Once Again, KUSC Gets It

I’ve always maintained that if a classical music radio station wants to be healthy, it needs to be Arts Central for its community.  That means the station should be the first place people turn for info.  For that reason, a good radio station will be the keeper of the community arts calendar.  It’s not rocket science and it’s not a hugely burdensome task, but it IS enormously useful to listeners if it’s done well.

Need to find out what time a concert starts?  Where you can get tickets?   Who’s performing in what venue?  It’s a no-brainer.  Stations want you to come to them, so they should use the general arts calendar to attract you to their page.  They should do ticket giveaways online!  They should reach out by letting you set up favorite categories and get automatic notices via email, Facebook, and Twitter.   An arts calendar is SUCH a powerful tool for connecting with people.  Stations, just think of the database you will develop if you have contact info for everyone who attends arts events.

KUSC gets it.

Radio.broadcastnewsroom.com reports that KUSC has reached agreement with Performing Arts LIVE to add content to their concert calendar.

“We are glad to be able to share this information to the KUSC audience,” said Michael Napoli, Executive Director at Performing Arts LIVE. “We are confident that this arrangement with Classical KUSC will enhance the ability of the Southern California performing arts community to connect listeners with the many wonderful classical music performances taking place throughout the region.”

“We chose Performing Arts LIVE to provide us this important information because of their commitment and dedication to the performing arts community,” explained KUSC President Brenda Barnes. “They are one of the few organizations that has comprehensive event data for classical music, theater and dance events throughout Southern California, making them the primary source for performing arts information in the region.”

With the decline in arts coverage in our newspapers, radio stations can make themselves indispensible and help insure their future by stepping up and taking over this role.