Talk to me about public radio

Each week, I’ll post an interview with someone (or someones) far more
knowledgeable than myself on specific marketing and publicity
subjects. This week, American Public Media’s National Marketing Manager for classical music Tim Peterson, and Managing Producer of Performance Today Silvester Vicic on the current state of public radio: quite possibly the oldest media supporter of new classical music.

Tim J. Peterson joined American Public Media as National Marketing Manager for the Classical and Marketplace portfolios in the fall of 2007.  He has over 10 years experience in arts marketing and management, working with numerous organizations including the Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Theater Center and WaterTower Theater.

Silvester Vicic has been with American Public Media since the early 90s, and worked with KUSC in Los Angeles and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation before that.  He is currently the managing producer of Performance Today™ hosted by Fred Child at American Public Media.  He is an award-winning producer of programs like A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, The Composers Datebook.  His previous work was as the manager of Classical 24™.

What is the perceived audience for music programming on public radio? The actual audience?

I think the stereotypical audience for classical programming is very much like of a symphony orchestra–white haired and affluent.  While that demographic does make up a part of both audiences, the actual audience is much broader.  A recent NPR audience survey shows half of classical listeners are between the ages of 25 and 54 and over a third of audiences have annual household incomes under $60,000.

What kinds of stereotypes does public radio have to overcome?

That we’re always asking for money. In fact, we try to limit on-air member drives as much as we can.  Membership is a vital component of our overall budget and member drives are a key tactic to obtain and retain members.  That we’re boring, navel-gazers.  There may be some of that, but public radio allows its talent relatively free rein in pursuing stories of interest, in creating new and interesting programming and finding people who can feed and even stimulate the voracious appetites of our much-smarter-than-we-are audience.

How is public radio marketed? You’re not directly dependent on actual listener numbers, so where is your focus? What kind of budget does public radio have for marketing?

Listener numbers are very important, not only to station missions but to achieving revenue goals.  Just like arts organizations want to maximize ticket sales, public radio wants to reach the greatest number of people possible. Larger audiences equate to a larger potential membership base, greater appeal to underwriters and a better case statement for foundations. Public radio is marketed to audiences through many traditional and emerging channels–online, print, outdoor advertising, partnerships with arts organizations, presence at community events, etc.  As far as budget, I think the answer is the same as any non-profit–never enough.

What is the mission of public radio? The mission of music programming, specifically, on public radio?

Like any non-profit, each station or distributor has their own mission statement.  The mission of American Public Media (the larger owner and operator of public radio stations and the second largest producer of public radio programming) is “to enrich the mind and nourish the spirit, thereby enhancing the lives and expanding the perspectives of our audiences, and assisting them in strengthening their communities.”  We find that this applies across the board to all of the programming produced by American Public Media.

How do you think public radio fits into people’s every day lives?

Listeners depend on public radio for a reliable source of news and information, tuning in throughout the day–at work, at home, in the car.  Our intelligent music programming is both trusted source of entertainment hosted by people who communicate the best of what is on the air and also a kind of soundtrack to their day.  This is by no means a lowest common denominator statement.  Rather it’s a reflection of how people live and use the media.  We get many letters from people for whom the music we play and the news we share are vital and integral parts of their media consumption. 

Thoughts on the XM/Sirius merger? Is satellite radio competition for public radio, or do you think the listeners are totally different?

The company position is outlined here.

XM and Sirius both have their own stations that broadcast public radio content.  Again, radio listeners are looking for what suits them at a particular moment.  It’s not a given that public radio listeners don’t listen to satellite radio and vice versa.  It’s still a relatively fresh delivery system that hasn’t really had an impact on terrestrial radio stations.  Public radio has been investing in the web and HD Radio, which is another consideration.  In some markets, stations are moving much of their classical programming from their main signal to one of their HD signals. Until more people own HD radios, this could place a limit on listener access.

At one point, radio was the only way people heard new music. With so many other ways to hear music now, how has public radio evolved its music programming?

A sizable and growing percentage of public radio’s audience comes from people streaming online. Podcasts are a growing way for audiences to listen to programs on their own schedule. Music podcasts are limited at this point due to rights issues and new media usage continues to become a larger issue with musician unions’ contracts.

Public radio remains a vital source of music as it provides exclusive opportunities for listeners to hear concerts from throughout the world that will never be available on a recording.  In fact, Performance Today, SymphonyCast, Pipedreams and St. Paul Sunday (all from American Public Media) feature “new” music rather prominently.  Different local stations will also offer contemporary works as their resources and ethos allow.

Have there been strictly radio concert series? E.g. Bass-baritone Eric Owens (shameless plug) gives a radio-only recital?

Yes.  For example, American Public Media’s Saint Paul Sunday provides exclusive performances and conversation, recorded in studio, that are available only by listening to the program. 

Do you ever ask performing artists to host their own radio shows?

Yes, as a matter of fact.  There can be some splendid insights that might not otherwise come about.  The difficulty often comes in trying to schedule somebody who has a thriving concert career.   It also works to have a performing artist work with an established host, to maintain and enhance the trust relationship between them and the listener.  It all depen
ds on how compelling the subject and how articulate the artist is.  

What are some of your favorite recent initiatives programming-wise?

I think few people really consider how much classical music is around us in our everyday lives. Performance Today has taken a look at some of these connections including literature, film, even cartoons.  In fact, next week the second hour of the show looks at improvisation and classical music with guests Robert Levin, Matthias Maute and Cameron Carpenter.    

I’ve always been a little confused by the different tiers of public radio. There’s city, state and national? How does the content work? For example, does WNYC decide if and when they want Morning Edition, or does someone dictate that to them?

Public radio has three main producers of national content– American Public Media, National Public Radio and Public Radio International, plus other distributors like WFMT in Chicago.  Unlike a television station that is affiliated with a particular network, local public radio stations can select programs (such as Morning Edition, Performance Today or Marketplace) from any of the various national distributors. Each station balances national programs to a varying degree with their own local programming. (Sometimes programs start out as local and end up becoming nationally distributed.)  The stations themselves can exist individually or be a part of a larger regional or statewide network such as Minnesota Public Radio.

Is there a place where I can find all the classical music content on public radio stations across the country? How would someone in Montana go about finding WNYC’s Soundcheck, for example?

The internet has changed how people listen to radio. You don’t have to be within the reach of a given frequency to hear a particular program on a particular station.   There are websites like Public Radio Fan where listeners can find out what shows are heard when and on what station.  If someone doesn’t know that Soundcheck, Performance Today, SymphonyCast, or Pipedreams exist it’s hard to get that news to a listener.  But if their keywords are done right, they can lead the listener to something that fits into what they’re looking for at that moment.

What is the life of public radio programming off the airwaves? From the Top and This American Life both have their own TV shows, albeit on very different stations, and A Prairie Home Companion is now a touring show. Is this trend good/bad/ugly? Is it even a trend?

I think the opportunity for public radio programs to reach out in various ways–whether on TV (Showtime’s This American Life or PBS’s Car Talk cartoon), film (A Prairie Home Companion) or cookbooks (The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper)–can only serve to increase awareness of the various programs among new audiences.  Hopefully that will lead these audiences to not only listen on-air or online to the source program, but also discover what else public radio has to offer.  There’s no bad or ugly about it.  There are many ways that a program or a service tries to get in front of the public…some of it works and some of it doesn’t.    Public radio programming and connecting with listeners is about a multitude of endeavors.  It’s on the radio, it’s on the web, it’s in the public eye at events; we try to go where the listeners are, to give them the opportunity to hear and experience things that are generally not available anywhere else.  No, I don’t think it’s a trend. 

Given all the time and resources in the world, what would be your dream classical music one-night-only radio program?

It would be a rolling concert hosted by the world’s best radio hosts and featuring the world’s greatest and most accessible classical music artists.  It would follow the world’s time zones from one great concert hall and city to the next, over a 24 hour period.  Kind of like an Olympics of classical music that every radio would be tuned to, and that would have so much marketing money behind it that it would be the only topic on everyone’s lips.