Farewell to TXFM, we hardly knew ye! Yesterday we were greeted with the news that TXFM would cease to trade with the loss of 6 full time jobs. It’s a little over two years since Phantom FM departed and TXFM was created out of its ashes. The first and most obvious difference between the two was that many of the best DJs were sent to pastures new (Richie McCormack is still missed despite occasional appearances on Newstalk) while the ones that remained tended to be on the blander side of the argument. There were obvious exceptions to that rule with a variety of night time shows of interest, along with the likes of Nadine O’Regan and Dee Ready. The second most obvious thing was their new definition of ‘alternative’ included virtual unknowns such as U2 and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. At last count the station had 19,000 listeners, or just a 0.7% share of the market, the smallest on the FM dial. I was one of the 0.7%. I continued to listen for one reason, there was very little other option!

I’ve always found a sense of validation from hearing one of my favourite songs on the airways, a thrill when the Smiths or in more recent times, Courtney Barnett or Ezra Furman was played. It’s not that you don’t have the album it was taken from, it is just nice to hear a DJ talk about them, mention a gig or a new album on the way. There’s also the possibility of hearing something new and different, rare though it may be. There was a sense of community which is always gratifying. They also did a lot for new Irish bands with the Wednesday night Listening Post featuring a variety of new bands. It was certainly not perfect, but it was the best we had.

The Future – 

We’ve seen two business models come and go, and while not radically different, neither managed to make themselves profitable. We have to ask, is the listenership big enough in Dublin/ Ireland to sustain an alternative music station? Sadly it seems not to be the case.

By its nature, an Alternative music station is going to alienate most of its audience, who will immediately decide it is not cool or obscure enough for their taste. They must also have suffered a loss to audience figures to Spotify and other streaming services.

Radio Nova are one of those interested in the license. Their chief executive Kevin Branigan released the statement “We believe an alternative rock music licence could be viable and complementary to Radio Nova and, now that Communicorp have ruled themselves out, we would be very interested in engaging with the BAI,”.

There is also hope in the form of 8Radio which has dabbled with the FM dial, and are fronted by Phantom founder Simon Maher. While the music on 8Radio is generally better, it does tend to be focused on older sounds. On an FM dial with very little in the way of Alternative music, I’d be delighted to see it find a home.