Today we’d like to introduce you to John Lavasseur.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my radio career after 10 years in the highly competitive Boston beer industry, where I was On Premise Sales Manager at United Liquors. My first radio job was as a sports marketing sales executive for WBZ AM Boston Bruins Network, after three years of learning the radio industry I accepted a job at WFNX 101.7 FM, Boston’s iconic alternative rock radio station. I was there for 15 years as Director of Sales. When the station’s radio signal was sold to iHeart Media in 2012, instead of taking another job in terrestrial radio, I decided to pursue an opportunity presented by the Boston Globe to launch a streaming radio version of WFNX on the powerhouse Boston.com website. The best part was all the people I loved at WFNX would be on the team, and the magic that was ‘FNX would live another day, We Founded RadioBDC and turned it into a player in the Boston radio market without a spot on the FM dial. After six profitable and successful years at the Globe, I saw an opportunity to take the station private with two partners this past January, after a three-month transition from the Globe, we rebranded as indie617 with all the same folks from ‘FNX. A big step — but one worth the effort to continue to grow and thrive as what I believe is Boston’s best alternative radio station on terrestrial radio or online,
Has it been a smooth road?
It has never been smooth for me. In the beer business, I was selling Coors Light, a newcomer in 1986 up against the Bud and Millers of the world in what was, at the time, blue-collar South Boston, Somerville, and Dorchester. The union boycott of Coors didn’t make it any easier. I was successful — Coors Light is now the 2nd largest selling beer in the country. I was Coors’ Salesperson of the Year (1996) and got to meet a lot of great people along the way, That being said, all the connections and relationships developed in Boston as a young beer dog made my transition to radio easier, WBZ and selling the Bruins on radio was maybe the hardest job I ever had, I managed to be successful for three years but the Bruins of 1996 were not the Bruins of today — they were the dead-last-in-the-NHL Bruins, WFNX came knocking and that’s when my radio career started to flourish, Music, events, concerts, skiing events, etc., fit my skill set far better it was a great 15 year run. RadioBDC’s launch was a huge undertaking, going from tiny ‘FNX to ginormous Boston Globe overnight. My team of ‘FNX alums rose to the occasion and built a station from scratch — developed programs, instituted billing, traffic, and everything else that goes with a radio station in just three months’ time. RadioBDC launched in August of 2012. The Globe was a great place to hang your hat for six years, with many very talented people to help in the success of RadioBDC which was the most successful launch of a Globe new product in a very long time. The challenges of the newspaper industry unfortunately had started to take a bit off the RadioBDC fastball as resources and manpower started to dwindle. In 2017, myself and Paul Driscoll thought it would be best for our brand if we spread out wings and took the station private and expand our points of distribution. Has indie617 been smooth? I wouldn’t know smooth if it hit me in the face. But we get the job done.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Indie617 story. Tell us more about the business.
Indie617 is an independently-owned, alternative rock station playing what’s next and classic alternative rock curated by well-known Boston radio personalities Julie Kramer, Adam 12, and Paul Driscoll. It is a streaming radio station that is operated in the same way as a terrestrial station: live DJs, curated programming, and great events. Indie617 has a reputation as did ‘FNX and RadioBDC as executing some of the best events in the Boston area, The Drafters ski sessions, Sushi Sunday, the Plus 1 series, Party On The River, block parties, St Patrick’s Day at The Black Rose, Marathon Monday (RadioBDC hosted the Finish at the Forum event that was made infamous for all the wrong reasons in 2013), Welcome Back Students Fall Rush… and the list goes on. What makes me proudest is when we develop a program for a national brand and activate it in Boston and they come back year in and year out because we do it better than most.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I am personally hoping the industry is going my way, I have three children aged 26, 24, and 22, never have I seen them turn on a radio, all their music comes off their phone. I watched them growing up and when they got in the car the first thing they did was turn on their music from their phone. I believe the FM dial will become less relevant and apps, podcasts, and playlists will be the future.
Contact Info:
- Address: Indie617
36 Bay State Road
Cambridge MA 02138 - Website: Indie617.com
- Phone: 978-290-0556
- Email: Johnnyl@indie617.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indie617/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/indie617
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/indie617
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