts over the internet. Full of vim & vigor KCUV plays an endless stream of “GREAT” music with few repetitions and plenty o’taste. Yes, there are songs and artists the average music fan is not going to be familiar with but this station is clearly programmed to NOT be too cool for the room. Judging from their playlist, which is rotated on the screen while you listen, this station targets 30+ heavy / hip music fans with a massively large cornucopia of artists & songs. Focused on the wide spectrum of artists between bluesman Muddy Waters to Lyle Lovett, Dave Alvin, and older fifties artists.

If you’re like me, pulling your own tongue out with rusty pliers is almost more pleasant than saying anything positive about the state to our West (thanks to the obnoxious Colorado University fans that have yet to learn how to lose with grace) however, someone over there where the air is thin has finally gotten it together and created a path back to great radio, great music, and hip on-air talent. See, the Lord does answer prayers!

http://www.kcuvradio.com