When Dan Reed, then the PD of WFPK/Louisville, first conceived of the NON-COMMvention – which this year will be held in Philadelphia May 29-31 – he wanted to create a gathering dealing with the unique issues facing public radio in the Triple A format. But he didn’t exactly plan on it becoming a major format event that gets circled on every label executive’s calendar every year, attracting both non-comm and commercial programmers. He actually came up with the initial concept as a way to show off the new facility that Louisville’s Public Radio Partnership had just opened for ’FPK and its sister stations, NPR News/Talk WPFL and Classical WUOL.
“The real start was that we had just moved into a brand new building in Louisville,” recalls Reed, who now holds down the OM/MD post at WXPN/Philadelphia. “We wanted to create something that would let people know what we were doing with the radio station, the new facility and the PRP.” That desire to show off the PRP’s new digs, along with Reed’s experience attending industry conventions as a Triple A programmer from a public station, gave Reed the inspiration to come up with the idea for a gathering of programmers from the left end of the dial.
“I had the feeling for a couple of years that the big conventions didn’t speak to a lot of the needs and concerns of public radio and we have a unique set of challenges as public stations in this format.” Reed continues about how public Triple A’s, while facing similar fundraising and operational issues as non-comm’s in News, Classical and Jazz formats, had to have a different approach because Triple A is playing (essentially) music with Pop roots.
Reed adds, “Triple A is fairly unique in the realm of public broadcasting. There are more than there used to be, but we’re still a minority among public radio stations. My hope was that getting us together and talking about the different concerns and challenges would be productive.” One early believer in the productivity of a convention like this was ’XPN GM Roger LaMay, who is a refugee from commercial broadcasting, having spent a good chunk of his career at the helm of Philadelphia’s FOX-TV affiliate.
“The conference in Louisville was terrific,” LaMay recalls. “[Non-comm radio] is mission and service driven as opposed to money driven. It was a wonderful thing to sit at meetings and not go, ‘How are we going to make an extra nickel out of this?’ The discussions were how to best serve the audience. Obviously you’ve got to figure out how to pay for it, but it’s really about meeting the needs of the audience and artists.” LaMay’s words speak to the core of what the NON-COMMvention is about, as it has always been a music-first gathering, focusing on finding new music. Many of the panels focus primarily on new and different ways to present the music to an audience, but they also concentrate on how to embed each listener into the fabric of the station, creating a bond that transcends the normal radio/audience relationship. That becomes important since there aren’t advertising dollars paying for everything.
“A lot of times, the non-comm Triple A audience is made up of refugees from the commercial side of the dial,” Reed explains. “It’s someone who has given up on commercial radio and they find a station like ’XPN and they’ve found a new home. We have to learn how to teach them about public radio and convince them to support us with direct financial contributions. The fundraising challenge is the thing that really ties us all together.” So with fundraising being the glue that holds a consortium of musically-diverse stations together, the business elements still hold a place of importance at NON-COMM, but it never puts the core of the product – the music – anywhere but in the forefront.
Music Meetings
The first NON-COMMvention was more of a “retreat” than a convention, with registrants moving from performance to panel together, even eating all three meals each day as a group. The format was driven by the uncertainty of launching a new convention, particularly a “music-friendly” convention where no performance slots carry a fee, leaving the financial health of the event resting firmly on registration dollars. So the first year, 2001, was driven by Reed’s passion and the belief of PRP’s then-president, Gerry Weston.
“I started calling everybody I knew to see if they could come,” Reed recalls. “Lo and behold, we had 50 or so people come. It was very quaint that first year. But we were lucky enough to have some bands play. The labels were very interested.” With musical success, non-comm intensive panels and a general good time, the convention began growing in leaps and bounds driven by the music.
“It’s a really important opportunity for those artists who are just not a part of the commercial airplay world in any significant way to connect to stations that can make a huge difference in their careers,” points out ’XPN GM LaMay, relative to keeping the focus on the music. “It’s also a chance for the stations to have some direct exposure to artists their audiences are going to be interested in.”
While there have certainly been established artists at previous NON-COMMventions (Patti Smith, Ryan Adams, John Hiatt, John Cale), it has also been an avenue to greater radio exposure for underexposed talent (Alejandro Escovedo, David Baerwald, Martin Sexton, Buddy Miller) and a launching pad for artists that had a slow start at commercial radio, but eventually had broad format success. The list of artists who had their first radio exposure through NON-COMM is staggering, with top-selling artists like Norah Jones, Los Lonely Boys and Mindy Smith leading the way. There is also a contingent of performers who are still building their stories, including Tift Merritt, Sea Wolf, Drive-By Truckers and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, who found an appearance at the NON-COMMvention was a jump-start to being embraced by radio. All of which creates the reasons that labels big and small are showing more support for the convention every year.
“The NON-COMMvention has been an integral part of our marketing plans since the first year,” remarks WB/Reprise’s Julie Muncy, recalling a Sire Records party the label did withSeymour Stein and Regina Spektor spinning the tunes. “It is a fond memory of kooky, crazy stories and amazing music from the Sire catalog. That was the first time everyone met Regina and years later this format is responsible for helping her achieve a gold record for Begin To Hope. I also recall The Ditty Bops playing in a hallway – much to my dismay – and experiencing a magical moment. From that day they built relationships with radio that endured through several albums and tours.” While Muncy may have had a bad case of “promo exec angst” seeing her artists strumming in the hallway, it’s the one-on-one contact with radio personnel that has a long-lasting effect on an artist’s relationship with the medium.
“Whenever you hear an artist live or shake his or her hand, you instantly become vested and have a personal attachment the music,” concurs SLG/429 VP Marketing/A&R Sheila Volpe. “NON-COMM is the absolute perfect place to allow that investment. It’s a trusted environment with people who truly are there for the music, something every artist appreciates.” While the artists may appreciate people who come to NON-COMM for the music, the conventioneers appreciate the artists taking the time to play the event. That’s one of the main reasons the convention has grown to over 300 attendees many of whom are non-comm PD’s.
“We’re not a development conference at all,” says founder Reed, trying to explain the wide cross-section of convention attendees. “It’s all filtered through the people behind the mics and the people that listen to the music. The draw is NON-COMM’s reputation as a great place to hear new music.” The amount of quality music turns out to have also been the catalyst for the convention to find a new home at WXPN.
A New Dawn
“It was a terrific gathering because it really was about the music,” laments LaMay, an avid music fan pre-WXPN GM days, as his first impression of NON-COMM. “One of my issues in growing it was to not screw with a perfectly good music conference.” But LaMay saw some potential growth in the value of the convention for those attending through more diverse panels, in addition to the music. So with Reed transplanted to Philadelphia and ’XPN, a brand new facility, and the World Café Live venue next door, it seemed to make sense to relocate the NON-COMMvention as well.
“Every person on the staff at ‘XPN is extremely psyched about doing this, which is vital when you’re trying to keep things fresh,” Reed enthuses. Reed welcomes the input of the very large ’XPN staff.
“I’m getting ideas from all arenas. We had a lot of great things done at these last few conventions. But this is going to be a different experience. We’ve got a venue (World Café Live) right next to the station we can utilize. There’s public transportation so people can get around the city if they want. And we’ll continue to try new ideas. You’re dead if you quit trying things.” Part of the growth of the NON-COMM includes panels geared to the growth of Triple A in general.
“The Triple A format is all about the music and NON-COMM is the best place to get directly connected to the music, so by adding sessions we’re able to help people make that connection and understand how it translates to audience service,” explains LaMay. “We have a day of sessions prior to the music conference that will deal with issues like marketing Triple A stations. How you convince your staff it’s a good thing. How you market to your audience and then fundraise against it. All the things that make Triple A viable.”
LaMay adds, “Triple A is an incredibly important public service because, as commercial radio playlists become increasingly tighter, there are more artists that do not fit into one of the commercial templates. Triple A is a place for many artists to get exposure.”
“Triple A is also an opportunity to connect with younger audiences than those that traditionally listen to public radio. A good chunk of the audience that is interested in non-comm radio is also interested in music discovery. This format is about musical discovery.”
FMQB/pro.qb is proud to be the Official Media Sponsor of the 8th Annual NON-COMMvention. You can find the link for NON-COMMvention information, lists of performers and registration in the Triple A Format room at FMQB.com.
** QB Content by Jack Barton **
