What The Compendium Is All About…
I’ve been running The Compendium in its various forms since April 2021. Its original title was “John Reed’s Progressive & Acoustic Compendium”. The show is settled in its current home at Folk Friday Radio, and airs every Wednesday at 8pm UK time. All of the shows at Folk Friday Radio seek to promote the work of independent musicians and singers, presenting high quality music and songs you might never otherwise hear.
From the outset, The Compendium has maintained the following core aims:
- To play each song just the once, allowing for more songs to be played
- Not to focus only on new music – all releases are welcome
- To listen to everything submitted, all the way through. It takes time.
- To mix songs from independents with those of established artists
- To play a mix of progressive and acoustic music
- To achieve 80% of its content from independent musicians
- To buy independent music as well as air it on the show
- To never pre-announce playlists
I’ve tried a few different things along the way. Compendium PodViews have had a mixed response: some very well received; others disappointingly so. The latest PodView was uploaded just a couple of days ago – a conversation between me and John Elliott of The Little Unsaid – and appears to be doing quite well. This ebb and flow of support for the show, with the ebb most predominant during the summer months, has reinforced my view most listeners prefer an association with bands/artists they already know. It follows that those PodViews have been the more successful. This also means listeners are not really that interested in finding out about the work of newer artists on the scene. I find that rather sad.
For about 7 months of 2024, I ran a first of the month Monday evening “What’s On?” show to highlight songs by artists gigging in the UK in the month following. It created more interaction with artists and venues, but live listener numbers didn’t really justify the effort. I ran a simultaneous Facebook feed which provided the handles of each artist and venue …but then the fascistas at Meta decided that this most community spirited of actions was against their own warped community standards, and led directly to me belatedly closing my account this year after a month-long countdown with a banner emblazoned with “It’s February 28th. It’s Fuck Off Facebook Day” Actually they threw me off before I could deactivate on that day. I’m rather proud of that!
The Compendium is about a community of music. “What’s On?” and the PodViews were created to incorporate venues, managers and promoters as well as the artists themselves. Both took a lot more work than I ever expected, so “What’s On?” was ditched and PodViews have become an occasional treat. People tell me they love The Compendium, but the show is rarely shared across the networks of the musicians I try to support, so I’m asking now for that to happen on a more regular basis. This has to be a two way street or it will become no street at all.
As a musician myself, I’ve benefited from airplay on multiple independent radio shows, most of which tend to focus on new releases. As a musician, I also know that a new release has a radio lifespan of 3 or 4 weeks, which is why The Compendium became one of the shows to accept older releases. So please share this show around, and support other independent radio shows because they will continue to play an important role in promoting your music. I have two simple rules: I do not do Spotify; MP3s only of songs not albums please to my email address news@johnreedmusic.com (as a musician I have limited listening time). If I decide not to play your submission, I will at least provide a list of other presenters who might.
So if you truly value independent music, if you value independent radio, and want a community based future for both, you can help by sharing article with your friends and followers. The Compendium airs on Folk Friday Radio at 8pm (UK time) every Wednesday, after which it is uploaded to my Mixcloud until hair begins to grow profusely out of your ears and nostrils.
Peace.
John