With decades in the radio industry, Ron Roberts is bridging the gap between radio and streaming with a new niche audio station for Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.
In a world where music, podcasts, and audio books are available at any place and any time, the radio industry is struggling. According to a consumer insights survey from Statistica, only eight percent of American respondents listened to the radio for eleven hours or more a week. But with so many choices at our fingertips, choice paralysis can keep us in an audio rut.
Audio GayTL moves away from the homogenized and depersonalized of broadcast radio into what Roberts calls “narrowcasting.” The station features music and local personalities specifically curated for the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s important that we have a space for ourselves and those who support us,” Roberts told Georgia Voice. “This is our realm, you’re on our turf now. You’re welcome here, as long as you’re friendly and respectful.”
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Tune into Audio GayTL and you’ll hear dance pop from artists like Lady Gaga, Shakira, and Tegan and Sarah, followed by an ad from a local Pride organization, followed by the Audio GayTL jingle: “Our proud voices, our music choices.”
While listening feels similar to turning the dial to favorite morning show – there are even blocks where listeners can submit requests – the station is available to stream from anywhere. You also won’t be stuck with 15-minute ad breaks: Audio GayTL keeps “the sales pitch to a minimum and the dance b*tch to a maximum” with only about three minutes of ads per hour.
Roberts is currently the only personality, on air every weekday from 2 to 6 p.m., but he plans for the station to be “a conduit for our community to talk to each other, about each other, and with each other” with other featured personalities representing the wide spectrum of Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.
Roberts also plans to utilize the station to platform Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations by giving them airtime to cover events, promote their work, and engage with the community.
“The idea isn’t to just be a jukebox, to be a dance pop station with some throwbacks,” Roberts said. “That’s the hallmark of what Audio GayTL is, but I want it to be more about the community.”
You can listen to Audio GayTL at audiogaytl.com, via iHeart, or download the app on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
