Back in the 80s and 90s, college radio was a flourishing platform that supported and helped expose independent up-and-coming artists to its viewers. If you went to college during the decade, then you know just how important this medium was for discovering niche and underground music. Well, it wasn’t just important to you, as it was also incredibly important to the bands who graced its airwaves.
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Bands of a smaller stature would often come on college radio, given that their small stature simply couldn’t garner enough viewers for commercial radio. Though college radio doesn’t care about ad revenue. So, they helped these three timeless rock bands rise to fame by putting them on the air.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. is the band most often associated with the glory days of college radio. Like their contemporaries, R.E.M.’s music was too indie and niche for commercial viewership, but not for college radio. During the early years of R.E.M., schools such as Brown, NYU, Georgia, and many others played their music consistently.
Ironically, the very thing that supported R.E.M.’s independent spirit is the very thing that made them a non-independent band. Thanks to the 1981 college radio staple, “Radio Free Europe”, R.E.M. went on to sign their first record deal just a year later in 1982.
Pixies
The Pixies‘ relationship started when their demo tape, “The Purple Tape”, started to get consistent airplay on college radio stations across the country in 1987. The Pixies’ career and rise to it are nearly entirely defined by college radio.
A year after their demo tape was released, The Pixies released their debut album, Surfer Rosa. While it was not a commercial hit, the incredibly indie and alternative Pixies had a record deal. And that record deal seemingly would not have come to fruition at such a quick speed if not for university radio stations.
Nirvana
Nirvana‘s relationship with college radio was pivotal for its career. From 1988 to 1991, Nirvana graced the airwaves of college radio stations all across the Pacific Northwest. Thanks to these stations, Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach, reportedly sold around 35,000 copies.
As a result of those sold copies, Nirvana was able to secure its first-ever major record deal in 1991 with DGC Records. Shortly after their time on university radio stations and after inking their first huge deal, Nirvana released Nevermind. And after that, well, the rest is history, and a mighty influential history at that.
Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns
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