The Bell tolls: July planning taking place for 'DARK MATTER' return

Art  Bell once again went online to use social networking to publicize plans for his upcoming DARK MATTER radio program, which he and Keith Rowland have both advertised sets to begin anew in July through online streaming. Bell has recently promised a 'free' stream along with a number of new mechanisms to communicate with listeners throughout the duration of the program. In addition, there is now some sort of paid portion coming that may ask listeners for $5 a month to get downloable programs afterwards.

Bell said in a comment receiving over 1,000 likes on Facebook:

So much speculation, GOOD! What we are going to do should be a blast in my opinion.
Just think about it three hours a night to play with any topic we wish, lots of open lines
and NEW Guests. No restrictions on topics. VERY few commercials.

Bell went on to promise:

The live streaming will be FREE for both National and thank goodness, International
listener's. We will provide incoming phone lines as well as Skype connections.

I am sure some topics will be loved by some and hated by others, it is never possible
to please everybody all the time, that is one of the first things any Talk Host must learn.
Some of my best shows were filled with computer messages in the first hour or so that
said things like " dump this jerk and go to open lines" but by the end of the show people
were saying "Gee Art that was one of your best shows ever". On the other hand sometimes
the jerk HAD to dumped for open lines. Many times some of the BEST shows came from open
lines. That is the magic!

However, reality is abundant in this world.. online with few advertising may present a revenue problem. That, too, was address as Art Bell said there may be some paid subscription service coming for DARK MATTER:

No program can exist on NO income so we will depend on some aspects that we can charge for
that will include the ability to download the show once it has aired, perhaps the ability to send
a fast blast, and any other goodies we can throw in to perhaps ask for five bucks a Month from
those willing to help, but make no mistake the live stream will be free, I want NO limits on the
possible number of people who can tune in.

Currently, there are a number of different online radio podcasts and streams that provide for paid user subscriptions. Most notable, Bell's would-be competition Coast to Coast AM asks for nearly $7 a month to provide live streaming and past show downloads. John B. Wells also recently began his own program CARAVAN TO MIDNIGHT after his controversial exit from Coast.  However, others such as Clyde Lewis and Dave Schrader have free content and free downloads, but their world is in terrestrial radio.

Initially, when Art Bell returned to Sirius radio in 2013, a number of new subscribers purchased hundreds  of dollars in equipment and service to hear Bell's DARK MATTER. When he abruptly quit after only eight weeks, some fans became outraged at the cost of listening and the brevity of the show.

It will still be seen if the anger among some has died down enough to spend more money to listen to the talk show legend--though $5 a month is a much cheaper option than the high costs of satellite radio.

Art Bell's fan base is clearly exited for his return this summer. The comments section on Art Bell's post featured a number of people saying that Bell's message actually is lifting them from a mental funk.  The very active thread on BELLGAB busily analyzes each Bell message to its depth.

We will continue to follow this story..