With risk comes reward? According to the Radio and Internet Newsletter, a former Twin Cities pirate takes the top spot ratings-wise for stations on the Shoutcast network. The two streams of Jeff Bachmeier’s “Club977,” whose name is an homage to the frequency he used to occupy, attract an online audience comparable in size to what the market-leading radio station in Madison, WI might draw.
He’s not the first to cross over: Alan Freed, formerly of Beat Radio fame, now programs three XM satellite radio dance channels and shows no signs of slowing down.
More generally, both follow somewhat in the footsteps of Allan Weiner, now laying it down full-time on shortwave. The British government once milked its pirate scene to launch its national pop radio network. They’re all signs of the phenomenon’s maturity.
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