WRVU
Encyclopedia
WRVU is a college radio station broadcasting a Variety radio format
; though it originally broadcast on 91.1 FM, the station now broadcasts over an HD Radio subchannel and streams to internet radio
listeners. Licensed to Nashville, Tennessee
, USA, the station serves Vanderbilt University
. The station is currently owned by Vanderbilt Student Communications.
The station is run by student volunteers from VU, although many of its disc jockeys are Vanderbilt alumni or community volunteers. As with most student-operated college stations, its general focus is to play independent-label music. From the 1970s until the mid-2000s (with the sign-on of WRFN-LP
), WRVU was practically the only widely accessible outlet for the area's underground music acts to have their recordings get airtime.
Beginning on June 7, 2011, WRVU moved to online-only broadcasts, due to the purchase of the radio license by Nashville Public Radio, owners of WPLN-FM
. NPR converted the main broadcast signal into a full-time classical music
station, with new call letters of WFCL
. On September 1, 2011, WRVU returned to over-the-air broadcasts, and can now be heard on WPLN's HD-3 signal.
Prior to moving to VU's Sarratt Student Center in the fall of 1973, WRVU for many years broadcast from studios in one of the towers of Neely Auditorium. It was there, in December 1971, that University officials got FCC
approval to begin broadcasting as a non-profit educational station at 91.1 on the FM band. The quest to move to FM had taken almost two years of effort; VU placed the transmitter on top of the Oxford House building. The station later transmitted from the WSMV tower in West Nashville.
While the station was known as "91 Rock" for many years, WRVU currently identifies itself using its call letters. The station is operated as a division of Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC), an independent non-profit affiliated with the university to oversee student media. VSC is subsidized by a student activity fee, charged to each student's tuition bill every semester.
The station earned a devoted following among some Middle Tennessee-area youth during the 1980s and 1990s heyday of the college rock
movement. WRVU was the only Nashville outlet for such music (and one of the few in the South, a historically conservative region), at least until bands like R.E.M.
and the grunge rock movement achieved mainstream popularity. Rumors arose that the real core audience for the station was not VU students, but rather those in high school who were dissatisfied with traditional rock stations like WKDF
, which kept to a standard Album Oriented Rock playlist in the 1980s. No other station in the market truly had as broad a rotation as WRVU, although WRLT
made waves in the 1990s with its adult alternative
format. That station, however, was aimed at older listeners, and did not really compete with WRVU. However, changing student tastes and concerns about diversity influenced the student station managers to implement a policy in 1995 mandating other programming such as jazz
, folk music
, blues music, and ethnic (i.e., foreign language) programming, along with more traditionally youth-oriented genres.
Developments in technology and social change, though, eventually caught up with WRVU. Beginning in late 2009, VSC began exploring the sale of the terrestrial radio facilities of the station, due to two factors: demographic research that found that people under 30 were among the least likely people to listen to radio and the most likely to consume music via downloads and Internet streaming, and the increasing desire of public radio licensees to set aside classical music programming onto different frequencies in order to free up airtime for news and talk programming on their main stations, which has become far more popular among audiences than traditional formats such as classical.
Despite the fervent protests of students currently involved with the station and alumni who once had been (supplemented by area musicians whose acts frequently got airplay on the station), VSC decided that an FM radio signal was no longer worth retaining, and that creation of a student media endowment would be a better use of the organization's assets. Nashville Public Radio offered $3.3 million for the license, and VSC agreed to a sale in early June 2011. The terms of the sale included a provision whereby Nashville Public Radio would allocate one of its HD signals for the continuing WRVU (same programming as online), and that VU students would be provided internships at WPLN/WFCL.
According to reports, the New Order
song Waiting for the Sirens' Call was the final song heard on WRVU at 91.1 FM, at approximately 3 p.m. on June 7. For the next nine hours, Nashville Public Radio tested the signal for the new WFCL before beginning the new station permanently at midnight.
WPLN must still raise the remainder of the $3.3 million purchase price, and intends to do so through pledge drives throughout the next 18 months. During that time, WPLN must apply for a license transfer with the FCC, who can approve or deny the transfer.
WRVU broadcasts 24 hours a day all year long; prior to the mid-1990s, the station shut down operations entirely during the summer and Christmas
/New Year's holiday breaks.
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
; though it originally broadcast on 91.1 FM, the station now broadcasts over an HD Radio subchannel and streams to internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
listeners. Licensed to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, USA, the station serves Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. The station is currently owned by Vanderbilt Student Communications.
The station is run by student volunteers from VU, although many of its disc jockeys are Vanderbilt alumni or community volunteers. As with most student-operated college stations, its general focus is to play independent-label music. From the 1970s until the mid-2000s (with the sign-on of WRFN-LP
WRFN-LP
WRFN-LP is a community LPFM non-commercial radio station in Nashville, Tennessee. It operates at a frequency of 107.1 MHz and is branded as Radio Free Nashville. The station features a mix of music, talk and public affairs programming, almost all with a decidedly liberal or leftist political...
), WRVU was practically the only widely accessible outlet for the area's underground music acts to have their recordings get airtime.
Beginning on June 7, 2011, WRVU moved to online-only broadcasts, due to the purchase of the radio license by Nashville Public Radio, owners of WPLN-FM
WPLN-FM
WPLN-FM , is a National Public Radio-affiliated station in Nashville, Tennessee. Since June 2011, the station has employed exclusively a news and talk format; up until then, the station carried at least some classical music...
. NPR converted the main broadcast signal into a full-time classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
station, with new call letters of WFCL
WFCL
WOTE is a radio station broadcasting an adult standards format. Licensed to Clintonville, Wisconsin, USA, the station is currently owned by Results Broadcasting, Inc. and features programing from ABC Radio and Jones Radio Network.-History:...
. On September 1, 2011, WRVU returned to over-the-air broadcasts, and can now be heard on WPLN's HD-3 signal.
History
Vanderbilt's first radio station, and hence WRVU's progenitor, can be traced to the early 1950s, at which time it was called WVU. The station eventually became known as WRVU and started to broadcast beyond Vanderbilt campus in the early 1970s. Prior to that time, WRVU had been a carrier current station, broadcasting its signal through the university's steam tunnels to small transmitters in each dorm. The transmitter emitted its signal to be received at 580 kHz on the AM band.Prior to moving to VU's Sarratt Student Center in the fall of 1973, WRVU for many years broadcast from studios in one of the towers of Neely Auditorium. It was there, in December 1971, that University officials got FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
approval to begin broadcasting as a non-profit educational station at 91.1 on the FM band. The quest to move to FM had taken almost two years of effort; VU placed the transmitter on top of the Oxford House building. The station later transmitted from the WSMV tower in West Nashville.
While the station was known as "91 Rock" for many years, WRVU currently identifies itself using its call letters. The station is operated as a division of Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC), an independent non-profit affiliated with the university to oversee student media. VSC is subsidized by a student activity fee, charged to each student's tuition bill every semester.
The station earned a devoted following among some Middle Tennessee-area youth during the 1980s and 1990s heyday of the college rock
College rock
College rock is a term that was used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. The term's use of the word "college" refers to campus radio stations located at institutions of higher education in Canada and the United States, where...
movement. WRVU was the only Nashville outlet for such music (and one of the few in the South, a historically conservative region), at least until bands like R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
and the grunge rock movement achieved mainstream popularity. Rumors arose that the real core audience for the station was not VU students, but rather those in high school who were dissatisfied with traditional rock stations like WKDF
WKDF
WKDF is a Country music radio station broadcasting on a frequency of 103.3 MHz from Nashville, Tennessee. WKDF is owned by Cumulus Media.-History:...
, which kept to a standard Album Oriented Rock playlist in the 1980s. No other station in the market truly had as broad a rotation as WRVU, although WRLT
WRLT
WRLT is an independently owned and operated adult album alternative-formatted FM radio station in the Nashville, Tennessee market and located at 100.1 mHz...
made waves in the 1990s with its adult alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
format. That station, however, was aimed at older listeners, and did not really compete with WRVU. However, changing student tastes and concerns about diversity influenced the student station managers to implement a policy in 1995 mandating other programming such as jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues music, and ethnic (i.e., foreign language) programming, along with more traditionally youth-oriented genres.
Developments in technology and social change, though, eventually caught up with WRVU. Beginning in late 2009, VSC began exploring the sale of the terrestrial radio facilities of the station, due to two factors: demographic research that found that people under 30 were among the least likely people to listen to radio and the most likely to consume music via downloads and Internet streaming, and the increasing desire of public radio licensees to set aside classical music programming onto different frequencies in order to free up airtime for news and talk programming on their main stations, which has become far more popular among audiences than traditional formats such as classical.
Despite the fervent protests of students currently involved with the station and alumni who once had been (supplemented by area musicians whose acts frequently got airplay on the station), VSC decided that an FM radio signal was no longer worth retaining, and that creation of a student media endowment would be a better use of the organization's assets. Nashville Public Radio offered $3.3 million for the license, and VSC agreed to a sale in early June 2011. The terms of the sale included a provision whereby Nashville Public Radio would allocate one of its HD signals for the continuing WRVU (same programming as online), and that VU students would be provided internships at WPLN/WFCL.
According to reports, the New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
song Waiting for the Sirens' Call was the final song heard on WRVU at 91.1 FM, at approximately 3 p.m. on June 7. For the next nine hours, Nashville Public Radio tested the signal for the new WFCL before beginning the new station permanently at midnight.
WPLN must still raise the remainder of the $3.3 million purchase price, and intends to do so through pledge drives throughout the next 18 months. During that time, WPLN must apply for a license transfer with the FCC, who can approve or deny the transfer.
Programming
Students and others broadcast numerous shows every week on WRVU; most are one to two hours in length.WRVU broadcasts 24 hours a day all year long; prior to the mid-1990s, the station shut down operations entirely during the summer and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
/New Year's holiday breaks.