To reach younger listeners, KMOJ launches second radio station in Twin Cities

By Nick Williams  –  Staff reporter, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Sep 20, 2017, 3:27pm EDT

KMOJ 89.9 FM, the Minneapolis-based urban radio station, is launching a second radio station in the Twin Cities.

The Minneapolis-based nonprofit on Wednesday unveiled an all hip-hop station called The Ice, which will be available on a high definition radio frequencies and can be streamed off the KMOJ website, said station manager Freddie Bell.

HD radio signals are not available on most conventional car stereos, but are common in newer car radios.

The new station targets the 12-24 age demographic, which will make up the future base of KMOJ’s listeners, Bell said. The Ice will feature emerging artists from the Twin Cities and the Midwest as well as underground hip-hop, which is essentially hip-hop music you won’t find on a pop radio station, but it’ll spin some mainstream music as well, Bell said.

Every now and then, KMOJ’s regular FM station will air what’s being played on The Ice, he said.

Launching the new HD station gives the station more opportunities to grow advertising revenue, Bell said. In July, the station launched its own streaming service and smartphone app to bring in more revenue. It also boosts KMOJ’s maximum audience size to 1 million simultaneous listeners.