No Commercial Potential for WZBC

Ryan McDaid is very particular about the music he chooses for his radio show. One of the first requirements is that few can have ever heard it before.

McDaid, A&S '10, is the 2009 WZBC program director and current DJ on one of Boston College's two student run radio stations. WZBC is the campus's FCC regulated FM station, and WVBC is the sister station and predecessor, an AM station broadcasted online.

"The station is entirely student run, the entire board of directors are undergraduate students, so the decisions about scheduling, about the nature of programming, are made entirely by students," said Peter Ireland, professor in the economics department and WZBC DJ. Though both stations are registered as ‘campus radio,' they cater to the larger Newton and Brighton communities, bringing in some community and staff DJs, Ireland among them.

WZBC specializes in progressive music. "A general way of describing what we play is stuff that will be hitting the college charts at some point in the future," said Brian Gruosso, CSOM '10, the 2009 WZBC general manager and current DJ.

"Our goal is to expose artists who don't get exposed on major radio stations," said McDaid. "We pick up bands and give them exposure, and when those bands get to the next level we do not play them anymore, we pick up new bands."

WZBC also features ‘No Commercial Potential' music every night from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. "It is experimental," McDaid said. "It pushes the boundaries on what people even consider music to be. And that is why we love it. These artists are definitely not going to make it onto the college billboard charts, but they still deserve airtime nonetheless."

In the past, students have voiced their concern over the reception of WZBC's playlists through letters to the editor in The Heights. Liz Moy, AM DJ and A&S '13, said that she understands the sentiment. "[No commercial potential] resonates well with me, but within the BC community a lot of the music that the DJs are into is kind of esoteric in that they are very experimental and not what the typical BC student is into," she said.

Many people at the station said they feel differently. "Every new student is coming in as an individual, with their own history and taste in music," McDaid said. "It would be absurd to think that one type of music is always going to be what the entire student body wants to hear. What we are doing is putting out a certain type of music, and if you want to hear new music or expand your musical palatte, then listen to us … There are so many outlets to listen to mainstream radio, there are so few outlets to listen to intellectually progressive programming, which is what we are offering."

Moy said she agrees. "I understand the desire to hear Lady Gaga, but I feel like that is stuff you can hear on your own computer. WZBC likes to air music that doesn't get put on very often to try to put new music out there and try to broaden people's taste in music, not to impose it on the BC community," she said. "It is more like saying this is the music we like and enjoy, and a lot of the people in the community like it, so maybe you'll like it, too."

Past artists played by the station have included Vampire Weekend, Passion Pit, and MGMT.  The station has also given airtime to Girl Talk, the mashup artist who will be performing on campus March 18.

"These are only [a few] examples of artists formerly played on WZBC, but I hope it gives a bit of insight into what we mean when we say that we try our very best to bring Boston College music that is on the cutting edge," Gruosso said. "I feel that by even looking at just these examples, we can definitely see that the Boston College community has a strong affinity for the type of music and programming that is currently on air at WZBC."

This progressive style is similar to that of other college stations. "If you take a look at bands played by WMBR or KLXU, there would be heavy overlap," Ireland said. WMBR is MIT's student run station, and KLXU is the college station run by Loyola Marymount, a Jesuit university in Los Angeles. Though some schools, Emerson College and Cornell University included, run their stations much like commercial radio, progressive college radio is not a minority.

WVBC, the AM sister of WZBC, operates under different principles. "WVBC has its own entirely unique programming schedule that currently includes over 50 student DJ's planning and broadcasting their own shows, without restrictions on content, format, topics," Gruosso said.

"We wouldn't have mainstream bands coming off our FM transmitter, but on WVBC it is totally different," McDaid said. "If you want to come in and play Weezer, come in and play Weezer. You can play Lady Gaga right after that." Each DJ determines the genre, feel, and artists played, and some shows include little music at all.

AM DJ's are required to complete basic competence training before they start their own show, but anyone with interest can get a show and the AM schedule has room for new DJ's. This is different from WZBC, where DJ's have to apply and be selected to work for the station each semester, and the schedule is always full.

WVBC is broadcast online, but the server can only hold 20 listeners at a time. WVBC is also played over BC cable, but for those not on campus, the ability to listen is limited. WZBC has a much larger audience, with the 90.2 FM station broadcast all over greater Boston and unlimited streaming.

Sports radio is included among WVBC programming. Luis Sanchez, WVBC coordinator for the sports department and A&S '12, said he is concerned about this limitation. "We have a couple of really great shows, really great shows that overcrowd the servers," he said. "If we had them on the FM, I think a lot more people would be able to listen."