What Happened To 88.5 Fm?

[bobbin]

88.5 Fm has been off the air for over a week now. Which is a shame as they had a good play-list. Twirling the dial looking for alternatives has been disappointing. A few months ago, there seemed to be about 5 English language stations, but now all I find is 96 FM (Yesterday). Argh! It's bad! I mean really bad. You have to be over 70 y/o to enjoy that station!

Have I missed the other stations?

[LennyW]

103fm and 105fm but both can be hit or miss reception.

[sungod]

Yep, I miss that one too, it's a shame as I thought it was the best also. The closest Pattaya may have got to a decent radio station. If you think 96FM is bad and you have to be over 70, then try listening to the 'new sound' 103FM. I thought the idea of it was to bring something new to the airways, same old dross as the others, nothing new there.

[Mobi]

96.0 FM used to be better than 105. FM as it was a more professional service.

However even though I am over 60, I am sick and tired of the endless diet of ancient music that is repeated ad infintem, until I could scream. Yes some old music is good, and brings back memories, etc etc, but for God's sake - enough is enough. There's plenty of good music produced over the past 20 years that is every bit as good.

Mix it up!!!

105 FM has improved a lot, both in professionalism and choice of music - more rock orientated, and not afraid to mix it up a bit and be adventurous. The only drawback is Howard's, annoying and irritating delivery of commercial spots and news. The minute his voice comes on, I switch stations - surely he is making enough money to stop being a "one man band' announcer and get some professional voice overs who won't be a 'turn off' to many listeners.

103 FM - which I think has just been re-launched, sounds like it has quite a way to go yet. A bit like 105 was a couple of years ago.

89.5 FM is worth a try. Thai announcers, but all western music, most of it very modern. They also have a wide reception range - virtually all the way to Sri Racha.

For those who may be interested, Wave FM , Bangkok, FM 88.0 is a good English 24 hour music station with good live D.J.s. It broadcasts a wide variety of popular music, and has some good specialist music shows at weekends. Drivers can pick it up about half way to Bangkok on the Motorway. It is also available on the internet.

Then there is FM 107 Bangkok ('Met 107'). This station used to have English DJ's until it was taken over by a new Thai outfit, but still broadcasts very modern western pop music, 24/7. I think this is also on the internet.

[hm1973]

105 FM has improved a lot, both in professionalism and choice of music - more rock orientated, and not afraid to mix it up a bit and be adventurous.

Thank you, I have done a lot of workm on the station in the last few months....I am glad people are noticing the changes.

The only drawback is Howard's, annoying and irritating delivery of commercial spots and news. The minute his voice comes on, I switch stations - surely he is making enough money to stop being a "one man band' announcer and get some professional voice overs who won't be a 'turn off' to many listeners.

I am sorry you are so "offended" by my voice. I am constantly looking for people to voice adverts for me. I really don't want to use my voice on any adverts, but sometimes I have no choice. I think I have now found someone who can help me, but if you know of anyone that would like to do some voice work on the radion for me then contact me through Thai Visa.

A quick comment about 88.5.

I actually liked the music they played, but there was too many obscure tracks on there. For me I keep it commercial and rotate the music so the same song is not played over and over again.

Also it was being run as a sole business. You can't rely on a radio station in Pattaya as your sole source of income, especially not in the current economic environment. That is why 105, 96 and 103 will probably survive these bad times.

Howard

[patsfangr]

I still listen to 96; but I'm giving 103 a "trial run" now and then. Not impressed, so far. The problem for me is that I CAN'T STAND "rap crap" or "hip hop". So any station that plays that garbage can't be on my list of possibilities at all. I like music of the "old style"; but not necessarily the same old songs and singers. I just want music with lyrics that can be understood; actually melody to the music; and actual vocal talent from the singer. It's just very hard to find that in most "modern" music, except in the jazz and "mainstream" country genres. Everything else tends to be more "noise" than "music", IMO.

[anothertorres]

where is my britain-fed rock station? where is my Housemartins, Elvis, Thin Lizzy, XTC, Nick Lowe, Billy Bragg, Tokyo Police Club station? hard to believe a station like that couldn't thrive in of all places, Pattaya. forget about professionalism and well-produced ad spots, it's all about the music. there isn't a station in Pattaya that's worth it's license.

maybe this question is for Howard... who is programming these stations? they're obviously not being programmed by a human. and if they are, well... seriously?

and, where is my drive-time team? can i have that job? pair me up with one of you brutally honest brits and let's get this going.

[Mobi]

105 FM has improved a lot, both in professionalism and choice of music - more rock orientated, and not afraid to mix it up a bit and be adventurous.

Thank you, I have done a lot of workm on the station in the last few months....I am glad people are noticing the changes.

The only drawback is Howard's, annoying and irritating delivery of commercial spots and news. The minute his voice comes on, I switch stations - surely he is making enough money to stop being a "one man band' announcer and get some professional voice overs who won't be a 'turn off' to many listeners.

I am sorry you are so "offended" by my voice. I am constantly looking for people to voice adverts for me. I really don't want to use my voice on any adverts, but sometimes I have no choice. I think I have now found someone who can help me, but if you know of anyone that would like to do some voice work on the radion for me then contact me through Thai Visa.

A quick comment about 88.5.

I actually liked the music they played, but there was too many obscure tracks on there. For me I keep it commercial and rotate the music so the same song is not played over and over again.

Also it was being run as a sole business. You can't rely on a radio station in Pattaya as your sole source of income, especially not in the current economic environment. That is why 105, 96 and 103 will probably survive these bad times.

Howard

Thank you for being upfront and honest with you answer.

I will try to be more patient and understanding, and less irritated.

The station has definitely improved tremendously in recent months.

There is nothing wrong with good play-lists, they are the bread and butter of music radio, but they have to be continuously reviewed and updated, and oft repeated stuff rooted out.

Good luck

[hm1973]

where is my britain-fed rock station? where is my Housemartins, Elvis, Thin Lizzy, XTC, Nick Lowe, Billy Bragg, Tokyo Police Club station? hard to believe a station like that couldn't thrive in of all places, Pattaya. forget about professionalism and well-produced ad spots, it's all about the music. there isn't a station in Pattaya that's worth it's license.

maybe this question is for Howard... who is programming these stations? they're obviously not being programmed by a human. and if they are, well... seriously?

and, where is my drive-time team? can i have that job? pair me up with one of you brutally honest brits and let's get this going.

Haha, Like your style!!

105 has a full list of commercial hits from 60's right through to today. There is a bias towards brit hits, mainly because I am a Brit and my music collection includes Brit Hits because that is what I personally like.

It is quite difficult to run a radio station here because I have to keep in mind that we have an international audience. If I was doing this in UK it would be easy, but here I have to please every nationality, which is not easy. I decided to play music from UK and America, however I often get requests for Indian Music, Korean Music and Arabic Hits, so as you can see it is not easy to pelase everyone listening.

With regards to using presenters, there is the obvious work permit issue and I would only want experienced radio presenters on there and would not use "volunteers" who wanted to "have a go at it" as I believe this would compromise the quality of my output. I am happy with the current format for now and being the only radio station in Pattaya to offer updated international news, every hour of the day, I believe the station has everything there to keep people informed and enertained with a broad variety of music. I do try and keep away from hip-hop and dance music, but sometimes will feature such music from well known groups. For those that say they only listen to a particular type of music and don't like anything else, I would say that you should be a bit more adventurous and you may even get to like some of the new songs about at the moment.

Howard

[hm1973]

105 FM has improved a lot, both in professionalism and choice of music - more rock orientated, and not afraid to mix it up a bit and be adventurous.

Thank you, I have done a lot of workm on the station in the last few months....I am glad people are noticing the changes.

The only drawback is Howard's, annoying and irritating delivery of commercial spots and news. The minute his voice comes on, I switch stations - surely he is making enough money to stop being a "one man band' announcer and get some professional voice overs who won't be a 'turn off' to many listeners.

I am sorry you are so "offended" by my voice. I am constantly looking for people to voice adverts for me. I really don't want to use my voice on any adverts, but sometimes I have no choice. I think I have now found someone who can help me, but if you know of anyone that would like to do some voice work on the radion for me then contact me through Thai Visa.

A quick comment about 88.5.

I actually liked the music they played, but there was too many obscure tracks on there. For me I keep it commercial and rotate the music so the same song is not played over and over again.

Also it was being run as a sole business. You can't rely on a radio station in Pattaya as your sole source of income, especially not in the current economic environment. That is why 105, 96 and 103 will probably survive these bad times.

Howard

Thank you for being upfront and honest with you answer.

I will try to be more patient and understanding, and less irritated.

The station has definitely improved tremendously in recent months.

There is nothing wrong with good play-lists, they are the bread and butter of music radio, but they have to be continuously reviewed and updated, and oft repeated stuff rooted out.

Good luck

Thanks Mobi,

I update the music EVERY week, sometimes twice a week. This involves looking at the UK Charts and US Billboard 100. I will only add one or two new songs from these charts every week as the majority are songs which I feel my target audience would not like. I will also expand the selection of songs from artists on my current playlist to ensure I have EVERY hit they released.

Being a former Radio DJ, I was brought up with music and this is my real passion and therefore what I play on 105 is really important for me. I also have a strict rotation policy which means that you will not hear the same song within at least 18 hours. I have noticed on other stations that the same song is played over and over and they are not adventurous with their music. I believe that 88.5 was too adventurous and with a huge initial investment and no experience of marketing such a product here in Pattaya, it was always going to be hard for them. Shame really, the more English Language Stations the better as far as I'm concerned.

Howard

[sungod]

I would make you right on the presenter issue Howard, have a go DJs on local radio just make me cringe and stations suffer as a result. I listen to 96FM's morning show once, it was that painful I took it off the pre-programmed stations in the car.

[Mobi]

Howard, what you say is "music to my ears".

I think your approach to music selection is spot on. We can only live in the past for so long, and eventually even our favorite songs from long ago start to pall.

Like eveything in life, we need new ideas to regenerate our interest and enjoyment. And whatever musical decade you look at, 80% is crap, 10% is enjoyable for a while, and maybe 5% -10% will end up as 'standards'. But we forget about all that crap from the 60's 70's and 80's.

The world news breaks on the half hour are excellent, and for Thailand, remarkably current.

I totally agree about amateur, folksy radio DJ's. Much better off without their fatuous remarks which are rarely amusing or entertaining - they just feed their 'wanabee' egos.

I know, I'm a hard bastard to please

[hm1973]

Howard, what you say is "music to my ears".

I think your approach to music selection is spot on. We can only live in the past for so long, and eventually even our favorite songs from long ago start to pall.

Like eveything in life, we need new ideas to regenerate our interest and enjoyment. And whatever musical decade you look at, 80% is crap, 10% is enjoyable for a while, and maybe 5% -10% will end up as 'standards'. But we forget about all that crap from the 60's 70's and 80's.

The world news breaks on the half hour are excellent, and for Thailand, remarkably current.

I totally agree about amateur, folksy radio DJ's. Much better off without their fatuous remarks which are rarely amusing or entertaining - they just feed their 'wanabee' egos.

I know, I'm a hard bastard to please

I was going to say before that on my work permit it actually states that I can work as a radio DJ so legally I can do a live show on 105.....but......do you really want to hear me give you funny stories and tell you when and where the knitting club of Pattaya is meeting? I don't think so!!!!!

The others can do that, I just want you to enjoy the music, relax and keep up to speed with local and international news. Nothing more, nothing less.

Anyway, this is sounding like one of my adverts now so I will keep silent now and let others talk :-)

[bobbin]

Interesting input from Howard.

Two points. First, although I'm aware of 105FM, it was not standing out while spinning the dial. Literally. I could not distinguish it from usual Thai stations. I will try again. Secondly, it seems you liked their music as well. The adventurous part was the part I liked. I was telling people about 88.5FM and saying their play-list was as good as I had heard anywhere.

Unfortunately, "retro" stations don't do it for me. And stations that have heavy rotation from previous decades, unless we are talking about the true quality as Mobi notes, are not getting me as a listener.

Also, due to Howard's use of the past tense with regard to 88.5, is their demise "official"?

Finally, someone is using that frequency (or close to it-analogue dial) right now and for the last few hours. All BBC News though so far. No music yet.

[hm1973]

Interesting input from Howard.

Two points. First, although I'm aware of 105FM, it was not standing out while spinning the dial. Literally. I could not distinguish it from usual Thai stations. I will try again. Secondly, it seems you liked their music as well. The adventurous part was the part I liked. I was telling people about 88.5FM and saying their play-list was as good as I had heard anywhere.

Unfortunately, "retro" stations don't do it for me. And stations that have heavy rotation from previous decades, unless we are talking about the true quality as Mobi notes, are not getting me as a listener.

Also, due to Howard's use of the past tense with regard to 88.5, is their demise "official"?

Finally, someone is using that frequency (or close to it-analogue dial) right now and for the last few hours. All BBC News though so far. No music yet.

Hi Bobbin,

I was going to say that there appears to be output now on 88.5. They did use BBC News on the original station.

I am guessing they are having technical problems with their studio and are unable to broadcast music at the moment but are instead just piping through the BBC World Service, which they would receive via sattelite from London. I am sure they will broadcast music again, but unless someone from the station comes on here to explain, we can only speculate what has happened.

If you are using a radio that uses a dial rather than a digital tuner, 105 is hard to pick up as we are close to a high power Thai station located at 104.75. If you use a digital tuner/car radio, you can find us with no problems.

Howard

[TheWalkingMan]

Howard,

You seem to have a lot of fires going on at the same time and I have always wondered how many hours are you working per week. Sorry if this is off topic.

Thanks!

TheWalkingMan

[hm1973]

Howard,

You seem to have a lot of fires going on at the same time and I have always wondered how many hours are you working per week. Sorry if this is off topic.

Thanks!

TheWalkingMan

I work too much, but still get my 8 hours sleep at night and one day off a week, so thats enough for me.

[Heng]

Also it was being run as a sole business. You can't rely on a radio station in Pattaya as your sole source of income, especially not in the current economic environment. That is why 105, 96 and 103 will probably survive these bad times.

With Raimon Land being the founding sponsor, hence the name "Southshore" FM, which if you drive by the site shoudl be renamed 'fenced off dirt area for the past year or so' FM. Maybe they forgot to pay the royalties for that decent play list they had?

Edited July 18, 2009 by Heng

[Chopper]

Heng, given your depiction of the Southshore project it begs the question if Raimon Land has failed to meet their fiduciary responsibility's as the radio stations sponsor.

[hm1973]

Update for the OP,

Their website has now dropped the Southshore FM logo and it says on there "New Programming Coming Soon". I am guessing there was a problem with the people behind the station and Raimon Land and the "relationship" has now ended.

I know the guy behind 88.5 and tried to call him today without success, so I will leave a message here for him:

Russell,

If you see this message and want a chat, give me a call, you have my number. If not PM me through Thai Visa.

[Heng]

Maybe he's back at True Visions lobbying for more voice over time?

[hm1973]

Maybe he's back at True Visions lobbying for more voice over time?

He has a great voice so good for him if he is back working for them.

[anothertorres]

hey so... what stops english radio from playing Carabao and Loso and Asanee-Wasan and the sorts?

[bobbin]

hey so... what stops english radio from playing Carabao and Loso and Asanee-Wasan and the sorts?

Jeez. You don't think the 50 or so Thai FM stations playing Thai music is enough?

BTW, I like Thai music. I just need to get back to my roots from time to time.

To Howard... nope, using an analogue dial, i cannot get 105FM. On my car radio (digital), as you mentioned, no problem.

[stingray]

103 FM, Radio BEE was perfect Dance and Techno Station. Now they changed it to another "old fart station". Horibble! The Lady who owns the 88.5 had allways some troubles. About the Radiostations, it's like a Cartell. Can do only if have enought "connections". If someone have good connections, they can use powerful technology to send a strong radio signal (illegal). But according the law the power of the radiosignal is limited. Another thing, to run a radioistation they need a lot of adverthisers, to keep it alive. But Listeners don't like the commercials on the radio. Tey want only music. This is a problem. Overseas, radio commercials are very expensive, but here in Thaiand i guess they can't get enougt income from the commercials. Mostly radiostations runs paralell to the Newspaper companies. So they have two income and this way it works. Only a small local Radiostation allone can't get enought income.

[sungod]

Good news, just been listening to 88.5FM in the car this afternoon. As Howard pointed out they have dropped the 'Southshore FM tag and just going as 88.5.

[anothertorres]

Jeez. You don't think the 50 or so Thai FM stations playing Thai music is enough?

you dumb. but, thanks for clarifying that you like Thai music, the locals do appreciate your dedication.

so, anyone willing to break the racial barrier and play both thai music AND farang music? technically, i don't believe we've advanced far enough in the world, digitally speaking, but we can dream, right? can dream?

[barkly313]

Just been streaming mix 88.5 for a while in the background, seems reasonable.

My main bugbear is reliable consistent online streaming as we play music in our cafe all day, and both 96fm & 105fm have been unreliable, not always their fault as the internet is not consistent either, but having alternate stations is good.

96fm's playlist is very repetitive now, although with a varied clientele of european,russian,thai & other nationalities in a coffee shop, its good foot tapping music that most recognise...I'm sure Abba's even well known in Russia, as probably are the carpenters...aagh!

105fm is more varied & less repetitive, more brit oriented as stated earlier, but sometimes a bit loud for background music.

Will add 88.5 to the playlist as a backup now and give it a try somedays.

Big advantage for those playing music in a bar or business is that most or all of the stations give their permission to broadcast the music in a public place, so the 'music police' cannot do much about it. Just a case of finding the music that suits your business.

Thanks to all of the stations for broadcasting and providing more choice for the listeners!

[hm1973]

I think I can speak for the other stations and tell you that the most challenging part of running a radio station here in Pattaya is offering s reliable internet stream. The quality, including reliability of broadband here in Thailand is far lower than elsewhere. I think I may have cracked it.....finally and our stream appears to be good....for now. It has meant me experimenting with various internet packages and wasting a lot of money, but I was determined to imrove our stream and I think I have.

[Spalpeen]

where is my britain-fed rock station? where is my Housemartins, Elvis, Thin Lizzy, XTC, Nick Lowe, Billy Bragg, Tokyo Police Club station? hard to believe a station like that couldn't thrive in of all places, Pattaya. forget about professionalism and well-produced ad spots, it's all about the music. there isn't a station in Pattaya that's worth it's license.

maybe this question is for Howard... who is programming these stations? they're obviously not being programmed by a human. and if they are, well... seriously?

and, where is my drive-time team? can i have that job? pair me up with one of you brutally honest brits and let's get this going.

Haha, Like your style!!

105 has a full list of commercial hits from 60's right through to today. There is a bias towards brit hits, mainly because I am a Brit and my music collection includes Brit Hits because that is what I personally like.

It is quite difficult to run a radio station here because I have to keep in mind that we have an international audience. If I was doing this in UK it would be easy, but here I have to please every nationality, which is not easy. I decided to play music from UK and America, however I often get requests for Indian Music, Korean Music and Arabic Hits, so as you can see it is not easy to pelase everyone listening.

With regards to using presenters, there is the obvious work permit issue and I would only want experienced radio presenters on there and would not use "volunteers" who wanted to "have a go at it" as I believe this would compromise the quality of my output. I am happy with the current format for now and being the only radio station in Pattaya to offer updated international news, every hour of the day, I believe the station has everything there to keep people informed and enertained with a broad variety of music. I do try and keep away from hip-hop and dance music, but sometimes will feature such music from well known groups. For those that say they only listen to a particular type of music and don't like anything else, I would say that you should be a bit more adventurous and you may even get to like some of the new songs about at the moment.

Howard

Just a suggestion, but if ads were recorded somewhere other than Thailand it would avoid any work permit issues. It always sounds unprofessional if a station uses the same voiceover man to voice too many ads..