OT: whither, 89X?

Submitted by Hotel Putingrad on
Well, this sucks... From Detroit News 89X closes American office, cuts morning show http://detne.ws/2nEMSnf Windsor-based alternative rock station 89X (CIMX-FM) has closed its American office and is cutting several members of its on-air staff, effective immediately.The station’s morning show, “Cal and Co.,” aired its last broadcast on Thursday morning. Host Cal Cagno tweeted Thursday afternoon, “I no longer work at 89X. After 18 years..it’s over. I hope to be back on the air soon but if not...thanks to the listeners for a great run.”The timing of the message had some thinking Cagno was pulling an April Fool’s prank, but that’s not the case.“It was really fun working there,” Cagno said Thursday. “I had a great run and it was an amazing job to have. My whole adult life I’ve worked there. I’m going to miss the people I’ve worked with, and I’m going to miss the listeners the most. But overall it was a great experience.”

Kermits Blue Key

March 30th, 2017 at 5:29 PM ^

My earliest memories of 89x are Our Lady Peace - Naveed and Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know. I was from a very small town in Northern Michigan where there were no good radio stations, so I would beg my parents to turn on 89x whenever we were in the area. Surprising and shitty news overall.

Broken Brilliance

March 30th, 2017 at 5:37 PM ^

Cagno seems like a good guy but his morning show was pretty rough. Pretty hard act to follow in Dave and Chuck if you're into their weenie and the butt style humor. I'm more of a 93.9 guy anyway.

FrankMurphy

March 30th, 2017 at 6:08 PM ^

I remember that because 89X wasn't subject to FCC regulations (and because Canadian regulators are apparently more permissive), they would often play the explicit versions of certain songs instead of the edited versions that American radio stations would play. 

coldnjl

March 30th, 2017 at 6:10 PM ^

Weenie and the butt...that is outstanding...Gotta bring the hotdog cannon out if you want to make it in that genre!

All kidding aside, I used to love that station, but the music is night and day different than when the station was rocking in the early 2000s. Now, the best you get is classic Nirvanna...

It also has to be hard to be a radio station now a days...podcasts must be eating into some of that audience.

Blueblood2991

March 30th, 2017 at 6:13 PM ^

Podcasts and streaming hurt, but plenty of people still listen to the radio. It's about advertisers pulling out, or getting spots at much lower prices historically. Most stations will require a slim down soon.

If I'm in marketing, I can spend my ad dollars on internet ads where it reaches a much larger audience. I also have solid data about how many eyes saw my ad through page views. If someone clicks on my ad, I can tell what site they were on to better know my audience.

There's no way to measure ROI in radio ads. Nielsen ratings are bullshit, and there's no way to know how many people heard my ad, or if they just changed the station.

UcheWallyWally

March 30th, 2017 at 7:04 PM ^

Am I the only one who ever noticed how bluntly racist this station was? I mean obviously alt rock is going to be primarily white bands but 89x for the past 15 years consistently plays hip hop 5-10 times a day. Except they only play Eminem, Cyprus Hill, Beasty Boys ect. One day they started playing McLemore and I just threw up my hands like I can't be the only person whose picked up on this?

Nobody Likes a…

March 30th, 2017 at 7:30 PM ^

My uncle was an on air DJ with their sister station about a decade ago. He was similarly let go as part of downsizing. The FM radio business model is in a bad way, which is a shame because it was a great tool for random discovery. That said, the less whacky morning shock jocks on air the better. This is a trend that’s run out of track

Evil Empire

March 30th, 2017 at 9:41 PM ^

Four of which I was away, studying (term used loosely) in Ann Arbor.  Three years after I came home they dropped the alternative format and went to hip hop R&B.  I basically quit listening to the radio at that point. 

The Krusty Kra…

March 31st, 2017 at 12:02 AM ^

Played a ton of Canadian alt-rock you may not hear elsewhere like early Billy Talent and Arcade Fire. Also played a ton of Eminem despite being a rock station. To be quite honest though once Dave and Chuck left, I left 89x too.

HL2VCTRS

March 31st, 2017 at 2:05 AM ^

But after moving back to the area and tuning into 89x again, it feels like they are stuck in their glory days. I listen primarily to Sirius XM (Alt Nation... which I realize isn't exactly what 89x is trying to be) and there are so many newer, good bands that 89x should be focusing on. Instead, they seem to play just as much "classic" alt rock. They are missing a huge opportunity.

I also travel a lot and am shocked at how much better other regions radio stations are for this genre.

MGo Banana

March 31st, 2017 at 9:01 AM ^

I saw that CKWW, AM 580, is owned by the same company and is also downsizing with 89x. If you haven't heard that station, it is by far the best rock station in the area, playing a good selection of popular and deep tracks from rock's golden age. 89x is kind of a shell of its former self outside of the Time Warp, but 580 does a really good job. Hopefully this scaling back in operations doesn't affect them as much as 89x's downsizing.

Matte Kudasai

March 31st, 2017 at 9:11 AM ^

Was great from its inception til about the turn of the century when all radio went to shit.

Some cool Canadian artists that they have exposed:

24 Gone

Tragically Hip

Sarah McLachlan

Blue Rodeo

Sloan

Art Bergmann

Grapes Of Wrath

Mystery Machine

City & Color

Neverending White Lights

Our Lady Peace

The Tea Party

Gandharvas

The Waltons

 

JBM

March 31st, 2017 at 1:54 PM ^

I remember a some what rique show late night called love-line or something like that (before the adam corolla TV show).  The call-ins were hilarious at times.  I still remembered the kid who called in really concerned if he could get his girlfriend pregnant through her and his pants when they were..um..causing friction with each other.

Maizenblueball

March 31st, 2017 at 4:20 PM ^

I haven't lived in Michigan for years, but whenever I visit I'd flip to 89x and a few other stations.  89x was definitely part of my rotation when I lived in metro Detroit.