Published
Fri, Apr 5, 2024, 16:50
- Parent company Chicago Public Media is shutting it down due to limited growth and years of financial losses.
Chicago FM radio station Vocalo will stop broadasting on May 1st due to funding cuts from parent company Chicago Public Media (CPM).
Operating since 2001 and rebranded to Vocalo in 2007, the platform has championed local house, jazz, footwork, juke, drill, funk and hip-hop for 17 years. It will now transition to a web and app-based streaming platform with limited programming. In a statement to staff, CPM's outgoing CEO Matt Moog blamed the decision on Vocalo’s limited growth. The station reaches "just 11,000 listeners weekly" and has run "at a significant financial loss for many years," he said.
Vocalo's closure is part of broader cost-cutting measures at CPM. Staff at the Chicago Sun-Times and CPM's podcast unit were also laid off. These moves come two years after CPM raised $61 million to acquire the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.
Vocalo has "been instrumental to elevating BIPOC and queer voices," Chicago's DJ Heather told Resident Advisor. She welcomes Vocalo's digital pivot but said it still "leaves a huge void in Chicago's radio diaspora." Miguel Martin, AKA EchoDroides, agreed. Vocalo's new "automated" streaming format will "remove the human element," he told RA.
Vocalo's closure is a huge loss for the community, echoed Chris Lara, another local DJ. "There's few opportunities to find music or radio shows that speak to our community and city. Vocalo provided an avenue for discovering quality, locally-produced shows free from the influence of corporate radio stations."
Closing the FM channel is a "malicious" move, according to Lara, because it coincides with pay increases for CPM's top executive and a new $6.4 million studio. "They spent money on this while their executives pocket funds that could have supported local radio," Lara said.
A petition has since been launched urging Chicago artist Chance the Rapper to buy the station and keep it alive.
Vocalo is "a powerhouse truly connected to underground culture," said Taigo Onez, a broadcaster at the FM radio station 88.5FM WHPK and founder of local label Bang Le' Dex. "It's always the creatives who suffer the impact of corporate cuts," he lamented.
RA has reached out to Vocalo and CPM for comment. We'll report more on this story as it unfolds.
Read Vocalo's statement below for more details.
Image: Vocalo