Home of NU Rock Must Upgrade

After all the tears have been shed and the melancholy state subdued, we must face the bitter reality that NU 107 is gone.  In fact, its closure was inevitable.  A lone but brave and noble flagship cannot keep going to war when its cannons can no longer stand against larger and noisier (*hint hint*) machine guns mounted on newer and faster (but so very tacky) vehicles of mass destruction.

As NU's final hours ticked away, the mood in and around the station was exactly that of a wake.  It was truly the end of an era.  But I refuse to see it as a death.  I refuse to believe it's the absolute end.  I have given up on local TV and radio, so now I look to the internet media (have been for the past couple of years) -- and that is where I hope NU will rise again.

In my previous blog post about NU's tragic but needless shutdown, I mentioned that it could have been avoided had the management looked at the technologies available now and really studied these, then gave considerable thought to an online social media strategy that will leverage NU's strengths (i.e., their rock jocks and OPM rock community) to keep the station alive.  What I neglected to point out was how it could be much less expensive than running a radio station the way they do now.

A radio station is a business.  NU, as it was, had no longer been a viable one for a number of years.  While we're all feeling wistful about losing a part of our younger selves, it actually costs millions to keep us entertained.  Like most businesses, a radio station has accounting books that must be kept in the black.  Ads are the traditional cash cows.  I don't believe for one second that advertisers shied away because NU was "irrelevant" and "unpopular" (just ask the loyal thousands that trooped to the station -- on their own will -- and kept vigil till the lights went out).  It's easy to assume this and blame it entirely on the other pop machines.

The truth is, a business' downfall is usually caused by a series of unfortunate events (to quote Lemony Snicket) and bad decisions that cost dearly.

If NU is ever reincarnated, I hope that it would be in internet radio form because, 1 - it is less expensive since the technology is already available and it's someone else's job to keep it alive, which means less overhead costs, and 2 - it is mobile, which means that NU can keep innovating and not be limited to just one medium (i.e., radio).

Jim Ayson of Philmusic fame explained it best in his "NU 2.0" blog post.  Here's an excerpt:

Click to see larger image.

I highly recommend checking out the rest of his article here.

Atom Henares has hinted that they might take that route, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Optimism mode, ON!

Here's an idea for NU's online content: what they've got that no other local radio station has is their tight network of OPM rock artists.  They should build on these relationships, make it their thing more than ever, but just upgrade the format.  How?

If NU (hopefully) adopts a social media strategy, one thing they could do is to turn nomad and go to where the bands and other rock music events are, instead of the other way around (as it was traditionally).  All you need is a laptop and a webcam.  Imagine watching NU's livestream of "indie night" or an album launch.  If you missed the livestreams, you could still download the recorded podcasts.

Do you see where I'm going with this?  It could potentially make NU's reach wider and its content more relevant.  The rock jocks can even be in different places covering various music events or doing exclusive interviews at the same time.

There is really so much more that can be done.  NU can still come back.  I believe it will.  So until it does, let's continue supporting our local rock community (let's keep doing so even if, y'know, I'm wrong :-P).  Rakenrol hanggang umaga!