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New Public Interactive® Tool Supports Premier Classical Music Service
BOSTON / MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL -- January 6, 2005 -- Public
Radio International®, Public Interactive, LLC, and American Public
Media™ announce that playlists and other essential data for Classical
24®, public radio's foremost classical music service, are now
automatically available for use by stations via Composer™, a new
product from Public Interactive. Classical 24® is produced by American
Public Media and distributed by Public Radio International. The
award-winning classical music service is used by over 250 stations
nationwide and heard by 2.2 million listeners each week.
Debra May Hughes, Public Interactive's chief operating
officer, says, "Composer was developed in response to stations' need
for managing and publishing the tremendous amount of information
involved with music programming. Because Classical 24 is so widely
used, it made sense to begin by supporting the large number of Public
Interactive clients who use the service. The response to Composer
throughout the beta-testing process has been fabulous, and we're as
thrilled with the outcomes as our C24 test stations are."
Silvester Vicic, manager of Classical 24®, adds, "We
are always looking for ways to improve Classical 24's service to
stations, and making our playlists available through Composer is our
newest way to do that. In addition, Public Interactive is offering a
reduced rate to stations that are not PI clients but do subscribe to
Classical 24 so that they, too, can make use of this powerful tool."
Vicic further notes that in addition to providing
playlists through Composer™, Classical 24 also offers stations a
do-it-yourself listings opportunity. "We've created an FTP site to
allow stations to download the listings and edit them to parallel their
use on local air. Listings and schedules are important to those who
visit online, and we want to help stations provide another level of
localism by keeping listeners on the station's Web pages. Stations and
their listeners always come first with Classical 24."
Listeners want in-depth and immediate access to
information about the music they hear on air, and Composer™ lets
stations provide it automatically -- everything from a work's name,
composer, and the time it aired to its performers, record label, and
catalog number. Stations can offer this information through a
searchable interface on their own website, eliminating the need for
listeners to go search other online destinations. Instead, their needs
are met by their local station's website.
Another Composer™ feature lets stations quickly compile
music data for reporting purposes, including the reports required by
law for RIAA, ASCAP, and BMI. Since Classical 24® typically airs over
several hours of a broadcast schedule, Composer™ saves stations
tremendous amounts of time and staff resources. It takes only a few
simple steps to install the code, and once installed, Composer™
requires no maintenance by the station.
Remarkably easy to use, Composer™ can be applied to any
music program a station airs. It is also available at a special rate to
C24 subscribers who are not Public Interactive affiliates. Contact PRI
Station Relations at 888.330.4139 with questions and to arrange for a
demo. Stations can join Public Interactive and register for Composer™
online at www.publicinteractive.com.
About Public Interactive®
Public
Interactive, LLC, is the leading Application Service Provider of online
collaborative tools, community engagement technologies, content
syndication services, and member and audience relationship management
systems for the public broadcasting industry. Leveraging the on-air
reach and the information and education activities of public radio and
television stations, Public Interactive provides plug-and-play modules
that enable stations to offer rich websites at minimal cost and to
undertake their own online initiatives. Public Interactive's modules
include Quick Pledge™, the on-air pledging system; Composer™, the
program guide/playlist publishing and reporting tool; Public Events®,
the events calendar service; Public Platform™, the integrated Web
development solution; Public NewsRoom®, the publishing tool and
automated 24x7 national and world news service; Public Arts®, the
publishing tool and automated 24x7 cultural service; and audio/video
streaming.
Public Interactive has 122 clients, which collectively
operate 275 public radio and television stations across the United
States, serving more than 11 million listeners and viewers each week.
Public Interactive, Inc., was formed in 1999 with initial investment
provided by Public Radio International (PRI) and a consortium of 15
public broadcasting licensees. In June 2004, PRI purchased the
interests held by other investors and merged the company into Public
Interactive, LLC, a nonprofit corporation. Public Interactive operates
as an independent company and represents a unique station-centric
resource in public media. Public Interactive's development and
operations have been financed by a combination of fees paid by clients
and support from sources that include the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, the Ford Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, and the PRI
New Venture Revolving Fund.
About Public Radio International®
Public
Radio International (PRI), the Minneapolis-based developer and
distributor of innovative audio content, provides more than 400 hours
of original programming each week through its U.S. network of 726
public radio clients. PRI's programs are head by more than 16 million
listeners each week via public radio broadcasts, direct satellite
services, Web streaming, and on-demand downloads. PRI's news and
cultural offerings feature many of public radio's most critically
acclaimed programs and talents, including Marketplace®, This American
Life with host Ira Glass, Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?, PRI's The
World with host Lisa Mullins, PRI's Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, From
the Top® with host Christopher O'Riley, BBC Newshour, and the full
range of BBC World Service programs offered exclusively in the United
States through PRI.
PRI is the managing partner of the satellite radio
program company American Public Radio, LLC, established with Chicago
Public Radio® and WGBH Radio Boston to develop and distribute
programming for new distribution platforms. PRI's global news and
information programming is available via PRI, channel 108 on Sirius
Satellite Radio, and PRI's cultural and entertainment programming is
available via XMPR, channel 133 on XM Satellite Radio. PRI owns Public
Interactive, LLC, the leading Web services company in public
broadcasting, to which it supplies administrative and marketing
services. PRI operates as an independent nonprofit corporation with a
board of directors composed of leaders in business, academe,
philanthropy, media, and the arts.
About American Public Media™
American Public
Media™ is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio
programs, reaching 13.5 million listeners nationwide each week.
National programs include A Prairie Home Companion®, Saint Paul
Sunday®, Marketplace®, Sound Money®, The Splendid Table®, Speaking of
Faith® and special reports produced by its national documentary unit,
American RadioWorks®. American Public Media is the national production
and distribution division of Minnesota Public Radio®. Minnesota Public
Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio,
belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media
Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop
resources, services, and systems to support public media for public
service. A complete list of stations, programs, and additional services
can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us. ###
Contact:
Dan Jensen
Public Radio International
612-330-9212
djensen@pri.org
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