Late 2025. The onus was entirely on me to walk into a room with the owners of CFQR 600 and sell them a dream.<\/p>\n\n
The goal? Simple to state, brutal to execute: make Montreal listeners take notice of this station again, bring life back to the frequency, and—most importantly—build a model that actually turns a profit.<\/p>\n\n
Here is the exact battle plan I laid on the table.<\/p>\n\n
Let’s be honest about the elephant in the room: FM has better audio fidelity, and modern listeners—especially those under 45—don't default to the AM dial.<\/p>\n\n
So, how do you position an AM station in the mid-2020s? You flip the script.<\/b><\/p>\n\n The Web Stream is King:<\/b> We subtly and persistently push web and mobile app streaming as the primary listening platform for home, the office, and smart devices. Online, our audio quality is as crisp and competitive as anyone else in town.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n The AM Transmitter as the Engine:<\/b> The 600 AM signal isn't a handicap; it's our mobile anchor. It guarantees in-car reach across the island and beyond.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n Together, it lets us pitch a powerful reality: “We are a radio station that can be heard anywhere.”<\/i><\/p>\n\n Montreal radio was built on personality, energy, and genuine human connection—voices that made every track feel like an event and every listener feel like family. Today, Classic Top-40 carries that torch.<\/p>\n\n We don't need to reinvent the wheel; we just need to revive the golden era of legend stations like CKGM<\/b> and the classic CFQR<\/b>. Live, engaging programming that blends timeless hits, quirky news, and real local flavor. This isn’t sterile, automated radio. It’s real, vibrant, and rooted in Montreal’s rich tradition of airwave companionship.<\/p>\n\n The Core Philosophy:<\/b> Attract the listener with the music. Make them stay for the personality and the nostalgia.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n A Classic Top-40 station lives and dies by its pacing. If the music stops for no good reason, you lose.<\/p>\n\n Keep It Moving:<\/b> Live\/personality shifts from 6 a.m. to midnight with a short, high-energy break every two songs.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n Tight Talk-Ups:<\/b> Hitting the intro ramp right up to the vocal. Back-sells kept tight (10–20 seconds max) leading into stop sets.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n The Hourly Structure:<\/b> Every hour gets 2 tee-ups, 2 weather updates, 2 punchy station promos, 1 PSA, and 1 sports wrap. Never drag.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n The Producer Investment:<\/b> You need at least one dedicated full-time producer focused strictly on promos, commercials, and imaging. Fresh, energetic sweepers are the heart and soul of this format—they create the excitement.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Promotions can't just be filler; they have to spark curiosity, drive digital traffic, and build community:<\/p>\n\n Specialty Programming Hooks:<\/b> Ideas that grab immediate attention and turn casual dial-spinners into regular listeners. Think a "British Invasion Weekend"<\/b> that lets people relive the energy of the '60s beat boom, sparking that nostalgia that keeps them locked in all week just to hear what’s coming next.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n The "Top 600" Newspaper Partnership:<\/b> We partner with a local paper and invite readers and listeners to send in their top 3 favourite Top-40 classics of all time. We aggregate that local data and build a legendary Top-600 Countdown<\/b> over a long weekend. It creates massive listener engagement, guarantees long quarter-hour tune-ins, and gives sales a premiere, high-value package to pitch to local advertisers.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n The Summer of 600:<\/b> Our very first major campaign hit the mark instantly. We asked listeners to go to CFQR600.com and upload photos of themselves enjoying summer while tuning in to CFQR. The response was incredible—it generated a massive surge in website traffic in a very short amount of time and proved that people are<\/i> listening and eager to engage.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n "I AM 600":<\/b> We've got a proprietary listener-engagement concept up our sleeves under the "I AM 600" umbrella. I won't tip my hand too much here—no need to give the competition free ideas—but it’s designed to make the audience an active part of our daily broadcast.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n Aggressive Giveaways & Local Hustle:<\/b> Movie passes, "Recruit a Listener," gift certificate call-ins, concert tickets (hear The Guess Who<\/i>, message us online for Place Bell passes), and trade-swaps with local restaurants. If there's a family event in Montreal, we show up, smile, hand out t-shirts, and shake hands.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n That Top-600 countdown idea is classic Top-40 mechanics at its finest—gives the sales team something tangible to sell and keeps the radios glued on all weekend long!<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Because we don't rely solely on expensive ratings subscriptions to sell airtime, our digital presence becomes a primary revenue generator alongside local spot sales:<\/p>\n\n Sponsored Web Placement:<\/b> Local businesses paying monthly fees for premium real estate on CFQR600.com. More web hits equal direct ad value.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n Digital Sales:<\/b> Banner ads, audio pre-rolls, and sponsored station pages.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n AM’s future isn't tied strictly to a copper tower in a field—it’s in the brand<\/b> and the stream<\/b>. Nostalgia isn't a weakness here; it’s our unfair advantage. By stepping into the shoes of classic Montreal radio traditions, we claim instant heritage status.<\/p>\n\n CFQR 600:<\/b> Stream-first, upbeat, tight, local, and alive.<\/p>\n\n Next up in Entry 005... The Music. Fixing the 300-song Cancon mess, weeding out the downers, and building a 2,000-song wall of sound centered right on 1984.<\/i><\/p>\n\n Stay tuned...<\/b><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/1755\/6a3fb2ea787e9.jpg","author":{"name":"Daniel Coulombe"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.cfqr600.com\/_app_pages\/stations\/5807\/blogs\/posts\/86010"},{"id":"o1755-2133-6a6372c351831","url":"https:\/\/www.cfqr600.com\/about-us\/blogs\/captains-log\/post\/captains-log-entry-3\/","title":"Captain's Log #3: ","date_published":"2026-07-24T14:00:00+00:00","summary":"Pro Bono, PlayoutONE, and the AM Revival Dream","content_html":" <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n You are probably familiar with the work of Sonny Bono... Well, for years, I was known as Pro Bono<\/i>.<\/p>\n\n Let’s call a spade a spade: the radio industry has kicked a lot of ridiculously talented people to the curb in recent years, all in the name of automation, corporate consolidation, and the all-out scramble to make a quick buck no matter what. I survived the purge over the decades largely because I was lucky enough to hold down a good-paying job outside the industry.<\/p>\n\n In the meantime? I worked for free. A lot.<\/p>\n\n I know some folks in the business frown at the very thought—the idea that you're "giving away the talent" or undercutting the market. But I was never quite that principled, and I genuinely believed in giving back to the community. I even spent time teaching the rudiments of radio to kids. Now that<\/i> was pure fun, and it's something nobody can ever take away from me.<\/p>\n\n Besides, I never thought I was something special anyway. I'm just a guy who is decent at everything and great at nothing—and I simply love this medium far too much to ever walk away from it. That meant years in internet radio and community stations—places where a simple "thank you" or a pat on the back were things you never actually got.<\/p>\n\n The dream was always to find a real challenge. Enter CFQR 600<\/b>.<\/p>\n\n Sitting in the city, CFQR doesn't have a whole lot stacked in its favor right now. There are no corporate suits throwing money around. The owners are good people who are understandably overwhelmed by the sheer mechanics of keeping a business like this afloat—the payroll, the eye-watering electricity bills just to keep the transmitters humming... it all adds up fast. To their credit, they have never surrendered to the "all-music, no-voice" trap. They want real human beings on the air, and that says a lot.<\/p>\n\n But financial tightropes create massive ripple effects. Not having deep pockets means the station can't afford Numeris subscription fees (what used to be BBM, the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement)—and in commercial radio, that’s a brutal handicap. Without those official ratings numbers, it is infinitely harder to prove your audience to key ad buyers or get anywhere near major agency budgets. And because ad sales are a tough sell without those numbers, attracting top-tier sales talent becomes an uphill battle in itself. It's a classic catch-22.<\/p>\n\n Looking under the hood at where the rest of the operation stood late last year, the reality was just as stark:<\/p>\n\n The Music & Cancon Chaos:<\/b> A pool of roughly 950 songs with no clear direction—and no more than 300 Canadian tracks thrown in just to hit CRTC quotas. The problem? A lot of those Cancon selections didn't remotely fit a Classic Top 40 format spanning the '60s through the '90s. Worse, many tracks were obscure re-records or alternate takes instead of the original hit versions listeners actually remember.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n The Repetition Trap:<\/b> As any Canadian broadcaster knows, CRTC regulations mandate that English commercial stations run a minimum of 35% Canadian Content between 6:00 a.m. and midnight. When you're forcing that 35% out of a tiny, mismatched pool of 300 tracks, song repetition gets completely out of hand.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n The Air Staff:<\/b> Dedicated announcers doing their absolute best, but operating in total silos—each crafting their own isolated vibe.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n The Brand:<\/b> No clear definition. Non-existent promotions, dated imaging, and the same sweepers running on a loop. <\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n And then there's the medium itself: AM radio<\/b>.<\/p>\n\n AM was the king of the world in my youth. Today? Two-thirds of modern listeners wouldn't even know where to find the band on a dial, let alone why they should tune in.<\/p>\n\n So why step into the line of fire? Timing is everything.<\/b><\/p>\n\n Being retired gives me a gift and a perspective that a lot of younger radio talent coming up just don't have. My personal objectives at this stage aren't driven by dollars. There is zero chance I could have attempted a project like this a decade ago when I was relying on a full-time paycheck to keep a roof over my family's head and food on the table. Today, I have the luxury of purely focusing on the craft.<\/p>\n\n Now, I'm not professing to have all the answers here. But I have the energy, and I am resilient. I don't want to reinvent the wheel. My gut tells me that if the core basics of classic Top-40 worked 40 years ago—tight rotations, great presentation, real personality, and local connection—they can be made to work again today.<\/p>\n\n If I have one true superpower coming into this, it’s my rolodex. Over five decades in and around this business, I’ve accumulated a legendary lineup of friends and contacts—people with massive talent and deep knowledge across every conceivable area of radio. And best of all? They're hungry to jump in and help out.<\/p>\n\n A little digging into the station's setup got me hooked. Underneath the static, CFQR runs on PlayoutONE<\/b>—an automation system out of the UK that is absolute magic when used right. It’s the engine behind the curtain playing the tracks, firing the jingles, rolling the spots, and dropping in news and weather right on the mark. When programmed properly, it makes a small station sound completely seamless, polished, and major-league.<\/p>\n\n The station also aligned with Eric Woodhouse, a Program Director out of Albany who is both a wizard on the mic and a technical master with the software. His contact list is endless, and his tech chops are top-tier.<\/p>\n\n Make no mistake: everything about this spells a tough, if not impossible, challenge in giant capital letters. I’m knocking on the door, nobody knows who I am, and turning this ship around is going to be a heavy lift.<\/p>\n\n The question is... can an independent AM station actually make noise in this environment?<\/p>\n\n The intrigue is untenable.<\/p>\n\n Stay tuned...<\/b><\/p>\n\n <\/i><\/b><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/1755\/6a53b9ff5a7b3e4f873.jpg","author":{"name":"Daniel Coulombe"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.cfqr600.com\/_app_pages\/stations\/5807\/blogs\/posts\/85883"},{"id":"o1755-2133-6a591ac1012aa","url":"https:\/\/www.cfqr600.com\/about-us\/blogs\/captains-log\/post\/blog-2-tasting-the-airwaves\/","title":"Captain's Log #2: Tasting the Airwaves","date_published":"2026-07-16T18:00:00+00:00","summary":"(Why Radio is Like Fine Wine)","content_html":" But when you step into the programmer’s booth in a complex, passionate radio city like Montreal, you can’t just rely on personal taste. You have to trust your gut, look at the competitive landscape to see where the open lanes are, and—most importantly—study history. You have to look back at what actually worked when radio was the undisputed king of the room.<\/p>\n\n I was born and raised in Coaticook (yes, that<\/i> Coaticook—home of the legendary ice cream). Growing up back then, we didn’t have an internet connection or a 500-channel TV universe. There were no streaming algorithms feeding us exactly what they thought we wanted to hear.<\/p>\n\n But I was lucky.<\/p>\n\n Because of where Coaticook sits on the map, the night sky was our magic carpet. Once the sun went down, WPTR Albany and KB Buffalo boomed into my bedroom as clearly as if they were broadcasting from across the street. On a good night, WABC and WNBC from New York, stations from Cleveland, Boston, Little Rock, Super CFL and WLS out of Chicago would fade in and out of the static.<\/p>\n\n The music? It was pretty much the same top-40 hits from coast to coast. But the personalities<\/i>? They were the difference between endless dial-spinning and staying up under the covers all night.<\/p>\n\n In the early seventies, I fell head over heels for a station right here in Montreal. CKGM had become the<\/i> hit station. They had an unbelievable lineup: Steve Shannon, Donny Burns, Greg Stewart, a bilingual powerhouse named Marc Denis, and the funniest morning DJ I had ever heard in my life—the legendary "Birdman," Ralph Lockwood.<\/p>\n\n Even when the signal didn’t quite reach me clearly, I hung on every word. I didn't just listen to the "Super 98"; I would actively mimic every phrase, every transition, and every vocal inflection the jocks used. CKGM’s identity—tight rotations, massive promotions, and relentless, personality-driven presentation—was the absolute perfect formula for this city.<\/p>\n\n Then came 1975, a pivotal year for Quebec radio.<\/p>\n\n Down in Quebec City, CFOM had been forced off the air. The little English station had simply become too<\/i> popular for the established French stations in the market, and the CRTC stepped in to resolve the "issue." But as one door closed, another opened.<\/p>\n\n That fall, CKTS in Sherbrooke launched its own music format.<\/p>\n\n Ted Silver, Sandy Davis and Isaac Shane arrived at CKTS900 and turned the market completely upside down with huge tunes, clever promotions and a giant presence.<\/p>\n\n I am proud to say I’m a product of the "Silver School" of Quebec broadcasters. Ted Silver recruited me after I made an absolute pain of myself trying to get his attention. I was green and, frankly, I wasn't very good—but Ted was patient. It was a perfect match.<\/p>\n\n By 1977, I was ready to take the leap. I packed my bags and drove all the way to Wawa, Ontario, for my first full-time gig. Over the next 4 years, I shared a studio with guys who were incredibly talented, like Al Gravelle and Joe Leone.<\/p>\n\n Around that time, a service called the Aircheck Factory<\/i>, run by Tom Konard, started distributing monthly cassettes featuring the best DJs and stations from across North America. Listening to 680 CFTR, 1050 CHUM, 13CFRW, 99X, 68RKO, KFRC, KGB, 93KHJ, 64KFI or WAPE in Jacksonville and 'Sunny in the Morning' in Miami made this French kid from the Townships realize just how steep the mountain was going to be.<\/p>\n\n The names on those tapes were absolute radio gods: Dan Williamson, John Landecker, Big Ron O'Brien, Dr. John Winston, Harry Nelson, J.J. Wright, Sunny Fox, John Mack Flanagan, Charlie Fox and 'the voice' Charlie Van Dyke. Still today, I spend hours on Steve West’s Airchexx<\/i> archives, just marveling at what those legends could do with a microphone and a pair of turntables.<\/p>\n\n Fast forward to radio today. What do we have?<\/p>\n\n Well, we have lots of music on the French dial, there is a massive reliance on comedians filling the airwaves. But the biggest shift is behind the scenes. The corporate giants took over from the passionate broadcasting families—the Ted Rogers and Geoff Sterlings of the world—and, to be frank, the outcome hasn't been brilliant.<\/p>\n\n To this day, Toronto's 98.1 CHFI<\/b> remains an absolute powerhouse because it knows exactly what it is: a polished, warm, consistent Adult Contemporary station that feels like a comfortable companion throughout the day. It has evolved, sure, but it never lost its core identity as the station you keep on in the office, the car, and the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n Montrealers who grew up with CJFM (FM 96)<\/b> and the legendary CFQR (92.5)<\/b> know exactly what we are missing.<\/p>\n\n Back in the day, the FM band in Montreal had a distinct, sophisticated, yet incredibly warm texture. If you spin the dial back to the '70s, '80s, and '90s, those two stations represented the gold standard of FM radio:<\/p>\n\n CFQR 92.5:<\/b> It was the ultimate "Easy Listening\/Light AC" giant. It was smooth, elegant, and perfectly programmed for a Sunday morning or a long drive home. When it became Q92<\/i>, it transitioned into a world-class Adult Contemporary station.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n CJFM 96:<\/b> Before it became the high-energy Virgin Radio<\/i> we know today, "FM 96" was a magnificent Adult Contemporary station. It was personality-driven but incredibly smooth, striking that perfect balance between hit music and warm companionship.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n When those stations shifted formats or rebranded, they left a massive demographic completely orphaned.<\/p>\n\n The Orphaned Listener:<\/b> Today, if you want English music radio in Montreal, you are largely forced to choose between CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) targeting youth, or classic rock. There is no true, warm, heritage AC companion like CHFI that respects the listener's intelligence and love for great, melodic music spanning the decades.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The corporate consolidation we talked about has made programmers too afraid of the "middle ground." They think Adult Contemporary is a relic of the past, but CHFI's massive, enduring success in Toronto proves that people still crave a companion on the dial.<\/p>\n\n Bringing back that level of curation, local warmth, and companionable flow is exactly the kind of "lost art" we need to keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n You can drive through almost any radio market today and struggle to find a single live, local voice. The rise of music scheduling software has made the announcer secondary to the playlist. Back in '75, we’d spin the big reel-to-reel machines to automate the overnight shift, but during the day? A human being had to be at that console 365 days a year.<\/p>\n\n Now, voice-tracking lets someone record a "live" show two or three days in advance from a studio hundreds of miles away. No local weather, no community connection, no spontaneous magic. Just generic, safe, middle-of-the-road content.<\/p>\n\n Confucius once said, "Study the past if you would define the future."<\/i><\/p>\n\n Well, believe me: I have studied. I lived it, I breathed it, and I've spent fifty years practicing it.<\/p>\n\n We aren't going to build the future of radio by pretending the magic of the golden era never happened. We are going to build it by bringing back tight rotations, high-energy presentation, genuine local connection, and—most of all—real, living personality.<\/p>\n\n I’m honored to have the chance to apply these time-tested principles right here at CFQR 600<\/b>. Turn us on, turn us up, and let’s make some noise.<\/p>\n\n <\/i><\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n daniel@cfqr600.com<\/p>\n\n <\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/1755\/6a591e3c13b71264ad6.jpg","author":{"name":"Daniel Coulombe"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.cfqr600.com\/_app_pages\/stations\/5807\/blogs\/posts\/85766"},{"id":"o1755-2133-6a53bd750957f","url":"https:\/\/www.cfqr600.com\/about-us\/blogs\/captains-log\/post\/captains-log-1\/","title":"Captain\u2019s Log #1","date_published":"2026-07-12T04:00:00+00:00","summary":"The AM Laboratory\u2014Making Radio Fun Again","content_html":" This blog exists for a simple reason: to pull back the curtain and share the work, the passion, and the exact direction we are taking with this station. If you love radio, or if you’ve forgotten why you used to love it, this is for you.<\/p>\n\n Let’s start with the elephant in the room: the state of AM radio in 2026.<\/b><\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n In today’s digital, hyper-streamed world, the AM band can be hard to find. It’s ignored by car manufacturers, crowded with static, and written off by many as a relic of the past. But where others see a dying medium, we see something entirely different: a laboratory.<\/b><\/p>\n\n We are using the AM dial as a testing ground to explore what is still possible on the airwaves.<\/p>\n\n It is incredibly easy to get trapped in pure nostalgia—to look back at the "golden years" and just try to replicate a museum piece. That is not<\/i> what we are doing here.<\/p>\n\n We aren't trying to reinvent the radio wheel. Instead, we want to bring back the exact core ingredient that made Top-40 radio so electric and essential during the 60s, 70s, and 80s: the human connection.<\/b><\/p>\n\n We want to explore the notion that local, living radio personalities and great music don't just coexist—they blend together to make listening genuinely fun.<\/p>\n\n Corporate radio has spent the last few decades stripping the life out of the airwaves. They gave us the sterile, pre-recorded "10 in a row without talk" format. It's safe, it's predictable, and honestly? It's boring. If people just want continuous music without a human voice, they have playlists for that.<\/p>\n\n We are actively striving away from that lifeless format. We want:<\/p>\n\n Real Personalities:<\/b> Local voices who live in the community, share your day, and actually talk with<\/i> you, not at you.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n Energy and Excitement:<\/b> The fast-paced, high-energy curation that kept you glued to your dashboard or transistor radio decades ago.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n A Reason to Listen:<\/b> Creating a destination on the dial where you tune in because you don't want to miss what might happen next.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n We want to give people a reason to actively seek out the AM band again. If the content is compelling, fun, and alive, listeners will find it.<\/p>\n\n Can it be done? Can we bring the magic and momentum of classic Top-40 back to life in 2026 on the AM band?<\/p>\n\n We think it can. But we aren't doing it in a vacuum. This is a journey, a grand experiment, and we want you right there with us in the laboratory.<\/p>\n\n Let's try it together. Turn the dial, lock it in, and let's make radio fun again.<\/p>\n\n The Captain<\/i><\/p>\n\n daniel@cfqr600.com<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/1755\/6a53b9ff5a7b3e4f873.jpg","author":{"name":"Daniel Coulombe"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.cfqr600.com\/_app_pages\/stations\/5807\/blogs\/posts\/85703"}]}\n
2. The Soul: Reviving Montreal’s Heritage<\/h3>\n\n
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3. The On-Air Energy & Staffing Rules<\/h3>\n\n
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4. Promotions: Connecting with Listeners (and Driving Traffic)<\/h3>\n\n
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5. Monetizing the Pixels<\/h3>\n\n
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<\/h3>\n\n
The Bottom Line<\/h3>\n\n
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They say listening to the radio is a lot like drinking wine: what’s an absolute vintage masterpiece to one person might not quite cut it for the next. Taste is personal.<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n\n
Born on the Border, Raised on the Dial<\/h3>\n\n
Falling in Love with the Super 98<\/h3>\n\n
The Journey of a Radio Junkie<\/h3>\n\n
The Turn of the Century (And the Dial)<\/h3>\n\n
The Magic of the Classic Montreal FM Dial<\/h3>\n\n
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Defining the Future at CFQR 600<\/h3>\n\n
Welcome to the very first entry of the Captain’s Log.<\/span><\/h1>\n\n
Moving Beyond Just Nostalgia<\/h3>\n\n
Breaking the "10-in-a-Row" Grind<\/h3>\n\n
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Let's Do It Together<\/h3>\n\n