Save Planet Rock Radio Station

3rd May 2008 - Brian May's Mission to Save Planet Rock

The following has been put on Brian May's website today..... (see here for original posting)

MISSION TO SAVE PLANET ROCK

In response to many of your kind enquiries .... yes, those few words on the Soapbox about Planet Rock DID lead to me getting involved in mounting a rescue operation to save the station. I can't tell you who I am 'in league' with, but I am part of a small group of people who have great hopes that we will succeed in taking over the station, and putting it on a firm footing, for the benefit of its growing audience.

I regard Planet Rock as rather more than just a radio station - it is a symbol of free radio ... radio which is not run by large corporate organisations for the purpose of making tons of money, and has a free choice of what it plays. I'm not going to run down any particular radio station - this country has some talented and dedicated people working in music radio ...

But I do feel that, for a healthy climate for music in this country, we need to allow small independent stations to exist alongside the huge FM giants. I listen to radio in my car, one of the few times I am 'in my own space' - and, for me, who grew up with Zeppelin, the Who, Hendrix, Traffic, AC/DC, Van Halen ... THE BEATLES ..... tell me, where can you hear music from these kinds of artists these days ? You'll have a hard job finding "Kashmir" flicking through the channels in the UK.

DAB Radio has had a brave start, and can provide freedom from domination by commercially minded programming, but it might, at this point, slip between the cracks. I believe this cause is worth supporting ... and will be doing my best to put my money and expertise) where my mouth is ! We hope to be able to make an announcement soon. In the meantime, of you agree with me ... Demand your Planet Rock !! Demand your DAB !!! !

Cheers
Bri

© brianmay.com

So there you have it......!

Let's keep our fingers crossed that Brian and his fellow investors can take over Planet Rock.

Deadline Extended Until 30th May 2008 According to Station Website!

The Planet Rock website has published an update about the station's future. Here is the text:

STATION UPDATE:

We’d love to be able to announce that the deal to buy Planet Rock is all done and dusted but I’m afraid that we have to keep holding our breath for yet another month. The deadline for the sale completion has been extended until 30th May, while the interested parties continue their negotiations with GCap Media.

Thank you all for your continued messages of support, your passion for Planet Rock has been an inspiration. We should have more news very soon. In the mean time we hope you’ll enjoy at least one more month of Planet Rock.

There's lots of threads starting up on the Planet Rock Website Forum.

The Global Save Planet Rock Army!

There is a global army of loyal Save Planet Rockers who want Planet Rock to stay on air. In just 2 months, this site has had 18,000 visitors with over 53,000 pages viewed, from 93 countries worldwide, from Newport Pagnell to Beverley Hills and everywhere in between.

Elsewhere there has been nearly 48,000 views to the Planet Rock Forum Thread about the plans to close the station, 1,575+ Facebookers, 5,600+ Forum Members, 2,085+ You Choose Petitioners, 1,477 No 10 Petitioners, 190 MySpace Friends....and 3 Sony Radio Academy Awards Nominations!

A big thank you to all those of you showing your support! Let's hope we get some good news very soon!

If you haven't had a chance to show your support yet, just scroll down to the information panel half way down this page.

Global Visitors

Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria

Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria

Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic

Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France

Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala

Hong Kong, Hungary,

Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy

Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait

Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg

Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco

Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway

Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico

Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia

San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey

U.S. Virgin Islands, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Venezuela, Vietnam

10th April 2008: Planet Rock scoops THREE nominations in the recently announced Sony Radio Academy Awards 2008.......Planet Rock's Joel, Liz, Katy and Mark beaming widely, after the announcement was made...see the news links for more info !!

WELL DONE Planet Rock !!

22nd March 2008: It has been announced that Planet Rock will continue for a further month, (beyond the previously announced deadline of 28th March) to allow time for discussions to take place with a potential buyer.

This is just the news we all wanted to hear, as it allows more time for further campaigning to support the station, while allowing for "due diligence" to be completed.....

We still need to be focused....and no deal has been done yet.....but the signs are that someone has come forward and is interested in keeping Planet Rock on air.

So, please continue to register your support....and let's show any potential new owner(s) that the listeners want Planet Rock to survive...

Fish doing his bit for the Station

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has pledged their support via our two online petitions - there's been a huge response, with tens of thousands of visitors from over 1,630 cities in over 94 countries (!!) from all over the World visiting our website - Planet Rock’s pulse is very much still beating - and with your CONTINUED support, the station will stay open, transmitting great music to the UK and beyond.....

Of course, you could always have a T-Shirt printed and wear it in public....!!

We have been given kind permission by Fish himself to use this image - as he said by email:

"...the station is special, I just wish I had the money to buy it myself! :-)
all the best and lets hope it all works out, Fish"

listen online: www.planetrock.com

Find Out How You Can Help Planet Rock - The UK's Classic Rock Station!

What's been done so far to help save planet rock DAB radio

Not Sure Why Planet Rock is For Sale?

You've not heard the sad news that UK classic rock station PLANET ROCK may close, because it has been put up for sale by its owner GCap Media.

If they are not able to secure a buyer, it is has been agreed that Planet Rock will close on 28 March 2008.

Current listening figures show Planet Rock has over 560,000 listeners, more than BBC 6 Music. Showing the station has popular support makes it more attractive to a new buyer.

Planet Rock listeners want to make sure the voice of rock fans is heard.

What the Listeners are Doing

The Save Planet Rock Site was set up by Planet Rock Listeners to raise awareness to help get a buyer and give the classic rock listeners a voice on the web.

Since this site was launched on 14/02/08, it has been visited by thousands of people from more than 83 countries worldwide.

Bands and musicians have been contacted, with support from Ian Gillan's Caramba site, Rick Wright (Fansite), David Gilmour, Joe Bonamassa, Ronnie James Dio, Marillion, Magnum, Bob Catley, Thunder, Hawkwind, Brian May, Fish, Rick Wakeman, Gary Moore, The Answer

SHARANT's Campaign
Updates

Planet Rock Forum User SHARANT writes weekly summaries if you want a quick update on where we are:

Read the list of "Save Planet Rock" Topics on the Planet Rock Forum

10 Ways to Help Planet Rock

There are lots of ways you can get involved with the campaign:

(Membership numbers shown are as of 3rd May 2008)

REGISTER on the PLANET ROCK forum
(5,640+ members)

SIGN the You Choose Petition
(2,095+ Names)

JOIN the Facebook group
(1,605+ members)

JOIN the MySpace group
(190+ friends)

VIEW the Number 10 Petition (closed 25th April 2008)
(1,477 Names)

CAR STICKERS NOW AVAILABLE - see this Planet Rock forum thread

WRITE TO / EMAIL OFCOM about the closure

CONTACT YOUR MP Let THEM know about the closure

DOWNLOAD the campaign graphics and link to this site - UPDATE - see how BUSY this site is, via our website statistics reports.

CHECK OTHER FORUMS - let them know the latest news

Latest News Stories

WikiPedia entry for Planet Rock

News Archive (including the following stories...)

GuardianOnline: Planet Rock audience growing

RadioToday: GCap can't stop the Rock

GuardianOnline: GCap to keep Xfm radio stations

MAD (Media/Advertising News) 11th April: GCap NOT selling off Xfm Manchester and Scotland !!

Planet Rock News: 10th April - PLANET ROCK AWARD NOMINEES (in detail)

GuardianOnline: Chris Evans says "Fru Hazlitt's not going to like this one" as Planet Rock is nominated for "Digital Radio Station of the Year" at the Sony Radio nominations.

GuardianBlog: The Sony Radio Academy Awards: who has your vote?

26th Sony Radio Academy Award Nominations: THREE Award Nominations for Planet Rock (Digital Station of the Year, The Multiplatform Radio Award and The Music Broadcaster Award (to Fish). The Awards will take place on 12th May 2008.

Radio Analysis: The Global shake-up

TimesOnline: Global pushed to sell Xfm after GCap deal

Bloomberg.com: GCap Media plc information (News, Stock Quotes and Financial Charts)

London Stock Exchange News: OFFER FOR GCAP MEDIA PLC

BBC Business News: Global to buy Classic FM owner

GuardianOnline: Global Radio buys GCap for £375m

Times Online: GCap accepts £375m Global deal

Times Online: GCap willing to give Global extra time

Planet Rock Official statement (25th March 2008)

Times Online: GCap boss Fru Hazlitt is set to walk off with £1m

Thisismoney.co.uk: Global Radio set to win GCap for £371m

Times Online: GCap shelves plan to quit digital radio...