A Brief History
KSCR traces its roots to the original KUSC, which was operated by students starting in 1946. Eventually, KUSC transitioned to classical programming and moved off-campus in the mid-1970s.
In 1975, a group of students reacted to renewed demand for student-run radio at USC and founded KSCR, a carrier-current station broadcasting out of the Hancock Foundation Building. Eventually, due to equipment failures, the University authorized a grant to move KSCR to its current location in Marks Hall and construct new, state-of-the-art studios. In 1984, KSCR transitioned the carrier-current broadcast to its new studios.
The station was incorporated under USC Student Senate in 1988 thanks to an outpouring of student support. New funds enabled new studio upgrades, and a new logo “SC-53” was adopted to signify a new beginning. Then, starting in late 1990, KSCR started broadcasting through downtown’s then-dominant cable provider, Continental Cablevision. A change in station branding to “The Underground” commemorated this change and the station’s new focus on independent music.
After a period of broadcasting at 104.7fm in downtown, the station began webcasting in April 1998. At first, KSCR broadcasted online through a USC server using Real Audio. This made the station’s programming available to a worldwide audience. The station’s slogan changed to “revolutionary radio” to commemorate the renewed student interest in KSCR thanks to its new online technology.
KSCR now broadcasts over-the-air in downtown Los Angeles at 1560am, and offers two online streams using its own servers. The station is one of the only independent legal webcasters. Today, “revolutionary radio” reflects our approach to radio: hand-picked music in a culture that encourages diversity and independence.