Why Non-Commercial Radio Matters to a Musician’s Career

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With the advent and increasing popularity of streaming, there’s no denying that the world of radio has changed. However, non-commercial radio continues to offer unique opportunities to reach new fans and connect with communities across North America and beyond.

Non-commercial radio is made by music lovers for music lovers (and culture and news lovers alike). Non-commercial radio stations don’t accept on-air advertisements, as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and can be a variety of formats including public (like NPR stations), community, college, online, or freeform.

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Not accepting on-air advertisements provides these stations with the freedom to design their programming however they want. As long as DJs operate within certain station guidelines, values, or parameters, they have full reign over what they air.

This creates a landscape for unfiltered curation, which leads to strong fandom among listeners. The people who tune in see their favorite DJs as taste-makers they trust. This is a broad, sweeping generalization but it feels fair to say that folks who tune in to non-commercial radio are listening more actively than someone who listens to mainstream radio while in their car, for example.

What does this mean for your career as a musician? Check out the rest of this article on Splice Blog.