Toronto Radio Project

While browsing the web for some local radio stations to listen to, our team stumbled upon the Toronto Radio Project. We listened for a bit and we became so intrigued that we decided to do a little research about the station itself.

Apparently, the Toronto Radio Project is literally an underground radio station, as they broadcast from the basement of a vintage shop in Bloordale Village. Listeners may occasionally hear the rumble of a passing subway train on the mic, but founder Frazer Lavender believes that this only adds to the authenticity of the station. Ironically, Lavender is not Canadian - he's from London.

The station currently features programs produced by local DJs and music collectives. Lavender was a huge fan of independent radio projects in Europe, He noticed a lack of something similar in Toronto and saw an opportunity. There were many musicians, DJs, and producers in Toronto that didn't have an outlet - yet the small amount of exposure they did have (perhaps appearing occasionally on college radio) commanded loyal local followings. According to him, there was a "gap in radio for a project such as this where we have no obligations to anyone - sponsors, licensees, etc. Therefore we can take a lot more risks on the programming and offer a huge variety of shows."

People getting involved with TRP are pushing forward with their passions and are positive about making it work with a real DIY attitude. One of the missions of TRP is to reflect the diversity in Toronto's underground music scenes. The focus is on presenting interesting audio programming with a local lens. It turns out that TRP is actively seeking people to produce and host programs - "people who have a passion for what they do to join a community of like-minded people doing interesting things in Toronto." There is no other mandate than to "mainly just be different from any other local audio outlet". 

TRP began broadcasting via their website on November 24, 2014. The rollout started with just a simple Facebook announcement that the station was live, but "people were in the chat room straight away". Two months later, the station has a program of 40 shows, all produced and hosted by volunteers. At the moment, TRP is funded out of Lavender's pocket to zero return. He wouldn't mind having TRP pay for itself someday though - "we want to make money from it, but in the right way." Lavender is open to exploring events, merchandise, and partnerships, but wants to make sure that he stays true to spirit of the station.

Thoughts: There could be an opportunity for Converse if they were to chat up with Frazer Lavender. This station just launched a few months ago and it seems that it is on the cusp of its tipping point. TRP started with flyers around the city and word of mouth really took off afterwards. There's been a steadily increasing base of listeners and the growth is totally organic. Apparently the feedback has been really positive because of the audience that has been eager for this type of broadcasting.

Sources: http://www.blogto.com/music/2014/12/meet_torontos_new_underground_radio_station/#, http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2015/02/11/toronto-radio-project-the-new-voice-of-the-local-underground.html, http://ca.complex.com/music/2015/01/trp-torontos-underground-radio-station