Back in 2018, TechCrunch quoted Dash Radio founder Scott Keeney or DJ Skee, a well-known DJ with stints on LA’s KISS-FM and Sirius XM, as saying, “(On the streaming side with Apple and Spotify), there’s not going to be room for much else. But when it comes to radio, it’s the wild, wild west.”
Keeney started Dash Radio, an internet radio platform, with $2 million seed funding in 2014, then raised $8.8 million in 2018 after it reached 10 million monthly listeners. While everyone online was focused on live video, Dash Radio concentrated on live audio.
Today, Dash Radio is the largest all-original live audio platform in the world, with over 12 million monthly listeners, 80 stations and over 500 DJs and shows. Dash Radio has over 50 distribution partners that include all mobile devices like the iOS and Android, smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa and Sonos, car companies like Honda and Jaguar, smart TV platforms like Apple TV, Chromecast, Pluto TV and more. Celebrities and entertainment brands like Snoop Dogg and Kylie Jenner have stations alongside the UFC and Insomniac Group. One of the biggest music festivals in the world called “EDC or Electric Daisy Carnival” livestreams exclusively on the Dash Radio platform. They have multiple studios which include storefronts on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, Empire State Building in New York, downtown Atlanta, and will be launching Nashville soon.
“Radio was the first social network, the first time people really listened together,” Keeney was quoted by TechWeek. “And we want to bring that feeling back, but with more freedom than what FM and satellite can offer.”
On their website, the mission of Dash Radio is clear: “Dash Radio was created by the world’s biggest DJ’s who became fed up with the limitations of regular FM radio (and hate the internet playlists that pose as radio powered by soulless computers). Together, we formed Dash with one goal: to provide the best radio platform in the world. This means all the variety you ever wanted with ZERO commercials… oh ya, all live, 24/7 for free.”
And this is the platform where myxRADIO – a new 24/7, commercial-free radio station – has launched, and not surprisingly, to quick success. In just over a month, the station has drawn one million listeners, averaging 35,000 a day.
“We are excited to partner with Philippine media giant ABS-CBN to launch myxRADIO on Dash Radio last month. We pride ourselves on diversity and saw a demand in the marketplace for a station that features fresh music first from around the world including the Philippines and Asia, Latin America, Europe and more. There aren’t a lot of places where you can discover new music and artists from around the world and you can see from the station’s initial beta launch that listeners are engaged as well,” said Dash Radio Founder Scott Keeney.
myxRADIO features unique weekly programming such as “Heavy Rotation,” an international podcast featuring R&B and Hip-Hop music made by Filipinos across the world with exclusive interviews and countdowns by DJ Marlino. Marlino is a former on-air mixer & personality for popular commercial radio stations like Clearchannel’s Jammin Z90 in San Diego and Wild 94.9 in San Francisco. The program “Sound Trip” is produced by Dannie Boi, who is a program director, host and DJ for Manila’s top radio station Wav 89.1. The show features today’s biggest hits mixed alongside the best in up and coming artists, including those from innovative global music collectives/labels like 88 Rising, Tarsier Records and Soulection.
On November 1, the station launched in beta. The official launch was on November 27, 2019 at the 143Thx music festival, powered by myxRADIO and myxTV, the night before Thanksgiving. The event had a sold-out millennial audience of over 3,000 that came out for headlining artists like 112, A-Trak and P-Lo — artists that were handpicked by 143 founders SoSuperSam and Partytime — who can also be heard frequently on the station. myxRADIO aired exclusive backstage interviews with the headliners that can also be seen on myxTV, the official and exclusive media partner for the event.
Social media is buzzing with myxRADIO listeners across the country sharing posts while they are discovering new music and talent featured in heavy rotation on myxRADIO. There have been posts made on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok daily about new artists being discovered like popular sister duo Ceraadi, who were recently signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and co-headliners of the Kollective Hustle hour at the annual SCPASA college games, Billboard chart-topping Bay area rapper Saweetie, Manila Killa, a young producer who just finished a nationwide tour of the U.S., Kiana V., an R&B singer-songwriter from the Philippines, who recently booked shows in the U.S. through the discovery of her music in the region.
“In our first six months of successfully – yet challenging experience – of launching Inigo Pascual to a new, international audience via ABS-CBN Music International (AMI), we found that there were very few platforms that welcomed music from other countries,” said ABS-CBN Global Head of Music & Talent Roslynn Alba Cobarrubias. “We were told that no matter the quality of the music or how many online streams or fans an artist had, without significant major record label budget, that it is nearly impossible to get your music heard on the radio in the US and Canada. We wanted to help solve the problem that global artists face when looking to launch their new music in the pop, R&B, Hip Hop & dance genres, while also providing our audience with music they want to hear.”
Cobarrubias continued: “Our myxRADIO station on Dash Radio is carefully curated by tastemakers and professional radio DJs who have a passion in amplifying the discovery of good, new music that might not be heard on commercial radio. myxRADIO and myxTV as platforms are a part of our new music ecosystem that we’re building to help serve music lovers in North America. We will also continue to produce and co-produce live music events that will spotlight the best in new talent as well as on other platforms like Spotify and Tik Tok, through myxRADIO playlists and featured artists.”
“myxRADIO’s partnership with Dash Radio is a key part of our strategy to bring Filipino talent to the world stage,” said ABS-CBN North America Managing Director Jun Del Rosario. “We are confident that with Dash Radio’s expansion as a leader in curative live audio experience, the featured Filipino talents on myxRADIO will get the best exposure to fans who are open to their fresh, creative music sounds.”
To listen to myxRADIO, download the Dash Radio mobile or smart TV app searching “myxRADIO” or online at www.dashradio.com.
