Internet radio station WOXY.com may well be a case study in the future of terrestrial radio. Originally founded in 1983 as Oxford, Ohio’s 97.7 FM—famously enshrined by Dustin Hoffman’s line “97X – Bam! – The Future of Rock & Roll” in “Rain Man” – the long-standing station began broadcasting online in 1998. But the declining profits in the traditional market caused the station to be sold in 2004. At that time, 97X became WOXY.com—which, as they phrase it, was “possibly the first terrestrial radio station to make the move to an Internet-only entity.”

The results of operating as an independently run, online exclusive station have been a fiercely independent playlist that features up-and-coming artists from around the country as well as a contagious do-it-yourself ethic.  Unsigned artists are encouraged to submit material to a constantly evolving rotation. The website has expanded to offer a plethora of materials: full playlists for viewing, exclusive live performances, request lines, podcasts, and other specialty programming. WOXY.com recently became entirely listener supported—in a sense, they are the indie-rock equivalent of NPR. Paying members can stream high quality audio 24 hours a day, while guests can access lower quality streams for free. Listeners are asked to donate to the WOXY.com cause, and numerous bands display their support for the station on their websites or MySpace pages. Often credited with breaking some of the most cutting edge new music around, WOXY.com has maintained the slogan that Hoffman made famous—“the future of rock and roll.”