WUMD Sale Hurts Local Bands

On January 4, Rhode Island Public Radio (RIPR) announced it put up $1.5 million to purchase the FM signal of 89.3 WUMD, UMass Dartmouth’s college radio station, so that RIPR could expand its range beyond its three other FM signals: 88.1, 91.5 and 102.7. This move will hurt local bands from Southern New England by keeping them from getting airplay due to the already limited options available. And even though WUMD will move to an internet format, I don’t believe this will positively impact UMass Dartmouth students.

To be clear, I’m not a Rhode Island Public Radio hater. On the local level they do great news reporting and I’m glad they’re an outlet for former Providence Phoenix journalist Ian Donnis and former Providence Journal columnist Bob Kerr. They’re a fair organization that takes pride in getting the story right and covering all the angles, something not all media outlets aspire to.

WUMD’s FM signal sale hits home for me because I credit my college radio experience with where I am today. One of the best things I did as a student at Rhode Island College was join 90.7 WXIN in 2005. I eventually became the alternative music director there, and it’s a big reason why I have a near decade-long career covering the amazing music scene in Providence. I want other students to experience what I experienced and become part of a unique community.

An FM signal is an important asset, and it breaks my heart see a quality station lose theirs. The station’s programming is consistently top notch and diverse, and it has garnered them acclaim in New England and beyond. You can hear underground indie rock and groovy reggae, and you even can get your news fix with WUMD’s Democracy Now! syndication. It’s all excellent content versus a lot of other college radio stations where you honestly don’t know whether you’re going to be tuning into something worth listening to or a completely crappy program. For WUMD to be reduced to just internet for the sake of RIPR obtaining a fourth FM signal is an absolute shame.

For an independent, up-and-coming band, the only legitimate airplay they can get is via college radio. Especially in the Southern New England region, that can be hard to come by. WUMD has consistently spun local music over the airwaves, and without the FM signal it’s going to be more difficult for local bands to get themselves heard. Rhode Island prides itself on its homegrown art and music, and the last thing that should happen is impeding that growth.

WUMD won’t be completely going away since it’s shifting to internet radio once the sale is made. We have to recognize internet radio’s place in the American media spectrum, though. In Europe and Australia, internet radio has grown to become a substantial competitor to terrestrial radio, TV, blogs, websites and newspapers. In America, it hasn’t quite latched on like it has in those parts of the globe. Turning on the car radio to hear something good while you’re driving on the highway is as American as apple pie.

It’s what terrestrial radio has been clinging to for most of this century. There’s also a matter of convenience at play, too. Would you rather plug your auxiliary jack into your car radio, if it has one, to listen to internet radio from your phone or press the tuner and listen to the radio right away? Chances are, the average American would do the latter. Most of us agree that when it comes to music, terrestrial radio is garbage and it has been for decades. College radio is the last place to hear new music on the FM airwaves instead of gobbling the fast food menu equivalent of a playlist from the corporate music stations.

What does RIPR have to offer the student body of UMass-Dartmouth that WUMD doesn’t already? With RIPR students would probably learn how to record radio spots and play segments, but at WUMD they already do that while learning how to be creative on the air. The students are forming their own identity during an allotted time slot at WUMD, while RIPR would only water down their experience. The students involved at WUMD would learn less through RIPR because they wouldn’t be forming their own original content. That alone is what makes college radio great, and there’s no sense in taking that away.

If RIPR wants to increase its reach to other parts of Rhode Island, it should use the $1.5 million it spent on WUMD’s FM signal to do so on the three signals they already have. It doesn’t make sense to grab up another one while there are alternatives that can help them reach the same goal without making college radio a sacrificial lamb.