Fybush: Hot 97 (87.7) raided, shut down

[MickeyD]

ANYONE who ever worked at "Hot 97" should be blacklisted from ever getting a job again in real radio.

They all knew what they were doing...

I disagree. If they had loyal listeners and I owned a moderately powered station I would hire them in a moment. Everyone complains that young people don't listen to radio and these guys proved them wrong.

 

[MickeyD]

Taking business away from legitimate stations? Seems to me that many of Hot 97's advertisers bought Hot 97 because they're the only ones playing rhythmic/urban music that isn't charging Jamn's rates. These guys weren't buying Jam'n. It was the cheap pirate station or nothing for radio advertising for them.

Well cheap alone doesn't mean anything but cheap with listeners why wouldnt you buy time? Your average listener has no idea a station is legal or not. Hell people under 30 have no idea that you can get free tv over-the-air!

 

[MickeyD]

No details but Fybush's NERW reports pirate Hot 97 at 87.7 was raided by the FCC and shut down this week. Quick web search shows same thing happened last June, with fans of the station wondering where it went, on their facebook

http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html subscriber based

I somehow have my doubts that this was an FCC raid. There must be a reason that they decided not to go back on the air and just maintain an internet presence.

The FCC, Mafia, Mexican Drug Cartel, does not bother me as much as the IRS!

 

[WNTIRadio]

[what noncomm lost underwriting to hot97boston i've never seen a listed underwriter of a noncomm or commercial sponser on Jamn with an address anywhere between dudley sq and mattapan sq ever. I could be wrong though. And maybe those stations that lost $$$ should look at why the money went to hot97boston and not them.


I agree about paying taxes. I work with a few guys who do things like use a PO Box in Maine to register their car and car insurance. They are scumbag tax evaders. That pisses me off. I'm with you 100% on this issue.

I also am not denying that they broke the law on purpose on are responsible for their actions

Last time I listened, the Wilbur Theater, Wang, and may other venues were advertising on HOT 97. They're not in Murderpan, and a certian non-comm runs lots of urban programming after 7pm in Boston. They lost a lot of business to "HOT 97", which otherwise would have supported a noncomm station. Instead, it went to a criminal operation. Why did it go there? Cheaper and they promised them the world as far as promotion goes.

 

[WNTIRadio]

To add to that, just because it's cheaper doesn't make it okay. If I stole televisions and sold them for half price, I'm still making money since they didn't cost me anything. If you steal the airwaves, don't pay taxes or any other fees, you can give your airtime away.

 

[carmen]

it is much more nuanced than your 'stealing' analogy. nobody is on 87.7 or 87.9 in the city. is the 'big bang' stealing from non-existing users when it spews background noise on these frequency 24/7? should we sue the universe? there is the issue of stealing ads money from those who 'play by the rules'. but that set of rules does not even allow other players to enter the game due to compliance overhead and an artificial lack of frequencies due to 1st/2nd-adjacent rules. i finda such a scheme indefensible for its exclusionary nature, and it is intrinsically bound with technological progress

ten dollar CVS/Walgreens MP3-players can easily seperate WBRU95.5/PVD vs WHRB/95.3/BOS, ZBC90.3Newton/Energy90.1Brockton. so can my German radios from the 70s with machine-wound inductor coils instead of IF-DSP. i'd be interesting in hearing from anyone using a crappy off-brand walkman from the early 80s. management rules have resulted in licensed business users with extremely low (sub-1%) duty cycles on a vast swath of frequencies leaving "impossible to cheaply enter" slices like the 1800/900 Cell bands and 88-108, while other chunks site almost entirely empty, like all of 30-88 mhz. the FCC's mission of "To promote robust competition and innovation in the telecommunications marketplace " (yes, right off their website) is clearly 'newspeak' since regulation is the antithesis of competition. meanwhile SDR has migrated to the 'in everyone's pocket' level in the meantime, and a DDS and ADC don't care where theyre operating and are happy to do 0-3.3 GHz without a sweat, they can seperate signals down to the milliHz level if needed, and can implement complicated sprectrum-hopping schemes when needed

FM may go out with a whimper like the AM band. just about everyone has cellphones, wireless ISPs can enable multicast on USTream/Livestream stuff and be done with it. even Pandora has a single-letter NYSE ticker symbol now(!)

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

What would save radio is a forth band... Local, free and works!

Someday, FM will be the AM to a new band, and the new band will be cramped too.

Isn't Pulse Modulation basically the same thing as FM? Can't we utilize that?

(Here I go sounding like a complete imbecile again, right?)

 

[WNTIRadio]

No, it is stealing. Nobody is listening to background noise. And if a pirate is running their station like a commercial outlet, selling ads, it is stealing ad dollars and underwriting dollars away from real radio stations. They pay all the necessary fees to do what they do.

I had a friend fix my car with a car part I bought online. I paid my friend cash. He's not going to report that cash on his taxes as income. I suppose I vaguely interrupted the revenue stream to my regular mechanic. Is this "harmful" ?

No, because he's not breaking the LAW by fixing your car. There's no license needed to fix your car, and your car isn't a limited resource that needs a band-plan and licensing to keep it from turning into CB. And by the way, you DO need a driver's license, don't you. What happens if you drive without it and get caught? Why not do away with drivers licenses because the under-served can't make it to the DMV? C'mon, let's use a little bit of logic here. This isn't some kid goofing around for a couple hours on an empty frequency.

If they were that serious about radio, buy a damn station. The prices are right these days. And if it's an AM legally, not an FM illegally, then that's the way the ball bounces. Raise more money with the AM and buy an FM. I'm sick of this "Occupy Whatever" mentality where it's okay to take things because you think it is okay and "deserve" it. No, I shouldn't pay for some kids college, and I shouldn't have to try and run my business with these knuckleheads taking away revenue from real stations that pay me in real money.

 

[WNTIRadio]

PS- You know, the pop standards audience was under-served. Did Bob Bittner just set up shop wherever he felt like it and started to broadcast? No, he BOUGHT a radio station and raises money to make it work.

 

[mescutia]

What would save radio is a forth band.

Fourth? I didn't know there was a third band...

 

[fybush]

What would save radio is a forth band... Local, free and works!

Someday, FM will be the AM to a new band, and the new band will be cramped too.

Isn't Pulse Modulation basically the same thing as FM? Can't we utilize that?

(Here I go sounding like a complete imbecile again, right?)

FM and AM are modulation schemes. They are not "bands." Without a clear understanding of the difference between a modulation scheme and the frequency band in which it operates, your question makes no sense.

In North America, AM transmission (and the proprietary "HD Radio" digital transmission scheme) is used in the medium-wave band (540-1700 kHz), while FM transmission (and now the proprietary digital "HD Radio" transmission as well) is used in the VHF band, 88-108 MHz.

In Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, AM transmission (and the DRM digital transmission scheme) is also used in the long-wave band. By international treaty, that band is not used for broadcast in the Americas.

It is extraordinarily unlikely that any new frequency band or modulation scheme will be opened for broadcasting in North America in the foreseeable future. This is partially a result of the massive base of existing AM/FM receivers that would be unable to receive a new broadcast band (making it a huge economic challenge to any broadcaster hoping to find an audience there), and partially a result of regulatory policy that mandates spectrum auctions.

Many solid-state AM transmitters (Nautel's AMPFET series, for instance) are based on pulse-width modulation designs.

 

[w9wi]

Isn't Pulse Modulation basically the same thing as FM? Can't we utilize that?

Not really. You're probably thinking of Phase Modulation which is, more or less, the same as FM. (and using it instead of FM will have absolutely no effect on band crowding)

"Pulse Modulation", in itself, really is too vague. It means that you turn the RF on & off in pulses. What it accomplishes depends on what pattern you use to turn it on & off. As Scott says, many AM transmitters use pulse *width* modulation, where the length of each pulse -- how long you leave the transmitter on -- depends on the amplitude of the audio signal. You can also do pulse *code* modulation -- this is basically what's used for digital TV -- where the height & pattern of each pulse relates to a code being sent. And pulse *amplitude* modulation, which is basically AM broken up into pulses... And a few more.

Any transmission that isn't compatible with existing receivers is going to fail. Even if every new radio sold immediately covered the new technology, it would take more than a decade to distribute enough radios to make it worthwhile.

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

Ah, thanks Scott... I'm learning about this more, I should take a college course on it if I ever can.

And it's true, it would take about a decade for it to become worthwhile, and it's unlikely such would happen in North America. But, eventually it will. More then likely not in my lifetime.

More or less, nothing's going to solve the cramped FM problems.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Everyone complains that young people don't listen to radio and these guys proved them wrong.

And again I ask: Where's your proof?

(Hint: "Me and my friends" doesn't count.)

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

I somehow have my doubts that this was an FCC raid. There must be a reason that they decided not to go back on the air and just maintain an internet presence.

Scott Fybush is a journalist who has sources for information like this. What are your sources?

 

[danikayser84]

Like I've said, Boston just doesn't have the market for an Urban or Urban AC, on FM at least... although there *is* a Rhythmic CHR, Jam'n 94.5, they are essentially the same as Kiss 108 only with a Rhythmic lean

 

[N.E. Streetz]

WOW !!! HOT 97 Boston was more popular than I thought . Look at this thread and how many times it was read . Just like Howard Stern, Love them or Hate them, People did listen to them . I hope 97 come back on the Legal side ( maybe take 1090 off Crappy One hands or a 24 hour legal signal ).

 

[Tom Wells]

This is an interesting discusssion.
The FCC need not say what the intent of the laws are or what enformcement means.
If the intent of the laws are specifically protect a "band" of frequencies to specific users, as in
the commercial bands, then the theft idea is valid, but then incriminates those who have given up public service.

If the intent of the laws are to provide management such that the commercial bands are useful,
theft is not a issue at all. From some perspectives, it could be said the FCC has "managed" the spectrum in
ways directly contrary to the best needs of all, except that of political expedience.

Something that can't be owned physically is difficult to lay claims to.
The intent of FCC law is to define a managably useful service for most users.

Obviously some laws have never worked and never will be enforced, such as the unintentional radiator (noisemaker)
provisions in FCC Pt 15 laws.

It is good to see there are others who see clearly that radio is a service.
As much good as it does to provide reggae (or whatever) radio to their neighborhood, if
they're so sure this music needs to be on the air, they really should put a SW signal on.
There are people interested in all kinds of music in all kinds of places.
It is sad that computers seem to be doing a better job of bringing diversity in music to people than radio.
I loved it when radio did that.

 

[fccman]

Why is Touch 106.1 still on the air?

 

[carmen]

computers seem to be doing a better job of bringing diversity in music to people than radio.

even in genres covered by pirates i find that true

SOCA the stations that play it divide time between hip-hop/dancehall/r&b so we're talking an hour or two a day. and its generally the latest trini 'hits' or essentiallly a smal playlist of a few tunes. cursory perusal of julian's youtube, bajantube & islandmix reveals tons of tunes that are never making it onto the local airwaves at all. some of them quite quirky and raw, all less 'pop' than the token tunes DJs put on choice/vibe/city when theyre giving away tickets.

Hip-Hop hot97 played all that drake/jeezy/wayne pop stuff which is just.. nauseating after a while. consistently the only place ive heard interesting hiphop on FM is the one or two nights a week WBRU and WHRB play it. odd, challenging, interesting stuff.

Dancehall wheres the 80s digi-dub? froggy maybe a decent selectah but he just plays his 'Hot Water Riddm' basically 24/7 lately. its good riddim.. but after a few licks i'll go back to Dr Auratheft mixes and forgot your station ever existed

thats why i named a post "Automated Profits". its really just a vehicle to promote events, not really anything like a good source of music.

oh yeah, Haitian massive. i really like the 'raboday' mix stuff coming out, which is essentially rara in a techno era. besides an hour on concorde at 2am i didnt hear *any* of this despite there being about 15 stations to choose from. once again, youtube and soundcloud were my options. even to hear dusty Tropicana/Shleu-Shleu slabs it is grabbing an Africa Kabisa archive off WMBR's website or walking over to my pile of records