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Comment by Workaccount2 | Hacker News Reader

I turned on the radio for kicks a few weeks ago, just to see what it was like nowadays.

Ads. It's all ads. Like 10 minute blocks of ads interleaved with radio hosts reading promo weather and promo traffic, followed by ads, then maybe a song. Then more ads.

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Check out a listener-powered station such as KEXP at 90.3 (Seattle) or 92.7 (SF/Oakland). If you live outside of these regions they stream at KEXP.org or on their mobile app. You can also listen to the last two weeks of shows at https://www.kexp.org/archive/.

Yep, still going strong here in Rochester, NY as well with WBER: https://wber.org

I've listened to plenty of listener powered stations. They don't have ads. Just weeks of effectively ads when they are begging for donations. I'd rather have an ad.

Plus every listener powered station I've ever listened to has tons of shows I don't care about or even tolerate. Streaming doesn't have the same issue. Just as an example: your KEXP appears to play country, jazz, and electronic, reggae, and metal. I think a lot of people aren't going to be interested in all of those options.

I listen to KUTX and KEXP and appreciate that there are shows hosted by different DJs that play different genres at different times of the day, and week.

On Friday afternoons KUTX has had a old school dance show.

I don't really listen to funk or disco but I always enjoyed the energy of that show on Fridays, and have come to associate it with the weekend and get excited when it's on

I'm not interested in everything KUTX plays, but I'm way more interested in the variety they offer and the chance to discover new artists like Adrian Quesada, JUNGLE, or Khruangbin, who I otherwise never would have discovered, than I am in whatever twenty year old mainstream dreck is on iHeartRadio's single-genre no DJ shuffle broadcast

> I don't really listen to funk or disco but I always enjoyed the energy of that show on Fridays, and have come to associate it with the weekend and get excited when it's on

I had the same experience when I regularly listened to wfmu. The human connection is a really wonderful quality of broadcast radio.

Did not know that KEXP had an Oakland repeater. It would be nice if we could get one in the Portland area.

In the same vein, listener-supported WFMU.

While I’m a long time fan of KEXP and KCRW, I just can’t say enough good things about KYRS. It’s a local broadcaster with dozens of eclectic shows by volunteer DJs who lovingly curate music and content. It’s broadcast out of our central library downtown and has a rather unreliable radio tower that had a tendency to go down during big storms. The programming is brimming with enthusiasm and positive energy, and has helped me discover music that simple wouldn’t get played anywhere else. I love how human the DJs are, they sometimes ramble, or miscue a track, maybe wander a bit far from the mic. It feels completely organic and in stark contrast with your average media in 2024. Check out their stream on https://kyrs.org

Also WWOZ (https://wwoz.org/) from New Orleans.

Also Seattle interestingly, C89.5 has a great live stream. No commercials, owned by Seattle Public Schools, and partially run by high school students.

ASCAP/BMI charge radio stations a lot for a license to play music. Spotify's licensing costs are pennies for the same reach as a local radio station. It's no surprise that the expensive distribution channel is packed with ads.

> Ads. It’s all ads.

Sounds like the internet. And TV.

>Sounds like the internet.

Not when you have an ad-blocker.

Having lived abroad for some years, I can attest that this is definitely worse in the US than elsewhere. There's definitely ads (less host-read promos, maybe), but it does not seem so overwhelming. I noticed the difference quite drastically once I moved back.

In Boston the college radio stations are a lovely and weird respite from the Cumulus and Iheart scourge.

Weirdly enough Canada seems to have better and less grating radio, anecdotal from my experience in BC.

KCRW out of Santa Monica is an extremely good station. But,like most, probably the exception that proves the rule.

Maybe it depends on the station? Classical California (KDFC) has few ads. Also, since classical music are relatively long, you get fewer interruptions between songs.

Amen. I also hate ads so much it's unreal.

Did you need an account to tune in?

I haven't listened to the radio in years because they closed down my stations! WBRU and WBCN!

I think there's a secret pirate in me that wonders if the time is right....

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