Commercial radio stations asking for listener donations

[nd2023]

Has this ever happened before?

New York City's Pulse 87.7 (yes I said that right, it's the audio of channel 6) is asking for listeners to donate money to save it from going extinct. It's also playing commercials.

 

[radiotower40]

If I recall correctly WVON in Chicago did this once or twice when they were still at 1450 AM. I want to say it was about
5 or 6 years ago. They have since moved to 1690 AM.

 

[oaktree]

It's allowable, it's legal. I've heard of it once or twice before.  I think a station in Boston did the same to preserve losing it's Adult Standards format.

But ethically and morally ... for the return being "a meet and greet" at a radio station in return for a donation? Or being on the air with a jock for a grand, "donation" that is not tax deductable?

Some people wrote me today and asked, "Do you think this is a stunt?"  If it is, it is the absolute, all time dumbest stunt ever. I've heard (and been a part) of some doozy's in the past and remember, well, the "send me $20 and I'll send you 20 words or less" or the, "Just send me $20 and I'll give it to somebody" that Ron Chapman did very successfully in Dallas years ago, but this takes the cake.

I think they're treading on very thin ice here.  The stock share fell to a penny today (from $.02) a share for all of Mega Media, not just Pulse and their quarterly report (found online) shows they are in the hole $875,000 this year ... just "half" of what they were last year.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ric=MMDA.OB

http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1063262/000121390009001349/f10ka1_megamedia.htm#11

Note: "These factors raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans concerning this matter are also described in Note 2. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty."


Still think it's a stunt? And that "raw emotion" can solve this for the hundreds who "care" ... which does not include the thousands who merely "listen"?

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/mega-media-group-inc/index.html

 

[nd2023]

It's allowable, it's legal. I've heard of it once or twice before. I think a station in Boston did the same to preserve losing it's Adult Standards format.

But ethically and morally ... for the return being "a meet and greet" at a radio station in return for a donation? Or being on the air with a jock for a grand, "donation" that is not tax deductable?

Some people wrote me today and asked, "Do you think this is a stunt?" If it is, it is the absolute, all time dumbest stunt ever. I've heard (and been a part) of some doozy's in the past and remember, well, the "send me $20 and I'll send you 20 words or less" or the, "Just send me $20 and I'll give it to somebody" that Ron Chapman did very successfully in Dallas years ago, but this takes the cake.

I think they're treading on very thin ice here. The stock share fell to a penny today (from $.02) a share for all of Mega Media, not just Pulse and their quarterly report (found online) shows they are in the hole $875,000 this year ... just "half" of what they were last year.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ric=MMDA.OB

http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1063262/000121390009001349/f10ka1_megamedia.htm#11

Note: "These factors raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans concerning this matter are also described in Note 2. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty."


Still think it's a stunt? And that "raw emotion" can solve this for the hundreds who "care" ... which does not include the thousands who merely "listen"?

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/mega-media-group-inc/index.html

If they had kept all the donations and collected donations all week, they would likely have a profit of millions this year. Those $20 donations add up. My facebook group alone has over 2500 people in it, add that to the people who didn't join it and who donated over the phone, and you have enough to cover the debt.
Is it legal for a PUBLICLY TRADED company to ask for donations rather than the traditional way of enticing people to buy stocks? You don't hear of corporations asking to be bailed out by their customers.
I personally donated $87.70 as a gesture of support, and I'm "donating" more by buying shares.
At first, it just seemed weird that it was running commercials in between the pleas for donations, but I did notice only one stopset an hour and the length was short.

 

[oaktree]

"Operational expense" (as this fundraiser purports to be,) is FAR different that "buying stock." First, at a penny a share, you can buy a thousand shares at $10. A hundred dollars gets you 10,000 shares ... of what? Of nothing. It cost you a hundred bucks.

Getting a "meet and greet" for $1000 is a rip. PAY to walk in a radio station to meet a DJ? Are you kidding? That's called "community service."

The idea of having 2500 on Facebook ... and how many are donating? Not $20 each, I assure you. If 5% donated (which is on the high side) you'd have 125 people. If they gave $20 each, you'd have $2500 ... not millions.

There is nothing but a numbers game here, and at that, very simple numbers.

Don't get your hopes up.

Again, buying "operational" funding is far different than buying stock ... especially, stock which is of no value.

With commissions and fees on top of the cost, you'd not be just wasting money, you'd be throwing it away. Just like at a "meet and greet."

Bad business model.

The only hope is a lot of sponsors paying a good, healthy rate of $300 - $500 a spot, no expenses such as jocks and a lot less outgo for all of Mega's properties.

As Dr. McCoy on "Star Trek" told Capt. Kirk several times ... "He's dead, Jim. He's dead."