Connecting Through Music
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CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC Public Radio Music Stations Serve Audiences, Artists & Communities Across America Spring 2019 New Orleans jazz musician Roderick Paulin and his band perform live on WWOZ’s Traditional Jazz with Leslie Cooper. Photo credit: Michael E. McAndrew CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC ABOUT THE noncomMUSIC ALLIANCE The noncomMUSIC Alliance, which produced this report, celebrates noncommercial, nonprofit, local public radio’s role in connecting artists with the communities that enjoy and support their music. Established in 2018, the Alliance’s primary aim is to bring diverse noncommercial music constituencies together, amplify their voices, and inform others – particularly public policymakers – about the need to support public radio’s role in local communities across the United States. As this report describes more fully, the noncomMUSIC Alliance highlights five values public radio music stations share: Discovery Public radio is a space where listeners can find vast troves of new American music, classical traditions, and contemporary music from around the world. Curation Public radio music stations are one-of-a-kind community tastemakers that reflect and shape listeners’ love of music. Preservation Public radio stations provide the airtime and live performances that sustain and enable historic and regional music traditions, and develop audiences for American genres like jazz, bluegrass, and zydeco. Performance Public radio is a driving force in the local music scene, connecting musicians and listeners on air, on stage, online, on video, and on-the-go. Community Locally operated and community-based, public radio stations tailor their programming and services to meet community needs. noncomMUSIC Alliance Leadership EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Michael Riksen, Vice President, Policy & Representation, NPR ADVISORY COUNCIL: Brenda Barnes, CEO, KING FM • Shannon Connolly, Senior Vice President, Music, NYPR & General Manager, WQXR • Abby Goldstein, General Manager, WYEP • Val Hoeppner, Executive Director, WMOT • Nick Kereakos, Sr. Vice President, Chief Technology Officer & General Manager of Regional Services, American Public Media & Minnesota Public Radio • Roger LaMay, General Manager, WXPN • Tom Mara, Executive Director, KEXP • Judy McAlpine, President, USC Radio Group (KUSC & KDFC) • Amy Niles, President & CEO, WBGO To learn more about the Alliance and its 125+ partner stations, visit: noncomMUSIC.org i American New Mexico group Sparx performs at KANW’s annual Los 15 Grandes de Nuevo México Music Awards. Photo courtesy of KANW. CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC TABLE OF CONTENTS About the noncomMUSIC Alliance ...................................................................i Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 The Public Radio Music Landscape Is Vast, Varied and Everywhere ..... 2 Curation & Preservation - Music Heard Only on Public Radio ................ 4 The Portal for Music Discovery ....................................................................... 5 Performance - Reaching Listeners Across Many Platforms ...................... 6 Artists Amplified Through the Power of Live, Local Performances ....... 8 Serving Local Communities ...........................................................................10 Profiles of Local Station Impact ...................................................................11 CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC INTRODUCTION In hundreds of communities and in nearly every corner of the United States, public radio stations play an essential and unique role in boosting and sustaining the vitality of music and performers and in educating and enriching their communities. Collectively, they ensure that our national music ecosystem is vibrant, accessible, and ever-evolving. Listeners discover and enjoy music selections, artists, and genres often heard first – and many times heard only – on public radio. The backbone of local music cultures and economies. Public radio stations are local institutions that give precious visibility to local and emerging musical artists and to regional and traditional music genres. They provide a platform for innovative music programming and live performances, and serve eager listeners through every available channel and technology: on air, online, on video, onstage, and on-the-go. Public radio music-format stations celebrate heritage and innovation in music genres ranging from classical to jazz to Adult Album Alternative (Triple A), which includes Americana, folk, indie rock, bluegrass, roots, and other What is a noncommercial (public eclectic sounds. Expert local hosts engage their listeners radio) music station? with carefully curated playlists, along with news and information about music, artists, and local events. The Noncommercial – also called “noncomm” stations do more than just play music. They make significant or “public radio” – music-format stations editorial contributions to music programming and discovery come in many shapes and sizes. They through explanation, information, and curation – all tailored play every variation of classical, jazz, to their audiences and local communities. alternative, Americana, and eclectic music genres. No single narrative can adequately These music stations are cultural hubs brimming with describe the rich, unique resources each community services, educational programs, and support station offers or how it operates. Yet these for artists and their craft. Increasingly, they serve as anchor stations share several primary attributes: arts institutions where music connects listeners, artists, and • All are independent, nonprofit, communities. community-based, and locally staffed This report presents a first-of-its-kind “snapshot” of and programmed. America’s public radio music stations. Its aim is to help • Music is either a primary (at least 81% readers and music enthusiasts – particularly those involved music content) or significant (at least in policymaking and the music industry – build on their 30% music mixed with news, talk) part understanding of public radio music stations’ breadth, of their programming. depth, and impact. The report compiles core station statistics • Above all else, public radio music and audience data, as well as self-reported responses from stations are united in an educational a survey of leading public radio music stations about their purpose and public service mission – a programming, platforms, and community engagement. The singular commitment to educational data paint a rich picture of how these stations are essential value, cultural significance, and stewards and promoters of local music and musicians. They community enrichment. show public radio’s outsized influence on the music scenes that make communities more livable, enjoyable, tight-knit, and economically and culturally vibrant. 1 CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC THE PUBLIC RADIO MUSIC LANDSCAPE IS VAST, VARIED AND EVERYWHERE Hundreds of public radio music stations across the United States – in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam – reach tens of millions of listeners each week. Serving markets of many sizes, public radio stations are often the primary, and sometimes the only, providers of classical, jazz, and Triple A music in their communities. Public Radio Music Stations Across America 1 - 9 noncomMUSIC stations 10 - 19 noncomMUSIC stations 20 - 29 noncomMUSIC stations 30 - 39 noncomMUSIC stations 40 - 49 noncomMUSIC stations The numbers help tell their story: public radio stations feature music as a primary or significant part of their 734 programming: 140 stations are “all classical,” reaching 6.4 million weekly listeners 187 are news/classical mixed format stations, with 3.3 million weekly listeners 108 stations are “all Triple A,” with 3.4 million weekly listeners 220 are Triple A/mixed format stations, which reach 3.1 million weekly listeners 39 stations are “all jazz,” broadcasting to 3 million weekly listeners 40 stations are jazz/mixed format, with 1.4 million weekly listeners Collectively, 20.5 million people listen every week to these music stations from coast to coast.1 Categorized by the genre of the music programming they tune in to across these 734 stations, the number of public radio music listeners amounts to: • 8.4 million classical listeners weekly; • 5.5 million Triple A listeners weekly; and • 4.7 million jazz listeners weekly.2 Source: Station format data based on NPR Carriage Reporting Center, NPR/CPB Stations, Spring 2018, including both NPR member stations and other CPB-eligible public radio stations. Audience estimate: ©2018 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen Audio Nationwide, Spring 2018, Cume, Persons 12+. 1 Listener numbers for individual formats may not add up to total listener numbers because of overlap in audiences. 2 This breakdown of music listeners includes only listeners of music programming on these music-format stations (and does not include listeners of other news or information programming). If all public radio stations regardless of format are considered (including those where music comprises less than 30% of the programming), there are even more music listeners: • 9+ million classical listeners; • 7.5 million Triple A listeners; and • 5.7 million jazz listeners. 2 KUSC announcer Brian Lauritzen curates a one-of- a-kind selection of classical music for Los Angeles listeners. CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC CURATION & PRESERVATION MUSIC HEARD ONLY ON PUBLIC RADIO Public radio music stations fill local