Since you brought the KAOS policy up, Tom, I graduated from Evergreen (the
school where KAOS Radio is located), and have to say that the 80% non-major
label or major-label subsidiary policy reminded me of Communism -- i.e., a
system established with eminently laudible goals, but one which in practice
stifled individual expression and innovation. The 80% system was in effect
more like 100%, because would-be programmers were told in orientation that
we couldn't play ANY major label (or major-label owned) music, because the
20% was reserved for classical music programmers (because there aren't many
indie classical music labels). That doesn't sound so bad, though, plenty of
good indy music out there, right? Well, in practice this system caused the
following problems:
1) A friend of mine got "busted" by station management for playing a song
off of the "Jungle Book" soundtrack on his wacky/offbeat music show, because
Disney is a major corporation. He was not allowed to play music that made a
humorous point to his audience because of the all-important policy. Policy
was more important than musical experimentation. A listener actually called
up and reported the guy for violating the policy. Soon afterwards his time
slot was reassigned to someone else.
2) In orientation, we were told this policy was created to favor artists
who are not played on mainstream radio -- a laudible goal. However, I then
asked if I could play synthesizer-based musicians who happen to be on major
labels but who are never played on mainstream American radio, such as Laurie
Anderson, Tangerine Dream, Moloko, or Saint Etienne (yes, some of these acts
are played on European radio, but not American radio, and that's where KAOS
is). No, I was told. If I were to be a KAOS DJ, I could never share such
music with the audience, because these musicians have contracts with the
wrong record companies. Never mind that you couldn't hear these styles of
music, or these musicians, on any radio station around.
Guess in the end I have a basic problem with any bureaucratic policy that
blocks music from reaching an audience. Listening to KAOS over my four
years at that school was a frustrating experience, as I felt like my musical
tastes were literally not "politically correct," and there was no way they
were going to be represented. If the policy had instead been "80% music you
can't hear on any other radio station," I probably would have gone on to
have DJed there. But as it was, I couldn't imagine continuing after the
orientation sessions, because this strict policy was hammered home
repeatedly. And the effect for listeners seemed to be a daytime output
limited to an unpalatable mixture of alt-bluegrass (but no Doc Watson -- too
mainstream), alt-reggae, alt-folk, and alt-activist women's music (but no
Laura Nyro and not Jane Siberry's best music 'cause they're on the wrong
labels). Indy rock or electronic music (major genres enjoyed by the
students attending college, after all) -- anything with synthesizers or
samplers except politically correct hip-hop, basically -- were excluded from
the station until somewhere around 1am in the morning. (Except when Calvin
Johnson -- an Olympia indy-rock legend -- wandered in to do a show every now
and then.)
I'm sorry to be harsh, but maintaining the political image of this famous
policy you speak of seemed more important to the station that the freedom of
expression of student DJs, or the sharing of music enjoyable to those
attending the school who didn't wear Birkenstocks and tote around acoustic
guitars.
-- Jeremy Pinkham
Evergreen grad and electronic musician
Tom Freeman wrote:
"I just subscribed today and I am not personally a musician, but I did
used to work at a very cool community radio station in Olympia,
Washington called KAOS Olympia Community Radio. Our station gained
international fame for creating an independent music policy,
basically that 80% of all music played there should come from
independent artists or those on labels not controlled by the "BIG 6"
music companies, which I guess are now the "BIG 5" or even less. If
you ever want to check the station out, the url is
http://www.kaosradio.org ."
