07/01/2026
Elm City Radio readers, listeners, supporters and fans:
Thank you for the last almost two years of the existence of this space. Thank you to the musicians who have sent me their music or have sat for the interviews on my podcast. Thank you to the models that have given of their time to create the Street Trash Magazine concept. Thank you to all of the behind-the-scenes supporters for all the efforts here.
As of July 31, Elm City Radio will completely cease operations. Jacksonville, Illinois and West Central Illinois unfortunately is not financially supportive of the niche creative efforts that I've worked so hard to curate most of my life. That niche will now just return to my own personal enjoyment. I'm sure some who pass this word along will say, "I didn't even know that existed here." Well, it wasn't for a lack of trying. Financially, the photography, the music and the podcasts are not sustainable. Outside of some donations early on in the existence of the Internet radio station, I've subsidized monetarily most all of the operations. Thank you to Pizza Records, Subterranean Sound and Vision, MKM Entertainment LLC, Rob Thomas and DTE Technologies, and Ryan Mason for their help with the brand and operations. Thank you to ElCrow Photography and Design for the help with the "big boy" camera and the encouragement to shoot photos again. These folks truly are some of the best around in what they do. Unfortunately, the social media likes and shares didn't lead to offers and payment for me. I guess I'm not quite that good at the whole marketing/advertisement side.
With that in mind, the whole concept was to fill what I saw as a hole in multimedia in the area. None of the area radio stations played the local, alternative, metal, and roots/blues that I played on my station or talked to the artists that I personally know in some cases. None of the media outlets really dig into true crime like my Morgan, Scott & Cass Crime Stoppers has done. Thank you to them for their support by the way. No one shoots alt fashion photography in this area that I know of. If they do, it's not in Jacksonville like I've done. It is what it is. Apparently, the hole isn't that big. I'm not bitter or agitated. It's a life lesson for me. You can pour your guts into something and it just doesn't work. That's life. It's too short to cry or get mad. I'm not mad at anyone. I just need to keep my house and food on the table. This particular avenue just isn't doing it.
So what will happen: Somehow, someway, I'll try to financially make the summer edition of Street Trash Magazine published and finish out that shoot schedule.
The Crime Stoppers podcast will continue to exist. The Artist Spotlight will cease.
The website elmcityradio.com will come down and cease.
I will likely stop all music criticism and any kind of music-related DJing/writing activity at this point. It doesn't pay for itself. No one listens to it or reads it. I'm not being self-deprecating - I have the traffic numbers.
In life, you can wallow in a door closing or you can go on to the next. This is yet another door that's closing for me in a matter of a few months. I'm not quite sure where I'll be, but Elm City Radio's frequency will be signing off.
Regards,
Ben Cox, Owner/Operator
