- Sign up or Donate to FBi Radio during the Disorient show on Thursday 2nd July and Thursday 9th July 2009 (9pm-11pm Australian EST), and get a free ‘Disorientation Session’ mixtape.
Right now, FBi Radio is calling for help from its listeners. Since day one, back in August 2003, FBi has been one of the very few 100% independent radio stations in Australia. FBi is an incorporated not-for-profit organisation, with a board voted by the listener community, a dedicated and thoroughly underpaid staff team and hundreds of volunteers. All of these people are united with one common need: a community-generated media channel that is undiluted by commercial music, commercial opinion and commercial advertising – a truly rare commodity in today’s marketplace.
But when the Global Financial Crisis came to town, FBi was hit hard. Being independent is great in terms of editorial and creative freedom, not so great when you don’t have a rich mogul or a vast, educational institution to fall back on. And let’s be clear – FBi doesn’t have any government funding to fall back on either. They receive around 5% of their income for the Government as a direct offset to the enormous commercial fees imposed by the people who look after the antenna, but no more than that. For six years, FBi has survived on the generosity of its sponsors and its listeners – both of which felt the pinch when the economy collapsed, and donations & sponsorships for FBi tailed off markedly in the first quarter of the year. So much so, that the future for FBi started to look bleak. There will always be a way to save the 94.5 broadcast licence – but an FBi broadcasting via a coathanger from the back of a ute (to a radius of 3km) serves very few people, certainly not the current community of listeners, musicians, artists and Sydneysiders that make FBi what it is today.
So, the appeal is on right now – Save FBi. If every listener pledged to become a financial supporter, FBi would be around for ever and a day. As it stands, only 2% have chosen to do so. Whether we like it or not, we do seem to live in an era when music is considered something of a free commodity – and if we don’t pay for MP3s on our hard drive, why would we pay for music on our radio? Well, FBi is more than an iPod – FBi lives and breathes. FBi is a community of smart, creative, thought-provoking human beings, people just like you and me – and that makes FBi one of the best places for us to discover a true diversity of contemporary Australian music and culture. In a word, FBi is community.
And the subset community of FBi broadcasters have their work cut out for them this week and next. We’ve been drafted in to help the station raise money during our shows. FBi knows that whilst there are many ‘general’ listeners who listen to FBi throughout the day, there’s also specialist shows (like ‘Disorient’) that have their own community that gathers around them. If you’re reading this, perhaps that’s you. Perhaps you listen to Disorient, or you used to listen to my previous show, Fat Planet, when it ran for many years on Sunday afternoons. If so, hopefully I’ve shared something that means something to you or turned you onto something new. Hopefully that means you won’t mind me asking for a little payback. Becoming a financial supporter and saving FBi costs seven bucks a month, four for concessions. Not much at all.
In return you’ll get:
- a warm ever-lasting glow, safe in the knowledge that you’re part of a rare and passionate community of people who orbit around FBi, and that your cash helped in some way to help keep FBi on air.
- every week, FBi gives aways prizes, such as tickets and CDs and other merch, and only you as a supporter are eligible to win. Most supporters who pick up the phone to enter these competitions do win something at some point, it’s not hard.
- during this particular drive, FBi has a prize draw – so you’ll go in the running to win two flights to London with V Festival tickets, or two business class flights to Los Angeles. Literally, a trip of a lifetime.
- And a special bonus, just from me, you’ll get a free copy of the ‘Disorientation Session’ mixtape – compiled exclusively for the current FBi Supporter Drive. It’s copyright clear (no piracy!) and features tunes from AGF, Growing, Filastine, Salem, The Craters, Dalt Wisney, Inverness, Villa Diamante, I Buried Paul, The Peronists, Atomhead and many many more – eighteen tracks in all.
I’ll be giving the mixtape away free to all listeners who sign up (or upgrade / renew) as FBi Radio Supporters during the Disorient show on Thursday 2nd July and Thursday 9th July 2009 (9pm-11pm Australian EST). All of FBi’s specialist shows have ‘target numbers’ for new supporters, hence my naked bribery to marshal you into supporting Disorient. Hopefully I’ll be counting you amongst one of those numbers come Thursday night.
If you do need any more persuation, check fbiradio.com for more info on FBi and their call-out for much-needed financial aid. Thanks for reading, and (I hope) for becoming a Supporter – and helping to save this vital little radio station in these unsteady times.
DISORIENTATION SESSION Disorient’s Mixtape For FBi
Tracklisting
1. Dalt Wisney – Sci-Fi Dot Fiends [Pakistan] 2:03
2. The Craters – Samba Party [U.S.] 2:40
3. Ghoul – Fuck Math [Australia] 1:54
4. Salem – Brustreet [U.S.] 5:02
5. 7VWWVW – Mammal Theme [Scotland] 5:55
6. Villa Diamante – Tonolec vs Kromestar [Argentina] 2:56
7. Berrettaz – Pense A [Côte d’Ivoire] 2:44
8. AGF aka Antye Greie – Disturbia [Germany] 4:07
9. Filastine – B’talla (feat. Rabah) [U.S.] 3:10
10. I Buried Paul – Favola [Brazil] 3:17
11. Fletcher – Dreadlox Dub [South Africa] 6:17
12. The Peronists – Cumbia Maligna [Argentina] 3:39
13. Atomhead – Unsuspecting Broken Receiver [Belgium] 2:09
14. Growing – Green Flag [U.S.] 6:16
15. Sleepmakeswaves – Exits To Nowhere [Australia] 3:41
16. Rothis Bournias – Last Days Part Two [Greece] 7:07
17. Inverness – Bats [Brazil] 3:13
18. Flica – Mid [Malaysia] 4:53
Note: All music on the mixtape is licenced via Creative Commons or has otherwise been made freely available by relevant artists & labels. If you like what you hear, please support the artists -visit their site, buy their music.
Cover image by Irving Liaw (under CC Licence).