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2008 NON-COMMvention Format News Story
2008 NON-COMMvention Report by Mike Lyons
Archive: LOUISVILLE, THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES by Mike Lyons
LOUISVILLE, THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
By Mike Lyons, Triplearadio.com Contributing Editor
"Hold this" asked singer-songwriter Tift Merritt.
"As you wish," I suavely replied, witnessing the lightning search for a capo in her purse. Which I was now holding.
I had been simply walking around the riverboat Dixie Belle on the Ohio River at the second NON-COMMvention when Tift and I ran into one another in a small room near the bow of the Belle.
Tift was to perform for the programmers on the boat and was rapidly trying to get herself prepared when she ran into me.
After I helped her dig the capo out of her purse, she thanked me graciously and then knocked out a terrific 20-minute set.
Her first ever performance done while bobbing up and down on a boat in the water. She nailed it.
That was how I spent my first two hours in Louisville.
Two hours just wasn't enough for Gerry Weston and Dan Reed however. Especially at a radio convention.
Dan was the PD of WFPK. Gerry was the head of the Public Radio Partnership, a homegrown Louisville operation that ran the three non-commercial FM's in the city.
WFPL-FM was the NPR/All-News station.
WUOL was your classical station.
And WFPK was one of the best non-commercial AAA stations in the country.
But when the radio programming and trade conventions were held - the non-comm's were only slated perhaps a single two-hour panel discussion at best.
It was almost as though the increasingly successful and booming non-commercial portion of the radio business was an afterthought.
It was. To the old guard and the old habits of the radio business.
So, in 2001, Gerry and Dan established the NON-COMMvention in Louisville, to be held every May. Triplearadio.com would come on board as a co-sponsor immediately.
This would be an opportunity not only for the music programmers to see and hear work by new and established artists, it would enable people to exchange stories about their funding, equipment, legal matters and trends in the field of non-commercial broadcasting.
And it didn't have to be crammed into two hours on the last day of the Boulder AAA Summit.
The first NON-COMM in 2001 attracted just over 100 folks. It then increased dramatically during the next five years until it peaked at over 600 when the convention took place in Philadelphia in 2005. By then Dan Reed had become the MD/APD of AAA non-comm leader WXPN, the home of the successful syndicated AAA program "The World Cafe".
Now, the NON-COMMvention will move permanently to Philadelphia starting in May 2008.
Before we go - let me gather some memories of my annual trips to Louisville:
"I'M SORRY BUT WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST SHUT UP!!!"
Those were the words of, then newcomer, Norah Jones when the registration for the convention was, unfortunately one year, set up in the bar of the Seelbach Hotel concurrent with her debut performance on the Seelbach bar stage.
My god, you know how loud radio and record people can become, especially when reuniting for the first time in a year for many. Jones' soft, contemplative ballads simply weren't in sync with that social roar.
But after letting off her young steam, she dazzled the crowd.
And made me a fan of hers forever.
The most charming rush of a performance came the next year when Glenn Tilbrook of the Squeeze simply went unhinged while performing his solo songs and tunes from the Squeeze catalog while dancing joyously, guitar in hand, the spirit just flowing out. Pulling mussels from a shell, sure, but Tilbrook pulled us up and down 4th Street that afternoon across from the Brown Hotel delivering one of the best, unexpected surprises I ever experienced at a convention.
Then there were the revelations. Unknowns who impressed immediately. From Tift Merritt to Mindy Smith to Nellie McKay to this year's "who is that?" girl, Ingrid Michaelson.
Oh, and then there was Keller Williams, who opened with Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" this year, Patti Smith, T-Bone Burnett and Patty Griffin's little poocher scrambling into my hotel room.
Woof. I've had a great time with the talent in Louisville.
On the other, business, side of the coin, the news was remarkable.
After starting slowly, more and more general managers were showing up, talking capitol campaigns and new underwriting sources. This year, it was the new Internet Royalty rates, which may yield more good news for non-comm radio soon.
Weston and Reed had been on the right track. Listening to non-commercial radio in America doubled between 1994 and 2004. Fund-drives started to become shorter and more effective every year. Rotations tightened, tempo became more important and by 2004, led by the major market signals at WXPN in Philadelphia, WYEP in Pittsburgh and WFUV in New York City, AAA Non-commercial radio stations had developed a more flowing daily music presentation, away from traditional block-programming.
Also by 2004, commercial AAA programmers were showing up in droves to the NON-COMMvention!
One reason was that by the fourth convention in Louisville, non-commercial radio was the only part of the radio industry showing growth.
Ratings were up. Fund-raising was up. New facilities were being constructed. Non-commercial AAA was playing terrific music and sincerely COMMUNICATING with a well-to-do, previously under-served audience. Baby-boomers with money and musical memories and an open mind for new artists and sounds. And it was the only radio format gaining listeners (other than Spanish).
Now, the NON-COMMvention will be moving permanently to Philadelphia.
But we must all treasure the memories of Louisville and the people who worked so hard to make this AAA convention such a success.
Stacy Owen, Mindy Fulner, Billy Hardison and the entire Public Radio Partnership staff have always been gracious, polite and, most importantly, good at producing a convention. One with nothing but radio announcers and musicians! I'm amazed we didn't burn down either the Seelbach or the Brown.
For Dan Reed, he so enjoyed his life in Kentucky that he gave his, once, hometown several more years of his idea and never, ever forgot who to thank. I thank him for giving me a chance to see Churchill Downs, The Louisville Slugger factory, Hunter Thompson's boyhood home and the bridge from which Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) threw his 1960 Olympic gold medal into the Ohio river.
For Gerry Weston, one of the most talented managers in radio, I suspect we will be seeing him at a new major market location next year (if not sooner).
For six out of the last seven years, the AAA non-comm community has been meeting at the corner of 4th and Broadway in Louisville, what the city historians call "The Magic Corner".
Now, it's Philly's time to pull a rabbit out of the hat.
—Mike Lyons
The Eighth Annual NON-COMMvention is May 29-31, 2008 in Philadelphia at The Hilton Inn At Penn - Register here
'07 NON-COMMvention Archives:
Convention Summary
State of the Format Address
'06 NON-COMMvention Archives:
Convention Summary
State of the Format Address
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