That goes to show I'm not in the business. You guys know more than me.
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KFXM-LP license canceled
- Thread starter Frequency1
- Start date
I'm running a non commercial station, not an LPFM... im the only full time employee.. i have no part time staff locally.. i have a part time, working remotely office manager and a contracted accountant. I am hiring for a part timer locally... not very easy in a community of 275.
1. The station has money in the bank to cover all the bills. 2. The station has listeners. 3. The station has a history of being continually on the air. 4. The station has an income.
These things are important for any radio station to be called a success.
Low power FM's were called Class D when I was young. The FCC stopped licensing Class D's in the lower 48 in the 1970's. Aren't you a Class D?
@Flying Dutchman
Yup, but you can still apply for them anytime in alaska.. no need for a filing window, they can still be applied for. Our most recent build outs were granted CPs only about 3-4 years ago
I was given a hamburger today WITH THE WORKS, mind you, and it was, as Andy Griffith would have said, “gooooooood”.
When we had a garage sale at our home in Southlake TX, I would always put KFXM-LP on the garage stereo. People attending would complement the music. You couldn't just find that stuff on your radio in DFW. He was the best. That's my measure of success.
You might mention how your Class D replace a higher power wide-coverage AM, too!
My podunk little town got an LPFM a few years ago, they have a 3 person morning show where the "owner" pays his buddies. I applied and he told me I could "volunteer". Basically told him to stuff it: "If you can pay your buddies, you can pay me. I don't work for free."
And we actually end up with better coverage and lower costs too.
For those who built successful radio stations 0f any kind.
1. You must be willing to relocate. There never was an opportunity for me in the Ohio town where I grew up.
2. The community you choose must have an open channel. You look the town over before you apply. It must be able o support the radio station you want to build.
3, You have to know how to make money and how to use the buck as well.
4.. Don't borrow money and try to live off it like a king.
5. If it's an LPFM? You need to have an income from a source other than the LPFM.
6. Successful LPFM's are built by mostly retired people with radio experience. It comes in handy if you are an engineer type.
7. Your radio station has been on the air for decades and people know about it.
8. I was born at the right time to find opportunities in broadcasting. I would not build a new radio station of any kind today.
1. You must be willing to relocate. There never was an opportunity for me in the Ohio town where I grew up.
2. The community you choose must have an open channel. You look the town over before you apply. It must be able o support the radio station you want to build.
3, You have to know how to make money and how to use the buck as well.
4.. Don't borrow money and try to live off it like a king.
5. If it's an LPFM? You need to have an income from a source other than the LPFM.
6. Successful LPFM's are built by mostly retired people with radio experience. It comes in handy if you are an engineer type.
7. Your radio station has been on the air for decades and people know about it.
8. I was born at the right time to find opportunities in broadcasting. I would not build a new radio station of any kind today.
Excellent comments Flying Dutchman. Might I add a couple:
You have to commit. You will live and breathe radio 24/7.
You must do what the community wants, not what you want.
You never show all your cards. Keep a few in reserve so you can always make periodic steps forward. People watch businesses. A business that can advance in good times and bad is perceived as a success and everybody wants to hang on the coattails of success.
Don't expect to pull a salary for 1 to 5 years depending on how popular the station is when you get it. Advertisers must establish trust. All the skeletons in the closet from the last owner will become baggage you must endear. I have a business that had a lousy sales person a decade ago and refuses to buy because of that today.
Nobody works as hard as the owner. Don't expect the employees to be as dedicated as you are. They don't own the place, you do.
You have to commit. You will live and breathe radio 24/7.
You must do what the community wants, not what you want.
You never show all your cards. Keep a few in reserve so you can always make periodic steps forward. People watch businesses. A business that can advance in good times and bad is perceived as a success and everybody wants to hang on the coattails of success.
Don't expect to pull a salary for 1 to 5 years depending on how popular the station is when you get it. Advertisers must establish trust. All the skeletons in the closet from the last owner will become baggage you must endear. I have a business that had a lousy sales person a decade ago and refuses to buy because of that today.
Nobody works as hard as the owner. Don't expect the employees to be as dedicated as you are. They don't own the place, you do.
As someone who built and owned a dozen of his own radio stations, I can't add a single thing to this except one cautionary note:
Never risk overestimate your ability to run a station. Be humble and surround yourself with people who know more than you do.