KCRW: Encyclopedia II - KCRW - Influence

KCRW - Influence

Nic Harcourt, host of Morning Becomes Eclectic and Sounds Eclectic is well-known among many public radio fans, and has been the station's music director since 1998. He is also known in his home country for regularly discussing emerging music with hosts at BBC Radio 1.

KCRW has become highly influential in the music industry; Harcourt has particular clout as many music executives listen to MBE whilst stuck in Los Angeles' infamous morning traffic. KCRW has been credited with discovering or promoting many artists, including Beck, Coldplay, Dido, and Norah Jones.

Streaming media is now very important for the station, and it has gained a wide audience from this technology, streaming thousands of hours of content each week. KCRW provides three different live streams: the live broadcast, a 24-hour music service, and a 24-hour news service. Streams in RealAudio, Windows Media Audio, and MP3 formats are available. The station also archives its talk and music programs for listeners to stream at their convenience, and offers podcasts of in-studio performances and talk programs.

From 1986 to 2002 KCRW was the on-air home of Joe Frank, hosting his ground-breaking shows "Work in Progress," "In The Dark," "Somewhere Out There," and "The Other Side." Joe Frank produced over 200 radio shows for KCRW, which consited of a series of monologues full of ironic, humorus and absurdist wit.

KCRW boasts members across the country and the station regularly sponsors live music events throughout the United States and in Canada.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Influence", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki