Blog about KUSP

What’s Happening Now
We’re nearly out of money. Every new broadcast venture takes awhile before it builds enough audience to be self-sufficient. We’re seeking the funds to get there. That’s about $800,000. By joining other listeners to raise $300,000 during April, you will help persuade other funders to provide the balance of this critical bridge to sustainability.

A New Station
At just the right time, the Monterey Bay area has a music station focused on Monterey Bay area listeners.

There’s something amazing happening in music right now. Artists are blending and exploding genres at breakneck speed. Now more than ever is a time for discovering new music and we are dedicated to sharing it with you.

88.9 KUSP’s hosts are enthusiastic curators, creating seductive mixes combining just enough of the familiar to keep the door open for the great new music that arrives each week.

A Powerful Voice for Art
We believe in a year or so, we could be a thriving and prominent media outlet. This great collection of music and voices of the Monterey Bay area will only grow richer. And our region will have a powerful new channel for sharing our culture– the musicians and bands and signature music performances as well as the artistic events in our region that deserve broader exposure.
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Independent and Focused on You
There’s something underlying this story. For 44 years, we have been owned and operated here. We are adding our new curated mixes to long-lived specialty music shows that have set our toes tapping all along. The vast majority of our revenue comes from listeners. There is no other arts organization in the region so directly tied to serving its audience. This 21st century version of our grand experiment could be a successful model for other independent stations like ours — but only if you fund it to succeed.’

The Risk
Contributions during the first three months of 2016 fell below what we’d hoped for. Right now we can only stay on air through April. But even operating in constant pledge drive mode couldn’t keep 88.9 KUSP going more than a few months. If we don’t raise $300,000 in April, the station will go off air.

Spreading the Story
All this month you’ll hear KUSP staff, fans and volunteers, taking to air to describe this vision for a thriving public radio arts station and persuading our listeners to donate. Even so, you’ll continue to hear all the music and community voices on which you rely here at 88.9 KUSP.

The goal is simple: $300,000 from listeners and community fundraisers. One donation or rent party at a time. If you’ve got friends who would like the station, tell them about us now and ask them to donate.

Meanwhile, we’ll make our case to philanthropists and other funders in the region. Watch our site and listen on air for updates on how much we’ve raised. Together we can make it happen.

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