Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, April 2, 2014
1. Membership. As of February 28, 2014, WWOZ received a total of $1,005,867 from 4,404 members, a revenue increase of 49% compared to the same period in FY 2013. 2,473 WWOZ members from outside the state of Louisiana contributed $520,747 (52% of total donations) in this reporting period. 640 WWOZ sustaining members accounted for $41,763 in donations made during the period (4% of total donations). Sustaining membership increased by 51% over the same period in FY 2013. By way of comparison, as of February 28, 2013, WWOZ had received $674,645 from 3,911 donors, including $357,606 from 2,158 out-of-state members (53% of total donations). 426 WWOZ sustaining members had contributed $27,648 as of February 28, 2013 (4% of total donations). As of March 30, 2014, WWOZ has sold 2,362 Brass Passes to the 2014 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
2. Spring 2014 Membership Drive. Preliminary reports from the Development Department show that 2,053 members pledged $487,708 during the WWOZ spring 2014 Membership Drive from March 18 to March 28, 2014. Final figures will be available next month. The spring 2013 WWOZ Membership Drive raised $457,359 from approximately 2,112 members.
3. Underwriting. As of February 28, 2014, WWOZ generated a total of $146,692 in underwriting and sponsorship revenue for FY 2014. Sponsor Services has signed four new underwriting contracts with the Living Blues at LSU Museum of Art/Baton Rouge Blues Festival, the New Orleans Arts District, the Contemporary Arts Center, and the Festival International de Louisiane since the February 2014 Manager’s Report. WWOZ also finalized four WWOZ Piano Night sponsorship agreements signed: Peoples Health, NOLA Motorsports, Lafitte Guesthouse, and the Silk Road Collection.
4. Major Giving. As of February 28, 2014, Major Giving has received $102,680 in donations for FY 2014, compared to $165,300 received during the same period in FY 2013. Aside from the one-time RosaMary Foundation grant for the tower upgrade, Major Giving revenue has increased by 57% in the reporting period compared to FY 2013. WWOZ will be hosting a Bloody Mary Bar on April 12, 2014 from 10:00am to 12:00pm at the French Quarter residence of WWOZ Board Member Bob Edmundson and Kathleen Parke. All WWOZ Board members are invited. WWOZ is grateful to the WWOZ Board members who participated in the spring 2014 Membership Drive: Deborah Harkins, Richard Cortizas, Mary Johnston Norris and Ruth Chouest.
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, April 2, 2014
5. WWOZ Swamp Shop. Swamp Shop revenue totaled $7,362.65 in March 2014, compared to $6,805.17 in March 2013, an increase of 8%. Swamp Shop retail location sales accounted for 56% of all sales in March 2014. Total year-to-date revenue for Swamp Shop is $40,837.44, compared to revenue of $70,995.66 for the same period in FY 2013, a decrease of 42%. Swamp Shop stocked new koozies and two new “Guardians of the Groove” shirts. The new Swamp Shop retail location inside the new Louisiana Music Factory at 421 Frenchmen Street will be open for extended hours during The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and will offer more vintage “Jazz Fest” tee shirts for sale.
6. Marketing & Development. On March 17, 2014 WWOZ held a photo shoot at the station with actor John Goodman for the “WWOZ Guardians of the Groove” marketing campaign. Mr. Goodman also generously recorded fundraising spots for use on the air, during the spring Membership Drive and going forward. WWOZ began marketing WWOZ Piano Night with a half-page in the March 25, 2014 issue of Gambit and a full-page ad which will run in the April 2014 issue of Offbeat. On March 26, 2014, WWOZ Program Director Dwayne Breashears interviewed Ellis Marsalis at the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music in Musicians’ Village for the seventh installment of WWOZ’s “Guardians of the Groove” interview series for WWL-TV. Working in tandem with WWOZ, blues singer-songwriter and slide guitar player Bonnie Raitt shared her brand-new “WWOZ Guardians of the Groove” ad on her Facebook page on March 27, 2014, and helped promote the spring WWOZ Membership Drive by urging her fans to support WWOZ. As of April 1, 2014, Ms. Raitt’s “WWOZ Guardians of the Groove” image had more than 230 “shares” and more than 2,700 “likes” on Facebook. The “WWOZ Guardian of the Groove” ad featuring New Orleans artist Meschiya Lake is featured in the Spring 2014 issue of Louisiana Cultural Vistas, the magazine published by the Louisiana Endowment for the Arts.
7. Outreach. WWOZ hosted another well-attended “Private Collections” event at Siberia on March 30, 2014, with all-vinyl music spun live by WWOZ show hosts Your Cousin Dimitri and Andrew Grafe. Outreach will distribute WWOZ Brass Passes for Jazz Fest 2014 on the following dates:
Friday, April 4, 2014 Rouses Supermarket at 701 Baronne St 12:00pm to 7:00pm
Saturday, April 5, 2014 Whole Foods at 5600 Magazine St 10:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday, April 6, 2014 Whole Foods at 3420 Veterans Blvd 10:00am to 6:00pm
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, April 2, 2014
7. Outreach (cont).
Friday-Sunday, April 11-13, 2014 during the French Quarter Festival Louisiana Music Factory at 421 Frenchmen 11:00am to 6:00pm
Monday-Thursday, April 21-24, 2014 WWOZ Studio at 1008 N Peters St, Floor 2 10:00am to 6:00pm
During Jazz Fest 2014, Brass Passes will be available for pickup at the “WWOZ Will Call” station at the Sauvage Street entrance to the Fairgrounds.
8. New Media. The New Media team is set to launch the updated streaming player on April 14, 2014. The New Media team updated all online donation forms for the spring 2014 WWOZ Membership Drive to include several new levels and the debut of Hi-Fi Club. During the drive, the WWOZ.org homepage featured a new “splash” page urging visitors to donate, multiple daily blog posts, and a daily photographic recap of the live performances during the drive, featuring images by our volunteer photographers. New Media is now focused on web content related to the 45th Annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the WWOZ Piano Night.
9. WWOZ Transmitter. During the spring 2014 Membership Drive, on Thursday, March 20, 2014, at approximately 7:30pm, one sprinkler failed in the room that houses WWOZ’s Nautel NV-40 transmitter, causing WWOZ to go off the air. WWOZ’s engineers and the New Orleans Fire Department responded immediately, and WWOZ was able to resume broadcasting from WWNO’s backup transmitter on the Westbank by 11:30pm that same evening. Before midnight on March 20, 2014, an industrial dehumidifying company was at work in the transmitter room. On Monday, March 24, 2014, WWOZ was able to broadcast using its own backup transmitter. WWOZ and the insurers of the transmitter are continuing to assess the scope of the damage to the transmitter.
10. Sponsorship3 Conference. Sponsor Services Coordinator Melanie Merz attended Sponsorship3: New Intents, Technologies & Applications Transforming Partnerships, IEG’s 31st Annual Sponsorship Conference, in Chicago from March 23-26, 2014. IEG is an organization that provides sponsorship consulting, valuation, measurement and strategy. Ms. Merz attended presentations by large corporations and small non-profits, including the session “Winning Big When You’re Small: Creating Effective Small-budget Partnerships,” which was extremely pertinent to WWOZ’s current exploration of strategic partnerships with both local businesses and large international corporations.
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, April 2, 2014
11. In-Studio Guests.
March 6, 2014: Debbie Davis, Tom McDermott, Banu Gibson March 7, 2014: Jeff Thompson, Melissa Marshall, Sally Glassman, Chuck Morris, Claire Lopes March 9, 2014: Cindy Scott March 10, 2014: Brad Walker March 11, 2014: Nat Osborn, Paul Shamee, Lefty Parker, Kyoko McCrae, Davis Cohen March 12, 2014: Laurie Thomas, Allison Reinhardt, Erica Dudas March 13, 2014: Suzanne Blaum, Rurik Nunan, Tara O’Grady, Beth Patterson March 14, 2014 Matt Shilling, Peggy Myers, Jody Braunig, Alexandra Scott March 15, 2014: Fran Comisky, Patricia Sher March 17, 2014: Tim Laughlin, Kelley Mac, Matt Sonzola, Mark Hilko, Eddy Gossing, Natasha Manley, Kyoko Minegishi, Belinda Peru
12. Spring 2014 Membership Drive In-Studio Live Performances.
March 18, 2014: Los Otros, Dave Ferrato, Groovesect, Larry Sieberth March 19, 2014: Tuba Skinny, Shannon Powell Quartet, Magnetic Ear, Johnny Sansone, Big Daddy O March 20, 2014: Palmetto Bug Stompers, Original Pinettes Brass Band, Erica Falls, Raphael Bas Quintet, John Mooney March 21, 2014: The Swamp Donkeys, Papa Mali, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Martin Krusche Trio March 22, 2014: Interactivo, Nationbeat with Cha Wa, Garrett Morris, Charmaine Neville March 23, 2014: Kerry Grombacher, Kyoko McCrae, Lena Prima, Deacon John, Jamil Sharif March 24, 2014: Billy Iuso Trio, Ingrid Lucia, Christian Scott Quintet March 25, 2014: Micah McKee Quintet, John Gros Trio, Dayna Kurtz, Monica McIntyre, The Plunge Big Band, Frogman Henry March 26, 2014: Tim Laughlin, Irma Thomas, Walter Wolfman Washington, Brad Walker Quintet, Cindy Scott, Morning Forty Federation March 27, 2014: Tom Sancton Quartet, Charmaine Neville, Stooges Brass Band, Brent Johnson & the Call Up, Wess Anderson Quartet, Spankin’ Good House Band, Johnny Sketch March 28, 2014: Sugar Bear Quartet, Treme Brass Band
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, April 2, 2014
13. Upcoming Live Broadcasts and Recordings (subject to change).
Saturday, April 5, 2014:
Freret Street Festival (Live) Presented by The Freret Market Cadiz Street Stage 12:40-1:55p Tank & the Bangas 2:20-3:35p Mississippi Rail Company 4:00-5:15p Gal Holiday 5:40-7:00p Tommy Malone Band
April 11-13, 2014:
French Quarter Festival (Live) Presented by French Quarter Festivals, Inc Esplanade in the Shade Stage Artists TBA
April 25-27 & May 1-4, 2014:
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Live) Presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation Artists TBA
April 25 & May 3, 2014: Dr. Sid Bhansali’s Annual New Orleans Jazz Fest Party Artists TBA
April 25, 2014 Touro Synagogue New Orleans Jazz Shabbat Artists TBA
April 25, 2014 Bootsy Collins (Live) Joy Theater, New Orleans
April 28, 2014 WWOZ Piano Night (Live) House of Blues, New Orleans Ellis Marsalis, Jon Cleary, Davell Crawford, John Gros, Nigel Hall, David Todd Paquette, Terrance Simien Trio featuring Danny Williams, and Yoshitaka “Z2" Tsuji and artists TBA
April 29, 2014 Louisiana Music Factory Free Concert (Live) Louisiana Music Factory (Frenchmen Street) Artists TBA
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, April 2, 2014
13. Upcoming Live Broadcasts and Recordings (cont).
April 29, 2014 Guitar Night (Live) Bamboula’s (Frenchmen Street) Artists TBA
April 30, 2014 The Historic Carver Theater Grand Opening (Live) Artists TBA
May 1, 2014 African Music Concert (Live) House of Blues, New Orleans
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, April 2, 2014
14. Press.
NolaVie.com: “New Orleans Has My Heart” Sophie Unterman, April 1, 2014
“But these past seven months, I have also realized that as comfortable as I feel in New York, I don’t want to make it my permanent home. It has nothing to do with anything against New York (well, except for the never-ending, bitter cold), but instead the fact that I am realizing how deeply in love I am with New Orleans. I miss Free Music Fridays and coming up behind a second line on my bike and walking hungover on a Sunday morning to La Boulangerie for a pain au chocolat. I fantasize about my future Uptown shotgun with philodendrons swallowing the front porch and WWOZ leaking from the open windows.”
MemphisFlyer.com: “Alex Chilton: A Man Called Destruction” Leonard Gill, March 30, 2014
“The phone call in late February was to a house near Woodstock, New York, a town in the frigid Catskills. The voice on the other end of the line belonged to Holly George-Warren, here to talk about her latest book, but she was remembering her friend Melinda Pendleton, who had passed away in New Orleans the week before.”
“‘It’s been a tough week,’ George-Warren admitted. ‘Melinda had an encyclopedic knowledge of gospel, country, and blues. She was a writer and a deejay at WWOZ in New Orleans.’”
The Guardian (UK)/TheGuardian.com: “New Orleans City Guide: Soundtrack to New Orleans” March 28, 2014
“We asked DJ Bob Rodrigue, aka Old Man River of New Orleans' fabulous WWOZ radio station, for his NOLA playlist. Given the city's unique musical heritage it was quite a task selecting just 10 tracks, but the selection gives a real taste of the Crescent City”
Times-Picayune/NOLA.com: “WWOZ's Spring Membership Drive is the best concert in town” Sue Strachan, March 27, 2014
“Immortalized in movies and on TV (and on bumper stickers, T-shirts, posters and other assorted goods), the WWOZ 90.7 studio turned into a live-music haven during its Spring Membership Drive, March 16-28 [sic].”
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, April 2, 2014
14. Press (cont).
UptownMessenger.com: “Record Raid hits Tulane University with more hidden gems Saturday” Jessica Taylor, March 27, 2014
“Jivin’ Gene, the recently retired WWOZ DJ, sells 45s from New Orleans rhythm and blues golden era, and other vendors fill the show with punk, electronic, jazz, country on CDs and cassettes as well as vinyl.”
Times-Picayune/NOLA.com: “We're either suffering or recovering from white supremacy” Jarvis DeBerry, March 27, 2014
“The story of my return to church begins with WWOZ playing Aretha Franklin's Mary, Don't You Weep. Then I crossed paths with a black Baptist pastor whose regal African attire suggested that he had made peace with the questions that caused me turmoil.”
New Orleans Advocate/neworleansadvocate.com: “Parade showcases country’s diversity” Dennis Persica, March 27, 2014
“The radio was tuned to the Latin music show as we drove to see Saturday’s St. Patrick’s parade at the Irish Channel home of a former co-worker, an Italian-American woman from Philadelphia. The show has been a staple in the WWOZ lineup just about forever, long before the post-Katrina influx of workers from Central America.”
The Guardian (UK)/TheGuardian.com: “The magic of New Orleans: how Nola got its groove back” Gavin McOwan, March 14, 2014
“I'm [at the Candlelight Lounge] to meet Bob Rodrigue ("I'll be the guy in the white hat"), leader of the It's All About The Music bike ride, a Facebook group that meets on Tuesday nights to tours gigs all over the city. Bob, who moonlights as DJ Old Man River on New Orleans' WWOZ radio station, tells me to grab a bowl of crab gumbo, laid on free to all tonight's customers.
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