The Verge (XM)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

'
Broadcast area	Canada United States
Branding	The Verge
Slogan	New, Emerging, Now
First air date	2002 as Radio Unsigned 2005 as (un)Signed April 17, 2006 as The Verge
Frequency	XM 52
Format	Indie and Modern Rock
Class	Satellite Radio Station
Owner	XM Radio Canada
Website	XM The Verge

The Verge is an XM Satellite Radio channel featuring new and emerging rock bands from Canada. The channel is produced in Toronto, Ontario for the entire XM platform. The channel's former names included Unsigned, and (un)Signed, which indicated that the channel played a combination of signed and unsigned bands.

Contents 1 Radio Unsigned (2002-2005) 2 (un)Signed (2005-2006) 3 The Verge (2006-) 4 On-Air 4.1 Weekdays 4.2 Weekends 5 External link

[edit] Radio Unsigned (2002-2005)

XM launched the original Unsigned channel (notice no parenthesis) in its rock selection as an outlet for all the unsigned rock bands out there to receive nationwide exposure. In addition to unsigned rock music, one of these bands would also have the opportunity to have Unsigned play their favorite popular band at a certain time each day. A popular show on Unsigned was The R>A>D>A>R Report, which actually started via internet in the late 1990s as a showcase for unsigned rockers. XM Satellite Radio picked up the show for its Unsigned channel, and the show now had a wide audience to broadcast to beginning on January 3, 2003. As Unsigned continued its parade of no-name up and comer rock bands, sister rocker XMU on XM 43 was also growing with its selection of independent and college rock. After a while, it looked as if XMU and Unsigned were slowly becoming the same channel, with similar bands being played. Some XM fans suggested a merger of the two channels, while others suggested niching the playlists a little more. On November 16, 2005, the "merger" people got their wish.

[edit] (un)Signed (2005-2006)

In June 2005, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission gave XM's partner, Canadian Satellite Radio, the license to broadcast satellite radio in Canada. With this came some rules and regulations regarding Canadian content, forcing the birth of new channels on the line-up. Some channels were newborns, some were deleted completely and replaced with new ones, Unsigned on the other hand was the only one to be moved and reformatted. Thus, (un)Signed was born. (un)Signed was born as a station for new and emerging rock artists from Canada, and is currently on the entire XM platform in both nations. To maintain 100% Canadian content, The R>A>D>A>R Report was moved to XMU where it continues to broadcast weekly shows with encores. XMU did not receive a name change, but it now makes up more for the loss of the old Unsigned's playlist.

[edit] The Verge (2006-)

As of April 17, 2006, (un)Signed has renamed itself to The Verge, and now includes (some) American emerging and unsigned rock bands. The station now has DJs `round the clock (on VERY long shifts), and features the series NEXT Mondays @ 11 p.m.. The Verge describes NEXT as a launch pad of discovery for the yet-to-be knowns. Another new series which is being advertised across the XM platform is LiVE @ The Verge, which airs Fridays @ 9 p.m. ET and replays Sunday @ 9 a.m. and Tuesday @ Noon. For a schedule of upcoming performances on LiVE @ The Verge, visit the channel's program page.

[edit] On-Air

[edit] Weekdays

Time (ET)	DJ
12 AM	Kelowna Vincent
8 AM	Kim Hughes
4 PM	Jeff Leake

[edit] Weekends

Time (ET)	DJ
4 PM - 12AM	Jay Walker

[edit] External link

• XM The Verge