NPR and Philadelphia’s WXPN are collaborating on a new initiative that will draw on their local connections and credibility as musical curators to support up-and-coming artists.
Under the working title of the Emerging Artists Project, the initiative, scheduled for launch in October, will promote three artists at a time through live concerts, interviews and coverage on station airwaves and websites and through the NPR Music section of NPR.org. A new set of artists will be chosen every three months.
The project will also include the 19 noncommercial Triple A stations that participate in VuHaus, the music video platform. Artists will appear on public radio’s syndicated Triple A shows, including WXPN’s World Cafe. NPR will also feature the performers on its music podcasts and through its Tiny Desk Concerts.
The project will give artists “an opportunity to take advantage of many of the public media outlets supporting artist discovery that can really be powerful for a musician on their way up,” said Anya Grundmann, NPR’s VP for programming and audience development.