WOXY: That's Why We Have Experiments

Midway through last week, buried amongst the radio headlines, was one that made my heart sink, again: WOXY.com, the heritage alternative station that strove for a new life online, seeking a world beyond terrestrial radio, will cease to operate as of September 15.

When their decision finally came - and it's clear that it's a decision they reached only as an inevitability, not because they thought they could make more money some other way, as so many of the other alternative station demise stories tend to run - they stayed true to their roots and their philosophy, and told their listeners what was happening and why.

Ultimately, they were running a short-staffed operation that couldn't make enough money to sustain that staff's undivided dedication to the project. They tried advertising and met with limited success, then tried direct listener support with the same level of limited success. Problem was, the limited success they achieved was too limited.

But with that said, it's important to step back and think about all those loopy sepia-toned films from the turn of the 20th century of inventors trying, and failing, to get their airplane designs off the ground. Remember, a whole lot of 'em crashed, and some of 'em burned, before someone finally got the design right.

It's my opinion that there's space for a success in this realm, but that WOXY, admirably restraining themselves from subjecting their listeners to the annoyance of advertising, couldn't piece together the right approach before (and this is really the issue) time and money ran out.

Leaving, as it did back in 2004, a bunch of people who are even less happy with the state of the music and radio industries than before...