To educate and entertain, Berklee launches Internet station
Any fan of live music living in Boston soon becomes aware of the wide range of talent coming out of the Berklee College of Music. Next week, radio fans will be able to hear them as well, as for the first time in its 61-year history the school launches a 24-hour Internet station, the Berklee Internet Radio Network, devoted to its students and alumni.
"In a college of music, this is just another musical expression for us," says Stephen Croes , dean of Berklee's music technology division and founder of the station at thebirn.com . "You have to prepare, you have to practice. You have to consider what you're going to broadcast."
The station's four channels constitute "a network that gives you a look at the college itself," says Croes. This includes the student-programmed and staffed Channel 1, called "The BIRN"; a second channel devoted to Berklee's special events; a third channel, "Air Alumni," that will feature news and new music by Berklee alumni; and a fourth channel, "The Setlist," playing well-known compositions by famous alumni and staff, such as Quincy Jones and Melissa Etheridge. The official launch, which will be celebrated all next week on the special events channel, will include broadcasts of a Stevie Wonder tribute concert, performances by Thomas Dolby and Marcus Miller at the Berklee Performance Center, and lectures by critic Stanley Crouch.
Croes began the station in 2003 as a student activity, occasionally offering programs online. It has been operating with limited programming, much of it prerecorded, since this past fall. "We didn't want to go out and play until we were good," says Croes, continuing the performance metaphor. "We needed to practice."
"None of us had ever started a radio station before," he says. "That's one of the victories of Internet radio: You can equip it very simply and put it together with pieces that are easy to master." He now teaches a one-credit course in Internet radio. Students do not need to be enrolled to be involved in the station, however. "Any Berklee student can participate," he says. "Students just have to show up and be a vibrant, vital participant, put in your time, learn and absorb."
Danny Fluck, a Berklee sophomore, had DJ'd at parties, but never on the radio. "I saw a flier" last fall, says Fluck, who is majoring in music synthesis. "And I pitched a show." Now he hosts "Format Fluck," playing electronica, soul, and dance music on Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. "I've always been experimenting with recording, that's why I'm here," says Fluck. "So that part of broadcasting was quick for me to learn. I just had to get adjusted to the equipment in the studio."
As the station has progressed from prerecorded to live shows, there have been some glitches. Last week, for example, the computer Fluck was using for his shift crashed and had to be rebooted. "I grabbed some CDs," he says. "I talked on air. It was a learning experience."
Such participation, says Croes, can teach students a lot about the music industry. "In addition to DJing, there's a lot of communication with the outside world, the record companies. Business planning," he says. "We're hopeful that we can begin to plan concerts."
