With only a short time left before our Kickstarter fundraising comes to an end, let me extend my appreciation to those of you who made a pledge.

You may or may not know that the Kickstarter terms specify that if a goal is unmet, potential donors will not be charged.

Despite the obstacles, it has been an interesting ride for these past few months. Some work has been done to the building (and some to our residence!)

Whatever the outcome, the Country Giant will continue broadcasting. I will continue my weekly Sunday night show,

It may take a little longer to get the building complete than I had anticipated, but it can, and will, be done.

The station's mailing address is:

Delta Star Radio
2625 Doll Place
Tallahassee, FL 32311

The station has had its own bank account and will continue to do so. Delta Star is a Florida nonprofit corporation, but is not a 501(c)3. I have just renewed the corporation for 2010 so we are not going away.

If you'd like to make a donation directly to us, that would be super. If not, that's okay.

Thank you for joining me in my quest to preserve the heritage of country music through the years. I hope more people will see the value in doing so and will support the station's broadcasts in the future.

Sincerely,

Alan McCall

Thought I'd pass on a little positive news.

A contribution of $500 is being sent next week by someone from Ohio. I received the letter from them today.

To you Kickstarter friends: Thank you for standing with me!

With less than a month to go before time runs out, I realize that my chances of getting funded via Kickstarter are quite slim. To those of you who have made a pledge, please know how grateful I am to you.

Kickstarter funding or not, I want you to know that it is not the end of the world, nor will it be the end of this project if the goal is not met this time around.

2010 has been the most financially challenging time ever for the streaming operation in its nearly 9 years of existance. Just recently I was forced to downgrade the station, resulting in the loss of our listing on iTunes. That has resulted in the expected: fewer listeners than what I've been having over the past five months.

However - this dream is not dead. Not by a long shot.

"The game is not over until I win."

I was encouraged recently when I read Yancey's blog on this site regarding a project which was placed on Kickstarter yet did not reach the original financial goal. Although that project was initially not funded, an investor apparently was interested, and the project was completed after the Kickstarter deadline ended.

As mentioned in earlier posts here, my station, the Country Giant, has now been streaming for a number of years. As radio operations go, it is a small one. I have been running the country format since July of 2003.

The stream has reached more than 154,000 listeners. Yet, for whatever reason, even these kinds of numbers have failed to attract advertisers. And I have worked hard at pitching them.

But I have come to the conclusion that the "high numbers will help bring in the advertisers" business model just has not worked for me. I don't know why.

Maybe they don't buy Internet radio, period. Or the audience's age is too high..Or..whatever.

I've discontinued selling ads, period. Except for the remaining spots in "20 The Countdown Magazine," I have adopted a listener-supported model.

If it is supported, the music plays. It it isn't, well, ultimately I won't be able to pay the streaming bill and we'll be gone.

I assure you, however, I'm no stranger to "toughing things out" as long as I can.

When I first started in radio, I was given countless reasons I couldn't do it. From "your accent is too Southern" to "can you see what you're doing to run the board," I heard it all.

It all made me more determined than ever.

My first radio job took 6 applications and 6 tries. I got the job by walking up to the program director of a station I wanted to work for - during a live remote he was doing - and when he got off the air, I asked him for a job.

And I got it.

Nowadays you can't get past the receptionist. The program director can't make a decision without approval from San Antonio..or Atlanta..or wherever.

I almost pulled this project from Kickstarter because it looked so, well, hopeless.

But I am not a quitter for things that matter to me.

This project does. It is the culmination of 24 years of past radio experience, mixed with my life-long love of country music. I have music that is never heard on radio. Some is out of print. But it works best when combined with some new, more familiar tunes as well.

To my backers this far - thank you so much. The renovation is going to take place one way or the other. I believe in it. I like my own station and its product, and I work hard at making it as good as possible. Right now it is ranked #8 of about 260 country stations on the network.

154,000 listeners is not a failure in my book, even if it means nothing to the advertising community.

Our Kickstarter deadline is coming up in just over a month.

Please check out the station for yourself, won't you? And pass the word, because I do need your help. And I am not much of an ask for help kind of guy.

Thank you, everyone.

Today, I'd like to show a pic of the non-studio end of the building.

This end will house music, a small desk/work area, and a kitchenette. The kitchenette items have now been donated, for which I am very grateful.

Weather permitting, I will begin the exterior painting of the building on Friday, March 26.

Again, I appeal to fans of country music to provide support for this project. Our programs are
streamed, which I hope tio be able to continue.

I do feel that the project seems to be acquiring financial help at a slow pace.

Tune in at http://www.wjjd1160country.com and check out our music for yourself.

And, then, please consider a pledge to help me complete this project. It would mean a lot to me.

Thank you.

First of all, thanks to John Highkin for his recent pledge! John has a project of his own here on Kickstarter and I'm looking forward to playing his music on the Country Giant one day!

Ten gallons of paint were provided to us at no cost, so some of our outside face-lift will be underway shortly. Likewise, some additional shelving units, and renovation materials.

I will post different pictures from time to time. The current pic shows the area that will be come the new on-the-air studio. The control board will be located near the window, with equipment to the side. The computers will be located along the end wall, and the production area for creating on-air content will be in the same area along the back wall.

One of the things I am trying to do at the Country Giant is to preserve as much "heritage" of country music as I can. I have a good collection of out-of-print music that is difficult to come by. Many people write in, saying they are "delighted" at some of the classic country tunes they have heard on the station. At the same time, current music is also on the playlist so as to not have the station stuck in a "time warp."

I am delighted to have the station available through iTunes, and to be received in more than 100 countries and territories every month.

This station contains all of the elements of radio that truly matter to me. I respond to every listener email personally. I take requests - and play them. I do some live shows, and if this fundraiser is successful, will add more live programming this fall.

Friends, I am not a professional fundraiser. I'm actually kind of lousy at it. The only thing I really do well is radio itself. The fact that the Country Giant is a consistent Top-10 ranked station is something I am proud of, but those numbers do not necessarily translate to equal financial success.

The Country Giant needs more help. With roughly 2 months to go, I'm unsure of how things will go if the project is not funded. It will still exist, I'm sure, but maybe in a lesser form, such as being removed from iTunes.

To my mother, and John Highkin, thank you! Here's hoping many more of our friends and listeners will get on board and help us reach our goal.

Thank you so much!

..on the positive side, there have been some inquiries regarding how to contribute through Kickstarter.

I'm also in the process of recording some on-air promos which will air throughout the day, encouraging more listeners to join my mother (gotta love our supportive mamas!!) in making a pledge.

OUTSIDE of Kickstarter, I have received $320.

I also have a new fan page for the Big Country Giant on Facebook. I have some additional work to do, but will share it very soon with you.

Also, I am considering the launch of a weekday live country radio program, allowing requests to be played back more often than my current, temporary Sunday Night Request Show.

Thank you for your help and support of this project.

I'd like to share the fact that The Country Giant is very well received and has large audiences in such areas as Phoenix, AZ; New York City; Los Angeles; and other areas where there are few, if any, country music stations.

I received a $100 donation earlier this week that came from someone unaware of the Kickstarter fundraiser; this will not count toward our goal.

Also some gifts in kind: an 8,000 BTU air conditioner; a mini-fridge; shelving units for music storage; and even some classic country music on vinyl and CD.

This fall, I plan to launch a daily country music program, allowing for faster response to music requests and better interaction with listeners.

I've worked really hard for a number of years now to build a station that is responsive to listeners that seeks to be better than average by providing some classic country not available elsewhere.
Now it's at a crossroads where it's either got to become a viable enterprise, or sign off.

I've chosen to make a thriving country station out of it - won't you please help?

Thank you!