A new radio station could soon be filling the airways with “energetic party music” if the owners of the proposed station have their business proposal approved by the Telecommunications Commission.

A hearing was held yesterday evening by the Telecommunications Commission to decide whether to grant a radio broadcasting licence to Harper Digital Entertainment.

Owned by Bermudian Reggae artist Colin Harper, aka Collie Buddz, and his brother, DJ Matthew Harper, aka Smokey, a proposal to start a new radio station was submitted by Harper Digital earlier this month.

If successful, the proposed radio station will be broadcast on 103 FM under the name Vibe 103 FM and also streamed for free on the Internet. And the Harpers claim that their station will be a mix of energetic, party music from all popular genres.

“What we are trying to do is create a new energy on the Island,” said Colin Harper. “It is going to be a real party station – something that is not being done by anyone else. There will be a little bit of everything, some urban, some rock, alternative, dance and club oriented music.”

Matthew Harper said that the proposed venture will have a heavy emphasis on music rather than talk shows. He said that there is already enough talk on the radio in Bermuda and what the people want is music. He said that starting a radio station in Bermuda has been a dream of his and his brother’s for sometime.

“This is something special to us and something we have been thinking about for a long time,” he said.

The hearing provided a venue for the public and members of the radio industry to voice any concerns they may have about the venture and to give Harper Digital an opportunity to share their business plan.

The only concerns brought to the Telecommunications Commission came from R. Scott Pearman, co-owner of radio stations HOTT 107.5 and Magic 102.7. Mr. Pearman questioned the Commission’s grounds for granting another licence.

He raised concerns about radio interference and claimed that, while he welcomed the business competition, the market may become too crowded. He said that another radio station would take away advertising revenue from his business.

“There are approximately eight FM stations currently operating and three more AM stations – that is one radio station for every five to six thousand people in Bermuda,” said Mr. Pearman. “Being able to fund a radio station comes from advertising income. And the advertising budget in Bermuda is not growing – it is contracting. Letting in another station into the realm would be detrimental to the industry.”

Mr. Pearman went on to encourage Harper Digital to broker a deal with an existing radio station or purchase an existing broadcasting licence. He further encouraged the Broadcast Commission to impose restrictions on the number of songs that the station could play of a certain genre. He said because Harper Digital is proposing that Vibe 103 should be a pop-music station they should be restricted to play a certain percentage of “pop”. He claimed that radio stations in the past had applied for a licence to be, for example, a jazz station but due to market demand have begun playing different types of music. He said he feared that the industry would lack diversity if Vibe 103 migrated from its proposal to play music of all genres.

Mr. Pearman further questioned Harper Digital’s financial savvy, saying, “we must know their business plan is minimally competent”.

The Harpers said that they want to use the station to give a leg up to local artists. On top of playing their tracks on the station they vowed to use their musical and music engineering savvy to help local artists become better performers.

They said the time is ripe for a new radio station and they intend to fill the void left by others in the industry.

“Does Bermuda need another radio station?” asked Matthew. “The answer has been yes from almost everyone that we have spoken to and this is the area where it is needed.”