As of Friday, May 22nd, 2009, Sacramento’s Alternative Radio Station, KWOD 106.5 is no more.

I’ve been a native of Sacramento for over 10 years now, and for a majority of that time, KWOD ranked as one of my favorite local stations. Before I discovered other means to enhance my musical knowledge, I found its playlist to span the entire genre of Alternative, from Dave Matthews to Limp Bizkit. This ‘Alternative’ programming was introduced to the station in 1993, and despite some attempts to change it since, it was largely the format used until it’s demise earlier today.

KWOD’s heyday by most accounts occurred during the mid 90’s, during which time they ranked amongst the highest-rated major-market alternative rock stations in the United States. It’s hard to say if this drove their recent decision to drastically change formats and abandon the KWOD brand. Listeners to the station today will hear just how far they’ve thrown back to this golden age, as KWOD has been replaced with ‘The Buzz’, and enacted a tremendous change in format to a playlist that is exclusively 90’s era music of all genres.

In a letter posted by the station’s program manager Curtiss Johnson to its website, KWOD expreses its history, regret, and thanks:

"…it is so difficult to tell you that, after 18 years, KWOD is coming to an end. The last few years have been very challenging for KWOD; as it has been for the world of Alternative music, and the radio stations that play it, in general. … Some of you may want to blame this decision on some faceless corporation. While KWOD does have a parent company, it’s not how it came down. This was a local decision that was both difficult and personal. We had to finally admit that our best efforts, over a number of years, were not going to produce the results we needed … Your loyalty to the music, and to KWOD, is more appreciated than any of us can effectively express. So, we will leave it with a simple, genuine ‘Thank you’… "



While it’s sad to see KWOD bow out for good, I can’t say that I’m surprised. Truth be told, I had largely abandoned the station after their failed programming change in March of 2005, during which time they had dropped all hard rock and metal from their playlist. The resulting track load was reminiscent of one of my favorite stations of all time (KEXP). It played an eclectic array of artists, with local talent mixed in with largely unrecognized artists – many of whom are fairly mainstream in the indie music scene. KWOD 2.0 – "Radio without Rules" proved to be short lived for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was an uprising by loyal listeners – many of whom were put off by the stations new ’emo’ approach.

Changes with the station’s parent company allowed them to switch back to their pre-2.0 rock position in October of 2005, bringing back their familiar Alternative tracklist. They’ve been suffering a tremendous decline in ratings ever since the early 2000’s, and were never able to recapture the glory days of their highest ratings period ever in 1995.

I know of many people who are saddened by the changes at KWOD. They typically did a fair job of promoting local musicians and shows, and were more generous than other commercial stations when it came to playing listener requests. KWOD’s demise may have been brought about by a lack of ratings, or it may simply be a sign of the times. Progam Manager Curtiss Johnson said it best – the past few years have been very challenging for the world of Alternative music. I suspect this has alot to do with the broad scope that ‘Alternative Music’ as a genre entails. Stations like KWOD find themselves attempting to appeal to their masses to stay alive. Sadly, their broad scope prevents them from keeping a loyal following, as someone is always put off by the music that’s playing.

The only model of success that I see in the radio business as a whole is KEXP (formerly KCMU), a public radio station based in Seattle, WA. After the demise of KWOD 2.0, I sought to discover what options I had as a music lover, and found myself listening exclusively to KEXP, a station hundreds of miles away. I didn’t have to listen to 18 minutes of commercials per hour, or 20 minutes of DJ talking points. I could hear new music every day – amazing stuff I’d never heard before by artists like The Arcade Fire, Ben Harper, Grandaddy, !!!, Death Cab for Cutie, and countless others. I could control my own exposure to the type of music I liked by simply choosing which time of day to tune in. (And regardless of the time of day – as KEXP archives every minute aired in the past two weeks.)

These types of services make KEXP invaluable, and are seldom found with other stations.

KEXP’s customers are it’s listeners, who not only support the station by spreading word about it, but also finance its efforts as members. During their last pledge drive, the station raised over $500,000 to continue its operations. These donations came from all around the world, including Sacramento. Listeners value the musical experience the station provides, and in some cases, they’re willing to pay a premium for it. Single members have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the station in the past to keep it listener powered.

While this may read to some of you as a pitch for KEXP (and it may be…) the overall point is that radio is changing. KWOD’s demise is a prime example of that. In successful cases like KEXP, we’ve seen that a radio station’s customers does not have to be its advertisers. We’ve seen that major advertising conglomerates like Entercom and Clearchannel don’t have to be at the reins to make a station thrive. Finally, we’ve seen that a radio station can make people feel empowered in many ways, and inspire them to fight with their pocket books to keep it alive.

I hope that local stations can find innovative ways to thrive much as KEXP has. That said, I won’t be shifting my dial to 106.5 anytime soon – unless I feel the need to hear some Phil Collins or Ace of Bass.