What is this new system?
After maintaining a web presence for almost 15 years, we have found it necessary to institute a fee site.
Don't you receive income from the individual stations for the broadcast of the program?
No. We have provided the show free of charge to any and all, as part of our mission and belief that this huge body of music is under-represented in the broadcast media. This belief has been more than justified by the profound devotion we have had from our many loyal fans.
How has the show survived this long?
We have had some support from the cultural institutions from our various European partners over the years. This includes broadcast entities, tourism departments, and sometimes cultural funds directly from the embassies themselves. This has allowed us to explore remarkable corners of the repertoire and share live recordings from music festivals and concert series.
Why not just rely on this funding?
Even at its peak, the program never generated income, barely covering operating expenses. Unfortunately, since the worldwide economic decline after 2008, most European nations severely cut back on their cultural subsidies. For example, the support from Radio Netherlands provided nearly a third of our yearly income for more than 20 years; that has now ceased.
What are the costs associated with the distribution of a national radio program?
The fixed expenses include our technical director, who formats the program for public and satellite radio, and the distribution fee for making the program available to the network (the WFMT Fine Arts Radio Network).
What if an individual donation or group of donations were able to fund the program for a year?
This is not, nor will it ever be a money-making operation. If we can recoup the costs of building the site and cover the program expenses for the year, we would put any funds received from the fee for the streaming service back into program content and production.
What plans are in place for those who support the program at a higher level?
We currently expect to go back at least three years in program archives for regular subscribers.
For the top supporters, we hope to expand further back (perhaps at the level of a couple of shows each month), as well as present new material from groups we have had the pleasure of working with over the years--this would be web-available-only material.
What about larger donors?
Aside from receiving CDs and the like, at $1000 a donor could underwrite an entire program. They could request a repertoire or interest, or more music from a certain ensemble determined in collaboration with
-- Robert Aubry Davis