by: Lulaine Compere
The world of internet radio seems to be growing each day. Companies like Pandora, IHeartRadio, and Spotify have come on the scene to service customers who are seeking a more diverse playlist than what’s on the dial. Many musical genres have found new life or been reborn on the internet radio and there are few people who can say they were there from the beginning. Alex Norman is the co-founder of PNC Radio and Urban Latino Radio is one of those people. PNC Radio is for hip hop and R&B and Urban Latino Radio caters to the Latin audience. Norman, whose family is from Cuba, came up with the idea for an internet radio station while he was a deejay. “I used to be a deejay and I wanted a label, but my partner at the time wanted to do a radio station so we went with that idea, it was easier than a record label says Norman. PNC is an acronym for people need change. Through their promotion and talking to Norman and others at PNC Radio, they are tapping into an audience who is frustrated with the traditional format of radio with the same rotation of songs being played throughout the day. According to them, internet radio is what has risen out of that frustration. Norman did look into getting a terrestrial radio station but according to him internet radio was easier to do.” There aren’t any real FM dials anymore and you need a lot of money to start” says Norman. The worldwide web reaches people faster and time wise you can get it done in a short period of time. For Norman, the original plan for PNC Radio was to host seven different stations in with different name brand companies like Urban Latino Radio, Black Entertainment Television, and Black Enterprise just to name a few. “It takes an ocean liner to move companies like that towards making a decision because of the bureaucracy but I was never told no” says Norman. Urban Latino Radio was born when he and the publisher of Urban Latino Magazine, Jorge Cano-Moreno joined forces. In any business endeavor, there is sure to be problems and Norman says he has had his share. “Every couple of months, it’s a learning experience, I know now more of what needs to get done” says Norman. “If I would have known then, what I know now, I would have gotten the station started a lot sooner than I did, you just have to go through the motions” says Norman. The internet radio industry seems to be a growing industry. Other internet radio stations like A-List Radio in New York, Homegrown radio in California, and countless others have came on the scene to fill a niche community looking for an outlet to cater to them. Norman says” there are thousands of internet radio stations, the internet creates a lot of everything.” It’s an industry poised for some level of consolidation says Norman. PNC Radio is using the radio format and the internet to move into other forms of digital media like podcasts, video streams, publishing streams, promotional opportunities. Norman says it’s like attracting flies to honey the amount of things you can do with internet radio. There isn’t any other platform that can generate this amount of content; the amount of new people you meet says Norman. There isn’t a platform that can create this kind of organic experience. The future of PNC Radio according to Norman is syndication. We just have to get syndication for some of the shows on a larger scale, developing shows for syndication opportunities producing content and honing on formats, that’s the next step says Norman. PNC Radio is also producing live events like a live R&B showcase, and B.L.A.P.S. event catered to producers with Illmind, a well-known and sought out producer in the hip hop community. Norman says “the uniqueness that sets PNC Radio apart is their unique listenership.” “Our audience likes hip hop but they also like salsa, they like club music and they like reggae, their tastes are more widespread” says Norman. “It’s hard to focus because the audience is worldwide” says Norman.
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