Listener Supported Radio - Who is Guilty of Not Supporting?
Written by TJ Mahony (contact - e-mail) -- June 21st, 2006 |
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I’m a music guy. I don’t play it. I can’t read it, but shuuuute do I like listening to it. I like music so much that I listen to it all day long at my desk. Although I bolster a digital music collection of over 30 gigs, I still get tired of my own stuff. As a result, when I’m listening to music at work I tune into a great little radio station out of Seattle, Wa – KEXP. Yes, the internet is amazing – I live in Boston, but will only listen to a Seattle radio station.
KEXP is an independent radio station hosted by a couple of great personalities and backed by the coolest music from all over the world. You like alternative rock? You like the classics? You dig hip-hop? You have the patience for Bjork? It doesn’t matter, you have come to the right place and people are figuring it out. Over 22K people visited KEXP.org last month – with the majority of those users listening in a city that does not sport the Space Needle.
The beauty of KEXP is that they play what they feel like playing. They have no corporate sponsors to please and they have no relationship with Clear Channel. However, this freedom comes at a cost… They rely almost solely on listener donations to support the station. To raise money every six months they have “Drive Week” where they ask listeners to “join KEXP” from $5-$500. People from all over the nation donate and as a result they keep the tunes playing. The only downer about KEXP’s system is that people like me, who listen religiously to the station, can’t stand drive week. The DJs keep squawking about donating, they cut playlists short to beg for money and when they aren’t asking for donations they are thinking of how to ask for donations. I’m not complaining – it’s a necessary evil of their great station – but I admit that I’m forced to stop listening for the week. Which is the real purpose of this post…. How many people stop listening during Drive Week?
Unfortunately I don’t have the answer YET. Drive week was just last week, so I need the data to come rolling in. I’m going to update this post in a few weeks to trend the volume of listeners, so we know how many are faithful enough to fight through the squawking and how many people are like me and bail. (I would like to note that I did not donate during the drive, because I donated independently on a non-Drive Week.).
If you check KEXP.org while reading this and do not like it you should check out live365.com - a radio search portal of sorts. Over half a million people use live365.com each month to find the best radio stations on the web. However, if I were in charge of live365 I would have one link and one link only and it would go to straight to kexp.org without passing GO… but, that’s just me.
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February 2nd, 2007 at 6:46 pm
We just moved to Boston from Seattle and I was doing a search on listener supported radio around here - I got a hit for this old entry of yours.
We try to tell everyone about KEXP. I always thought they should have a bumper sticker that says “If you don’t like KEXP - you don’t like music”.
Man, I miss John in the Morning on the drive to work.
April 23rd, 2007 at 11:44 pm
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March 13th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Drive week? I just moved to Maui from seattle and listen to KEXP frequently. Love it! I’d play through drive week’s radio while at work, and it still kept me entertained. John & Cheryl amped out on coffee and energy drinks make for some good laughs. Their drives are less frequent than NPR (3 per year as opposed to 4) and it’s a small price to pay for having commercial-free radio with such verve. Maui’s listener supported station is Mana’o Radio. manaoradio.com . A few years ago, in the first week after its inception, we’d tune in at 7am to see what this entity was turning in to. A few days pass with great music. Then we get up in the morning and switch on the radio to pick up dead air. Fifteen minutes pass, and we leave it tuned because nothing else really appeals. Shortly after, we hear a few rustles, a clank, and then a frying sound. “Ho, sorry, eh? we slept in this morning. this is 91.5, mana’o radio… ” They were cooking breakfast on-air. During the first months, this low-power station was broadcast from the home of its founders Kathy Collins and Barry Shannon (deceased, barryfest is a great fundraising event.) Since then everything from music and money to computers and vehicles have been donated to make a great little station. Like KEXP, all of it’s varied shows can’t appeal to EVERYONE, but everyone can find something they’ll enjoy. Check it out! URN, the Nottingham university station is good too. Any other good listener supported stations you know about? Post! What if we could get all of them in communication with each other! The fun never ends. Aloha
February 19th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I am totally sold on WPRR 1680 AM. Anyone in the Grand Rapids area should tune into their programming and give them a listen. It’s the replacement for the old Radio Disney, but the new format is pretty amazing, especially considering the standard fare that we get from radio broadcasts in Grand Rapids. Anyway, they have a streaming cast on their page at http://www.publicrealityradio.com. They’ve got great educational, progressive programming that is both locally produced and taken from the Pacifica Radio network from around the country. A friend of mine suggested I tune into the “Infidel Guy”, who I guess is pretty popular for his podcasts online, but it was surprising to find such content being broadcast over the air in Grand Rapids, Michigan of all places. Agree or disagree with the opinions, it is refreshing new content for listener supported radio in West Michigan.
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