Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, March 12, 2014
1. Membership. As of January 31, 2014, WWOZ received a total of $591,583 from 3,900 members, a revenue increase of 19% compared to the same period in FY 2013. 2,106 WWOZ members from outside the state of Louisiana contributed $299,466 (51% of total donations) in this reporting period. 605 WWOZ sustaining members accounted for $37,575 in donations made during the period, or 6% of total membership revenue. Sustaining membership increased by 54% over the same period in 2012. By way of comparison, as of January 31, 2013, WWOZ had received $496,229 from 3,201 donors, including $256,000 from 1,802 out-of-state members (51% of total donations). 419 WWOZ sustaining members had contributed $24,338 as of January 31, 2013, 5% of total donations. Brass Passes for Jazz Fest 2014 will be available for pickup on April 4, 2014 at the Whole Foods Market on Veteran Blvd. in Metairie, and April 5 & 6, 2014 at locations to be announced. Brass Passes will also be available for pickup on April 11, April 12, and April 13, 2014 at the new WWOZ Swamp Shop inside the Louisiana Music Factory on Frenchmen Street, during French Quarter Festival.
2. Spring 2014 Membership Drive. WWOZ’s spring Membership Drive will take place from Tuesday, March 18 through Friday, March 28, 2014. The WWOZ collector’s edition CD Volume 40 titled Lawdy, Lawdy It’s CD 40 will be available to members. Membership will also implement new membership levels and new premium thank- you gifts for the spring drive, including WWOZ’s baseball caps, signed Kermit Ruffins posters, exclusive art works by New Orleans artist Dr. Bob of “Be Nice or Leave” fame, as well as signed CD’s by the Red Wolf Brass Band. All WWOZ Board members are encouraged to pledge their support. Volunteer phone bank training sessions will take place on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 6:00pm and Saturday, March 15, 2014 at 1:30pm and all are invited to participate.
3. Underwriting. As of January 31, 2014, WWOZ generated a total of $129,983 in underwriting revenue for FY 2014. Sponsor Services has signed 10 new underwriting contracts with La Petite Grocery, Harrah’s presents The Meter Men, the New Orleans Sacred Music Festival, the New Orleans International Beer Festival, the Hey! Café, the Freret Street Festival, Little Gem Saloon, Outback Concerts presents “The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: A Celebration of Mac & His Music,” and the New Orleans Ballet Association since the February 2014 Manager’s Report.
4. Major Giving. As of January 31, 2014, WWOZ received $101,680 from 46 major donors, a decrease of 39% from the $165,300 received from 32 donors during the same period last year, which included a $100,000 grant from the RosaMary Foundation for the WWOZ tower upgrade. Apart from that one-time RosaMary Foundation grant, major giving revenue is up 56% when compared to the same period in FY 2013. MajorGiving LLC consultants Robert Stein and Lisa Ondak met with Major Giving Officer Lauren Del Rio and Development Director Crystal Gross in New Orleans on March 6 & March 7, 2014. WWOZ’s philanthropic giving club will be re-launched as the “Hi-Fi Club” during the spring membership drive.
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, March 12, 2014
5. WWOZ Swamp Shop. Swamp Shop revenue totaled $3,078.85 in February 2014, compared to $4,222.99 in February 2013, a decrease of 27%. Swamp Shop retail location sales accounted for 65% of all sales in February 2014. Total year-to-date revenue for Swamp Shop is $33,474.79, compared to revenue of $105,027.93 for the same period in FY 2013, a decrease of 68%. The new Swamp Shop retail location inside the new Louisiana Music Factory at 421 Frenchmen Street is hosting an open house on Thursday, March 13, 2014, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, with a live performance by Tank & the Bangas.
6. Marketing & Development. In February 2014, WWOZ held two new photo shoots for the “Guardians of the Groove” marketing campaign: on February 10, 2014 with Allen Toussaint at his in-home studio and on February 12, 2014 with Ellis Marsalis at the Ellis Marsalis Center in Musicians’ Village.
7. Outreach. WWOZ hosted another well-attended “Private Collections” event at Siberia on February 23, 2014, with all-vinyl music spun live by WWOZ show hosts Jim Hobbs and Mark LaMaire, playing Cajun and jazz, respectively. The next “Private Collections” event will be held on Sunday, March 30, 2014 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Siberia.
8. New Media. The New Media Team has continued developing WWOZ’s second online streaming channel, with an official launch date of April 1, 2014. WWOZ.org published a partial schedule of the local school marching bands performing in the 2014 Mardi Gras parades, and plans to publish a more complete schedule for Mardi Gras 2015. WWOZ’s Facebook page has received almost 50,000 “likes,” and in February 2014, some of WWOZ’s individual Facebook posts were viewed by more 200,000 people. As a consequence, unique page views of the WWOZ.org blog pages in February 2014 – which we share on Facebook – accounted for 8% of web traffic; in February 2013, our blogs accounted for only 1% of unique page views. Moreover, in February 2014, WWOZ.org blog posts generated more web traffic than the Livewire Music Calendar.
9. WWOZ Piano Night 2014. Tickets to the WWOZ Piano Night on April 28, 2014 go on sale Saturday, March 15, 2014 at 10:00am on the House of Blues website and through a link on the WWOZ.org website. Confirmed artists include: Jon Cleary, Davell Crawford, John Gros, Nigel Hall, Ellis Marsalis, David Todd Paquette, the Terrance Simien Trio featuring Danny Williams, and Yoshitaka “Z2" Tsuji.
10. WWOZ-2. The WWOZ engineers and web team are continuing to beta-test the second online channel, WWOZ-2. The tentative official launch date of the WWOZ All New Orleans channel is April 1, 2014. WWOZ-2 can be received over the air through HD (digital) FM receivers and online by streaming the WWOZ Channel 2 media player on WWOZ.org. WWOZ-2 will be devoted solely to New Orleans music and will seek a younger audience.
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, March 12, 2014
11. SXSW Interactive. New Media Director David Stafford attended the SXSW Interactive conference in Austin from March 7-9, 2014. Of particular interest to WWOZ was a demonstration of Hearst Magazines’ application programming interface [API], which, among other things, will allow readers to create their own digital magazines. A similar API might influence how WWOZ configures its website data.
12. New Orleans All the Way Live Intensive. From March 9-12, 2014, Consultant Jim Russell (aka “The Program Doctor”) conducted a four-day intensive workshop with key WWOZ staff, show hosts, and musical artists devoted to WWOZ’s syndicated program New Orleans All the Way Live. Topics of discussion included the program’s mission, format, and quality, as well as branding opportunities and marketing strategies. Jim Russell has more than 30 years of experience in public radio and has developed landmark public radio and TV programs including All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace, Newton’s Apple, The World and Weekend America.
13. In-Studio Guests.
February 2, 2014: Blaine Bishop February 3, 2014: Robin Kelly, Kate Lowery, Allyson Seinfeld February 4, 2014: Whistle Pigs, Andrew Lasimer, Reggie Scanlan, Mary Beth Maggio, Emily Hardy, Adam Gerber, Douglas Page, Anthony Cook, Lauren Rawlins, Perry Franklin, Sami Sloby, Keith Falgout February 5, 2014: Kevin Brown, Ella Deli February 6, 2014: Kelly Sharkey, Haruka Kikuchi, Yoshikita Tsuji, Dancin’ Man 504, Joe Franklin, Jude Bradd, Henry Malancou, Eugene Grant, Nicholas Pino February 7, 2014: Matthew Shilling, B. Glassman, Mike Dillon, Ben Wisdom, Ryan Shapiro, Stu Schayat February 10, 2014: Debbie Easly, Peggy Donovan, Angela Jostrohm, Samantha Mullen, Lucas Davenport, February 11, 2014: Tom Sancton, Mario Abney, Jason Isaac, Ryan Shapiro February 12, 2014: Christopher Babb, Kanako Fuma, Dan Durham, Trixie Minx, Helen Gillet, Mark Morris, Edward Rubino, Christine Clouatre, Summer Gebhart, Jeff Hannak, Linbra Lagrone, Stacy Morigeau, Reggie Scanlan, Barney Kilpatrick February 13, 2014: Christian Scott, Leslie Cooper, Max Bernardi, Sam Craft, Andrew Duhon, Stephen Randall, Daria Dzurik, Vanessa Niemann February 17, 2014: Evan Christopher, Ana Lambert February 18, 2014: Joel Hitchcock, Ying Chen, Luther Gray, Dani Johnson, Rachel David, Sarah Quintana, Jeff Quintana, Jeff Aluzera, Steve Maravett, Jonathan Trelica, Jim Allen February 19, 2014: Ted Heth, Bob Caffrey, Aaran Walker, Robert Sneer
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, March 12, 2014
13. In-Studio Guests (cont).
February 20, 2014: Darryl Young, Greg Rhoades, Jeremy Smith, Rosalind McCarthy, Joe Gellini, Maggie Koerner, Ale Farcia, Yunn Mano February 24, 2014: Ashley Beach, Kris Tokarski, Matt Ullman, Mike Saparoa, Oliver Bonie, Steven Cantor, Austin McGuire February 25, 2014: Martin Kryche February 26, 2014: Chris Rogers, Ryan Shapiro, Jeannie Palazzo, Gaylynn Hayes, Dave Demarest, Jack Yoder, Samuel Gauthier February 27, 2014: Ruby Rage, Vanessa Niemann February 28, 2014: Herlin Riley, Rachel Hofler, Elizabeth O’Neil, Pete Morris, Dave Triguero, Cyril Neville
14. Press.
Times-Picayune/NOLA.com: “You can find kale, and a lot more, in New Orleans: Letter” Letters to the Editor, March 10, 2014
“Contrary to the now infamous story in The New York Times, kale is trending in New Orleans.”
“Having spent my childhood and much of my adult life living in other parts of the country, I value the fact that New Orleans isn't defined by trends. Sure we have chain restaurants, Starbucks, cupcake bakeries, pop music, and perfectly manicured lawns. But, that's not everything. We also have brass bands parading through the streets, WWOZ, stunning century-old churches and neighbors treating you like family. It's not kale, but it's way better.”
Times-Picayune/NOLA.com: “Louisiana Music Factory to celebrate new Frenchmen Street location with sale, free shows on Sat., March 8” Keith Spera, March 7, 2014
“The event features live music most of the afternoon and a storewide sale, including merchandise from WWOZ-FM’s in-house ‘Swamp Shop.’ Tuba Skinny kicks off the free show on the store’s small stage at 1 p.m., followed by harmonica man Johnny Sansone at 2, the Iguanas at 3, and Eric Lindell at 4 pm.”
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, March 12, 2014
14. Press (cont.)
Times-Picayune/NOLA.com: “Dr. John to be featured in specials on the Smithsonian Channel and AXS TV” Dave Walker, March 7, 2014
“At 9 p.m. Friday (March 7) on the Smithsonian Channel, Rebennack will be the subject of a concert special-documentary hybrid by filmmaker Lawrence Cumbo.”
[Cumbo:] “I think my favorite scene in the film is when we go back to Armstrong Park in 1998 to pay respect to the hearts and souls of New Orleans music. It was a hot August day in the shadow of WWOZ’s studio when Dr. John hosted a musical family reunion of 63 musicians who gathered to have their picture taken together.”
PasteMagazine.com: “Road Music, Day 3: Alabama” Geoffrey Himes, March 5, 2014
“We crossed the border into Louisiana, and soon we were buzzing across the six-lane bridge that lies low to the water across the eastern end of Lake Pontchartrain. We squinted away the glare of a sun hanging as low as ripened fruit and saw the silhouetted skyline of the downtown skyscrapers and Superdome. We turned on one of the world’s best radio stations, WWOZ, just as it was playing ‘New Suit’ by the Wild Magnolias, one of the city’s Mardi Gras Indian tribes.”
Offbeat/Offbeat.com: “Louisiana Music Factory Celebrates Its New Location on March 8” Stephen Maloney, March 5, 2014
“All performances are free, and everything in the Louisiana Music Factory will be on sale, including merchandise from fellow ‘Louisiana Music Collective’ partner WWOZ’s ‘Swamp Shop.’”
WBUR-FM Here & Now with Robin Young and Jeremy Hobson/ hereandnow.wbur.org: “DJ Sessions: The Music of Mardi Gras” March 4, 2014
“On this Fat Tuesday, the music of Mardi Gras will ring through the streets of New Orleans – during parades, at bars and from residents’ homes.
Producer and DJ George Ingmire of WWOZ in New Orleans tells Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson two quintessential Mardi Gras songs are Mardi Gras Mambo by the Hawketts and Carnival Time by Al “Carnival Time” Johnson.”
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, March 12, 2014
14. Press (cont).
CNN/cnn.com: “15 New Orleans must-do's” Sara Roahen, March 3, 2014
“With Carnival underway and Fat Tuesday on March 4, it's high season for reflecting on the virtues of New Orleans.”
“Wherever you listen to 90.7 WWOZ community-supported radio (you can stream online from anyplace), it sounds like Louisiana. Horns. Accordions. Carnival tunes. Listen long enough and you'll find your favorite DJs and shows -- for us, it's Bill DeTurk's New Orleans Music Show on Fridays and the back-to-back Gospel and bluegrass programs on Sunday mornings.”
[Providence, RI] East Side Monthly/eastsidemonthly.com: “The King of All Cakes” John Taraborelli, February 27, 2014
“If there's one day when we're sad to be in Providence, it's on Mardi Gras. As much as we love our city, it's hard to sit through a regular workday on Fat Tuesday knowing that down in New Orleans they're celebrating with music, parades, tradition and, of course, plenty of food. Our only solution is to crank up the live stream of WWOZ and eat our feelings in king cake.”
WWL-TV/wwltv.com: “Guardians of the Groove: Queen Reesie on the Mardi Gras Indian tradition”
“This month's ‘Guardian of the Groove’ is known to many in the Crescent City as Queen Reesie. Cherice Harrison-Nelson is the daughter of Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr. She sits down with WWOZ show host Maryse Dejean to talk about making those beautiful suits and masking on Mardi Gras Day.”
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Friends of WWOZ, Inc. Governance Board Meeting General Manager’s Report Wednesday, March 12, 2014
14. Press (cont).
Times-Picayune/NOLA.com: “WWOZ radio to launch second channel, featuring all New Orleans music, April 1” Alison Fensterstock, February 20, 2014
“WWOZ, New Orleans' award-winning community radio station, plans to launch a second channel of music this spring, just in time for the music festival season. WWOZ-2 will exist, essentially, as a parallel universe to the 33-year-old station's regular programming, which airs around the clock terrestrially at 90.7 FM and streaming online at wwoz.org.
The current plan for WWOZ-2's format, said the station's longtime program director Dwayne Breashears, is 100 percent New Orleans music, but with a contemporary twist. Along with the traditional and contemporary jazz, funk, roots and R&B shows that currently air on the station, WWOZ-2 will include homegrown sounds in other musical styles.
‘We hope to give attention to some genres not currently getting play: hip-hop, bounce, rock ‘n’roll, which are all important music,’ he said. ‘We'll give them some love.’ WWOZ-2 will sound, he said, ‘the way OZ would have if it was founded in 2014.’
USA Today/USAToday.com: “Mardi Gras Music Gets Earlier Start in New Orleans” Beth D’Addono, February 18, 2014
“’The growing availability of earlier shows is a win-win for musicians and music lovers,’ says Scott Borne, music director at WWOZ, the city's premier indie jazz radio station.
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