Last Thursday, an era ended for our company…sort of.
Our very first “Edge® client, KDGE in Dallas, changed format after a long 27-year run. When we signed the station on in 1989, the station was at a weak frequency, but the Metroplex was ready for a station that was dedicated to Modern Rock (Alternative was not the nomenclature at the time).
I came up with the Edge® idea after working for several years in the ‘80s with 91X and iconic programmer, “Mad Max” Tolkoff. We had amazing success in San Diego – and of course, the station remains in the Alternative format, after starting out as Rick Carroll’s (“Rock of the ’80s”) first affiliate.
Max was the guy who convinced me that Modern Rock was a format ready to break out. After my success with Classic Rock, it seemed perfectly counter-intuitive to do a complete 180°and emphasize new rock.
In retrospect, we were a little early. Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl would need another two years to launch the Seattle Grunge movement. But with the KDGE sign on, an enthusiastic staff, and a young independent owner, I was optimistic about our foray into the format.
While many of you are aware of KDGE in Dallas, here’s a part of the story you haven’t heard: How the Edge® format almost never expanded beyond that first station.
At the first anniversary of KDGE, it was clear things were going well. I made a market visit to Dallas as part of our ongoing consulting deal. The owner was happy with the station’s initial results, and told me to send him a new contract. I couldn’t have been happier.
Until a couple months went by, we weren’t getting paid, and the new contract never arrived in the mail. Another month, and nothing. We were servicing the station but getting no response to our calls from the owner. The PD was of no help and we were perplexed about what was happening to our Modern Rock success story. We wanted a win so bad we probably would have been willing to consult at no charge for an even longer period of time.
Until a registered letter arrived announcing the owner of KDGE was challenging us for ownership of the mark, The Edge®. Of course, we had it trademarked in the U.S. Copyright Office, but that didn’t stop him from claiming what’s known as first-use. His filing also stipulated the trademark was limited for use in “radio,” and because he owned a radio station and we didn’t, he technically could claim it as his.
(BTW, that’s how other products outside of radio, including shaving cream, smartphones, SUVs, and strip clubs called “Edge® evaded any claims that we could make. But it was fun and flattering to watch Edge-branded products appear – confirmation that we had come up with a pretty solid name.)
I’ve had some bad days at Jacobs Media over the past 3+ decades, but this one ranked right up there. And it became a recurring nightmare. Despite a couple of assurances that we could settle the dispute out of court, we ended up having to retain attorneys in Michigan, D.C., and Texas. Depositions were taken, and our legal fees were soaring. For a small company, it was becoming debilitating, but it was a fight we felt compelled to wage.
During these couple of years, we had to stop marketing and promoting the Edge® format. We couldn’t very well sign up new clients if our ownership of the trademark was in question. So, it turned out to be a horrible chapter in our business – and my career. What once appeared to be a viable format partner to Classic Rock was crashing and burning, while the attorney fees piled up.
And then one day we got the notification KDGE’s owner decided to sell the station. And in order to complete the deal, this lawsuit had to be settled or at least cleared off the books. And we were eager to make that happen. In short order, an agreement was crafted and the battle was over.
Once our retention of The Edge® mark was free and clear, we started to market the format again. And soon after, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was released. We hired a great consultant with credibility in the format – Tom Calderone – and we were off to the races, signing up one Edge™ station after another.
One of the happiest days of my consultancy occurred a few years later. Bonneville bought the station, and GM Tom Glade and Ops Manager John Larson brought us back to once again advise and guide KDGE. I can’t explain just how gratifying it was to walk through those doors, sit down in The Edge® conference room, and get back to work for a station that meant so much to us.
In the meantime, The Edge® brand grew. We signed on stations in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Dayton, Albuquerque, and several others. One of the more bizarre stories occurred in Buffalo. We launched WEDG/The Edge™, and days later, CFNY across the border in Toronto rebranded itself to…yes, The Edge (sans trademark).
So, in effect, there were two stations in the area each playing Alternative music called The Edge®. Because CFNY is a Canadian station, our U.S. trademark meant absolutely nothing. Today, 25 years later, both stations are still in format and both are called The Edge®.
Over the years at Jacobs Media, stations have come and gone. But whether we consulted for Edge® stations or not, we received a licensing fee every year from stations continuing to use the mark. And those checks continue to roll in.
In fact, an Edge® station signed on earlier this year in Battle Creek, Michigan – just a couple hundred miles down the road.
So this radio story has a happy ending. All those legal fees came back several-fold in the form of licensing checks. And we’re blessed with being able to consult some of the best Alternative stations in the country. Along the way, we learned some tough lessons, not only about how wacky trademark law is, but also about the many things that can go wrong in client relationships. I’d say that 99% of the time, it’s gone well. But of course, KDGE was the 1% where it didn’t.
To the hundreds of thousands of people in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area who enjoyed the station, we’re sorry that it had to go, replaced by yet another station playing Christmas music (for now). To the many people we worked with at various incarnations and ownerships of KDGE, The Edge®, thanks for your hard work, support, and professionalism. It was an iconic station, and while it’s sad to see it go, it had a long 27-year run with ratings and revenue success, and of course, Edgefest. There’s a lot to be proud of down in Big D.
And to other stations in the Dallas/Ft. Worth market who just might be conjuring up their own competitive strategies, I’m pleased to tell you the Edge® trademark may soon be available.
For a fee, of course.
Hey, it’s radio. Stranger things have happened.
To hear a taste of The Edge® – how it sounded during that first year – click below:
Thanks to www.dfwradioarchives.com for posting it.
Postscript: Proving I have no legal acumen, the original post used ™ when, in fact, it should have used ®. The replacements have been made.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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What a remarkable read Fred! Happy Thanksgiving!
Many thanks, Dave. Wonderful holidays to you and yours. And thanks for reading our blog.
Can you do the world a favor and buy Ihateradio….sorry I heart radio. Dfw had a long run of good radio stations. Qe had 2 great rock stations when I was growing up. The zoo and Q102. Later came Z97 . But we had mellow stuff on KVIL country on KSCS where I worked and KPLX . Classic rock on 98.7 kluv the KZPS. Then IHeart came in like they did all over and killed our good stations. The eagle is OK KZPS is OK dye to Bo Robert’s and I loved the edge. I could hear Yazoo wo breaking out the vinyl. I had a buddy dj there. He tried to get me over there but when he said they were volunteers I decided to stick with hillbilly music at kscs. I got paid. WELL! I don’t know who the music haters are at I heart musuck but I wish they’d stayed up north. Now we have no alt music stations. I was at ktcu and I had a large library of music. Larger than TCU had by far. I introduced my music and it was successful. I might play bronski beat, big audio dynamite , some toy dolls then throw some of mh dad’s songs on which were R&B,soul and what ever you call BWStevensons tunes. Dad played with him when the did my maria and road to shambala and was with delvert mcclinton since he was 15 years old but everyone called in asking for what ever if I had it I’d play it. Thanks for the edge. I miss it. I rarely listen to the radio. I grew up with a studio in my house and have better equipment than most studios so I still make my own playlists and they cover everything from 10000 maniacs to my life long friends band Pantera.
David, this is a fascinating stream of consciousness summary of the DFW market – how it evolved and devolved. Like you, I miss the Edge, too. There was a lot of spirit and passion to that station. It was so much more than a playlist surrounded by a bunch of pedestrian jocsk. And the B. W. Stevenson memories are precious. Thank you.
fun times, fun times
Mostly, yes. Hope all’s well, John.
Reading your story about the EDGE brought back memories of being on the early staff of Rick Carrolls, Rock Of Tbe 80’s, KROQ in LA. After a series of bounced paychecks I accepted a free lunch and money for gas to come in and do my show. I am happy to know you did better and the checks keep coming.
Boy, Dan…. there is a name I haven’t heard in quite a while. I remember listening to you on WSHE during that 78-79 grand experiment, I think it was “the new wave of the ’80s” and you doing your show with your mic in the garbage can. I was across the street at “the lady, radio for singles only,” listening on the way in to do my shift. Wow, what weird sh*t, kinda makes social media seem a bit tame in retrospect. heh. Hope you are well and still entertaining folks.
Some nasty stuff often happens, especially when you’re on the ground floor. It’s never easy, and after weathering a very expensive two-year storm, it does feel better now. Thanks, Dan.
A good friend of mine likes to say, “anyone who’s spending a lot of time with either doctors or lawyers…their life is not going very well”.
Glad it all worked out – did the royalty checks ever add up enough to cover the legal fees?
Several times over, thankfully. But this was a time that tested my resolve (and my checkbook). To say it was worth it in the end is easier now, more than a quarter century later. At the time, it was a very trying experience. Thanks for the comment.
I worked right next door in that building and had a desk right next to Jessie’s. My first thought when I heard the news about the switch was that a woman who came to work every day because of the commitment she had to the music and her listeners was yet another casualty of the “throwaway format” of the radio business. Instead of fixing what’s broken, let’s throw something else at ’em. Jess, if you read this…best of luck to you…and to all the rest at KDGE.
Fred, may you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Tony, the world probably doesn’t need yet another AC station that is stunting with Christmas music through the holidays. It’s always tragic for many people when stations like this flip – employees and certainly listeners, most of whom have no clue why this stuff happens. Best wishes for wonderful holidays to you, too.
Was such a joy working with John Larson, Joel Folger and Tom Glade, three class acts and total pros. A fond memory is when producing one of the many
EDGE spots, one of the tunes was Personal Jesus/Depeche Mode and we wondered if Bonneville would mind. We went with it!
27 years and good memories for The EDGE!!!
David, thanks for the comment and the story – good one!
WoW! What a wild and wonderful story!
I love it! Congratulations on all your success sir.
Happy Holidays.
Many thanks – much appreciated. Great holidays yourself!
Back in my late teens and early twenties, I would I remember streaming The Edge (KDGE) from my home in Australia. Back then data was expensive and technology was barely able to deal, but such was my fascination with a commercial station playing music that I had only every heard on one of the local public broadcasters (Triple J) here in Australia. As time moved on I started to notice that the format was not suiting my desires and I drifted. At the age of 44 I can honestly say that there are very few Alternative stations that are current/recurrent heavy, which I find frustrating. How many times can one person hear Pearl Jam or Nirvana without losing interest?) These days, I stream all my radio from a station in the US, and can say that my music tastes were partly shaped by my early exposure the The Edge.
Lee, thanks for the report card from far away. Your reminisces about The Edge are great. I enjoyed the station a lot myself in the early days, too. Appreciate the comment.
I know this comment is quite late but indeed I felt compelled to say Thank you for the memories. I grew up in DFW listening to the Edge as a high schooler in the 90’s. Many many memories can be attributed to the station. A lot I can’t mention as I want to remain tactful. Even now in my late 30’s, my step daughter listened to it until it final changed format. I only found out from her that they finally changed. Most of my current tastes in music are from listening to the Edge. Prior to the Edge, I only listened to country and my inner alternative music side evolved from listening.
To wrap this up, Thanks for the memories (as the song goes). Many blessing in your continued endeavors.
Justin, it may be late, but it made my day – as well as others currently and formerly on our team responsible for making The Edge successful. Appreciate the kind comments.
A Gen X personality or whatever made a reel about what was your station growing up and I had to put KDGE… I lived over a hundred miles away in the middle of nowhere but sometimes I could point the antenna just so and pick up your station. Anytime we went to Dallas for anything I was trying to tune in. Then one day I hear Closing Time playing on repeat and wonder wth is going on. I couldn’t believe my favorite alternative station was leaving. Y’all introduced me to so much music that I never would have heard. Where I live is still heavily saturated with country music and a more easy listening format while Rock is classic and what they’re calling alternative nowadays is pop. Anyways, I found this article today and I wanted to let you know your impact on a middle of nowhere country boy who was always a redneck punk. The Edge is truly missed. Much love and stay blessed
As a very avid former listener to KDGE 94.5, I figured I should Thank You. I lived in a very small hick town in Oklahoma and was a latchkey kid. Everyday after school, I turned on my Realistic stereo system from Radio Shack and blasted the edge while doing homework, in fact the stereo wasn’t turned off till I left for school the next morning. I learned alot of street names in Dallas from the morning traffic report. I was even listening the evening “The Barbie Song” was played for over 8 hours straight, my friends and I were laughing and hooting and hollering, it was so funny. I had 3 94.5 the Edge stickers on the back windshield of my truck. I was so sad when it changed to 102.1 because we couldn’t get that station. So, Thanks for making my adolescence bearable by providing us a different option than country music. Whenever I think of my teenage years, I have fond memories of 94.5 The Edge!!!