Deep roots. New branches. More ways to connect.
Long before Airstreaming existed, there was a simple idea behind much of the work that led to it:
People with something worthwhile to create, perform or say deserve the opportunity to reach an audience.
For decades, that idea has taken different forms through theatre, photography, television, filmmaking, audio, the early Internet, streaming, community radio and live production.
The technology kept changing. The purpose didn’t.
In an early business plan more than twenty years ago, we described the goal as creating “entrée onto a global stage”: helping bridge the gap between the highly personal and the highly technical so that artists and others could participate in opportunities they might otherwise be excluded from.
Airstreaming is another branch of that same tree.
The Roots
At the roots is a belief in access.
Not simply access to equipment. Cameras, microphones, computers and streaming platforms have become increasingly accessible.
What remains much harder to find is access to an audience, access to skills and experience, access to encouragement, and access to a community willing to help good work be discovered.
That’s what we’re trying to grow.
The Tree
Airstreaming brings together listeners, musicians, artists, storytellers, interviewers, programme makers and people who simply enjoy discovering something they might not otherwise have found.
Someone may arrive because a friend is being interviewed.
Someone else may come to hear a musician they already follow.
Another person may tune in for a particular programme and discover three other people along the way.
That’s how a community grows.
In fact, the current Airstreaming plan describes much the same effect: each participant develops an audience, those listeners discover the wider network, and the growing network in turn becomes more valuable to everybody participating in it.
The Branches
There are many ways to be part of it.
Listen.
Listening matters. Every audience begins with somebody paying attention.
Discover.
Follow a link because you know one artist. Stay and discover another.
Share.
When something moves you, interests you or makes you think of somebody else, pass it along. One share can introduce an artist to an entirely new audience.
Participate.
Musicians, artists, creators and interesting people can Be Our Guest. Others may want to interview people, contribute stories, develop programmes or participate in special broadcasts.
Learn and Create.
Through Character Driven Media, workshops and production support help people develop the craft behind interviewing, recording, storytelling, broadcasting and presenting their work effectively.
Support.
When you find someone whose work you value, TipsOkay provides a simple way to support them directly. There are also ways to support programmes, projects and the infrastructure that allows Airstreaming to keep connecting people.
And New Branches Keep Growing
We don’t know where every connection will lead.
A listener can become a supporter.
A guest can become a programme host.
An artist can introduce an audience to another artist.
Someone who has never been interviewed before can discover that their story matters.
Someone listening on the other side of the world can become part of the community.
That is the point.
The technology gives us reach.
The people give it purpose.
Help It Grow
Listen to something you haven’t heard before.
Share someone you think deserves to be heard.
Support an artist whose work you value.
Tell us about someone we should meet.
Or bring us something of your own.
There is room for another branch.