Indie 103.1 leaves the air

Say it ain't so!

First we lose Ricardo Montalban, and now it's the end of the coolest and most adventurous rock station in America. KHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!

After five years, Entravision is pulling the plug on Los Angeles' KDLD & KDLE (a.k.a. Indie 103.1). Along with the end of Indie is the dismissal of the radically diverse airstaff, which even includes former Sex Pistol Steve Jones.

The station is currently running a loop of a few songs with the message that "Indie can no longer compete with the corporate radio game."

Dubbed "the coolest commercial station in America" by Rolling Stone, Indie will move its cutting-edge alternative format online to digitalindie.com.

An earlier message was posted there:

Indie 103.1 will cease broadcasting over this frequency effective immediately. Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge. Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option -- to play the corporate radio game.

We have decided not to play that game any longer. Rather than changing the sound, spirit, and soul of what has made Indie 103.1 great Indie 103.1 will bid farewell to the terrestrial airwaves and take an alternative course.

This could only be done on the Internet, a place where rules do not apply and where new music thrives; be it grunge, punk, or alternative ? simply put, only the best music.

No word yet on the new format at the terrestrial frequencies, rumored to debut this weekend. It certainly won't be as cool as Indie 103.1.

More:

Los Angeles Times: Ex-Indie 103.1 host Chris Morris on the end of the station, Indie 103.1 is going off the air
Rolling Stone Magazine: Los Angeles Rock Station Indie 103 Going Web-Only, Quits “Corporate Radio Game”
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