COMMUNITY
Interview with Shil K. Patel, Tiger Bomb Promo
College and community radio stations are important in many different ways. They’re often among the earliest public supporters of an artist, especially new artists who are just starting to make a name for themselves. Many college and community stations are much more open minded when it comes to programming new music, and are willing to take a chance on an artist that isn’t yet established.
Interview with Robb Haagsman, Shine On
I think college/community radio is vital to today’s music community and discovery process. Even though more and more things become digitized and pushed through algorithms, I think many folks still put a good bit of value on recommendations from trusted friends, DJs, etc. For artists going to college radio, outside of gaining airplay in markets all over the country, they also gain crucial champions that are likely the ‘tastemaker’ friend in a social group – the type of person who turns folks onto music.
November MD of the Month, WORT’s Sybil Augustine
We host a lot of artists, local to international, for interviews and live in-studio music; we work with venues on promo exchanges for concerts; we put on annual events including the Block Party, Bowl-A-Thon, Chili Cook-Off, the Willy St. Fair Underground Stage and more. Our website has useful event calendars and publishes many local stories of interest, and we provide numerous opportunities to access promotional tools in order to support artists and other local organizations.
OCTOBER MD of the Month: Omar Husain, CJLO Montreal
Before I became the music director, there was a guy on air before me who’d play Mark Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis”, Barenaked Ladies’ “If I Had a Million Dollars”, and Van Halen’s “Right Now” – WEEKLY (real current/forward thinking picks there…). I pushed to change the entire music programming mandate for the station as a whole to ensure that we supported new music from non-commercial artists.
Interview with Rob Quicke, Founder of College Radio Day
It was an idea I had back in 2011 to unite college radio stations and to show the world that rumors of our death were unfounded. In many ways, especially after the recent LPFM boom which saw dozens of new college radio stations launch, college radio is flourishing. Those foolish universities that decide to sell off their stations are literally depriving their students of a voice and an important outlet for expression.
SEPTEMBER MD of the MONTH: WIPZ’s Gina Bellovary
WIPZ gets involved with the community quite a bit. The athletic scene is probably where we have the most impact. We broadcast numerous sporting events in the area. As for other things we do, we recently helped with Bark for Life, which is a local event. It is a noncompetitive walk event for dogs and their owners to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer.
Interview with Jeff Leake, Director of Music Programming at SiriusXM Canada
With years of a storied radio broadcasting career under his belt, including countless artist interviews, awards show hosting gigs and any number of other accolades Jeff Leake also plays an important role for the NACC Community. He’s the host and executive producer of the weekly “NACC 200 Countdown” radio show and accompanying “Month in Review” Podcast.
An Interview with Oscar Zubia Jr. from Planetary Group
Growing up I was always consuming music, whether it was flipping through Bay Area radio stations, dancing to Daft Punk on MTV after school, or crowd surfing at Warped Tour, I always needed to know what was new and good.
AUGUST MD of the MONTH: WHSN’s Mark Nason
As a lifelong music fan there are albums I’ll never tire of (The Lemonheads’ It’s A Shame About Ray for instance) but three albums from this year that I’ve been hooked on are Easy by The Weeks and Beth Ditto’s new solo album, Fake Sugar. Dan Auerbach’s new solo LP Waiting On A Song is another winner.