Record labels and musicians increasingly provide radio stations with recordings in digital form. Many artists essentially self-publish their work, bypassing labels and distributors altogether. But lots of community, college and public radio stations—traditionally offering some of the best opportunities to connect emerging and independent artists with audiences—need training to find, play, catalog and store digital music.
To address this, NFCB is implementing an intensive training project for New York State radio stations (and stations that broadcast into New York), focused on using technology and new platforms to expand access to and delivery of independent music. This fall, we will offer three free one-day seminars on these issues for community, college and public broadcasters.
To view the curriculum for these sessions, go here.
Support for this project comes from The New York State Music Fund, established by
the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Three one-day seminars for public radio staff and volunteers to learn how to use new technologies to access, store and broadcast music by independent musicians. Each seminar also includes a module on legal/compliance issues surrounding music programming — payola, plugola and the DMCA.
WHEN |
WHERE |
Saturday, September 27th
(10 AM - 6 PM)
|
Manhattan |
Friday, October 17th
(9 AM - 5 PM) |
Albany |
Saturday, October 18th
(10 AM - 6 PM) |
Buffalo |
Music Directors, Program Directors, volunteer DJs, and Station Managers throughout New York State and stations that broadcast into NY. Attendance is limited to 30 people at each seminar location.
Ken Freedman, General Manager, WFMU. Ken is an early adopter and leader in using new technologies in public radio. He is the director of wfmu.org and is currently developing a social music website of rights-cleared music called the Free Music Archive.
Jim Campbell, Modular Media. Jim is an independent consultant who helps people and organizations tell their stories using new media. He also produces Notes from the Electronic Cottage on WERU.
John Crigler and Melodie Virtue are communications attorneys with the law firm of Garvey Schubert Barer in Washington, DC.
Both. Each seminar will be divided into two groups, one for people just learning about new technologies and the other for people with more experience and knowledge.
You should be in the Beginner Level if:
The closest you’ve come to digital production is playing a CD
You don’t understand the difference between mp2, mp3, mp4 or .wav
You don’t blog or use MySpace, FaceBook, or other social networking sites
You should be in the Advanced Level if:
You’re comfortable with digital audio downloading, recording, editing, etc.
You already have a digital library and an account on a social networking site
People look to you for guidance on computer-related issues
You will decide which of these two levels to participate in. If you’re not certain which one fits you best, pick the level that you think you’d be more comfortable with, keeping in mind that the pacing of the level and attention to any single students’ understanding if he or she is in the wrong level of the course can’t be adjusted to accommodate individual needs.
The seminars are FREE. We will also provide you with refreshments in the morning and lunch in the afternoon.
Fill out the application form here. The deadline to apply is August 15th. You will be notified at the end of July whether you are accepted, at which time you will be instructed on how to register.
The following criteria will be used to select the 30 attendees for each seminar and the allocation of financial aid (see below).
First Priority — Staff and volunteers from New York State stations
Second Priority — The first person from a station
Third Priority — Person most likely to train others
NFCB is committed to serving a racially, ethnically and geographically diverse group of radio stations and staff. These factors will also be given consideration in choosing the participants.
Yes. Some grant money provided by our funder is designated for use in assisting attendees with travel and/or accommodations costs. The amount available per person will depend on how many attendees need assistance, but will likely be between $100 and $200 per person.
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the seminars for our funder, all participants will be asked to enter information into an online database to track their use of new technologies in accessing and broadcasting music by independent artists. Even if you do not immediately use any new technologies for this purpose, you are expected to complete these forms. These reporting requirements will not be burdensome.
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