Radio station for gay listeners goes on air
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Britain's first FM radio station dedicated to gay and lesbian listeners went on air this week, promising to go beyond the traditional diet of high-energy pop from scene icons such as Kylie Minogue and Madonna.
Manchester's Gaydio was finally granted a licence by Ofcom in 2008 after being conceived to accompany the city's Pride festival which attracts 250,000 people annually. From last weekend, DJs have been delivering a 24-hour mixture of music and speech programming to a potential audience of 2.4 million people.
The co-founder Ian Wallace said he hoped both gay and non-gay listeners would be attracted to the service, which will broadcast on FM in the Manchester area and will be available online to the rest of the country.
"What we found is that a lot of people thought it would be Kylie and Madonna FM, but it is about playing music that people want to listen to today and tomorrow – though I would be lying if I said they wouldn't feature sometimes," he said.
The station hopes to build on the success of Gaydar, which has proved highly popular with listeners tuning in through digital in London and Brighton and which also has a thriving internet following.
Mr Wallace said advertisers had already registered interest and were keen to target the above-average disposable incomes of many in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments