By Dina Maccabee
Sometimes - when I notice I’ve developed an allergy to my entire iTunes playlist, when all my CDs are mysteriously missing from their cases, and I’m not ready to resort to listening to mix tapes from high school - the silence on my stereo can be deafening. In those dire times, I resort to iTunes radio.
Scrolling down the list of offerings, there isn’t a lot of campaigning to sway your vote. I breeze past the bland listings for Classic Rock, Electronic, and Ambient, on down to International, where if nothing else the flavors have a chance of being spicy. Still, I couldn’t say what exactly prompted me to try IranianRadio.com for the first time. “Persian traditional music,” it read, sandwiched between “The Best Mix of All Things Iranian” and “Persian Pop.” I must have been feeling anti-American.
At any rate, I was pleased to discover hours of uninterrupted Persian classical music, a tradition so stately and affecting that its surface exoticism melts away after only a few minutes. But I began to wonder, from whence, exactly, issues forth this fountain of unfamiliar yet dulcet tones? I pressed a button and suddenly linked the sounds of classical Persia with a bedroom in San Francisco in 2008.
I wanted some background color for the monochromatic iTunes radio experience - and some direction on how to explore the region’s music even further (the station's format ranges from Persian Dance to Kurdish Pop). Fortunately a friendly service representative at IranianRadio.com, identifying himself only as Cyrus, was able to set me straight on the mysteries behind the music.
SFBG: Who programs the content of IranianRadio.com?
IranianRadio: We have a staff of individuals who programs the audio content for each of four streams. In addition to this staff, the Traditional stream benefits from contributions from prominent members of the Persian community who are connoisseurs of the genre. Eshghe Iran (meaning, "love of Iran") has a dedicated music director who works hard to produce a mix of mainstream Persian Pop and lesser-known artists to produce an eclectic yet satisfying daily compilation. IranianRadio acquired Eshghe Iran in August of last year.
SFBG: Do the streams originate in Iran?
IR: We are based in Dubai but have additional servers in Europe and contributors around the world, including the United States.
SFBG: How many listeners are there?
IR: We started in 2000 with the Persian Pop stream and a one-page, one-link Web site that said, "Click here to listen.” Now, our network of five stations (Persian Pop, Persian Dance, Persian Traditional, Persia Mix, and Kurdish Pop) receives over 300,000 unique listeners a month. The vast majority of our listeners are from the United States, but we have listeners in 183 countries around the world (even one person in Djibouti).
SFBG: Can you comment on the Iranian recording industry?
IR: There is active music production (both pop and traditional) within Iran, but the majority of mainstream Persian pop currently comes from Los Angeles. There are also an increasing number of Persian rock and hip-hop groups throughout the US, Europe, and Iran. Persian traditional music continues to be a productive genre, with new artists emerging both inside and outside of Iran.
SFBG: Are there other Iranian music Internet radio stations are out there?
IR: There are other Persian Internet radio stations, but IranianRadio is the oldest and biggest. We target different demographics, so we don't directly compete, but admittedly there is a lack of collaboration. IranianRadio truly believes the saying, "Together we are stronger," and we invite collaboration with any and all stations. In the past, we have worked with one other station (and ultimately, they joined our network) and we are currently in the same process again.
There are a number of ways to listen to IranianRadio's streams, including our own Web site, partner Web sites, and major distribution channels (iTunes, SHOUTcast, Windows Media Player, etc.), but iTunes is one of the more popular methods. In addition, the iTunes directory has made our music more available to non-Iranians as well.
SFBG: What is the target audience for each of your stations?
IR: The IranianRadio listener is a male in the hard-to-reach 25- to 44-year-old range. He tunes in everyday, for one to five hours a day, from home while working. He is highly educated, a high-income earner, and identifies himself as an Iranian American.
Interestingly, we also get a lot of e-mails from Americans who listen to our streams (mostly the Traditional stream). Many say, "I don't understand the words, but I love how it sounds."
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