If you’ve ever heard one of our membership drives, you know we’re not shy about pointing out everything Radio Milwaukee does as an organization. Generally, we try to limit that discussion to those two times per year when we offer some pretty nice stuff in exchange for earning your support.
What you may not know is there’s another day on the calendar when we step back and look at all of the cool stuff being done across the country by stations like ours. It’s called Public Radio Music Day, and — unlike our membership drives — it has nothing to do with asking for financial support (although that’s always welcome). It’s a chance to spread the word about the role 88Nine, HYFIN and other noncommercial radio stations play in the music world, locally and nationally.
To put it another way, it’s an opportunity for you to get to know us a little better. For starters, we can answer a pretty simple question:
What is a noncommercial (public radio) music station?
Noncommercial — also called “noncom” or “public radio” — music-format stations play every variation of classical, jazz, alternative, Americana, urban alternative, and eclectic or local regional music genres. All stations are independent, nonprofit, community-based, and locally staffed and programmed.
Across the United States, 700 public radio stations feature music as a primary or significant part of their formats, and over 1,100 stations air any music as a part of their program schedule, reaching 30 million listeners weekly.
To help with this mission, noncom music stations receive federal funding. But when we say during membership drives that your support is the biggest part of our budget, that isn’t just talk. On average, for every $1 in federal grant money a public radio station receives, it raises $8 from local audiences and businesses.
What does federal funding support?
In addition to your generous contributions, federal funding makes it possible for us to provide music and cultural programming, community news and information, and public safety services. It’s absolutely essential for public media’s public-private partnership — a system that has supported universal access to music, news, educational resources and emergency alerting for nearly 50 years. What exactly does it support?
- Payment of music licensing fees across the public media system so we can broadcast and stream all of the great local music and community news you love.
- Community Service Grants (CSGs) that provide annual support to eligible stations so they can support local music and artists, foster music discovery and education, and enable music preservation.
- The interconnection system, a nationwide distribution system that enables stations to acquire and distribute programming, and share content between stations. It also supports system-wide digital infrastructure to ensure public radio music is available on any platform where audiences are.
- The Next Generation Warning System grants program, which supports station-level investments in emergency alerting equipment and infrastructure to enhance their resiliency. Music stations all play a role in our nationwide emergency alerting system.
Public radio and music: by the numbers
Another thing you’ve heard us talk about with 88Nine and HYFIN is music discovery. Stations like ours fill an essential role, connecting emerging artists — locally, nationally and even globally — to supportive audiences. We celebrate music heritage and innovation, boost local venues, and uplift local music economies.
Each week, 23.8 million listeners enjoy public radio music in the United States on-air and online, including:
- 6.8 million listen to AAA (Adult Album Alternative)
- 7.7 million listen to classical music
- 4.1 million listen to jazz
Local noncommercial, not-for-profit public radio stations are an essential and indispensable force in sustaining music accessibility, supporting the performing arts, developing artists and audiences, and educating and enriching our communities. Serving as cultural hubs, these stations offer a place for listeners of diverse backgrounds and ages to unite for the shared joy of music, while bolstering the local music economy:
- Public radio stations broadcast about 4.7 million hours of music per year, most of which is local programming.
- About 340 all-AAA or AAA mixed-format stations reach more than 6 million weekly listeners with alternative, folk, bluegrass, Americana, world music, and more.
- Almost all (96%) of U.S. classical radio is public radio, reaching about 8 million weekly listeners.
- Public radio brings a human approach to presenting music by relying on expert DJs, not algorithms, to curate content. Respected local DJs at public radio stations curate music that resonates with their listeners. They foster discovery of new and underappreciated musical artists and genres.
Why are we telling you all this?
Even if you’re a big fan of Radio Milwaukee and its stations (maybe even a member), you may not have realized just how far public radio reaches across the music world. Raising that awareness is one of the goals of Public Radio Music Day, which is why this year’s theme is “Bringing People Together: From Coast to Coast.”
We want you to know about Public Radio Music Day for the same reason we do just about all of the things we do at Radio Milwaukee: to make you feel more connected. Connected to your favorite music. Connected to your community. Connected to each other.
Along those lines, the easiest way to celebrate Public Radio Music Day is by doing the same thing we hope you do every day — listen! We’ve got special programming planned, with 88Nine focusing on some of our favorite Studio Milwaukee Sessions that we’ll play at the top of every hour between 6 a.m. and midnight. We’d also love it if you’d take advantage of the digital connection we carry around all day and share your support of public radio music on social media using the hashtag #LovePublicRadioMusic.
Finally, we encourage you to remember public media’s role in your life when deciding who to support at the ballot box. Public radio, the music we play and the stories we share are nonpartisan at heart, and the federal funding we receive helps make those things possible. If those things are important to you, you can also contact your representatives and let them know the role that our stations play in your life. We're in conversation with these decision makers throughout the year, but your voice as one of their constituents truly does make a difference.
Thanks for celebrating Public Radio Music Day with us and for supporting public radio in general all year long.
