KZUM Underwriting
What is Underwriting?
Underwriting is noncommercial radio’s alternative to traditional advertising. It’s a way for your organization to gain community-wide recognition for supporting KZUM and the locally produced music, public affairs and cultural programming on its airwaves.
The diversity of music and public affairs programmed on KZUM will enable your 20-30 second announcement, which we will help you craft, to reach a wide range of locally minded listeners in the Lincoln area.
According to our 2015 listener survey:
- The bulk of KZUM listeners are 25-64 years old.
- Listeners are loyal. The average KZUM fan has been tuning in for 10-20 years.
- KZUM listeners are community minded and enjoy shopping at locally owned businesses.
We sincerely appreciate your interest in contributing to keep community radio alive.
Underwriter Spotlight
- James Hasslebalch
- Pete Watters
- Noah Nielsen
- LSO Team
- Leslie Huerta
We sincerely appreciate your interest in contributing to keep community radio alive. We’re dedicated to working within your budget to find the best level of support. We’ll work with you to create a schedule of announcements, so you’ll have the ears of the audience you want to reach.
Unlike long, drawn-out and pushy advertisements, KZUM respects its listeners by airing calm messages that state the nature of your business, including:
- Your location
- Your hours of operation
- 3-4 products or services offered
- Contact information
Listeners tell us they appreciate the subtle nature of underwriting announcements and many respond that they are more likely to patronize a business if they hear them on KZUM as a supporter.
Ready to move forward with your support for KZUM?
About KZUM Underwriting
Benefits of supporting KZUM include:
- Easy access to personal service
- Fully customizable packages
- Flexible solutions
Like small businesses, independent music makers need to be able to access local radio waves to promote their upcoming performances without breaking the bank before the show!
KZUM has options that give that important boost without a lot of effort.
With 10 days advance notice, KZUM can produce a promotional message saying who you are,
where and when you’ll be performing, as well as 2 – 3 notes about your music; like: style,
genres, and how people can purchase tickets.
Some of our Underwriters are local music venues, and they have special access to additional
on-air spots for shows that happen Wednesdays through Saturdays. Check out our list of
current underwriters to see if you’re already going to get a little extra promotional love from
KZUM!
When musicians play at locations that are not currently underwriters with KZUM, or outside of
the Wednesday through Saturday range, KZUM can help by creating a 20 – 30 second message
that we craft together, and then we produce it to be aired at scheduled times according to your
band’s budget. Corporate radio rates are often a barrier to independent artists. We are here to
make access to local listeners and music lovers affordable through our trusted, non-commercial
platform.
Independent Artist Rates for the week leading up to your performance:
| $60 | $80 | $100 |
| 3 – 5 scheduled, on-air spots | 4 – 7 scheduled, on-air spots | 5 – 9 scheduled, on-air spots |
See KZUM Program Guide for show times and price differences.
created, the PSA lives in our on-air library for programmers to select during their live shows.
Every Top of the Hour, and 20, 30, or 40 minute marks are opportunities for programmers to
choose PSAs to play during their short station business breaks.
Many non-profits also like to guarantee their messages will be scheduled to play throughout the
week, which is a paid PSA. Non-profits receive a 10% discount on the annual underwriting
packages.
Examples of Non-Profit Paid Underwriting Packages
| $3000 / year | $2200 / year | $540 / year |
| 5 – 7 scheduled spots / week | 4 scheduled spots / week | 2 scheduled spots / week |
All underwriting packages can be customized to fit your budget. Billing arrangements can be
made to fit grants, fiscal year ends, etc. We understand the struggles of the non-profit world,
and will do our best to make it as easy as possible for you to use KZUM’s platform.
Whether you manage a live music venue, a promotional agency, or you are an organization hosting an event for the people of our community, KZUM has options that will boost our listeners’ awareness and get on their calendars. With 10 days advance notice, KZUM can produce a promotional message about the event, who the act is, where and when they’ll be performing, as well as 2 – 3 notes about the show; like style, genre, and how people can purchase tickets, or if it’s open to the public.
This spot will be given a range of spaces across our program schedule for maximum exposure. We can be flexible with your budget amounts, but we have some preset packages that are affordable, in order to remove as many barriers as possible to live music event promotion. See the chart below for packages:
| $250 | $500 | $750 |
| 7 days – 17 spots | 14 days – 34 spots | 21 days – 51 spots |
