Worldwide FM, the radio station and platform for eclectic international music, will pause most of its operations in late October after a six-year run, founder Gilles Peterson tweeted Monday (September 12). A post on Worldwide FM’s social media pages describes a “period of transition” while the station seeks new financing options. In the meantime, the platform’s website, Mixcloud, and archive will remain active, and Peterson himself will host shows.
Peterson founded Worldwide FM in 2016, expanding a niche for offbeat jazz and eclectic international music—particularly from South America and Africa—that he had established as a DJ, radio presenter, and music curator. The station billed itself as a “community and platform where marginalised voices, alternative perspectives and shared progressive values are brought to the forefront.” In announcing the pause, Peterson said Worldwide FM “grew to be a real life music and culture platform helping develop a new generation of broadcasters as well as acting as a first base in the development of many new artists.”