2 May 2007  

MVYRADIO Press Release

(MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass.) – In an unprecedented move, mvyradio (www.mvyradio.com)—one of Internet radio’s pioneers—is adopting the business model of public radio stations across the U.S. by shifting from an advertiser-supported to a listener- and corporate underwriting-supported station.

Mvyradio President Joe Gallagher sees the move as critical to meeting the challenges of today’s escalating bandwidth and music licensing costs: “The time is right for mvyradio to take advantage of our enduring listener relationship and ever-increasing audience and
move to a public radio-style model.”

To be called “Friends of mvyradio,” the new model will be developed with the help of Public Radio Capital (PRC), a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening and expanding the public radio industry. “As PRC’s first Internet radio-only project, mvyradio and its special focus on diverse music fit perfectly with our goal to provide people nationwide with greater program choices for in-depth information, unbiased news, music, and cultural programming,” said Marc Hand, PRC’s managing director.

Gallagher added, “The Public Radio Capital and Friends of mvyradio partnership is a major step toward what promises to be an exciting new paradigm of the music industry.”

Affecting only Mvyradio’s Internet programming, the new model will enable the station to play more music on its streams and to continue groundbreaking initiatives, such as “On the Road” where the station has recorded and streamed more than 200 exclusive performances from artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, K.T. Tunstall, Doc Watson and The Meters recorded at different venues across America, including SXSW, MerleFest, and the Newport Folk Festival.

The announced change does not affect the station’s terrestrial version, WMVY-FM, which is advertiser-supported.

About mvyradio: Heralded as one of the first Adult Album Alternative (AAA) stations with its beginnings in 1983, mvyradio was among the first to stream its signal via the internet in 1998. It boasts a worldwide audience that listens more than 400,000 hours a month. The station has been cited in Rolling Stone, TIME and other publications for its independent spirit and is a perennial front-runner for industry “Station of the Year” honors.

About Public Radio Capital: Founded in 2001, Public Radio Capital’s (PRC) mission is to secure and expand the number of public radio stations in communities nationwide. As the industry’s leading advisor in planning, acquiring and funding new public radio channels, nonprofit PRC has secured more than 30 stations for public radio in communities reaching 22 million-plus people nationwide, and helped many other public radio stations develop plans for expansion.