After 13 years of operation, Singaporean indie music radio channel Lush 99.5FM will stop transmission on Aug 31.

It plays local music ranging from indie to pop, rock and alternative music, and occupies the 99.5 MHz frequency on the FM band.

The station was also known for their smart commercials back in the day, which poked fun at pop-culture horror movies, promoting their station with the tagline "Music changes the mood".

Lush 99.5FM was launched after the frequency was awarded and acquired by Mediacorp in  2004, after its predecessor, Passion 99.5FM, closed down in 2003 due to a lack of sponsorship and advertising revenue.

In a Facebook post published on Monday afternoon, the radio station acknowledged their fans and followers, while announcing that the local music it features will go forward as a project titled "Singapore Sounds", which will be featured on other radio channels, and online.

Here's the text of the post, in case you can't see it:

Lush 99.5FM will be stopping transmission on 31st August at 1159pm after 13 years. Whilst we have built a loyal core of followers, the listeners, who are supporters of local music, we have not managed to grow the base of listeners enough to sustain the operating costs of the station. But we are as passionate as you are about local music so we have put in place the Singapore Sounds project, which will feature local music, artists and gigs on other music stations, 987 and 938LIVE, as well as on 8days.sg. We hope you'll continue to show your support for the cause through these channels. In true form we'll be celebrating all things local in the month of August so keep your ears and eyes peeled.

Lush99.5FM isn't the first radio channel to retire from the scene in recent years.

Expat Radio XFM 96.3, formerly known as International Channel, was founded in 1998, targeted towards the expat community in Singapore, ceased operations in 2016.

The internet reacts

Fans, upon hearing the announcement, quickly took to the comments to lament the loss of their favourite radio station.

Lush 99.5FM DJ Rosalyn Lee, who regularly hosts the programme Lush Bites on weekdays, was at a loss for words.

Local musicians and talents were equally distraught, if not angered, at the loss of one of the only radio stations dedicated to local acts.

If anything, the Singapore Sounds project will hopefully continue their passionate support for local music - however, we're sure Aug 31 will be a sad, sad day for many of Lush's listeners.

RIP Lush 99.5 FM. You'll be missed.

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Top image adapted via Lush 99.5's Facebook page.