01/01/2023
A letter to the Rock It FM loyal listeners.
Hey crew, this is Chad “the bossman” Cummings. Even as some said it is not good to even address the change to the angry, I’m not that guy. I’ve already been called an idiot, I’ve been called a snowflake, whatever that means based on a radio station change… but even with that, I’ll stand tall and give you all a real and truthful letter as to my decision.
I myself hand built Rock It FM as a concept and then a full fledged 50,000 watt FM Radio Station in 2012. I picked the library, with help of a great staff, good friends, and a life lived memory bank of growing up cruising the loop, going to local venues for concerts, keggers at the Quagmire or at the gravel pit. I built it with not just hits, but even deep cuts, because we listened to entire albums and cassettes, we knew them front to back! I picked the bands that even many forgot about. I played the stuff next to NO OTHER STATIONS PLAYED. Because I could! But just because I am an owner, I still had to be able to cash flow that station. That’s what most here don’t fully get.
Radio Stations cost money, serious money. And they have bills, a lot of bills. Insurance, music rights, staff, legal, licensing, web, lights, power, all kinds of stuff just like most any business. So those things need to be paid, and the only way radio stations make money is by selling advertising.
Yep, for 10 years we’ve sold enough to cover the bills! That’s what it takes. But, yep, here’s the BUT! After 10 years of a time era format, the listeners who were the target audience age, the music is still from that time era. And as we age, so does our listening style and preference. No, not everyone’s, but many… and that is where the decision to change became more and more relevant.
I made Rock It FM in 2012 to target a mostly male audience of 35 to 50 year olds like me who appreciated Classic Rock Stations, but didn’t like that they mostly only played late 60’s and 70’s Rock. I used to tell people “traditional classic rock” was “comfortably numb”…. So Rock It was made to be mostly 1980-1995 rock and metal. Those songs are what make Rock It FM what it is, and the audience that knows it, (which is what I am) we are now becoming grandparents, some are close to retirement. And some we have lost.
So with age, different lifestyles, the Rock It listener and Rock It advertising client tally has changed. So, I have to make decisions to keep everything where they need to be to keep people, bills, and everything paid. That’s all.
It wasn’t personal, trust me, I made it, both the station you loved, and the decision to change it. It is just time and business.
I thank you, it’s been a blast! I’m truly honored you actually are this invested in it, I truly am. Know I knew it was going to be horrible for many because there just isn’t much like Rock It, it’s just business, it’s just time. Both change, and we can’t stop them.
In the end, and deep inside, I’m still the same guy, I still have pierced ears, tattoos, I had a mullet, then one length hair, I spent countless hours in my Cutlass cruising the loop, watching friends drag race on County 36, puking over the fence in the feedlot at Sioux Valley Log Cabin, and having Blacom take my cooler of beer at Fox Lake Ballroom. I’m grateful you listened and loved, and will forever tell you to live life to the fullest and ROCK IT!
Chad Cummings VP/GM
