As streaming services like Spotify continue to dominate how we listen to music, it’s easy to write off radio as obsolete.
Many assume the only people listening to the radio are Generation X dads reminiscing about their high school years in the punk scene, and grandmas who listen to classical stations and probably should not be driving anymore.
After all, why would anyone place a gamble on hearing a song they might like on the radio when they could play any song on Spotify at the press of a button?
But the data shows radio is far from dying. A 2020 Edison Research report found 55% of individuals ages 13-24 listen to FM or AM radio daily.
Radio K, the University of Minnesota’s student-run radio station, has over 100 years of history as a staple of the University community. Their programming includes several genre-specific shows ranging from country to shoegaze and reggae. Their live show “Off the Record” brings in local artists for live performances and sit-down interviews.
Radio K music director and fourth-year Saxon Rudduck said Radio K helps bring the community to campus.
“Post-COVID, everyone was kind of isolated in their own type of thing, and that kind of community really disappeared,” Rudduck said. “But now I think, like, we just had our back-to-school concert a few weeks ago and just seeing the amount of people on campus showing up that are interested in music, seeing 20 freshmen show up to this thing and be like ‘Wow, I really want to get involved.’”
Former Radio K morning show host and second-year Johanna Nassif said she enjoys the audience engagement aspect of working on the radio.
“Especially as a morning show host, you get to really build up a rapport with your audience,” Nassif said. “You get a lot of emails and calls. It’s just very interactive and you get to interact with the greater Twin Cities music community in a lot more of an acute way.”
Rudduck told me a story of meeting a listener who recognized his voice in public and shared music recommendations with him.
“He was like, ‘A week before you played this album, I’d never heard it before. I loved it. Have you heard this, this, this and this?’” Rudduck said. “Then the next week I played one of those albums and I ran into him again at work and he was like, ‘That was awesome.’”
Radio K receptionist and second-year Gimmick Doboszenski said the radio station’s long history compelled him to work there.
“Every time I come into work, I get a new fact about the radio station, about how prolific it’s been,” Doboszenski said. “It’s fun to be able to show up and work in a building that’s got, like, such a rich history to it.”
When a new student turns on Radio K for the first time, they join a community of listeners dating back decades. As a second-generation student at the University, I love knowing that I’m listening to the same student-run radio my mom listened to over 20 years ago. The music of Radio K serves as a connective tissue of the campus’s culture, gaining a larger audience every year to spread its legacy.
However, Radio K’s reach goes beyond the University. The station’s staff I spoke with told me they have heard from listeners from as far away as Canada, Norway and Japan during their time at the station.
Rudduck said Radio K received an email that morning from a man from Michigan who found the station on a radio app and now listens while at work.
“He just emailed saying, ‘I want to say thanks for doing what you do. The playlist keeps me excited to listen all day while I’m busy running machines,’” Rudduck said.
My love affair with public radio started the day I got my first car. My dad sat me down and went through all the radio stations he thought I would like.
He introduced me to The Current from Minnesota Public Radio. “The Current Morning Show,” hosted by Jill Riley, got me through many cold Minnesota mornings driving to high school without a functioning car heater.
Radio K program director and fourth-year Silver Ouimet said radio’s continuing appeal lies in the sense of connection that comes from listening to music curated in real time by a real person.
“A lot of people will work alone, but they’ll have the radio on, so they don’t feel so alone, and it works,” Ouimet said. “Having the radio on when you’re by yourself does feel like you’re hanging out with someone without the obligation of having to actually talk to them.”
Driving is an experience that can feel particularly isolating. You are by yourself on a road full of cars, driving by people who are just like you. When I’m on the road, I can’t help but wonder about the people I’m driving next to, where they are going and where they are coming from.
Now, I listen to The Current when I’m making my 30-minute commute back to campus from my restaurant job, often as late as 11 p.m. Driving in the dark of night with the few remaining cars on 35W, I turn on public radio, and I feel less alone.
There’s the host, of course, but I also like to think about all the other people listening. Different people with different lives who may never meet, but are all tuned in to the same radio frequency at the same time, enjoying the same music.
Who knows? The person in the SUV that just passed you could be falling in love with the same new single.
In a world constructed around social media and streaming services, where the exact thing you want to read, watch or listen to is right at your fingertips, there’s a simple beauty in embracing the unknown of a radio station. Maybe you’ll discover a new artist, hear a forgotten song from your childhood or discover you really hate punk (sorry dads).
But if there’s one thing that’s for certain, it’s that someone else is also listening and experiencing the vast world of music by your side.
“Music is a great thing,” Rudduck said. “It connects people.”
Correction: The name of Radio K’s live session was misnamed. The correct name is “Off the Record.” Silver Ouimet’s position and year in college were also misnamed. Ouimet is the program director and is a fourth-year student.
