Dan Maher's Good Road

My name is Dan Maher. I worked in radio for public broadcasting for 38 years creating an all-purpose folk show. I am totally blind and during the 38 years of the show's existence I utilized visual aid provided by friends and university students. Through the internet, the program provided a worldwide audience with a look at all aspects of folk and acoustic music with an intentional focus on musicians from the Northwest. It was an enjoyable experience, and I was excited by the fact that I could promote musicians from my region that weren't generally heard on more notable shows from the eastern part of the country.

 

The purpose of this funding is to aid me in the start-up of an internet radio station. This will include two servers to facilitate operation of a website as well as the essential hardware and software to eventually allow a non-visual individual to run the entire process, from initial programming to reporting the necessary data to the unions such as ASCAP and BMI. Start-up costs will also include digitizing an estimated 10,000 CDs and purchasing the necessary hardware and software to handle the embedded metadata from the CDs. Other expenditures will include studio rental for the first year: approximately $7,200 ($600/month), and $15,000 for part-time wages for a technical assistant to help with digitizing CDs and to assist in training me to use the equipment.

 

My internet radio station would have two functions. 1) to provide an automated service that would play the CDs 24/7 and provide the necessary playlist information for all listeners and 2) to provide the means to accommodate at least five hours a week of live broadcasting, a third of which would be devoted to Northwest musicians and song-writers. This will include Native American music, music of Mexican immigrants and the Basque peoples of Idaho, as well as singer-songwriters and instrumentalists.

I would receive no salary from this, and it should be noted that my only real goal here is to promote and further the exposure of all acoustic musicians but most especially those from the Northwest; a region that includes the states of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska as well as Alberta and British Columbia. Eventually, I hope to interview instrument builders and scholars as well as musicians, singers, song-writers, etc. This funding is for our start-up expenses and it is important that the donors know that the station will probably not begin operating for at least a year. After the first year, the annual cost of the show will be about $13,000, which I hope to obtain from various small businesses and grants.

My ultimate goal is to further the music. My ultimate love in life is making sure that I can do something with my energy and my spirit to provide both an entertaining and an educational listening experience for as many people as I possibly can. There are folks who are working as hard as they can promoting and preserving their own artistry who need all the exposure they can get!