Rock is officially dead on New York City radio.
Yesterday, the modern rock station 101.9 RXP announced it will be changing to an all-news format. The station was part of a cluster sold to another media company.
RXP's programming, which includes Matt Pinfield & Leslie Fram's Local Licks and Rich Russo's Anything Anything, is also well-known for supporting NYC's local music scene. Matt and Kim, Atomic Tom, Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social and The Dirty Pearls are just a few of the local bands on RXP's airwaves.
"You listened, you wrote emails, showed up at events, supported the sponsors and most of all you trusted the show, you trusted me and didn't turn the dial if I played a song you didn't like or talked too long," RXP deejay Rich Russo told listeners. "You embraced the unsigned bands, the low-fi and sometimes unpolished recordings, the scratchy vinyl or muddy cassettes that sometimes were played. I thank you for that."
RXP's format change came as a shock to many. When NYC's legendary rock station K-Rock changed formats in 2009, many of its former listeners turned to RXP as it then became the last remaining modern rock station in NYC.
Both Matt Pinfield and Rich Russo have stated they already received new offers. Pinfield will once again host the rebirth of MTV's 120 Minutes, which will air monthly on MTV2. Russo will be continuing Anything Anything and further details will be revealed soon.
It's unfortunate that not enough music listeners have the patience to support or even care about new music. RXP provided opportunities for many local artists in the area that weren't fortunate enough to have major record label promotion money. Rock stations also just can't seem to compete with the many redundant Top 40 stations. It will most likely only be a matter of time until another rock station in NYC surfaces, but I won't hold my breath.
