NPR's new-music push: all (indie) songs considered
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The Decemberists, including Colin Meloy, left, and Chris Funk, are among bands featured on National Public Radio's music website.
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WASHINGTON -- When the indie folk-rock group the Decemberists debuted its new album last year, the first place to hear it wasn't on iTunes or MySpace or any of the other big commercial music sites. Instead, the Portland, Ore., outfit played the album live in a webcast carried exclusively on National Public Radio's music website (npr.org/music).
Cue that up again. National Public Radio? The Washington-based home of "All Things Considered," "Car Talk" and other earnest news and talk programs? Yes, indeed. Although the typical NPR news listener probably wouldn't know the Decemberists from a December calendar, the group knew something about NPR Music -- namely, that music fans are paying attention to it.
The website, officially in business only since late 2007, has become something of a tastemaking force in the fractured and fragmented music business. Through its blogs, news articles, lists, podcasts, videos and concert and album streams, the site has attracted a steadily growing following, averaging about 1.6 million visitors a month. The site's nine-member staff also feeds some of its audio features to NPR's news shows; recent segments of "All Things Considered" have featured NPR Music's ongoing "50 Great Voices" series and a report on the 25th anniversary of Katrina and the Waves' megahit "Walking on Sunshine."
In turn, NPR Music has attracted the attention of the music industry. In its relatively short existence, it has scored some notable coups, thanks to industry cooperation. Radiohead and Tom Waits played exclusive concerts. Bruce Springsteen made his album "Working on a Dream" available for streaming before its release. When Bob Dylan's "Tell Tale Signs" album went up on the site before its release in late 2008, visitors streamed it 300,000 times in less than a week. "They've made a really aggressive push to be a go-to place for music," says Dan Cohen, vice president of marketing for EMI, the giant record label. "They've done a great job of becoming that place."
First Published June 23, 2010 12:00 am
