The story
Music One was started by Richard Cowell, who grew up in radio in England. He began at 13 with a two-week placement at Minster FM in York and stayed six years, moving from promotions to the Jukebox show with Dave Lee and on to production, ending up as Head of Music for Minster FM and Yorkshire Coast Radio in Scarborough.
In late 1998 Richard moved to New York to work in the new world of online media. There he found the technology to put a radio station on the internet, and in May 2001 Music One went live from his apartment.
The idea was simple: American radio wasn't playing the music Richard loved. Music One would play the best of the UK's dance and club scene, "a lot of tracks that US radio won't even touch… but you may hear them in six months!" It began as a Top 40 station mixing hits from the UK and the US. As it grew, the music leaned further into dance, and the audience grew with it. The result was a dance radio format that hadn't been heard before: current dance hits and club classics, live around the clock, and always commercial free, paid for by the listeners who loved it.
Off air
Richard still lives in New York, with William, the dog he adopted in 2023. You'll find them both on Instagram: @richiec79 and @billycnyc.
Along the way
- 2001
Music One launches in May. In September Crown Jules joins, with a Saturday afternoon show that soon moves to Tuesdays; Dave Lunden has Sundays. In November, Atlanta club DJ XLR8 starts his Friday night trance sets.
- 2002
A short break mid-year while better hosting is found. Music One comes back in September, streaming from a data centre in the UK, to its biggest audience yet.
- 2003
Specialist DJs join the weekends: Andrew Cannon, DJ LadyFunk, DJ Doc Abbott and Derrick Toran. "Live from New York" brings club sets to the station, from Hector Romero at Filter 14 and Chris Fortier at Centro-Fly.
- 2004
Music One moves into the West Village from the offices of Kinetic Records. In October it ranks #18 in Ando Media's Webcast Metrics, the first ever internet radio ratings, and is one of the top 15 stations on SHOUTcast, with almost 4,000 people listening at once at its peak.
- 2005
Nominated for Best Internet Dance Radio Station at the International Dance Music Awards in Miami, alongside BBC Radio 1.
- 2006
Guest mixes from Matt Darey (his "Nocturnal" sets), Defected's Simon Dunmore, Powerstar (with Gabriel & Dresden), DJ Adien and Chris Lewis. On New Year's Eve, Crown Jules and Rich count down their first Top 20 of the year, built from the favourite songs listeners emailed in. It becomes a tradition, every year until 2015.
- 2007
With US internet radio licensing in doubt, "The Last Dance" airs on Memorial Day, May 28, to around 1,500 people listening at once, and the station takes a break.
- 2008
Back in May, a full year after the Last Dance: commercial free, 24/7.
- 2009
DJ Chris Lewis returns with a weekly mix show. "Rate the Music" lets listeners vote on every song, and on December 26 their votes decide the Top 20 of 2009.
- 2010
Chris Lewis starts "Dance Evolution", a half hour that grows to three hours a week. In April the first Music One iPhone app launches, built by Bobby Wallace and designed by Matthew Smoluch, followed by a new website with community forums. Joel North joins the weekend lineup in the summer.
- 2011
Live broadcasts begin. In May, the first from Griffin Sundays in the Meatpacking District, with DJ Vito Fun and Rafferty/Mazur Events and Medina live on stage, then Low Tea at The Pines, Fire Island with Corey Craig. NYC Pride weekend brings the VIP Rooftop Party with Dan De Leon and Tracy Young, and "Dance on the Pier" (the Pier Dance, as everyone calls it): eight hours with DJs Lina, Vito Fun and Ana Paula and performances from Wynter Gordon, Robin S, Martha Wash and Frenchie Davis. Music One was the first radio station ever to broadcast it live. In July, Asbury Park's Sand Blast Weekend, with Corey Craig, Joe Gauthreaux and David Marc. An Android app built by Martijn de Meulder follows, and the iPhone app gets background play and AirPlay.
- 2012
More live nights: Rockit at XL Nightclub with Corey Craig, Middle Tea at The Pines, Fire Island with Vito Fun, and Sand Blast again with Brett Henrichsen, Steve Sidewalk, Corey Craig and Drew G.
- 2014
RAIN News names Music One its "Pureplay of the Day": "a foot-bouncing mix of EDM and dance pop." A new website follows in August, and Corey Craig's "Coreyography" mixes premiere on Music One.
- 2015
Crown Jules and Rich host Hump Day every Wednesday: the song of the week, a classic from the Vault, a mid-week mix from Chris Lewis and the latest dance news. The last of the yearly Top 20 shows counts down the Top 20 of 2015.
- 2016
Royalty rates rise sharply, and listeners help keep the station on air. The weekends belong to Morlando, the Triple Dee Radio Show and Coreyography. In June, after the attack on Pulse in Orlando, Music One stands with the LGBTQ community: #OrlandoStrong.
- 2017
On July 24, after 16 years, Music One closes, "potentially for good." The shows live on at mixcloud.com/musicone.
- 2020
During the Covid lockdown, Music One comes back now and then, streaming on Twitch: the station's own automated mix, and live sets from Corey Craig.
- What's next
Something new is in the works. Watch this space.
The voices and the DJs
And guest DJs over the years, including Matt Darey, Simon Dunmore, Powerstar, DJ Adien, DJ LadyFunk, DJ Doc Abbott, Andrew Cannon, Derrick Toran, Hector Romero, Chris Fortier, Phil Marriott, Morlando and the Triple Dee Radio Show.
Special thanks
And the most important of all: you, the listeners, who kept Music One on air.
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