Thoughts On The Upcoming Shutdown Of All Access

SHOCKER! The radio industry was taken aback on Friday with the announcement that Joel Denver will shutter AllAccess.com on Tuesday, August 15 after 28 years.

Denver stated that the decision came from major changes in the music industry at the start of the year that has also affected non-music advertising partners with as Denver stating, “the dollars are just not there to support our operation and staff any longer.”

There was a time in the early internet days that All Access was the only game in town. There were some like Scott Fybush publishing regional “Radio Watches” on the rec.radio.broadcasting newsgroup and there were radio chat groups on the likes of AOL and Prodigy, but with great foresight Denver brought the radio trade publication to the internet way before most publications made the move online. As a sixteen year old radio geek in 1995, discovering the site opened a number of doors. When I got to college the following year, I launched “The Mid-Atlantic Radio Page” covering changes in the areas from New York through Washington DC. That would quickly lead to launching “The Mid-Atlantic Radio Board”, which would lead to launching Radio-Info as we expanded the message boards to cover much of the country.

I never intended to move into radio journalism, but would gradually get news leads through the boards. But because all we knew we learned from AllAccess, our stories were full of terms like “Night Slammer”.  It worked great for them, not as much for me. But over time, I hope that in just a small way I pushed them to be better as much as they massively pushed me to be better.

The industry has changed immensely over the past 28 years. But the loss of AllAccess will still be a major loss. It has already become more difficult to get information out of stations and industry personnel. Some companies like Townsquare Media have already ceased making announcements on hirings and format changes. Many people who exit or are laid-off from stations no longer seek publicity since they know their time in the radio industry is over and do not need to make people aware of their departures. Their closing will make it that much harder to cover the day-to-day minutiae of the industry as less places to publish news leads to less news being created.

Considering All Access’ primary business was record promotion and linking the music and radio industry together, the fact that it was news and jobs that held it all together made it even that much more impressive.

I’ve spent much of this weekend having discussions with many in radio on what I can do to help fill the massive void being created by the coming loss of All Access to the best of my ability. I will be launching a comprehensive job posting system this week and will seek to continue to do more of what I do best in seeking out and breaking radio news, covering industry trends, and continuing to grow our platform.

But I can’t do it alone. If you have any news to share please ensure news@radioinsight.com is on your distribution list. Follow us at @RadioInsight on Twitter, @RadioInsightcom on Facebook, Instagram or Threads, or subscribe to our nightly email . If you have any suggestions, feature requests, partnership ideas, or have content you wish to contribute please reach out on any of our platforms.

Just like Radio & Records in 2008, the loss of All Access will be felt for years to come should someone not come out of the woodwork to rescue the brand, but we will evolve. Radio has already changed constantly over the past century and will continue to do so. RadioInsight will hopefully be there to bring you its next major act.

As I said to Joel in response to sending his announcement to us on Friday, It was a privilege and honor to compete against you all these years. I hope his next act is just as fruitful as this one.

It is with much sadness that we announce that in our 28th year of operation, ALLACCESS.COM will cease publishing at the close of business at 6p (PT), TUESDAY, AUGUST 15th, 2023 due to a marked decrease in revenues that makes moving forward impossible. The site will remain online for an undetermined amount of time.

This was not a decision that was reached lightly nor without earnest tries to find a path forward. It comes on the heels of major changes in the music industry announced in JANUARY of this year. These strong financial headwinds also extend to our non-music partners as well. Both downturns have greatly affected how ALL ACCESS operates. The dollars are just not there to support our operation and staff any longer.

ALL ACCESS Founder, President/Publisher JOEL DENVER said, “This is without question the saddest and most heartbreaking moment of my professional life to have to tell you that ALLACCESS.COM will cease publishing and will be going out of business.” 

DENVER added, “ALL ACCESS began nearly 28 years ago and with the help of an amazing staff of professionals, the best in the business. We’ve weathered many changes and obstacles in the industry over these years. We’ve carved an incredible path and have taken each part of our operation to amazing levels of success through honesty, hard work, and passion for the radio industry, the music, the artists and our many readers, marketing partners, clients and our many contributing editors. Thank you all so much — we could not have done any of this without you.

“The goal of ALL ACCESS has always been to provide cutting edge content for all sectors of our business. We’ve strived to provide the best and most credible NET NEWS coverage, help people find jobs and stay connected. We have been blessed with wonderful partnerships and have created many valuable services for all parts of the radio and music businesses and have the support of nearly 100,000 active users.

Nearly Three Decades Of Service

DENVER recalled better times: “Looking back over nearly three decades of service, we have much to be proud of. We’ve created amazing editorial and service products that will be benchmarks of our success like: ALL ACCESS DOWNLOADS, FIRST ALERT, co-creation/presentation of WORLDWIDE RADIO SUMMIT and creation/presentation of the ALL ACCESS AUDIO SUMMIT, among many others along the way.

“Again, I cannot begin to express my sincerest appreciation and thanks to all of our many thousands of readers, our many amazing partners, wonderful clients, and the incredible ALL ACCESS staff for your love and devotion to ALL ACCESS, our mission, and our success for nearly 28 years. I will miss working with all of you.

“Closing ALL ACCESS doesn’t mean that I am retiring from the business. I will take a moment to catch my breath and focus on new horizons and opportunities.

“I hope that you will give all of our ALL ACCESS team members a good strong look as well at new opportunities — they are the best of the best, and I will provide a glowing recommendation for all. There is not one person on the ALL ACCESS team that I wouldn’t hire again. Please reach out to them by visiting our Team Page.

“It has been a true honor to have served the radio and music communities. We have had a blast doing this. We will all miss serving and working with all of you — our readers and clients. I truly wish everyone much success in the future.”

For more information reach out to JOEL DENVER, here.