NPR, the new record store?

I don’t think I have any Norwegian acts in my music collection.  A New Yorker article on Anne Lilia Berge Strand will change that.  (The Tom Tom Club reference hooked me.)  Annie Strand’s on my list for my next visit to Waterloo.

What really jumped out at me, though, wasn’t the pop star, but this line toward the end of the article:

“Several record executives have told me that NPR has become the prime tool for selling albums outside the teen-pop continuum.”

In the last couple weeks, Spoon and Vampire Weekend have let NPR stream new releases a week before they hit stores.  It seems like a smart move.  NPR shows like Tiny Desk and All Songs Considered give artists unfettered access to an audience that’s savvy, curious, wired, affluent.  And NPR does a pretty good job of getting behind certain bands early on.  Because of that, listeners trust NPR’s imprimatur. Seems like a mutually beneficial arrangement for the artists and the listeners.

A friend I showed the article to disagreed, saying that music fans go to NPR not for music but for deep interviews with musicians — Terry Gross’s recent reflection on Vic Chestnutt, for example.  They can get music anywhere, but only on NPR can they get deep dives into the people and stories behind the music.  I’m not sure I agree.  While interviews with artists certainly enrich listening for me, I don’t turn to an audio source for discussion of music.  (An online or print source like Pitchfork is another matter.)  On radio, I’ve often felt there was too much talk getting in the way of good music.  I’ve rarely felt there was too much music getting in the way of good talk.

via The music of Norwegian pop star Annie : The New Yorker.