I had an opportunity to go to the local symphony orchestra concert yesterday -- and what happened has bearing on our Classical Challenge discussion. Specifically, repertoire choices, audience demographics, and the relationship between the concert hall and the radio.
Fresh Repertoire Choices
The Charlottesville and University Symphony is a pretty good community orchestra. It's run out of the University of Virginia's McIntyre Department of Music, and is comprised of faculty, student, and community players, with first chairs primarily filled by music department faculty.
Maestro Kate Tamarkin doesn't just stick to the same old same old. She regularly programs new music and lesser-known works in the repertoire. This season she's already presented Nino Rota's Bassoon Concerto, and will give a world premiere of a work by Judith Shatin.
With a title like "Heartland of Europe," you might expect I was in for an afternoon of Dvorak and Smetana. Not so. The program:
Zoltan Kodaly: Galatan Dances
Frederic Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2
- intemission -
Arvo Part: Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Andrzej Panufnik: Sinfonia Sacra
Zowie! Now that's a program I could get into! And may I say that the orchestra did a fine job, especially with the intricacies of the Panufnik. It was fearless programming for this community ensemble, and they rose to the challenge.
Not Entirely Ancient Audience Demographics
Yes, as in the case of many orchestras, the audience was mostly mature. Plenty of blue-haired ladies and men with liver-spotted bald heads. But there were also a significant number of folks in their twenties and thirties (and even forties and early fifties).
There wasn't a storming of the exits when the second half started, either. While I could see some of ladies from the retirement home outing squirming uncomfortably during the Panufnik, I also noticed quite a few patrons leaning forward in rapt attention.
The audience wasn't just senior citizens on their last legs -- and the music wasn't all over a century old, either. I'd like to believe there's a connection.
Classically Challenged Radio
Now for any other genre of music you care to name, the music you hear in concert is pretty much the same music you'll hear on the air. We heard four works performed live on stage in Charlottesville. What's the chances of hearing any of them on our local radio station?
Well, according to our snapshot of WVTF's programming, perhaps 50/50. I think it's possible that WVTF would play the Kodaly. After all, symphonic music is a pretty sure bet at that station, and Kodaly's European (96% of composers aired on WVTF), dead (80%), and male (100%).
Chopin's piano concerto is a pretty good bet as well. Not only for the same reasons as Kodaly, but he's a romantic era composer, a style period WVTF heavily favors (about 30% of all pieces).
Panufnik has the right credentials, (European, male, dead), but with the exception of movie soundtracks, WVTF usually stays safely in early part of the 20th Century for their music. A work from 1963 is just, well, too modern. Doubly so for Arvo Part's 1976 "Cantus."
Besides, Part's still alive.
Anyone else see the problem?
- Ralph
Showing posts with label WVTF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WVTF. Show all posts
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, August 07, 2009
WVTF and Famous Firsts
I don't want to take anything away from WVTF because they have done something remarkable. According to their press release,
For WVTF to capture the majority of the public radio audience is no mean feat in itself -- there's lots of competition. But to capture the majority of the total audience, mixing in folks who prefer classical rock, top 40, country, etc. is news, indeed.
As I said, I don't want to take away from WVTF's accomplishment. According to Arbitron, they're the winner. But before we read too much into this, let's look at how that data was collected.
Arbitron stats aren't quite as cut and dried as those for, say, website traffic data.
While Arbitron collects data in some major markets with electronic devices known as Personal People Meters (PPMs), for smaller markets they still rely on people filling out listening diaries. Which is what was used in the 231st-ranked Charlottesville market.
So how reliable is the information from such a diary? Well, it depends on how much get filled in. Arbitron provides some info about their diaries. Mark Ramsey gives a little walk-through of the competing (but very similar) Nielsen radio diary.
One other piece of information: potential diarists are contacted initially by phone to ask if they would like to take part in the Arbitron survey. Which automatically eliminates homes without landlines (about 20% of households), skewing the potential survey pool to an older demographic.
For a public radio station to emerge on top is still a big deal, though. Because as flawed as the Arbitron system is, the numbers are still used by stations and their advertisers/underwriters to determine ad/underwriting rates and whether or not advertising/underwriting on a station makes good business sense.
So even if WVTF doesn't actually have the 15,503 listeners the numbers say they do, it doesn't matter. Because, like Wall Street investors, it's not what the numbers are, it's what you believe they mean.
- Ralph
Day 118 of the WJMA Podwatch.
The latest radio ratings released by Arbitron, Inc. show NPR member station WVTF Public Radio ranks #1 against all other commercial and non-commercial radio stations serving Charlottesville [Virginia]. WVTF is ranked #1 with a 9.9 share of the area’s radio listening. The #2 station has a 9.3 share (country WCYK-FM), and the #3 station (adult contemporary WQMZ) has an 8.1 share.Charlottesville is an interesting radio market. It has the standard mix of commercial stations, with a few oddities. It has two AAA format stations, non-commercial WNRN and commercial WCNR. It also has four non-commercial stations serving the area, WVTF, the afore-mentioned WNRN, WMRA, and WTJU.
For WVTF to capture the majority of the public radio audience is no mean feat in itself -- there's lots of competition. But to capture the majority of the total audience, mixing in folks who prefer classical rock, top 40, country, etc. is news, indeed.
As I said, I don't want to take away from WVTF's accomplishment. According to Arbitron, they're the winner. But before we read too much into this, let's look at how that data was collected.
Arbitron stats aren't quite as cut and dried as those for, say, website traffic data.
While Arbitron collects data in some major markets with electronic devices known as Personal People Meters (PPMs), for smaller markets they still rely on people filling out listening diaries. Which is what was used in the 231st-ranked Charlottesville market.
So how reliable is the information from such a diary? Well, it depends on how much get filled in. Arbitron provides some info about their diaries. Mark Ramsey gives a little walk-through of the competing (but very similar) Nielsen radio diary.
One other piece of information: potential diarists are contacted initially by phone to ask if they would like to take part in the Arbitron survey. Which automatically eliminates homes without landlines (about 20% of households), skewing the potential survey pool to an older demographic.
For a public radio station to emerge on top is still a big deal, though. Because as flawed as the Arbitron system is, the numbers are still used by stations and their advertisers/underwriters to determine ad/underwriting rates and whether or not advertising/underwriting on a station makes good business sense.
So even if WVTF doesn't actually have the 15,503 listeners the numbers say they do, it doesn't matter. Because, like Wall Street investors, it's not what the numbers are, it's what you believe they mean.
- Ralph
Day 118 of the WJMA Podwatch.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
WTJU and the World Wide Web
And that's great news for WTJU, the station I volunteer for. Charlottesville, Virginia's blessed with a disproportional number of non-commercial radio stations. There's the powerhouse, WVTF (based in Roanoke) with the traditional NPR news/classical music mix. To a lesser extent, there's also WMRA (from Harrisonburg), with syndicated NPR news/talk. WNRN provides alternative rock, and other musical genres that appeal to the student population and the AAA public radio listener.
WTJU delivers a unique blend of several different formats. Although some of our programming is similar to that offered by the other stations, in my opinion WTJU provides richer, deeper content. Serious listeners can appreciate the difference -- and that's why I'm excited about growing our online audience.
WNRN maintains a tightly controlled playlist that leans toward the more popular and accessible artists of the genres they play. It's a successful strategy -- they've built a large audience over the years. But what about the artists that have something to say but aren't so mainstream? WTJU.
WVTF and WMRA air classical music, but it's designed for easy listening. Soothing melodies, excerpted movements, mainly classical and romantic composers (ca. 1730-1890), etc. It's not uncommon programming for public radio stations, and again, it works. Both stations have an audience. But what if you want to hear music of the renaissance, or something by a living composer, or a Maria Callas aria? WTJU.
And the same's true for jazz, and folk, and even world music.
Are there enough listeners within the WTJU coverage area to support this kind of in-depth eclectic programming? I think so, but it's a finite number. There's only so many people that can live within our listening area, and it's not likely the FCC will let us expand our signal.
But that's not true online. Through the Internet we could potentially reach every single person in the world who's passionate about Milt Jackson, or the Dixie Beeliners, or Steve Reich. And the early signs show we're making a start.
When I'm on the air, I send out updates about my program, always using http://cli.gs/WTJU as the URL for the audio stream. Cli.gs is a service that allows the creation of short, trackable redirects, so I'm able to see who's clicking on the link and from where.
The past two shows have brought in about 100 online listeners (we can currently accommodate 60 at a time). Most are from the U.S., but I've also had online listeners from Canada, France, Belgium, Sweden, Slovinia, and -- just this week -- Japan.
Online is where listeners (even local ones) are moving to, and it's where we have the best chance to grow. Because 200 stations streaming "Morning Edition" sort of cancel each other out (especially when the listener can access it directly from NPR). But a station streaming programming heard no where else? That's really where it's at.
Can't wait to see next week's stats!
- Ralph
Day 98 of the WJMA Podwatch.
Friday, October 24, 2008
WTJU and the Marathon Unmuddled
I had a fantastic fund raising program this morning on WTJU, and I'd like to thank everyone who called in with a pledge.
Of course, what I expected happened did happen. The phones rang fairly often from 6:00 AM to about 9:00 AM. My show, "Overtures," ran until 10:00, but it didn't matter. At 9:00 the phones stopped ringing and I didn't get another pledge.
Why?
Well, look at the regular schedule for the station. At 9:00 AM jazz programming starts. The folks who only listen to classical are used tuning us out at 9:00 and either switching over to WVTF (which has finished with Morning Edition and starts its classical programming), or have arrived at work and won't listen to the radio again until the evening drive home.
And since this is the first day of the fund drive, people who tuned in all week long at 9:00 AM expecting to hear jazz got a nasty shock this morning. My guess is most of them turned us off almost immediately, never hearing the fund raising message at all.
As I've noted before, when it comes to radio, people are creatures of habit. We mess with the daily routine at our own peril. At 9:00 AM the classical audience went away, and the jazz audience stayed away. And as much as our volunteer staff wishes it be otherwise, our listeners use radio the same way listeners of other stations do.
Care to guess what happens tomorrow when listeners tune in at 4:00 PM, expecting to hear "Jumpin' On the Bed," high-energy American music instead get Hindemith and Persichetti wind ensemble music?
- Ralph
Day 129 of the WJMA Web Watch.
Of course, what I expected happened did happen. The phones rang fairly often from 6:00 AM to about 9:00 AM. My show, "Overtures," ran until 10:00, but it didn't matter. At 9:00 the phones stopped ringing and I didn't get another pledge.
Why?
Well, look at the regular schedule for the station. At 9:00 AM jazz programming starts. The folks who only listen to classical are used tuning us out at 9:00 and either switching over to WVTF (which has finished with Morning Edition and starts its classical programming), or have arrived at work and won't listen to the radio again until the evening drive home.
And since this is the first day of the fund drive, people who tuned in all week long at 9:00 AM expecting to hear jazz got a nasty shock this morning. My guess is most of them turned us off almost immediately, never hearing the fund raising message at all.
As I've noted before, when it comes to radio, people are creatures of habit. We mess with the daily routine at our own peril. At 9:00 AM the classical audience went away, and the jazz audience stayed away. And as much as our volunteer staff wishes it be otherwise, our listeners use radio the same way listeners of other stations do.
Care to guess what happens tomorrow when listeners tune in at 4:00 PM, expecting to hear "Jumpin' On the Bed," high-energy American music instead get Hindemith and Persichetti wind ensemble music?
- Ralph
Day 129 of the WJMA Web Watch.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Arcania International on WVTF -- Part 4 (tape delay)
As the distributor of Arcania International releases, I've been very interested in a series public radio station WVTF has been running. Reporter Connie Stevens has been profiling various artists featured in Arcania's "Ol' Virginia Soul" and "Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things" compilation CDs of Virginia soul groups and garage bands of the 1960's. These "Captive Audio" news segments have made for interesting listening -- even for those not interested in these musical genres.
I missed the broadcast of the latest installment -- it aired back in July. But because WVTF archives their news features, I could access it, listen to it -- and now share it with others by linking to it.
In that episode, Stevens tells the story of the Phantoms from Abingdon, Virginia (found on "Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things, Volume 2"). Brent Hosier of Arcania International and guitarist Herb Proffitt talk about the Phantom's only recording, and how it was saved by modern technology. But there's more to the story...
And thanks to WVTF's website, that story can be heard again and again.
- Ralph
Day 102 of the WJMA Web Watch.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
WJMA, WVTF, and the weakest link
While it seems obvious to most readers of this blog (being the Internet-savvy lot that you are), the basic concepts of the web still elude many. I've written often about the website of our local radio station, WJMA. I do so primarily because it's a real-world example of the kind of mistakes businesses can make when the decision-makers don't really understand what this new medium is all about.
And what it's about are two basic things: quality content and connectivity. To make money from website traffic (either through ads or just raising brand awareness) you need something to bring the eyeballs to your site. And you need easy ways for folks to access the content once they arrive.
It's not that different from traditional retail: keep the shelves stocked with attractive merchandise, and lay out the store to encourage shopping. Yet many don't make the connection (as anyone who's tried to get any kind of online innovation approved by higher-ups baffled by e-mail can attest).
Let's take my recent flurry of posts that linked to the news pages of two radio station websites: WJMA and WVTF. Now a case can be made that this could be an unfair comparison: WJMA's a commercial station, and WVTF's public radio. WJMA has a single news reporter, and WVTF has a staff of them. Yet in both cases one news reporter was responsible for the creation and posting of the content I linked to. So let's see what happened to the folks I sent their way -- and the impact on the stations.
WJMA news site (I've also taken a screen shot of the page).
Is there anything here that invites us to stay? The local headlines still do little more than tease for stories that aren't there.
Well, the news page is a dead end. How about the home page? From there, we can either go to the Weather Underground, or the Virginia Department of Health, but that's about it (and I'm not really sure why that's on the radio station's homepage anyway). I'm posting this in April and the scrolling banner at the top of the page is still advising me to click on Closings for the latest winter closing and cancellations.
Any traffic I send to this website is basically wasted. A visitor coming from CE Conversations sees neither quality content or relevant links, and the station derives no benefit from the visit. If the news page was a store, it would be an ill-lit dingy one with a few dusty items on mostly-empty shelves.
WVTF Captive Audio (I've taken a screen shot of this page as well)
Once again, we have a headline -- "Catching up with a member of Ol' Virginia Soul." It's just as cryptic as WJMA's, but this time there's additional information.
Connie Stevens also provides us with a picture of Mr. Hughes, and a link so we can listen to the story. This is valuable content, with intuitive connectivity. Even though I didn't hear the segment when it was broadcast, I can still listen to it now.
The visitor who followed my link gets some useful information. And the station derives some benefit as well. The page has plenty of links to WVTF's other locally produced programs, as well as their national feeds. It also has a link so the visitor can listen online. And just reading the links gives the visitor a good overview of the station and its services (and of course ways to contribute).
Folks who click through to WJMA reach a dead end. Those who follow the links to WVTF have an entirely different experience.
And here's the other part of the equation. By linking to WVTF's Captive Audio page, we've benefited ourselves. I'm linking to this page because we're selling the CDs that are the focus of the Captive Audio series. And the Arcania International segments on WVTF started airing, sales of the discs have risen dramatically over the past month (and causing us to quickly re-press two titles). And some of those sales have come from outside WVTF's coverage area, which suggests online listening via their website.
When it's done right, the connectivity of the web can help both the linker and the object of the link. Obvious to some, but many are oblivious to it all.
- Ralph
And what it's about are two basic things: quality content and connectivity. To make money from website traffic (either through ads or just raising brand awareness) you need something to bring the eyeballs to your site. And you need easy ways for folks to access the content once they arrive.
It's not that different from traditional retail: keep the shelves stocked with attractive merchandise, and lay out the store to encourage shopping. Yet many don't make the connection (as anyone who's tried to get any kind of online innovation approved by higher-ups baffled by e-mail can attest).
Let's take my recent flurry of posts that linked to the news pages of two radio station websites: WJMA and WVTF. Now a case can be made that this could be an unfair comparison: WJMA's a commercial station, and WVTF's public radio. WJMA has a single news reporter, and WVTF has a staff of them. Yet in both cases one news reporter was responsible for the creation and posting of the content I linked to. So let's see what happened to the folks I sent their way -- and the impact on the stations.
WJMA news site (I've also taken a screen shot of the page).
Is there anything here that invites us to stay? The local headlines still do little more than tease for stories that aren't there.
"A retired D-C police detective is running for the Culpeper Town Council."Really? Who? What's his background? No details -- and no links. We have nowhere to go to get additional information about this cryptic piece of information. And notice the D.C. abbreviation. That's the spelling used for on-air reading to ensure the initials are pronounced correctly. Whoever posted this didn't even bother to change it to the correct form for written text.
Well, the news page is a dead end. How about the home page? From there, we can either go to the Weather Underground, or the Virginia Department of Health, but that's about it (and I'm not really sure why that's on the radio station's homepage anyway). I'm posting this in April and the scrolling banner at the top of the page is still advising me to click on Closings for the latest winter closing and cancellations.
Any traffic I send to this website is basically wasted. A visitor coming from CE Conversations sees neither quality content or relevant links, and the station derives no benefit from the visit. If the news page was a store, it would be an ill-lit dingy one with a few dusty items on mostly-empty shelves.
WVTF Captive Audio (I've taken a screen shot of this page as well)
Once again, we have a headline -- "Catching up with a member of Ol' Virginia Soul." It's just as cryptic as WJMA's, but this time there's additional information.
The stories behind the story of the Arcania record label continue. Arcania founder Brent Hosier put out a series of compact discs focusing on soul, psychedelic and garage bands that recorded around Virginia in the 1960s. WVTF's Connie Stevens has the story of Junious Bugs Hughes, featured on the Ol' Virginia Soul collection.So now we know what Ol' Virginia Soul is, we know who's being interviewed, and we know the background of the series. Oh -- and we also know who did the story and when. Notice that the WJMA posting is anonymous (I don't think I'd want to put my name to it either), and the only clue we have about the date is a 2006 copyright notice!
Connie Stevens also provides us with a picture of Mr. Hughes, and a link so we can listen to the story. This is valuable content, with intuitive connectivity. Even though I didn't hear the segment when it was broadcast, I can still listen to it now.
The visitor who followed my link gets some useful information. And the station derives some benefit as well. The page has plenty of links to WVTF's other locally produced programs, as well as their national feeds. It also has a link so the visitor can listen online. And just reading the links gives the visitor a good overview of the station and its services (and of course ways to contribute).
Folks who click through to WJMA reach a dead end. Those who follow the links to WVTF have an entirely different experience.
And here's the other part of the equation. By linking to WVTF's Captive Audio page, we've benefited ourselves. I'm linking to this page because we're selling the CDs that are the focus of the Captive Audio series. And the Arcania International segments on WVTF started airing, sales of the discs have risen dramatically over the past month (and causing us to quickly re-press two titles). And some of those sales have come from outside WVTF's coverage area, which suggests online listening via their website.
When it's done right, the connectivity of the web can help both the linker and the object of the link. Obvious to some, but many are oblivious to it all.
- Ralph
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Arcania International on WVTF -- Part 3!
Junius Bug Hughes, who recorded "I'm Just What the Doctor Ordered" in the sixties is this week's subject. While his record didn't take him to the big time, he still managed to have a successful music career before moving back to Virginia and becoming an ordained minister.
It's an interesting story, well-told by Stevens through judicious editing and the use of background sounds.
And of course, it throws some attention to "Ol' Virginia Soul: Encore!" where Hughes' track can be found. So both as a public radio listener and the distributor of Arcania International releases, I enjoyed the segment very much!
- Ralph
Friday, March 28, 2008
Non-NPR Public Radio
Yes, there is such a thing. Around the time I began attending public radio conferences regularly, National Public Radio began their push to solidify their brand. "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" were already the "tent poles" of most public radio station listening (that is, the two places where audience -- and pledging -- peaked).
NPR started by pushing stations to have their announcers emulate the NPR style of delivery, providing a seamless transition from the national feed to the local news segments and back again. Stations were glad to ride the NPR bandwagon. NPR programs brought in the big pledge dollars, and it was easier to schedule a syndicated program with high production values rather than trying to put together something on their own.
Affiliate stations always assumed that NPR's goals were identical with theirs. But different organizations, like individuals, by definition have different goals. In time the blending of local station with national network became complete. Many people today use the terms "NPR" and "public radio" interchangeably -- NPR's branding mission is now complete.
Folks will talk about NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" -- a program produced and distributed by American Public Media (not NPR), or talk about a classical music selection Seth Williamson played on NPR (Seth's the local host of mid-day classics at WVTF, and his program is not distributed by NPR).
The first hint of trouble with this close association came when NPR fired popular "Morning Edition" host Bob Edwards. Listeners responded with howls of protests -- ire aimed squarely at the local affiliates. For most of the public, the local station was NPR, and many canceled their pledges in protest. That lost revenue hurt the local stations, which meant they had less money to meet their budget (a good chunk of which were NPR carriage fees -- according to Time Magazine, as much as $1.3 million). As for NPR, no station dropped "Morning Edition," and they collected the same rates from the affiliates they always did while the controversy raged on. In the end, Bob Edwards went to XM, some listeners went away, and NPR continued business as usual.
NPR has been moving more and more content onto satellite radio, into podcasts, and finally onto their own audio server. For this organization that derives revenue from the programs it produces, the moves make sense -- this is where the audience is going, and that's where they need to be.
For the radio stations, though, it's a disaster. If you contribute to your local station to support "Fresh Air," why would you continue to do so once you realize you can get it free as a podcast? Stations with strong local content have very good reasons for their listeners to support them. Those who rely almost exclusively on NPR are in for a tough time.
The recent firing of Ken Stern can be seen as an attempt to put the brakes on NPR's abandonment of its affiliates. But it's a temporary slowing, at best. Listening patterns are changing, and eventually NPR and public radio stations may come to a serious parting of the ways.
Here in Charlottesville, Virginia we have four non-commercial radio stations. Two are NPR affiliates, which means you can often hear the same programs on two different stations. Two run local programming almost exclusively.
Coincidentally, both of these stations (WNRN and WTJU) are currently in the midst of their spring fund drives. While WVTF and WMRA run "Morning Edition," WNRN gives its listeners "Acoustic Sunrise," which airs acoustic folk and Americana music. WTJU has classical programming in the morning, locally (and sometimes eccentrically) hosted. WNRN plays a healthy dose of local music throughout the day, while WTJU airs genres (serious classical and jazz, folk, world, non-Top 40 rock) other stations never touch.
All non-commercial radio station depend on some measure of direct public support. In two cases, a bulk of that support will be turned over to NPR to pay for programming, In the other two, the money stays "in house."
Which station is worthy of your support? Whichever one you listen to on a regular basis. Just remember that when you make your pledge, you're supporting the station, not NPR (at least not directly).
- Ralph
NPR started by pushing stations to have their announcers emulate the NPR style of delivery, providing a seamless transition from the national feed to the local news segments and back again. Stations were glad to ride the NPR bandwagon. NPR programs brought in the big pledge dollars, and it was easier to schedule a syndicated program with high production values rather than trying to put together something on their own.
Affiliate stations always assumed that NPR's goals were identical with theirs. But different organizations, like individuals, by definition have different goals. In time the blending of local station with national network became complete. Many people today use the terms "NPR" and "public radio" interchangeably -- NPR's branding mission is now complete.
Folks will talk about NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" -- a program produced and distributed by American Public Media (not NPR), or talk about a classical music selection Seth Williamson played on NPR (Seth's the local host of mid-day classics at WVTF, and his program is not distributed by NPR).
The first hint of trouble with this close association came when NPR fired popular "Morning Edition" host Bob Edwards. Listeners responded with howls of protests -- ire aimed squarely at the local affiliates. For most of the public, the local station was NPR, and many canceled their pledges in protest. That lost revenue hurt the local stations, which meant they had less money to meet their budget (a good chunk of which were NPR carriage fees -- according to Time Magazine, as much as $1.3 million). As for NPR, no station dropped "Morning Edition," and they collected the same rates from the affiliates they always did while the controversy raged on. In the end, Bob Edwards went to XM, some listeners went away, and NPR continued business as usual.
NPR has been moving more and more content onto satellite radio, into podcasts, and finally onto their own audio server. For this organization that derives revenue from the programs it produces, the moves make sense -- this is where the audience is going, and that's where they need to be.
For the radio stations, though, it's a disaster. If you contribute to your local station to support "Fresh Air," why would you continue to do so once you realize you can get it free as a podcast? Stations with strong local content have very good reasons for their listeners to support them. Those who rely almost exclusively on NPR are in for a tough time.
The recent firing of Ken Stern can be seen as an attempt to put the brakes on NPR's abandonment of its affiliates. But it's a temporary slowing, at best. Listening patterns are changing, and eventually NPR and public radio stations may come to a serious parting of the ways.
Here in Charlottesville, Virginia we have four non-commercial radio stations. Two are NPR affiliates, which means you can often hear the same programs on two different stations. Two run local programming almost exclusively.
Coincidentally, both of these stations (WNRN and WTJU) are currently in the midst of their spring fund drives. While WVTF and WMRA run "Morning Edition," WNRN gives its listeners "Acoustic Sunrise," which airs acoustic folk and Americana music. WTJU has classical programming in the morning, locally (and sometimes eccentrically) hosted. WNRN plays a healthy dose of local music throughout the day, while WTJU airs genres (serious classical and jazz, folk, world, non-Top 40 rock) other stations never touch.
All non-commercial radio station depend on some measure of direct public support. In two cases, a bulk of that support will be turned over to NPR to pay for programming, In the other two, the money stays "in house."
Which station is worthy of your support? Whichever one you listen to on a regular basis. Just remember that when you make your pledge, you're supporting the station, not NPR (at least not directly).
- Ralph
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Soul Masters and WVTF
Of course I like the series for professional reasons -- we carry Arcania International's reissue CDs which provided the framework for the stories on our DCD Records website. But I'm also excited personally. I've discovered some great tracks on Arcania International's releases that I would have never have found otherwise. And the "Captive Audio" reports are helping a wider audience discover them as well.
The segment this morning was particularly well done. Stevens not only had interviews from the band members, but also supporting commentary by a member of Gene and Teen/Team Beats (who were featured the previous week) and the head and chief bottle-washer of Arcania International, Brent Hosier.
I don't know how long the series is going to run, but I'm very much looking forward to the next installment -- for all the right reasons.
- Ralph
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Arcania International On the Air Again (sort of)
The latest installment is an interview with Gene Brumley of Gene & the Teen Beats from Martinsville, Virginia. Stevens did an excellent job, and Brumley shares some great stories.
Gene & the Teen Beats (later the Team Beats when the band started aging) have tracks on Arcania International's "Ol' Virginia Soul, Part 1." And although Brent Hosier's liner notes are pretty extensive, there's not a lot of overlap between his entry for Gene & the Teen/Team Beats and what Connie Stevens presents.
Which is great.
I admit that I have a vested interest in this series (we carry Arcania International's releases), but just as a listener, I'm really excited about this oral history chronical "Captive Audio's" creating.
Can't wait for the next installment!
- Ralph
BTW - The other band mentioned in the segment, Captain Darby and The Buccaneers, can be found on "Aliens, Psychos & Wild Things, Volume Fore (sic)."
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Arcania International On The Air!
It was a pretty exciting time for all of us. My business partner and I at DCD Records have been working with Brent for some time, trying to get some well-deserved attention to his releases.
Brent's a knowledgeable record collector, and his compilations of 1960's garage band and soul records are pretty remarkable. Brent insists only using tracks that haven't been previously released on CD, which keeps the selections fresh-sounding. Further, he's pretty much limited his compilations to Virginia artists (with a few side trips).
Arcania International has two series running. The four volumes of "Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things" focuses on garage and psych bands of the mid- to late-1960s. "Ol' Virginia Soul" collects soul and R&B tracks from (mostly) the Old Dominion on three CDs.
Some of the discs have fallen out of print, and that's where we've come in. DCD Records has reissued "Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things, Vol. 1" and we're working on the others.
Check out the "Captive Audio" series at WVTF. You can even listen to the segment. And then -- if you're so inclined -- you can toodle on over to DCDRecords.com and buy a CD or two. We'll all be glad you did.
- Ralph
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