Relocating twice in less than one year is what Shane German is up to in 2023. He's leaving his post as an on-air host at The North 103.3 FM in Duluth to join public radio station KUVO Jazz 89.3 as its new program director.
German joins a station that's faced rapid turnover in recent months and one that will continue to mull over the successful integration of diverse and multi-generational audiences.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing a show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, that's been a bucket list thing for me," German said in preparation for his official move at the end of October.
Prior to his short time as the afternoon drive host and special projects coordinator with The North 103.3 FM, German spent six years at 88.1 FM WYCE, a Grand Rapids community media center. Designed to give community members the tools they needed to learn how to podcast or do video editing, German became an on-air volunteer host shuffling through a library of over 30,000 albums and falling in love with world music, jazz, blues, folks, rock and Michigan music.
Near the end of his tenure, German was serving as the director of music and programming for the independent, community radio station.
"We are honored to have Shane's experience, joy for public media and dedication to community as a part of the future of KUVO Jazz," said KUVO Jazz and The Drop's general manager, Nikki Swarn in a press release.
Swarn was appointed as KUVO's general manager in November 2022 and would later act as the interim program manager following the bumpy tenure and exit of former program director Max Ramirez. Now, German is set to help Swarn and the KUVO team continue on a nearly 40-year legacy of faithfully serving the jazz, Latin jazz and blues communities.
"I'm looking forward to engaging with diverse communities," German said. "I think a good programmer is able to take a listener on a journey and provide you with the roots of music and where it all started."
German's career before public media involved advocacy for indie artists. From resolving uncollected royalties from digital service providers and internet streaming radio services as a manager of artist and label relations at SoundExchange to lobbying on Capitol Hill for the passage of the Performance Rights Act. He's also a Grammy voter and was an elected official on the Board of Governors for the DC Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences from 2010-2012.
With The North 103.3 FM, German worked with their local PBS affiliate to help incorporate television cameras and producers to tell the stories of musicians in the area, like Ojibwe tribe musicians in Duluth. German said it's important to cast a wide net so that diverse voices can be represented throughout radio programming.
"As a queer person I always look out to make sure that those who are marginalized have a seat at the table," German said.
When considering the position with KUVO, German was particularly interested in The Drop, KUVO's hip-hop and R&B channel which Swarn served as the founding general manager.
"Not very many cities have that option," German said. "I thought that what was going on down in Denver and the opportunities for diversity and programming on both television as well as the way that they were presenting more underrepresented genres like jazz, blues, hip-hop, R&B between those two stations was very enticing."
German is excited to listen to community members about what they want to see as part of KUVO's future. The station has worked to appeal to a wider and younger audience, which has come with debate about how best to approach a changing radio landscape.
"We still have to deliver to some of our older listeners who are AM/FM terrestrial and in addition, we have to figure out ways to engage younger listeners who have moved past that," German said. "I don't see it as A versus B. I see it as A plus B."
The key, according to German, is putting content in the palm of people's hands and figuring out how to help move the station with the technology that's readily available.
"Not everyone is going to be sitting with their AM/FM receiver but if you put the content in the palm of people's hands you can still get your message out," German said.
