Triple A stands for "Adult Album Alternative," a radio format that evolved out of and continues to draw inspiration from the free-form FM stations of the 70s. As a radio genre, it often overlaps in style and substance with some of the better college stations in the country, and in fact many non-commercial Triple A stations are affiliated with universities. Triple A is a format that is uniquely supportive of independent and emerging artists: It caters to curious, engaged and active listeners for whom artist discovery is a feature of radio listening, not a bug. As a music format, it runs the gamut from indie rock to indie folk, including singer-songwriter, r&b, electronic, world and other eclectic genres. Some of the Triple A stations with whom you may be familiar include KCRW in Los Angeles, WXPN in Philadelphia, KEXP in Seattle, The Current in Minneapolis, KUTX in Austin, WFUV in New York and WFPK in Louisville.

 

Before doing radio promotion, I worked for nearly a decade in Non-Commercial Triple A radio, first as a volunteer, later as an on-air host, and finally for two years as music director. My unusual experience in having worked on both sides of a 'music call' has given me a sensitivity to the needs and motivations of radio programmers that I bring to bear in my conversations with stations today. My favorite part of working in radio was introducing our listeners to their new favorite artists; I'm happy to still play an important role in artist discovery by doing radio promotion.