Piles of CDs come into the studio at the start of the new semester.

The blizzard of new CDs mailed to 90.3 FM.

With the start of the new year and a new semester at WUTK 90.3 FM comes the challenge of listening to hundreds of new album releases.  This past Sunday I happened to be at the radio station and noticed  scores of padded envelopes that are used to mail compact disks. Curious and impressed with the large volume of  envelopes I reached out to Program Director Benny Smith. I asked him  about the high volume of new music sent at the beginning of the semester and if he could explain the process of how the music industry works in regards to college radio.

“Most CD providers wait until the new year, as CMJ (College Music Journal which is a service most industry insiders rely on) does not crank up its charts until this week. So for nearly a month, there was no station reporting chart numbers, hence no CD service.” Mr. Smith continued to elaborate. “We have received about 30 or so, at this point. I expect us to receive nearly that much in one week beginning next week. It will really crank up in mid Jan.”  Mr. Smith said in total he expects between 350-500 albums total to filter through the radio station. This includes local artists, CDs, and digital services.  He noted that virtually all are listened to by the volunteer staff.

Also it should be noted that all the envelopes are recycled.   In cooperation with local businesses, Jay Nations from Raven Records and Rarities picks them up to use for shipping CDs, etc to on line buyers, etc.

For more information about WUTK please visit  http://www.wutkradio.com/