Re: the mix lets u mix the music

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: wtmx not on my preset but will check it out tonight : : Music radio in Chicago may never be the same after tonight. : : In a move destined to revolutionize the way listeners interact with radio, hot adult-contemporary WTMX-FM (101.9) tonight will launch U-Mix-It, a program that turns over control of the music playlist to the audience through real-time online voting. : : This is no ordinary request show. Through their participation on the Bonneville International station�s Web site and on mobile devices, listeners will determine which songs get played right up to the minute they�re aired. Acting as an online community, they�ll be able to select titles from the station�s vast library of hit music, and vote each one up or down. : : In short, it turns broadcasting into crowdcasting. �Never before have Chicago music fans had this level of control and influence on a radio station,� said Greg Solk, senior vice president of programming for Bonneville. : : Social media will be integral to U-Mix-It, allowing listeners to access the voting process, dedicate songs, share music and engage a variety of other options through their Facebook accounts. : : : : Airing from 8pm to midnight Monday through Friday, the new show will be hosted by Erin Carman (pictured left), who joined the Mix last fall as weekend and fill-in host. She previously worked at Emmis Communications� classic rock WLUP-FM (97.9) and alternative rock WKQX-FM (101.1). �I feel like I�ve been cast in the role of a lifetime,� Carman said. As evening personality at the Mix, she succeeds Jeff Corder, who was forced out last December after 13 years at the station. : : Solk said Carman was chosen for her communications skills and because she understands how to �bridge the gap between social media and the radio,� making sure the casual listener doesn�t feel alienated. �It has to make sense to them and make sense to the people who are playing this game. It takes someone real savvy, and I think she�s got the tools to do that.� : : Calling it �a new social music experience for Chicago music fans,� Solk said the show will target listeners on the younger end of the 18-to-49 age demographic, which is one of several the Mix already dominates in Arbitron Portable People Meter surveys. The fact that a top-rated station would take a risk on such a bold and innovative venture � especially at a time when its ownership is about to change hands � speaks volumes about Bonneville. : : �We�re doing this from a position of strength,� Solk said. �Losing stations are always looking for an edge. But you don�t generally see stations that are No. 1 in a market stepping up and doing something this risky. They�re usually much more concerned with controlling the playlist.� : : Solk also envisions adapting the device to other programming on the Mix, including the top-rated morning show hosted by Eric Ferguson and Kathy Hart. �People could go onto the Eric & Kathy page and decide who Eric will talk to next, what they�ll give away, or where they should take listeners on trips,� he said. �It allows for audience participation in so many ways. Once you have the technology, you can use it for anything. It�s only limited by your imagination.� : : The system was created for Bonneville by Daniel Anstandig, co-founder and president of Listener Driven Radio, a Cleveland-based software company on the cutting edge of crowdsourcing that develops interactive programming tools for broadcasters. : : Calling U-Mix-It a �groundbreaking program,� Anstandig praised Solk, program director Mary Ellen Kachinske and their team at the Mix. �Their vision for real-time collaboration with the audience combined with our team�s knowledge of social media has resulted in an entirely new and paradigm-shifting way of programming radio,� he said in a statement. : : Radio : : Previous post: Eight broadcast veterans to join Chicago TV Academy Silver Circle

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