Friday, July 30, 2010

New Campus and Community Radio Policy in Canada


Last week the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission issued a revised policy for campus and community radio stations. One big change is that they have decided to no longer have separate regulatory policies for campus and community radio. Additionally, in the past distinctions were made between various types of community radio stations and between campus stations. These sub-categories (type A and type B for community radio and campus instructional and campus-community for college radio) are also being eliminated:

"The Commission will not licence campus instructional stations in the future and will instead licence all such stations as campus stations in accordance with this policy. All campus radio stations provide training to volunteers. The Commission notes the specific role that stations currently licensed as campus instructional play in training broadcasters who will work for commercial radio stations. The Commission encourages these stations to pursue this goal within the new campus station framework, or through alternative means of broadcasting (e.g. the Internet, closed circuit or carrier current). At their next licence renewal, existing campus instructional stations will have the opportunity to request conditions of licence specific to their circumstances within the campus radio licensing structure."

Other tidbits from this policy include the fact that the Commission doesn't license elementary and high school-based AM and FM radio stations. The policy did state, however, that community radio stations could be housed on their campuses. In their determination they stated:

"The Commission is not convinced that a station associated with a high school or elementary school could provide consistent high quality programming as required under the Act, especially in the summer months when school is not in session. The Commission further notes that the number of frequencies available for radio stations is limited in many markets. The Commission therefore considers that broadcasting by high school or elementary school students would be more appropriate using the Internet."

An interesting part of Canadian broadcast policy is that it requires a certain percentage of "spoken word" programming every week. In the past, campus radio stations were asked to devote 25% of their weekly broadcast hours to spoken word programming. The new policy acknowledges the challenges that stations faced meeting that requirement and has reduced it to 15% of weekly broadcast hours for both campus and community radio stations. Additionally, this spoken word programming must be locally produced.

One of the most confusing aspects of the Canadian policy to me is that they place minimum requirements on the percentages of various categories of music that are played on campus and community radio stations. In order to promote diverse sounds and showcase Canadian artists, stations are required to adhere to a number of genre-based minimums. Categories explained in the policy include popular music ("category 2"), specialty music ("category 3"), pop/rock/dance ("sub-category 21") and experimental music ("sub-category 36").

I'd be curious to hear how radio stations in Canada keep track of all of the genres and sub-genres and ensure that they are meeting the minimum requirements. This is a very different system from the United States, in which radio stations are given much more control over the music that is played over their airwaves. As we've seen in the U.S., commercial stations in particular have been increasingly shortening their playlists and radio has become less and less diverse. To some extent college stations have also followed this model, using it as an assumed pathway to more listeners and a more standardized sound.

If you work in Canadian campus radio, I'd love to hear more from you about the CRTC's policies and if you think they make for better, more diverse stations.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Radio Station Field Trip 10.5 - KSCU's New Digs at Santa Clara University

KSCU's New Location in Benson Hall
All photos by J. Waits

Earlier this summer when I heard that KSCU at Santa Clara University was unloading thousands of records because of a station move, I was concerned about what that meant for the decades-old station. I knew that the former station location wasn't ideal, but any time there's talk of selling off records, I get worried. So, in the interest of getting the real scoop, I stopped by one of their record sales and made a plan to visit the new station.

Back when I visited KSCU for the first time in February, 2009, they were housed in a dorm basement, in an off-the-beaten path location which they had called home for around 25 years. During that visit there was some discussion about how the station's location may have been one of the reasons why they had difficulty attracting student DJs, so I wasn't necessarily surprised to hear that the station was moving.

KSCU DJ Innalect Cueing up Vinyl on His Own Gear

On June 17th, I headed over to see KSCU's new studios and to chat with outgoing General Manager (and incoming Program Director) Sam Duarte and outgoing Music Director (and incoming General Manager) Lauren Duffy. In our conversation they shared details about the move and explained why it was necessarily to purge so much music.

Although the idea of the move had been floating around for at least 5 years, Sam told me that the decision to move came only 2 months before KSCU departed its old location in the basement of Swig Hall. The move took place in early March and the station was off the air for a little over a month during the transition. The station's former home is in the center of a construction zone, with its basement digs being gutted in order to make way for a rumored rec room.


When they realized that the new radio station location would be smaller, it became clear to KSCU management that they needed to clear out a lot of the music, as there wouldn't be room for it. Sam told me that ultimately they probably got rid of about half of the music library (they took 5,000 CDs and 6,000 pieces of vinyl to a local store and offered them to customers for 25 cents a piece).

Sam said that initially it was "really hard to see that as beneficial," but that after carefully looking through the record library they found out that "there was a lot of stuff that we really needed to get rid of." The Music Director and specialty music directors all went through the library to determine what should be purged from various genres. Some of the criteria that they employed included retaining local music and asking themselves, "would this actually get played today?" Collectively, the staff going through the music had diverse music backgrounds, deep music knowledge, and several had been Music Directors in the past.

KSCU General Manager Lauren Duffy in front of a Portion of the KSCU Record Library

Lauren told me that at first the staff seemed "frustrated and disheartened" by the process, but that ultimately everyone seemed to understand the reasoning behind it. Sam said that she was "really surprised" that people weren't angrier and added that "a lot of them saw the benefits of it." Part of this was likely due to the fact that the KSCU managers were open about the process and held meetings in which DJs had the opportunity to look through CDs and vinyl in order to decide if they wanted to take anything. Lauren said that it was really important that the purge was a "group effort" and said that they made sure it was "open to all of the DJs."

As they went through the library they ultimately found a lot of items that perhaps should have been taken out of the library years ago (or should never have been added). Sam said that typically the library was supposed to have been gone through every 5 years, but that at KSCU it had been 20 years since anyone had filtered through the collection. In addition to music that didn't stand the test of time, they also got rid of CDs that skipped and singles (in cases where the station already owned the album).

 KSCU Music Sale in May 2010

I attended one of the KSCU "garage sales" back in May and although it was chilling to see piles and piles of music with radio station reviews affixed to the packaging up for sale, once I dug into some of the stacks I relaxed a bit. Many of the CDs were from mainstream acts and quite a few of the releases actually had negative reviews written on them. I did pick up a few potential gems for myself (Tarnation, Ramsted, Julee Cruise and Flossie & the Unicorns) and suggested to a station manager that a few other CDs that I spotted be retained for the station.

Sam pointed out that only about 50% of the DJs actually use the KSCU record library, with many bringing in their own music and laptops full of digital files. However, she emphasized that the DJs who do use the library often dig deep, playing both vinyl and sub-genres.

Beyond the music library, DJs are also increasingly turning to You Tube, often playing videos over the air because, as Lauren pointed out, "It's easier to find video on You Tube" than to find a track on an album or CD. Lauren quickly added that she still prefers playing CDs, especially since material at the station always includes a profanity guide. Sam concurred and pointed out that the sound quality of You Tube videos is inferior and said, "computers will always fail." She said that she thinks that DJs should know how to play CDs and that they also need to be trained to check for swears on any material that they play over the radio.

Local '80s Vinyl in KSCU's Studio Library 
(Note the scrawled reference to rival college radio station KFJC!)

KSCU does add digital music and Sam said that it's particularly important when people at the station are itching to play brand new material that hasn't arrived at the station on CD yet. Sam said, "You wanna get bands out there."

Part of the goal of KSCU is to expose listeners to new music and DJs are supposed to play 5 new adds (called "clocks" at KSCU) each hour. Sam said that if DJs are just bringing in their own music to play, then they are "bound to have the same show from week to week" and said that that isn't "helping your listeners."


Sam and Lauren told me that they are really excited about the station's new location for a number of reasons. First of all, they are in the basement of The Benson Center on campus (in the former Housing Office for Santa Clara University), adjacent to the offices of other student organizations and the campus bookstore. Upstairs from the station is the main eating area for campus dorm-dwellers, so there's a lot of foot traffic in and out of the building.

The KSCU Studio (formerly a Law Library study area) has a large window facing a hallway, so people walking by can actually see DJs doing their shows. Sam said that this makes the station seem "way more friendly" for both DJs and prospective DJs. Lauren said that when she was a new DJ it was an "adventure" trying to get into the old station and that often she had to sneak in because access was so regulated. Being in the Student Center, KSCU is a lot more visible to students and this new location may be part of the reason why they received more applications from potential managers for Fall 2010.

 Mailboxes Retained from Old Station Add a Bit of Funk to the New KSCU

The large office for all of the station managers is also a plus to them because it makes for a more collaborative environment. Lauren said, "it provides a sense of community" and is a "bigger space for music meetings." When I asked them what they missed about the old location, Sam said, "The Studio door" and "the posters" and Lauren mentioned all of the "stickers...the history." They actually hung onto the old sticker-covered Studio door and are hoping to use it at the new station, perhaps crafting it into a table.

Old KSCU Studio Door, February 2009

KSCU's Music Library is now housed in a hallway outside of the station offices (jazz and blues) and in the Studio itself. The collection contains CDs, vinyl LPs, and 7" vinyl and includes separate libraries for blues, jazz, soundtracks, compilations, and reggae. The main CD library includes rock, electronic, hip hop, blues, and heavy metal.

KSCU's New Couch

One downside of the new station location is that they have to abide by the operating hours of the Benson Center. During the summer, they can be in the studio from 7am to 7pm on weekdays and from 9am to 6pm on weekends. This means that KSCU can't have live DJs at night and can't physically be in the building for meetings during those hours. In the fall those hours get extended, so they will be able to be in the building until 1 or 2am. So, for late night programming they will be either be using automation (which they did during overnight shifts in the past), KSCU-crafted compilation CDs containing legal IDs, or pre-recorded shows.

Vinyl at KSCU

When I stopped by on a Thursday afternoon, DJ Innalect was in the studio doing his very first show at KSCU. I would have never guessed that he was a brand new DJ, as he seemed quite at home on the air. I was also pleased to see his comfort with vinyl, as he pulled music from several crates of LPs that he brought with him. Hopefully he (and his fellow DJs) will continue to dive deep into the KSCU record library, as it is still an amazing resource for the station.

Thanks so much to Lauren and Sam for touring me around the new KSCU. I hope the new location does them well!


Previous Spinning Indie Radio Station Field Trips:

Field Trip to WECB at Emerson College

College Radio Field Trip 2 - Cal Poly's KCPR
College Radio Field Trip 3 - Notre Dame's WVFI
Radio Station Field Trip 4 - WFMU in Jersey City
Radio Station Field Trip 5 - East Village Radio in NYC
Radio Station Field Trip 6 - WNYU in New York City
Radio Station Field Trip 7 - Northwestern's WNUR
Radio Station Field Trip 8 - Stanford's KZSU
Radio Station Field Trip 9 - University of San Francisco's KUSF
Radio Station Field Trip 10 - Santa Clara University Station KSCU
Radio Station Field Trip 11 - UC Berkeley's KALX
Radio Station Field Trip 12 - KSJS at San Jose State University
Radio Station Field Trip 13 - WBAR at Barnard College
Radio Station Field Trip 14 - KFJC at Foothill College
Radio Station Field Trip 15 - UC Santa Cruz Station KZSC
Radio Station Field Trip 16 - Haverford College Station WHRC
Radio Station Field Trip 17 - FCCFree Radio in San Francisco
Radio Station Field Trip 18 - Flirt FM in Galway, Ireland
Radio Station Field Trip 19 - RXP 101.9 FM in New York City
Radio Station Field Trip 20- WGBK at Glenbrook South High School
Radio Station Field Trip 21 - KPDO in Pescadero, California 
Radio Station Field Trip 22 - KZYX in Philo, California 
Radio Station Field Trip 23 - San Francisco's Pirate Cat Radio 

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Radio Station Field Trip 23 - San Francisco's Pirate Cat Radio

Pirate Cat Radio in San Francisco
All photos:  J. Waits

On a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning I headed out to San Francisco's Mission District to finally visit Pirate Cat Radio. The online-only community radio station began as a pirate station way back when station founder Daniel Roberts was a 14-year-old living in suburban Los Gatos. Eventually he took his operation to San Francisco, where until recently he has been broadcasting over the FM airwaves at 87.9 FM. Last year, however, after yet another notice from the FCC (this time, a fine for $10,000), Pirate Cat opted to focus on being an Internet-only station. According to Daniel, he hasn't actually broken the law in at least 7 years, as he has not been responsible for transmitting the station over FM (although his fans might be).


The Pirate Cat Radio website explains this history further, stating:


"Pirate Cat Radio from time to time has been downloaded from the web and transmitted over the air as an extra-legal (unlicensed) service in Los Angeles, in Vancouver B.C., in Berlin, and in San Francisco using 87.9 fm and possibly other frequencies.

The Federal Communications Commission is charged with promoting 'the larger and more effective use of radio in the public interest.' Pirate Cat Radio believes that the FCC has failed in that mission by not creating a practical means for local and neighborhood program services like ours to gain access to the air.

We have sought licensing in the past and been ignored or turned down. The FCC appears to have no path of access to air, except for parties having millions of dollars to invest. This is wrong. We do not try to regulate the use and re-use of our program service, and are not able to do so. Pirate Cat Radio will continue to look for ways to obtain legal broadcast authorizations for our service."



One thing that sets Pirate Cat Radio apart (especially when it was truly a pirate station) from most radio stations is that it operates in public, inside of a cafe run by Pirate Cat Radio DJs. Customers can purchase vegan treats, donuts, and caffeinated drinks from the modest cafe.


When I arrived at Pirate Cat Radio on the morning of June 5, I couldn't resist sampling their signature beverage: The Maple Bacon Cafe Latte. This drink ended up with a cameo on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations TV show (he called the drink "delightful" and "evil and good"), so it's actually been helping to lure customers into the cafe. The guy who made me my $5 latte was a former college radio DJ-turned Pirate Cat Radio punk show intern. He told me that just that week he'd done his first on-air interview at the station and was looking forward to getting more involved.

After getting my caffeine fix, I met up with Pirate Cat's Music Director Katherine (aka DJ Canary Turd). It turns out that Katherine and I both had a shared DJ history at KSPC at Pomona College, which once again reminds me of just how small the college radio world is. She's been at Pirate Cat for nearly 3 years and actually joined the station after noticing the cafe.

Pirate Cat Radio Studio, with View of Pirate Cat Radio Cafe

As Music Director, her role is to provide music options for DJs; although she is the first to admit that most DJs aren't investigating the music that she adds. She told me that they used to require DJs to play a certain percentage of new music, but that it was a challenge to get people to actually do it. In the past, Pirate Cat also asked every DJ to donate an album a month to the station. Music could have been solicited from labels, purchased, or been handed down from an individual's own collection. These days Katherine handles all of the music being added.

Katherine is mostly adding digital music, although she maintains a shelf of "hard copy" CDs in the studio for both new and local music. They don't intend to build a physical music library at the station and instead opt to just digitize any CDs that they want to retain the music from for future use by DJs. She said that it was a "hard choice" to go completely digital, but said, "we just don't have the space for a library," adding, "we're not an archive."

New and Local CD Library at Pirate Cat Radio

Although Pirate Cat has turntables in their studio, Katherine said that aren't in the best location for DJs. Stashed behind the mixing board, they are "out of the way" and frequently get broken. Despite these problems, there are some DJs who play all vinyl and there were a handful of vinyl records on the studio shelves. Katherine said that it's rare for the station to get sent any vinyl from record labels or bands.

Katherine adds a wide range of material to the station's library and it's up to DJs to decide what to play on their shows, as there aren't any format rules at Pirate Cat. Some of the current shows on the air include an all-Spanish language music program, a Greek blues show, a comedy program, news, and shows that play a mix of music from ska to reggae to electronic to punk. The one requirement placed on DJs is that they are supposed to do interviews on their programs or have live guests. Katherine said that by airing interviews, it "really connects the station with the community."

 
Pretty Swank for a Radio Station Couch!

Often there are live events at the station/cafe, including the Mission Underground Film Festival, various station benefits, and live music. Katherine agreed that, "people mostly come to try the latte..." Some locals are regulars at the cafe, including firefighters from a nearby station. She said that the neighborhood has been changing a lot recently, with a new art gallery and restaurants cropping up nearby.

Although DJs at Pirate Cat have a lot of freedom over the air, they do still have to abide by a number of station rules. Everyone has to volunteer for a station department, known at Pirate Cat as "ministries." Ministries include departments like Music, Public Service Announcements, PR and Marketing, News, and Interviews (to name a few). DJs are required to donate around 2 hours worth of work to the station every week and interns have to work in the cafe. In addition to that, there are station dues (which can be swapped for hours spent working in the cafe) and mandatory monthly staff meetings.

Pirate Cat Radio Doesn't Have the Band-Sticker-Covered Cabinet that Most Stations Have,
But Look at Their Trash Can!

During my visit I was surprised to see Pirate Cat founder Daniel Roberts hanging out at the station. Just a month before he had launched KPDO in Pescadero and I knew that he was just getting that station off the ground. He told me that he's been splitting his time between the two stations and said that he'd actually been at Pirate Cat four days that week. There are days when he'll spend a part of the day at each station, no small feat given the fact that it's more than an hour's drive between Pescadero and San Francisco.

Daniel said that he was pleased with how things were going at KPDO and when we spoke he had nearly 30 DJs working towards getting shows. As with Pirate Cat, he plans to have monthly staff meetings. One difference, however, is that KPDO DJs are asked to contribute 8 volunteer hours a week to the station. He said that there is so much that has to get accomplished there, that he has to delegate the work. One of his goals was to get the schedule filled with local DJs by the end of summer. At the time we spoke he was rebroadcasting Pirate Cat Radio programs on KPDO when there wasn't a scheduled DJ.

 Daniel Roberts and Pirate Cat Radio DJ La Pirata Margarita

As I wrapped up my visit, Katherine, Daniel and I looped back to a discussion about music and talked about the challenges of being a Music Director and trying to convince DJs to expand their musical horizons. Daniel said that at KPDO he's having the same struggles, made even more difficult since the station hasn't built up a library of music. While we spoke he began hauling the modest collection of the rarely-played vinyl out of Pirate Cat's studio, with the intention of bringing it down to KPDO.

In the weeks since my visit, Pirate Cat Radio has gotten a new coat of paint and a jazzed up menu (coconut curry mocha, anyone?) and KPDO has been fundraising (they want to boost the station's broadcast power and range) and connecting with the community through a summer film festival. I'm glad to see the passion for radio at Pirate Cat and to have witnessed the birth of KPDO. Thanks again to the DJs and staff of Pirate Cat Radio for taking the time to show me around their San Francisco digs.

View of 21st Street from Pirate Cat Radio Studio



Previous Spinning Indie Radio Station Field Trips:

Field Trip to WECB at Emerson College
College Radio Field Trip 2 - Cal Poly's KCPR
College Radio Field Trip 3 - Notre Dame's WVFI
Radio Station Field Trip 4 - WFMU in Jersey City
Radio Station Field Trip 5 - East Village Radio in NYC
Radio Station Field Trip 6 - WNYU in New York City
Radio Station Field Trip 7 - Northwestern's WNUR
Radio Station Field Trip 8 - Stanford's KZSU
Radio Station Field Trip 9 - University of San Francisco's KUSF
Radio Station Field Trip 10 - Santa Clara University Station KSCU
Radio Station Field Trip 11 - UC Berkeley's KALX
Radio Station Field Trip 12 - KSJS at San Jose State University
Radio Station Field Trip 13 - WBAR at Barnard College
Radio Station Field Trip 14 - KFJC at Foothill College
Radio Station Field Trip 15 - UC Santa Cruz Station KZSC
Radio Station Field Trip 16 - Haverford College Station WHRC
Radio Station Field Trip 17 - FCCFree Radio in San Francisco
Radio Station Field Trip 18 - Flirt FM in Galway, Ireland
Radio Station Field Trip 19- WRXP 101.9 in New York City
Radio Station Field Trip 20 - WGBK at Glenbrook South High School, Illinois 
Radio Station Field Trip 21 - KPDO in Pescadero, California 
Radio Station Field Trip 22 - KZYX in Philo, California

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Goodbye to FCC's Indecency Policy?

What Words CAN you Say on the Radio and Did that Change Today?

There was huge news today about the future of the FCC's indecency policy. The United States Court of Appeals Struck down the policy in a decision that may have a huge impact on broadcasters. On Radio Survivor I went into greater detail about this news, but for now, radio stations would be wise to wait and see before opening up the floodgates of swear words and raunchy material.

The good news, as I see it, is that the appeals court found that the FCC's vague descriptions of indecency have proven to be a threat to First Amendment rights and have had the potential to harm both artists and broadcasters. I recommend reading the entire decision, as it gives a lot of background into how the indecency rules have evolved and provides specific examples of recent rulings that are now called into question.