Is It Just People in NW Washington, or Does EVERYONE HATE KISM?

[boombox4]

I should point out that if a Canadian station chose to attempt to "border blast" to the US, I find it near-impossible that the FCC would act (or care). You can bet your bums, however, that the CRTC would strip a "border blaster"'s license faster than you can say "back bacon".

Didn't CKLW (near Detroit) do that for years?

Canada has some interesting trade protection laws. I know of one popular 90's rock group that refused to play there because of the insane costs involved. Another smaller, local rock group in the late 90's (comprised of two Canadians with dual citizenship) refused to play there for the same reason. Because of the restrictive rules, you didn't make any money.

It was an eye opener for me. I'd always thought that there was such a thing as free trade, and all that. I guess it's not so free in some fields....

 

[Radio-X]

CKLW did that exactly!

Then in the early 70's, Cancon came around and new ownership rules forced RKO to divest the Big 8 to Canadian interests. Originally, CKLW tried to force all the Canadian music on the 12am-6am shift, but then the CRTC said "that's not what we meant when we said 'play a bunch of Canadian music'". So, they specified what is Canadian and how much Canadian Content must be played. Logger tapes now have to be run...you're missing those, hope you enjoy a one or two-year license renewal!!!

In a place like Vulcan, Alberta, nobody cared about Cancon, really. In a place like Windsor/Detroit...you could listen to what's "awesome" and "hip" on W4, 'RIF, or WLLZ. Until about '75, you could add CKLW in there. After that, Canadian stations where known as your home for Rush, Gordon Lightfoot, and B.T.O. B-sides. The collective cross-border audience laughed and guffawed for about five years until CRTC got their head out of their rear-end...

Needless to say, Cancon nearly bankrupted the Windsor stations, and CKLW became a mere shadow of its former glory, which explains why they are the only metro in Canada that gets a big reduction in their Cancon quotas. I would imagine the cross-border stations there and in Kingston, ON broadcasting from upstate NY also get special CRTC dispensation somehow to prevent Canadians from losing media access.

Radio-X

 

[gr8oldies]

CKLW had to do Cancon after 1971. They tried some creative ways around it (playing short snippets of the songs, running them overnight but they were slapped down for that.). As it was, trying to find any song that had the slightest qualifier as "Canadian" happened, but the CRTC was really looking for the exposure of current Canadian artists. Some artists recorded in Canada or had one or more of their members become Canadian citizens to get that bit of "affirmative action". I wouldn't say CanCon in and of itself killed CKLW. THey limped along until 1984, which was longer than WABC and several others. In their heyday, CKLW had a separate subsidiary (CKLW Radio Sales) in Detroit to sell advertising. There were 2 rate cards for Detroit and Windsor, and Windsor spots could be pre-empted for higher paying American spots.

CIDR and CIMX are in the same building, and have a CanCon obligation (though apparently lower). The Canadian music industry is flourishing to the point the required Canadian tunes are barely noticeable to the Detroit audience. I still don't get the requirements for oldies stations. How many Rush and BTO boxed sets can you still sell?

 

[TheBigA]

I still don't get the requirements for oldies stations. How many Rush and BTO boxed sets can you still sell?

Can you imagine similar laws in the US? Brian Wilson's career would have never ended.

 

[KXA]

I remember in the early 1990s, KISM was a top 40 station.

Sort of OT, but why didn't any radio station owner in Bellingham attempt an urban station? KUBE 93 couldn't really be picked up clearly in Whatcom County and Vancouver, BC, but a Bellingham-based radio station would get clear reception in both Whatcom County and Metro Vancouver, plus R&B/Hip Hop fans in Metro Vancouver never really had an urban music outlet (The Beat 94.5 tried but failed).

If all those South Asian stations can be based in the border towns and target the Metro Vancouver South Asian population, I think an Urban station based in Bellingham targeting the Metro Vancouver R&B/Hip Hop fans had the potential to do well.

KISM was top 40 until '92 (CHR went into the toilet in the early 90's). They then went with the "Independent Rock" moniker (the format seemed to be clueless and all over the place, so what would you call it? Triple A?).

 

[mimo]

Can Con had to happen. In the 60's Canadian stations would drop Canadian artists from the playlists when they found out they were Canadian because they were afraid of alienating American listeners. If a song became a hit south of the border then it was quietly added back. CKLW and CHUM were denying airplay to local talent and the CRTC had enough after a while. Stations further away from the border had a bit of a different mentality, and their was a pride in the local music scene. By the 80's Canadians started to actually enjoy Canadian bands. The kids I grew up with all loved the Canadian acts that were getting airplay. Nowadays the pride in the Canadian music scene is at an all time high. Now it's like the rest of the world IS listening to our music. I saw something on the news a month or 2 ago that showed 7 songs in the top 10 being Canadian....and I don't remember if it was the I-tunes or Billboard charts they were mentioning. We needed can con to develop our local talent and get it out in the open, without it, we'd still have some god-awful music being made up here....not that there is a world wide shortage of that today.

 

[boombox4]

I was once told by a Canadian rock musician that until CanCon, there were no Canadian record labels to speak of, and no Canadian music publishing companies to speak of... CanCon created a Canadian music industry.

 

[gr8oldies]

That was all fine in places where everyone played by the same rule book. Windsor was completely overshadowed by the behemoth Detroit market, and there was nothing the Canadian government could do to force residents to listen to what essentially were stiffs. Rosalie would add a good song. She pushed "These Eyes" by the Guess Who in 1969, 2 years before CanCon took effect. Yes, the Canadian music industry flourishes today, but it was hard to add 35% of nothing in 1971.

Can Con had to happen. In the 60's Canadian stations would drop Canadian artists from the playlists when they found out they were Canadian because they were afraid of alienating American listeners. If a song became a hit south of the border then it was quietly added back. CKLW and CHUM were denying airplay to local talent and the CRTC had enough after a while. Stations further away from the border had a bit of a different mentality, and their was a pride in the local music scene. By the 80's Canadians started to actually enjoy Canadian bands. The kids I grew up with all loved the Canadian acts that were getting airplay. Nowadays the pride in the Canadian music scene is at an all time high. Now it's like the rest of the world IS listening to our music. I saw something on the news a month or 2 ago that showed 7 songs in the top 10 being Canadian....and I don't remember if it was the I-tunes or Billboard charts they were mentioning. We needed can con to develop our local talent and get it out in the open, without it, we'd still have some god-awful music being made up here....not that there is a world wide shortage of that today.

 

[KateW]

From what I remember, a US-based station CAN STILL attempt to target a Canadian metro, however:

- Any money spent on advertising on a US station is considered a taxable business expense. Meaning, the money spent on advertising is NOT tax-free like it is on a Canadian station
- They cannot subscribe to the Canadian radio ratings service
- Studios for these stations are no longer allowed in Canada. This was something that could have made a difference 20 years ago: Both KCTS-TV and KVOS had studios in Vancouver!
- Commercial stations based in the USA cannot have any sort of related business license for the station in Canada. Meaning any salesfolks or staff will be starting their day in Bellingham and commuting up there.

I should point out that if a Canadian station chose to attempt to "border blast" to the US, I find it near-impossible that the FCC would act (or care). You can bet your bums, however, that the CRTC would strip a "border blaster"'s license faster than you can say "back bacon".

In all actuality, turning a US station into a Canadian border blaster these days would probably net you just as much money as if you focused on Bellingham/Whatcom County alone. You may make a lot of Vancouverites and Victorians happy with a Cancon-free format targeting BC, but the listeners will be legally restrained in returning that "love" in the traditional manner of good ratings and Canadian ad loonies/toonies. Plus, you'll still find a lot of Bellingham businesses feel left out.

Radio-X

Buffalo, NY urban station WBLK 93.7 targeted Metro Toronto R&B/Hip Hop fans for years; they even had commercials for their Toronto audience.

In the southern suburbs (Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford) the signals were great

From what I know of Metro Vancouver's demographics, I would say the majority of the "urban oriented listeners" (to borrow a phrase used in a Seattle Times article about the iHeart shuffle) are in one south suburb anyway, so a Bellingham based urban station would have that built-in audience.

 

[crainbebo]

re KVOS-TV:

I have four or five home recorded Star Trek TNG episodes from KVOS circa 1990. They all include the commercials...and back then, EVERY SINGLE ONE was for a Canadian product or Vancouver business!! It seemed to be odd back in the day watching KVOS on Seattle area cable and seeing ads for products you couldn't buy in the United States. The only mentions of Bellingham were literally the identification, Newsview and maybe a community calendar. With the CRTC of today, you can't do that anymore.
Same that KISM couldn't get as many ad dollars from the Lower Mainland...and with CKYE next door, it's already a lost cause even south of the Fraser River. A license that never should have gotten approval for 93.1.

 

[KateW]

Nowadays the pride in the Canadian music scene is at an all time high. Now it's like the rest of the world IS listening to our music. I saw something on the news a month or 2 ago that showed 7 songs in the top 10 being Canadian....and I don't remember if it was the I-tunes or Billboard charts they were mentioning.

Billboard Hot 100 the weeks of December 5 and 12, 2015. Drake, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Alessia Cara had 7 of the top 10 songs. Around the same time, Drake, The Weeknd, and Alessia Cara were also in the top 10 of the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart.

 

[fordranger797]

re KVOS-TV:

I have four or five home recorded Star Trek TNG episodes from KVOS circa 1990. They all include the commercials...and back then, EVERY SINGLE ONE was for a Canadian product or Vancouver business!! It seemed to be odd back in the day watching KVOS on Seattle area cable and seeing ads for products you couldn't buy in the United States. The only mentions of Bellingham were literally the identification, Newsview and maybe a community calendar. With the CRTC of today, you can't do that anymore.
Same that KISM couldn't get as many ad dollars from the Lower Mainland...and with CKYE next door, it's already a lost cause even south of the Fraser River. A license that never should have gotten approval for 93.1.

I don't think CKYE is very intrusive to KISM. KISM seems to be just fine marketing themselves to Whatcom and Skagit counties (and likewise for KAFE). I would imagine that listeners and advertisers in the northern region of the state like having the accessibility of radio stations that target their local area (i.e, Bellingham, Ferndale, Mount Vernon, Anacortes, etc).