Jay Alexander has been the Program Director at WBTF 107.9FM The Beat (owned by LM COMMUNICATIONS) for over 2 decades and repeatly refuses to support the artists in the very city in which the radio station broadcasts from. Lexington, KY (and surrounding areas) is riddled with talented artists with radio-friendly music that continuously get overlooked, blackballed and vetoed because they are not signed to a major label. Furthermore, many of Lexington's urban youth find solitude in creating music. This is an opportunity for radio to play a role in decreasing gun violence in the city by providing an outlet for the youth to have their voice heard. The problem is, when you have a program director like Jay Alexander who instructs the Music Director not to play unsigned/local artists, these types of ideas never reach the table. 

Many Top 40 & urban stations across the country have slots dedicated to local music only. Others incorporate their unsigned/local artists into their daily mix, some during peak listening hours. Even Louisville radio stations have slot times and programs that cater to unsigned/local artists. As such, their listening audience numbers reflect a positive engagement with the stations because the stations are supporting the city. WBTF 107.9FM has a 20 miles broadcasting range. To my local artists in Kentucky, imagine having your music played in virtually every county in Central Kentucky. The internet is overhyped. You need radio play. You need your city & state support to make a wave. Thats what makes the industry take notice. Most the signed artists we hear today were on the radio in their home city BEFORE THEY WERE SIGNED!

Please sign the petition. We all have a brother, sister, son, daughter, niece, nephew, cousin, spouse, etc who is trying to make it in the music business, coming out of these small towns where the odds are less favorable. They deserve a real shot at living out their dreams but people like Jay Alexander are standing in their way. For far too many years Lexingtonians have supported WBTF 107.9FM and for years that support has been one-sided. That ends now. We are calling for the resignation of Jay Alexander as Program Director of WBTF 107.9FM and inclusion of unsigned/local artists into rotation for terrestrial radio airplay. We will no longer listen to nor support WBTF 107.9FM any further until this happens.