Music

WECB

The 100% Student-run radio station at Emerson College

About Live

Members

+50

DJs

100%

Student

We strive to cultivate an inclusive, diverse, and enthusiastic music community for the students of Emerson, our Boston community, and beyond.

About us

We are a 100% student-run and creatively independent internet radio station of Emerson College. For over 70 years we have provided students with both a creative outlet and a valuable learning experience for radio, communications, audio engineering, music journalism, live events, marketing, and more.

Our organization is made up of upper management and 6 amazing teams. Milk Crate is our online publication team which covers the music community in Boston and beyond and produces a semesterly zine. WECB Live! is our events team which facilitates and promotes music events on campus and virtually such as concerts, open mics, and musician socials. Our Audio Team books recording sessions, hosts workshops, and manages recording equipment rentals. We also have a Marketing Team of students who create artwork for and promote the happenings of all facets of WECB. Another important team is our Outreach Team which reaches out to other student organizations for collaborations and local charities for fundraisers. The backbone of WECB is our Programming Team which handles DJ interviews, performs routine streaming checks, and solves any technical issues that may arise.

History

The origins of WECB date over 70 years to when Emerson College obtained an army surplus AM transmitter. The station broadcasted via carrier current from the basement of the 132-134 Beacon Street dormitory, and grew in success that included legitimate commercials, news programming and a station-owned van.

In 1983, WECB was scheduled for demolition without reconstruction, as part of the Mass Communications $1.6M renovation project. Carol Kamerschen, Greg Weremey and Russ Weisenbacher were instrumental in fighting the board of trustees and allowing Greg and Russ to design and build new studios at 126 Beacon St. to replace the former facilities at 130 Beacon St. This status ended with the opening of the Ansin Building in 1998 which featured a full studio suite for the Emerson station of wider general public interest, WERS. Unfortunately, WECB was left unhoused. However, after student concerns were raised, WECB was resurrected in a modest studio within the WERS studio suite where it broadcasts today.

In approximately the Fall of 2006, WECB made the shift to online broadcasting. WECB is accessed through our official website, streaming services such as Apple Music and Windows Media, and various mobile applications including Radioflag, iHeartRadio, and Tunein. We are also accessible through the closed circuit channel 65 which is available on the Emerson College Campus.

During the Spring of 2020 the operations of WECB changed as we all became deeply impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Classes moved online on March 13, 2020 and by the next week all residence halls were vacated. Both WERS and WECB had to shut down, our Spring concert with Injury Reserve was cancelled, and we were left with no idea how to continue our station. However, with the brilliant help of Michael Rocco and Spooner by the Fall of 2020 WECB shifted to Zoom Rooms broadcasting which enabled students to broadcast remotely. While the WECB studio was still inaccessible, Michael Rocco was permitted to install the new software on our main computer. From there on we have continued to use Zoom Rooms and allowed our student DJs to stream remotely from all corners of the globe.

As of Spring 2022 WECB is back to its full operating capacity in studio and campus venues.

Staff and school

WECB is one of Emerson College’s student organizations. We follow the Emerson Community Compact commitments to foster a more inclusive and accessible community.

We commit to identifying and removing exclusive practices that inhibit inclusive new membership recruitment and selection. As an organization, we recognize the importance of having a membership more reflective of the total student body at Emerson – a membership whose ideas, contributions and participation is both listened to and encouraged.
We commit to events, programs, and activities that better reflect our organization membership and Emerson student body. As an organization, we recognize organization events, programs, and activities should be vetted and selected by a larger number of members within an organization. We understand student organization leadership creates a system of power that can impact goals and objectives for the year.
As an organization, we understand diversity, equity, and inclusion is the job of all members of our organization. We commit to creating a process that allows access for all to hold positions of leadership and the support to have their ideas and voices heard, respected and implemented.
We understand managing the inner workings of a student organization can be extremely challenging. As an organization, we commit to moving forward with the intent of creating a more inclusive and equitable environment for all.
We commit to better understanding what barriers exist that stop someone from participating in our student organization. As an organization, we recognize there are many reasons why someone may not be able to fully participate in our organization.

All members of WECB are eligible to receive one Non-Tution credit per semester with participation, limited to 4 credits over the course of their college career. WECB’s advisor is D Simpson. WECB is funded through the Student Government Association.

The underground sound of Emerson College

WECB programming is considered “free-form” and is currently broken up into one to two hour blocks between 8am-11pm on weekdays and weekends. All genres and formats are considered for scheduling.

WECB maintains a diverse range of shows including: Pop Culture, Talk/Advice/Interview. K-Pop, Disco, Jazz, Cultural, Electronic, Hip Hop, R&B, Local Scene, Music Variety, Game Show, Film/Television, Artist Analysis, Horror/Supernatural, Indie Pop, Comedy/Improv, Country Music, Album Dissection and many more.

We are proud to support over 100 student DJs and their original ideas every semester!

WECB Team