Folk site made in Ohio,
offered to world of fans

Originally published in Current, Sept. 22, 2003
By Steve Behrens

Starting this month, WKSU-FM has begun repurposing the time-tested folk-music service that it produces for northeastern Ohio to create what it hopes will be a world-class folk-music webcast.

Folk Alley (www.folkalley.com) will outshine other folk-music sites on the Web because it has the musical consistency and professional hosting of Jim Blum, WKSU’s longtime folk deejay, says Eric Nuzum, program director. It has the same mix of singer-songwriter cuts, rootsy Americana, Celtic, star folkies and world music that Blum chooses for WKSU’s weekend evenings.

Blum’s Sunday-night shows from the past 14 months provide the core of Folk Alley. The host confines his time, place and station references to breaks that can be easily edited out, says Nuzum. Blum wants to dive into the archives for performance tapes, Kent State Folk Festival excerpts, interviews and other material to put on the webcast.

In its broadcasts, the station features classical music as well as folk, but folk seemed a better bet for the Web, Nuzum says. “Classical didn’t give us enough opportunity to be unique. The people who’ve gotten off to the best start with streaming are dealing with the finest slice of the musical pie.”

The webcast spools out of WKSU’s automation system—the same system that enables Blum to plan and host 13 hours of folk broadcasts for each weekend. Users can choose among three popular file formats—Windows Media Player, Real Player or MP3. The song title and performer now playing on the stream are shown on the home page, and a playlist of the day’s tunes is also posted.

But the site doesn’t put resources into extensive text or images about its subject, which other sites already provide in profusion. The main text offering is a weblog-style blurb posted perhaps twice a week by Blum—his brief comment on songs, news about the folk scene—plus responses from website visitors.
With help of a CPB grant, the station is working with “customer evangelism” guru Ben McConnell of Wabash & Lake Inc., who advised Folk Alley to go for word-of-mouth promotion.

McConnell inspired it to create a Fan Kit page that suggests how visitors can promote the site to friends.

“That’s going to really help spread the word,” says Bob Burford, public relations director.

Web visitors who want to see the playlist must give their e-mail addresses, and those may be used to offer a related but optional service by e-mail, Burford says.

The producers are hoping to create some of the same feel that Washington’s WAMU-FM gave to its specialized musical website, BluegrassCountry.org.

“I liked their sense of community and outreach to listeners to make them part of a cause,” says Nuzum.

Those who identify with the cause are invited to make donations, which the site will accept via credit card. Though WKSU is mentioned as the source of all this folkiness, donations are sought specifically for Folk Alley.

How else can the site pay its way? Thanks to a playlist linked to an online CD store, Public Radio Music Source, the site may also earn some commissions on those sales. But online advertising is not an attractive option, according to Nuzum. For one reason, selling ads would make the site ineligible for CPB to pay the music copyright royalties for the web streaming, he says.

Beyond seeking donations, Folk Alley’s producers haven’t concentrated on developing revenue sources. “Our focus right now is on building listening,” says Nuzum. “Whatever the revenue source, it all starts with the listening.”

 

Posted Oct. 6, 2003
Current: the newspaper about public TV and radio in the United States
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