Today, a new radio station out of Cleveland flipped the “on” switch: 0WOW.
There’s no frequency to tune into because this one reflects a new era in which broadcast radio has lost most of its impact: it’s all digital.
A long time in the planning, the brains behind the locally owned and programmed station are John Gorman, who led WMMS-FM to total market dominance as program director/operations manager from 1973-1986 and another key player in the WMMS success story, promotion direction Jim Marchyshyn. Gorman is oWow’s chief content officer; Marchyshyn is its director of sales and marketing.
The oWow teams sees its presence as an Internet-only station as an opportunity to spread the word about the Cleveland music scene well beyond the area, as well as to rally Clevelanders. While playing a mix of old, recent and new cuts by artists who fall in roughly into what’s called “Triple A,” or adult album alternative, the station will heavily focus music from a 17-county northeast Ohio area. So while you might hear Bonnie Raitt back-to-back with Grace Potter, you can also expect to hear artists like Kent folk-rockers the Speedbumps.
“Today, at most stations new and current — and even versions of older — music you hear are nationally selected — and even chosen through various pay-to-play schemes, “ said Gorman. “The history of Cleveland rock and roll is more than the same 220 songs played over and over by terrestrial radio classic rock and classic hits formats. Our direction is playing the unique musical soundtrack of Greater Cleveland. Radio listeners could tell what city you were driving through by turning on the radio. Today, it all sounds the same by choice.”
oWow can be heard on laptops, tablets and phones, and social media will be a big part of its promotion and marketing strategy.
“Just as FM replaced AM, online radio will replace FM,” said Marchyshyn. “People are connected, socialize and do business online; want to belong to an active part of a vital community. Cleveland and Northeast Ohio has always been a leader in breaking new music.”
The studios of the new station are in the 78th Street Studios building and will be open to the public on Third Fridays.
Listen here.