Publication: The Fader
Date 10 December 2002
Final

With the popularity of downloading on the decline due to RIAA restrictions on peer-to-peer networks, other more traditional outlets are resurfacing. One example is New York’s East Village Radio, a station serving, well, the East Village and beyond. While the variety of programming may have a pirate radio ethos, the founders want to keep things legit in terms of national broadcasting regulations. As such, the station streams on the web via live365.com and is limiting its actual transmissions until the proper license can be obtained, thus avoiding unpleasant FCC entanglements. However, lack of signal hasn’t prevented the word from getting out. Station manager Donielle McCary stated that they have been fielding calls from all over the US, with the number of streaming broadcast listeners growing steadily. Currently, the musical programming is eclectic, ranging from minimal German techno, to sixties rock, to Brazilian neo-afro-jazz and other hyphenated genres. But is this college radio revisited? In response, DJ Doug Mosurock and station co-founder Frank Prisinzano both emphasized the station’s grassroots approach as a local community resource. In addition, there is a more open music policy, as there are no CMJ-mandated playlists-- the strength lies in the depths of the DJ’s crates and their imagination.