The music scene in Grand Rapids continues to expand, with the opening of new venues, multiple concert series and local bands garnering national exposure.
With all that going on it should be no surprise that independent community radio continues to thrive and grow.
88.1FM,
WYCE just completed their most ambitious operating campaign in the station's history. With a goal of $88,100 the station raised just over $80,000 and has plans to hit their target before their fiscal year is complete with additional fundraising activities
According to Kevin Murphy, Station Director, despite the disruptive forces that have battered the music industry in recent years "You would think that with all the competing technology (Pandora, iTunes) it would be difficult to able to differentiate our services but in some ways, it is a better time for us. We are in a unique position".
Murphy states that from the music side of the business "there is no algorithm that describes WYCE playlists. You may or may not like it, but we will expose a wide variety of music to you. So if you are interested in being challenged by new music, just sit back and enjoy".
From an operational side Murphy states that a strength of their station is their niche as a "lean, volunteer-drvien, non-profit model. We don't have funding from the government. No one can pull the rug from under us".
The money from this year's campaign will be used to make incremental changes to the station as such as allowing expanding coverage to communities currently on the edge of the signal such as Saugatuck and Hastings. It will also be used to provide listeners more opportunities to consume the music by adding needed technology to make online streaming better and allow for more digital access of archived shows.
To learn more about the programming and operations of WYCE you can visit their website
here.Source: Kevin Murphy, WYCE
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs Editor
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