Established in 1996 as the first online airchecks archive, it was transferred to a dedicated not-for-profit organization, REELRADIO, Inc., in 2000.
As of 2008[update], the board of directors includes founder Richard "Uncle Ricky" Irwin, news reporter Michael Burgess (known as Mike Scott) of KGPE (TV), and Bob Shannon (former vice president of TM Century).
[1] The repository site was started as Uncle Ricky's Reel Top 40 Radio Repository on February 12, 1996 (1996-02-12) by Richard "Uncle Ricky" Irwin, who had been in the radio business for 30 years before becoming a webmaster for Sacramento Network Access.
Despite the website having only a few dozen financial supporters, analysis of user behavior revealed thousands of listeners.
[citation needed] By 2016, the web site stated that the membership fee would cover just six months at a time, but by 2017 this requirement was not being enforced.
[citation needed] On September 24, 2017, new registrations to the website were closed, and donations were no longer being requested.
[citation needed] Richard Warren "Uncle Ricky" Irwin (January 8, 1951[5] – June 7, 2018[6]) grew up in Concord, North Carolina and worked at radio stations from age 14.