Idobi Radio
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| The idobi homepage as of January 2010. idobi Radio Home Page. | |
Type of site | Internet Radio, Music, news and media |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Tom Cheney |
| Created by | Tom Cheney |
| URL | idobi.com |
| Registration | Optional |
idobi Radio (idobi.com) is a modern rock Internet radio station focusing on new alternative, punk and powerpop music. The station broadcasts over the Internet via its Web site, iTunes and SHOUTcast. Established in 1999, idobi has connected listeners with artists through interviews and up-to-date music industry news. The stream has an excellent track record of playing tracks from top unsigned artists, many times before they make it onto terrestrial radio stations or MTV rotation, most notably having featured artists like Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy, and All Time Low prior to the bands' mainstream successes.
With roughly two million listeners per month, idobi Radio is the #1 alternative radio station on SHOUTcast.com, and #20 overall.[1]
History
idobi Radio was established in February, 1999 in Washington, DC by young music fan, Tom Cheney (then a producer for MTV Networks), where he started off running the station off his home computer in Washington, DC. The station started on the Live365 radio platform broadcasting two formats, Alternative Rock and Top 40. As internet radio usage grew, idobi's listenership increased as well. The station grew more popular when it started promoting itself via its artists concert tours and the Vans Warped Tour. The introduction of the iTunes internet radio directory boosted numbers as well. The station dropped the Top 40 stream in early 2003 in order to focus on the Alternative Rock stream and to launch a new website covering music news, album reviews, concert photos, and artist info similar to AbsolutePunk and Buzznet. In 2003, the Live365 platform was also dropped. In 2005, Entertainment Weekly Magazine named idobi one of the "fastest growing internet radio stations in the world" and a "threat to terrestrial radio outlets"[2]. In August 2006, Simple Plan guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre and merchandise manager Patrick Langlois agreed to do a weekly show on idobi named The Man of the Hour. The show was a mainstream success, increased the station's listenership significantly around the world. Today, the station has over two million listeners a month and its website is based on a multimedia platform consisting of music news, album reviews, concert videos, concert photos, artists' biographies, and concert dates.
idobi music
idobi and its shows have played a role in breaking out bands like Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Boys Like Girls, The Academy Is..., Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Paramore, We the Kings, Cobra Starship and many others. An artist's exposure on the station have led to many record deals to unsigned artists and increased sales.[3]
The station's playlist rotation is based on top alternative hits with an emphasis on new music and deep album cuts from top alternative artists.
Shows
idobi has shows that run on a weekly basis:
The XtremeBitz Radio Show - Idobi Radio's first weekly live show. Comedy and hot talk hosted by Eddie Barella and Jason Newcomer; Saturdays at 10pm EST
The Gunz Show - "The realest, most diverse music show in the world"- Live from Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, music-intensive show featuring artist interviews, news, requests and listener interaction hosted by Mike Gunz; Sundays at 8pm EST and Wednesdays at 9pm EST
ALTop 20 Countdown - The Top 20 Alternative songs of the week are counted down; Sundays at 5pm EST
Bitch Slap Radio - Comedy and hot talk hosted by Zac Rich from LoonaticTV.com; Mondays at 10:30pm EST
S&M Radio - Hot talk hosted by actor Sam E. Goldberg and Michelle Nicole; Tuesdays at 10:30pm EST
Man of the Hour - Hot talk hosted by Simple Plan guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre and merchandise manager Patrick Langlois; Thursdays at 10pm, encore broadcasts Saturdays at 3pm EST
All shows are uncensored.
Other than the listed shows, idobi has no other on-air personalities and when the listed shows are not on the air, the station streams music from its playlist.
Past shows
- Crash Test Radio - Hot talk hosted by Rocco Burro, Houston Calls bassist Jarrett Seltzer, and Jon Sekunda, with Houston Calls singer Tom "The Intern" Keiger. The show aired from 2006-2009
- DJ Rossstar's Punk Rock Show - DJ Rossstar's Punk Rock Show was picked up from American University's WVAU after host, Ross Senack, graduated in 2004. The show ran on idobi Radio from 2004 to 2008, logging 450 shows and 1000 bands, actors, and porn stars as guests. Fans were able to interact directly with band members in real time through both instant messenger and telephone. The slot is currently taken over by The Gunz Show.
- The Jonathan London Show - Hosted by music video and film director, Jonathan London. The show aired 2006-2007.
- Godsquad Radio - Syndicated by idobi Radio in 2006
Other media
idobi also runs a photography site named Photos From the Show and an online music video stream named idobiTV.
References
- ^ "SHOUTcast Stats". shoutcast.com. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- ^ Endelman, M: Entertainment Weekly, 21 Oct 2005. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=1503324&blogId=54237072.
- ^ http://idobi.com/media/interviews/?we-are-the-in-crowd-the-gunz-show-interview