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As reported a mere two weeks ago, LA's last great radio station, Indie 103, folded amidst a tight clench of corporatism and mainstream conformity. And, given the tenacity of your average Indie die-hard, the untimely passing incited loyal subjects to rebellion.
Some wrote long-winded elegies, some took a moment to tweet an earnest "RIP," but one person decided to actually do something. "After hearing the interview Mark Sovel did with Kevin Bronson on Little Radio and asking people to start petitions, I called Mark to see if he was serious. And Let Indie Live was born," explains former Indie 103 employee Katie Laster. "Initially, my goal was a minimum of 2,000 signatures."
LetIndieLive.com, an unadorned and particularly self-aware website, acts as the conduit for transmitting the input of the public. The slate gray site, emblazoned with the Tennysonian maxim "It is better to do something, rather than nothing," is an extraordinary mixture of harsh reality and lofty ideals.
But within a matter of two days of its existence Laster was able accomplish her preliminary goal of some 2,000 signatures. "Everything else after that was icing on my little indie cake," she concludes.
The harsh reality, however, is that the resounding response may simply not be enough to constitute a reprieve. Santa Monica-based Indie 103 owner Entravision Communications, Laster says, is suspended "in a world of dollar signs." And even as the website pushes forward, "5,000 names on a list doesn't mean anything to them."
Dazed but not uninspired, Laster resolves to soothe a steadfast following, which undoubtedly continues to reel from the absence of its beloved radio station. "People keep saying, 'This isnt going to do anything!' I know that! But I also know that this has made Indie listeners feel like they have done something. It's better to do something, rather than nothing."
Indie 103.1 will stream its content via the internet indefinitely. You can listen here.
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Bring Back Indie 103.1 concert: Scene Bar in Glendale on 2/21
Bands that support the BRING BACK INDIE SHOW:
-Ballerina Black
-The Lost Libraries
-Go West Young Man
-The Gramercy Riffs
-Living Things
-Spirit Vine
-The Pity Party
-Blackout 101
-The Afternoons
-Tasso
-iO Echo
-Xu Xu Fang
-The Fling
-The Bolts
-Lungbutter
-Dj Loli
-Dj Darren Revell
-Dj Audrey Napoleon
http://www.yelp.com/biz/indie-103-1-los-angeles#hrid:nMtVnxYuRWWzeNmmaDDeAA
Last great radio station? Please, there are better radio stations on the air right now. Just because your preferred radio station is no longer on the air does not make it the "last great radio station."
Indie was a radio station with a spotty signal that failed to attract a strong enough following to attract advertisers and keep itself in operation. Why does no one understand this is the reason Ennis decided to switch formats?
YES! PLEASE bring Indie back! I have been in mourning since it's been gone.
i didn't meant to reply tothat comment
yes, it was actually.
Yes, it was a weak station that failed to be successful in Los Angeles. I corrected your statement.
Look, just because you believe it was a great radio station does not make it so. Enough with the superlatives and over-generalized statements. Pressman & you speak only for yourselves.
If this means 16 hours a day of MGMT, I prefer the new station.
This is one of the reasons LAist is a MUST visit site every single day.
Why not just listen to KCRW, 89.9, instead. They support independent music and have been on the air for years. Their content is far superior to anything that Indi-103 produced.
what is this radio thing you guys are all talking about? Does it play those records that i always hear my parents always talk about?
Here's the thing - until something is done about the fact that almost all the radio stations in the country are owned by a single company, smaller indie stations will never be able to survive as purely commercial entities.
I think it sucks, and clearly most LAisters do too. But cute onine protests matter exactly jack/shit. Indie 103 wasn't closed due to meaness, but lack of profitability. Some people in this might argue that indicates their lack of quality. I disagree and argue it indicates that the game is rigged.
Unrig the game. Split up the monopolies. Severely regulate the activities of companies who seek to own so much of the public airwaves. That's the only thing that will help. Unless that happens, the radio belongs to Douchebags forever.
As for KCRW, they survive based on government funds, in part, and overhwelmingly due to listener contributions. Perhaps Indie 103 could have attempted something similar. (Though I suspect legal issues would prevent that.)
Also, soledadenmasa, relax man.