In a time when payola rules, it’s tough to take a radio station seriously when it claims to be “all about the music”– especially in the music industry capital, Los Angeles.  But even jaded industry professionals have to tip their hats to KCRW, one of LA’s longest-running and most respected public radio stations.  Once a radio training workshop for servicemen in WWII, the nationally-syndicated station is known today as one of the most influential forces in independent music, and was once named by Coldplay’s Chris Martin as LA’s go-to source for learning about the best new artists.

KCRW, or 89.9, is a non-commercial, listener-supported station that broadcasts from the campus of Santa Monica College, attracting more than 500,000 listeners each week with a mix of talk radio, news programs from NPR and BBC, and highly eclectic music, ranging from hip hop to progressive.  The station’s reputation for launching the careers of unknown artists caused the New York Times to label it a “star maker of the semi-popular.”  Coldplay, Beck, Fiona Apple, Nora Jones, and Dido were all introduced to a wider audience by KCRW’s flagship morning program, “The Morning Becomes Eclectic.”  Many of KCRW’s DJs (who actually choose the music!) have become known as global taste-makers, sought after by record label executives for their uncanny ability to hand-pick the best emerging artists.   In 2008, the station decided to eliminate the names of its programs, because the DJ names had become bigger brands than the programs themselves.

Today, when even “indie” stations play a predictable mix of manufactured tunes, KCRW remains a rare champion of “real” music,  scouring the world for unknown artists and inviting them into the studio for interviews and live performances.  If there’s any LA station that could truly be described as “all about the music,” 89.9 would be it.