I'm guessing FM 108 on the internet sounds a lot better today than it did years ago as an FM station.
CRTC can't cut in and dictate the music.
No 35-40% Can Con (was 30% back then)
and no 49% non hit rule.  (gone for many years now, but it was a major staple for FM in Canada
during the FM 108 years)

Last edited by Radiowiz (August 12, 2017 2:16 am)

Congratulations to the team at FM108.  Especially my old friend Dale Patterson.  How easy it is to listen to it.  Just hit "Listen Live" and up comes the player.  How about a little background information Dale.  Where are the broadcasts originating from?

I too wish to express my heart felt thanks to Russ Horton for his dedication in bringing the Golden Great Revival back to life after almost 40 years. It is a labour of love for those of us who have been given a new broadcast life, so to speak. As Co-Owner of fm108.ca I look forward to taking our brand of 50's 60's and 70's music around the world, one pair of ears at a time. With internet, the world is indeed our oyster. Russ and I intend to pursue getting fm108.ca into homes and businesses all over the globe. The contributions in the past of people I hired, like Julius (Jay Brown) Banfai, Larry Smith, Rockin Robin, Dave Terryberry, and a host of others are brought to life again for me, when I hear their favorite songs, the ones they used as signatures... just like I did with I Love How You Love by the Paris Sisters and Lara's Theme from Dr. Zhivago. And now that the juices are flowing again I intend to start coming back here again and again to share some of the stories behind the little Burlington radio station that could... and did... become a legend in its own mind, on a diet of oldies music and the flogging of anything I could get my hands on to sell on air. Like Reindeer Dust and Mystery Boxes, and Trojan Ends condoms, CB radios and tons of records from Neil Patty at Continental Records, and then there were the wonderful dinner dances at Leisure Lodge in Cambridge where Julius Banfai and I got Frank Zalnai (sp) to take a chance on us and proceed to fill the join with acts like Chubby Checker, and Bobby Vee. Believe it or not Jan and Dean were a no show for a full house and I thought I was going to be hung and quartered. So I am looking forward to speaking up here from time to time with a story or two.

Its nice to hear FM108 Back. I was a fun place to work back in the day and I sure learned lots about music.

betaylored wrote:

Took a listen. Heard "Blue Collar Man" by Styx, then some BTO... Just added 108 to my home page. Funny how these days some of the best radio is online. Thanks to Dale and the whole gang for the good sounds.😎

I compare online radio to the free-form FM radio of the late '60s, or the U.K. pirate broadcasters of the '60s. It's programmed from the heart, and there are no consultants or corporations to answer to. Creativity is encouraged, not stifled. I like fm108.ca because while there is a structure, there is plenty of room for creativity. Glad I got to experience the free-form radio of the late '60s and many, many years later, the online radio of today.
 

GlennDarling wrote:

I too wish to express my heart felt thanks to Russ Horton for his dedication in bringing the Golden Great Revival back to life after almost 40 years. It is a labour of love for those of us who have been given a new broadcast life, so to speak. As Co-Owner of fm108.ca I look forward to taking our brand of 50's 60's and 70's music around the world, one pair of ears at a time. With internet, the world is indeed our oyster. Russ and I intend to pursue getting fm108.ca into homes and businesses all over the globe. The contributions in the past of people I hired, like Julius (Jay Brown) Banfai, Larry Smith, Rockin Robin, Dave Terryberry, and a host of others are brought to life again for me, when I hear their favorite songs, the ones they used as signatures... just like I did with I Love How You Love by the Paris Sisters and Lara's Theme from Dr. Zhivago. And now that the juices are flowing again I intend to start coming back here again and again to share some of the stories behind the little Burlington radio station that could... and did... become a legend in its own mind, on a diet of oldies music and the flogging of anything I could get my hands on to sell on air. Like Reindeer Dust and Mystery Boxes, and Trojan Ends condoms, CB radios and tons of records from Neil Patty at Continental Records, and then there were the wonderful dinner dances at Leisure Lodge in Cambridge where Julius Banfai and I got Frank Zalnai (sp) to take a chance on us and proceed to fill the join with acts like Chubby Checker, and Bobby Vee. Believe it or not Jan and Dean were a no show for a full house and I thought I was going to be hung and quartered. So I am looking forward to speaking up here from time to time with a story or two.

Off topic but...I grew up 1 block away from Glendarling Rd. in Etobicoke.  Bob Pulford married a woman...last name McIlroy who lived at 10 Glendarling.  He drove a Hearn Pontiac back then and we always knew when he was there.  I went over one time, circa 1960, while he was there and rang the doorbell asking if I could have his autograph.  He came to the door, signed my official Toronto Maple leaf/Maple Leaf Gardens hockey program and off I trundled...happy as a lamb.

So?  You GO Glenn!!!  I also used to deliver the Toronto Star on the street they named after you.  -)  Ah the memories!!!
 

Congratulations to Dale Patterson & Glenn Darling and the whole gang for reviving FM108.ca on the Net.  As mentioned in an earlier post, no worries about CRTC dictates - just go with the oldies.  I'll listen as much as possible.

​(Not in the business - just very interested in the workings of radio!!!)

AMFM wrote:

Congratulations to the team at FM108.  Especially my old friend Dale Patterson.  How easy it is to listen to it.  Just hit "Listen Live" and up comes the player.  How about a little background information Dale.  Where are the broadcasts originating from?

Maybe, but the listen live does not work at the moment     17-aug-2017 1759h
This is problem, as I only listen online with web-radio or smart phone with b/t to portable speaker.
 

How are the producers dealing with the issue of paying royalties for the music they play? Is there some kind of license for online stations? I have been away from following the intricacies of licensing and music rights use for quite some time.

Dale Patterson wrote:

I think Russ is on to a good concept here. That is, take all the elements from a radio station from the past and attempt to recreate that station. Another station doing it is oWOW, which is recreating Cleveland rocker WWMS. If I had the resources, I would attempt to recreate CKFH, or maybe WGR or CKOC. Wouldn't it be fun!

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/07/cleveland-based_internet_radio.html.

>>>hmmmm...CKOC? listened to the CHTG Grand at 92.9 lately ? Peter Jaycock, Ted Yates, Rockin Ray, Shelly...and lots of other oldies!

The fm108.ca stream is working again. Wild Bill is on right now!

http://fm108.ca

ckg927 wrote:

Dale Patterson wrote:

Bristol wrote:

>>>hmmmm...CKOC? listened to the CHTG Grand at 92.9 lately ? Peter Jaycock, Ted Yates, Rockin Ray, Shelly...and lots of other oldies!

Correct you are. The Grand has done a great job of bringing back the CKOC gang. The only other local example I can think of is WWKB, which attempted to recreate the legendary WKBW from 2003 to 2006. For a time, the lineup included Dan Neaverth and Tom Donahue in mornings, Sandy Beach late mornings, Hank Nevins afternoon drive and Jack Armstrong (in North Carolina) in evenings. Ratings were poor and the format died in February '06.


 

Note, please, that WECK/1230 in the Buffalo market now has Donahue(still doing mornings after all these years)and Neaverth(doing Friday afternoons); Jon Summers, Harv Moore & Mike Jacobs(all Buffalo radio vets)are on staff.

Kind of a mix of personalities from different stations over the years, rather than a tribute to just one station, but they have the right idea. Additionally, they have news veteran John Zach in the mornings and Gail Ann Huber co-hosting with Donahue.
 

Fitz wrote:

running an online station is not easy and getting listeners even harder.

There's another side to that coin.
Having too many listeners leads to (much) higher streaming costs, which creeps upon you when you least expect it.

 

Fitz wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

Fitz wrote:

running an online station is not easy and getting listeners even harder.

There's another side to that coin.
Having too many listeners leads to (much) higher streaming costs, which creeps upon you when you least expect it.

 

Not sure how the business model works for an online station that sells adverts but I would think that if they can show higher number of listeners to the advertisers they would generate more revenue.

Internet radio is a whole new animal.
The missing information is how much the stream cost climbs and how much businesses are willing to pay to advertise if the stream only climbs slightly over the bandwidth line vs. a larger listening base.

It is to my understanding that when an internet station breaks bandwidth, the owner of that station has to pay more money no matter what, (to keep the stream running) while the advertiser just might have the right to declare that there are not enough listeners to pay a higher rate to advertise.

 

Julius Banfai put me on to FM 108 back in the day. Glad to hear it's back up and running.