WRIR 97.3 FM

What WRIR 97.3 FM does

WRIR-LP 97.3 FM is a non-profit, low-power FM community radio station licensed by the FCC and operating in Richmond, Virginia. The station broadcasts at 97.3 MHz and produces a seven-day schedule of programming spanning 50+ music genres (including alternative, jazz, blues, hip-hop, world, electronic, folk, metal, punk, soul) plus news and public affairs content. Programming is produced primarily by volunteer DJs, with live in-studio performances recorded in Studio C, the station's in-house recording studio operational since 2015.

Distribution operates across three primary channels: regional FM broadcast, a 24/7 live internet stream available globally via wrir.org, and Amazon Alexa voice command access. Supporting content products include a 2-week rolling show archive and a longer-form In-Studio Performance Archive featuring local and touring artists. The station's social presence spans Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), and Bluesky, with monthly email newsletters in flip-book format.

The business model is listener-supported: WRIR charges nothing for access and is funded through one-time and monthly donations processed via LGLForms, supplemented by a separate capital campaign (wrircampaign.org). There are no disclosed enterprise customers, advertisers, or commercial revenue streams. Ownership rests with a volunteer board and community structure, with no parent company, venture capital, or private equity backing disclosed in the input data.

Name

WRIR 97.3 FM

Legal name

WRIR-LP 97.3 FM

Website

https://wrir.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WRIR 97.3 FM is a volunteer-driven, non-profit low-power FM community radio station in Richmond, Virginia, broadcasting 50+ music genres and public affairs programming via FM, live stream, and Alexa, funded by listener donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent Local Radio Stations (MPABACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Radio Streaming & Catch-Up Audio Platforms (MPAIADAJ), Internet Radio & Streaming Broadcast Stations (Simulcast/Online-only) (MPAIAEAE), Non-Interactive Digital Radio (Lean-Back Streaming) (MPAIACAB)

Keywords

• Community radio broadcasting
• Listener-supported media
• Music programming
• Local news coverage
• Independent radio station

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Listener Donations: The station operates on listener support through one-time and monthly donation options available on their website. Donors can contribute via secure online forms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WRIR 97.3 FM is a non-profit, volunteer-driven community radio station broadcasting from Richmond, Virginia on 97.3 FM. The station provides diverse music programming across 50+ genres, local news and public affairs, and live in-studio performances recorded in its on-site Studio C facility. Content is distributed via FM broadcast, real-time online streaming, and on-demand archives, funded primarily through listener donations.

Product overview

WRIR-LP 97.3 FM is a community radio station operating as a single unified offering comprised of FM broadcast, live streaming, and archival content. The station's core product is its radio programming distributed through traditional FM airwaves and real-time online streaming. Supporting offerings include a Show Archive system (2-week rolling on-demand library) and an In-Studio Performance Archive showcasing live performances recorded in Studio C since 2015. Programs cover diverse genres (alternative, jazz, blues, hip-hop, world, electronic, folk, metal, punk, soul, news/public affairs) and are organized into music shows and news/public affairs categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WRIR-LP 97.3 FM Broadcast

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ distinct music genres and cultural categories represented in programming

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• WFMU: WFMU is a listener-supported, non-commercial community radio station in Jersey City, NJ, featuring eclectic programming across many genres — directly comparable to WRIR's volunteer-driven, donation-funded model and freeform format.
• KEXP: KEXP is a non-profit Seattle-based radio station with deep live-session archives and a listener-supported model, offering the closest analogue to WRIR's Studio C in-studio performance archive and music-discovery positioning.
• KCRW: KCRW is a Santa Monica-based non-profit public radio station that blends eclectic music, news, and cultural programming with online streaming and live performances — a scaled, mature example of WRIR's community-public-radio thesis.
• WXPN: WXPN is the University of Pennsylvania's non-commercial public radio station featuring adult album alternative and eclectic music programming, a comparable non-commercial format peer with listener-support funding.
• WMBR: WMBR is MIT's volunteer-run college/community radio station in Cambridge, MA, with freeform genre-spanning programming — directly analogous to WRIR's volunteer DJ model and non-commercial community ethos.
• Radio K (KUOM): Radio K is the University of Minnesota's community-licensed non-commercial radio station with volunteer DJs and eclectic music programming, closely matching WRIR's volunteer-driven, freeform community-radio profile.
• KPFA: KPFA is a listener-supported non-commercial radio station in Berkeley, CA, known for progressive news, music, and cultural programming — a comparable non-profit, community-funded radio peer.
• KFAI: KFAI is a Minneapolis-based non-profit community radio station with volunteer programmers and diverse music and public affairs programming, very similar in scale and operating model to WRIR.
• WPRB: WPRB is Princeton's non-commercial community radio station with freeform programming and live performance archives — a structural peer to WRIR's format, archive approach, and listener-supported model.
• WXDU: WXDU is Duke University's non-commercial community radio station featuring freeform, volunteer-hosted programming across many genres — comparable to WRIR's volunteer-driven, genre-diverse community-radio profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WRIR973
• Facebookfacebook.com/wrir973
• Instagraminstagram.com/wrir97.3fm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wrir-lp-97.3-fm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WRIR 97.3 FM