This week's blog comes to us courtesy of Jean Cook and Justin Jouvenal, and is a continuation of last week's posting Think Digitally, Broadcast Globally. They work with the Future of Music Coalition, an education, research and advocacy nonprofit focused on the intersection of independent music, technology, and policy.
Though interest in podcasts and Internet radio is growing exponentially, these formats have a long way to go before they 
supplant old-fashioned terrestrial radio. Traditional radios are ubiquitous, everyone knows how to use them, and we all grew up listening to them.
More than 275 million Americans listen to radio, and, according to a recent report by the Knight Foundation, radio is the most popular way for classical music consumers to hear the music. Until now, getting on the radio required building a strong relationship with your local station or being a major symphony orchestra or opera company with an NPR deal. But this year, it could also involve owning and programming a radio station in your hometown.
This October, for the first time in more than a decade (and probably for the last time ever), the FCC is giving nonprofits licenses to create and operate new radio stations. In a few years, we'll hear niche music on the radio again, on stations built by a handful of nonprofit organizations. Will yours be one of them?
Owning a radio station can give you the opportunity to bring your programming to an even broader audience, furthering your mission and bringing about many new fundraising opportunities. In Albany, one presenter is already creating synergy between live performances and radio. The WAMC Performing Arts Studio (PAS) brings a variety of music, dance, theater, and film to live audiences in and around Albany, New York, and is operated by WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, which promotes and broadcasts these performances. Recent performers to live audiences in Albany and listeners in the greater Hudson Valley region include jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur, reedman David "Fathead" Newman, and gothic cello quartet Rasputina. The PAS also serves as a community hub, with locals attending daytime events such as town meetings, lectures, children's programs, and Sunday matinees. The PAS hosts a youth media project for high-needs urban and rural high schools in the New York Capital District Area and arts-in-education projects with neighborhood elementary schools.
Interested in learning more? Any nonprofit can apply for a radio station. Though the opportunity is limited to smaller metropolitan and rural areas, there are some great opportunities in places like Buffalo NY, Phoenix AZ, Minneapolis MN, Milwaukee WI, Las Vegas NV, Alberquerque NM, Baton Rouge LA, Richmond VA, Huntsville AL, Flint MI, and Canton OH. To find out if you're in one of the 2,500+ qualifying zip codes, visit GetRadio!.
For more about how to apply for a license, check out the Future of Music Coalition fact sheet.
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