Only Black & Female Owned Radio Station in Chicago 95.1 FM Set to Make History!
Owned by Tracey V. Bell, 95.1 FM, Chicago became a 100% digital station, at the end of March 2021. At the initial launch of the station, station officials developed and launched a digital App which can be accessed wherever there is Wi-fi direct from Apple and Android playstores. Unlike other streaming apps, it maintains audio in real-time even when switching between devices. An unintentional dress rehearsal, in May 2020, 95.1 FM operated solely from its digital App, due to a flood at the Sears Tower, which stripped the station of its FM signal, for 3 weeks. During that month, the station’s audience grew 25%. A 24-hour music station, 95.1 FM Chicago, now streams across the US, 79 other countries, and has more than 300K listeners. Its APP earns more than 2MM impressions a month and on average, the station adds more than 20K new digital listeners each month. Moreover, the station’s number of weekly digital listeners exceeds all competitors in Chicago, the nation’s 3rd largest market, who vie for the same listener. As such, 95.1 Chicago became the first.
Black-Female owned, radio station to proactively go ALL digital, and compete on the national scale, with international in its sight. Bell made the strategic decision so that the station can focus on enhancing digital solutions in this budding digital age. Immediately, the decision elevates the station to be considered with streaming leaders, Pandora and Spotify. Taking streaming to another level, the 95.1 Chicago App has become the first and ONLY to innovate audio AND visual via inclusion of a digital theater, within the same app. With successful performances in 2020 that included international Smooth Jazz artist Nick Colionne and the R&B legendary Whispers, the performances streamed coast to coast through the 95.1 Chicago App. When asked about the impact to Chicago, the station’s birth city, Program Director, First Lady, who also dubs as Midday Personality and Mixer on the station, said; “New York has its fashions. LA has its movie stars and Chicago has its Music…like Curtis May-field, The Emotions, The Chi-Lites, Sam Cooke, Earth Wind &
Fire, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Hudson, Minnie Ripperton, Com-mon and the list goes on. It makes sense that we share this music with the world. That’s what it means to take Chicago around the world. We are the only station systematically playing this kind of music…and we go deep not just what charted. So now, we el-evate our culture to the next level by launching digital. 70% of our audience already listens via our App so we are just giving the people more of what they asked us for. As far as our local advertisers, small businesses with an online business model will receive incremental opportunities.” Excited to lead Black-Fe-male owned radio into the digital age, Bell emphasized that none of this is possible, without God. “He [GOD] combined music, message and mission. The timing of it all epitomizes Vic-tor Hugo’s meaning of nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”
Integrated Brand Marketing Company is the parent company of 95.1 Chicago, now referenced under the trademark of THE FM Omni-Channel and which uses the tagline as the Heartbeat of Soul. The ONLY African-American & Female owned Radio station in Chicago, 95.1 Chicago is programmed primarily for African Americans 35+ years of age, and airs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The station is enjoyed across 5 continents via its 95.1 FM Chicago App which can be downloaded from Android or Apple Playstores via a mobile device. With a legendary on-air team and a generous playlist, the station programs Classic R&B, Smooth Jazz, Gospel, Chicago Style Steppin & House. To learn more about the station and its parent company, visit www.951FM Chicago.com and www.theibmcom-pany.com, respectively.
