NYC's Radio Station HOT 97 is back! Online

[needlefingers]

This was in today's New York Daily News


Web replay of WQHT's dance glory


RADIO DIAL


By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, March 29th 2007, 4:00 AM


Joel Salkowitz, who programmed WQHT when it was a dance station, is another radio person who thinks the city could use one of those now.
In fact, he's running one - over the Internet, at Original Hot 97.

It's a cool site for New York radio fans, because it not only plays dance music, but features the original jingles, production and identifiers from the station that debuted in August 1986 as "Hot 103.5" and two years later became "Hot 97."

"From the top, top, top of the World Trade Center," were its first words, at 6 p.m. on Aug. 16, 1986. "103.5 WQHT New York. ... Hot 103.5."

The station featured artists like Seduction, Paula Abdul, Taylor Dayne, the Cover Girls and Debbie Gibson, mixers like Glen Friscia, a show by C+C Music Factory, and a blizzard of live club remotes like "Saturday Night Dance Party."

"It was the hottest thing in town," says Salkowitz. "We beat Z-100 and WPLJ."

He recently decided to revive it on the 'Net, he says, "as just kind of fun thing to do, a pet project. But once I heard how it sounded when it came together, I started thinking, 'Wow, this could work today.' "

He'd love for some station to pick up the idea or at least consider it for an HD channel - those second and third channels of programming that can be sent out on the same frequency as a "regular" station.

Since terrestrial radio is pushing HD as a counter to the multiple formats available on satellite radio, Salkowitz suggests it would be a perfect fit.

Meanwhile, fans can listen online - though there's a potential problem there.

The Copyright Royalty Board just issued a ruling that raises Internet music royalty rates well beyond what most Internet radio operators say they can now pay.

"This blows my mind," says Salkowitz. "It's insane. I hope they work something out, or this could kick me off the air."

If that gets settled, Salkowitz is hopeful.

"The original Hot had a million and a half listeners," he says. "I'd be happy just to find a few thousand of them."

[FreestylePete]

Soon to be back on NYC airwaves as a HD-2 station or on 101.9