The Summit WAPS-FM’s new streaming audio channel, “The 330,” went live at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 22 during the final hours of the station’s spring membership campaign.
To honor the new brand, The Summit set an aggressive goal of 330 members during the five-day drive, and announced the goal was surpassed shortly after “The 330” went live. Wayside Furniture in Akron is the channel’s generous title sponsor.
The 330 represents the latest of the station’s community-centered brands and devotes an entire platform, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to local and regional music. In alignment with its hyper-local and community-centered mission, The 330 features the past, present and future sounds of individual artists and bands with roots in the station’s primary service areas, including Akron, Canton, Youngstown and Cleveland.
“So many great bands are making top-notch music here in Northeast Ohio. The level of excitement we’ve always heard from Summit listeners when we play local and independent acts gave us the impetus to develop and launch The 330,” said Brad Savage, the station’s program director.
The 330 joins The Summit’s award-winning music service programs and streaming audio channels, Rock and Recovery™ and KIDJAM! Radio™. “This furthers our music and community service mission, by supporting the aspirations and goals of artists from throughout our listening area” said General Manager Tommy Bruno. “This channel shines a spotlight on the immense talent — past, present and future — of our regional musicians.”
Akron-based musician Zach said he is excited “by the celebration of today’s local talent and also by those artists that have come from the region, whose shoulders we stand on.” He is also excited that there is a dedicated station playing nothing but local music, and “ to find new favorites that might be playing down the street. The 330 can help build a culture that appreciates and values a vibrant live music scene for the region.”
To celebrate the kickoff of The 330, The Summit themed its campaign around the new channel, setting the most challenging membership goal in the history of the station. “We met that goal within 90 minutes of launching the channel,” said Bruno, “and we couldn’t be more excited to have more than 330 new and returning members.”
To celebrate that 330th pledge, and memorialize the late artist Prince, Zach joined the team at The Summit studios and wowed listeners with a heart-wrenching acoustic version of the legendary ballad, “Purple Rain.”
The 330 is accessible through its own streaming channel, www.the330.net, and on The Summit’s mobile app. For more information, visit www.thesummit.fm.
To submit local music for consideration, go to 913thesummit.com/local_music.htm.
