Zeitfunk Awards: 2009

Our annual list of the "mostiest" PRX members and pieces

One of our favorite tasks at the start of each year is poring over the stats of the most licensed pieces, producers and stations from the previous year. The results are our coveted Zeitfunk Awards — like a zeitgeist, only funkier!

Each first-place winner will receive a trophy of some type (the design is a surprise) in the mail in the coming weeks. Congratulations to them and to all of the producers, stations, and listeners who make PRX such a vibrant community!

In addition to the fantastic licensing activity and new content on PRX in 2009, we had a great year of opportunities and projects. It was our first full year running the rebuilt web site, PRX 3.0, and our tech team was hard at work turning your suggestions into realities to make PRX.org even easier to use. We also launched the monthly Sync newsletter full of tips and tricks tailored to PRX producers' needs.

And, in our quest to expand public radio across different media, we became a direct-to-iTunes distributor and started an XM/Sirius stream on channel 136 to showcase unique PRX content (we call it Remix Radio). Plus, we created the Public Radio Player iPhone App — downloaded over 2.5 million times — and just released the This American Life App to much good cheer.

Thanks for being a part of our journey. Onward into 2010!


Zeitfunk 2009 First-Place Winners


Most Licensed Producer
Philip Nusbaum   (more)

Most Licensed Group
Vinyl Cafe   (more)

Most Licensed Piece
Back To The Garden: Woodstock Remembered from Paul Ingles   (more)

Most Licensed Series
Vinyl Cafe   (more)

Most Licensed Debut Producer
Chris Kuborn   (more)

Most Licensed Debut Group
Music Mountain   (more)

Most Licensed Station
WXPN - Philadelphia, Pa.   (more)

Station that Licensed the Most Content
KUOW - Seattle, Wash.   (more)

Most Licensed Youth-Produced Piece
Chasing the Crescent Moon: The Story of Dr. Frempong and Sickle Cell Disease
from Aaron Schwartz   (more)

Most Listened-To Piece
Moth Radio Hour #1 from The Moth   (more)

Most Active "Commenter"
James Reiss   (more)

Most Playlisted Piece
Moth Radio Hour #1 from The Moth   (more)


Complete Zeitfunk 2009 Results


For each category, the first few places were usually quite clear, but after that there were a lot of ties. Some categories, therefore, have less than ten places; this accommodates large gaps after clear winners, when there were many people or pieces tied for the same place.

You can learn more about the winners by clicking on their links.

(Note: Photos are of last year's trophies. New surprise trophies will be given out this year.)

Our happy radio person denotes producers, stations and pieces that have placed in the Zeitfunk Awards for the first time.


Most Licensed Producer

These producers had the most content licensed by stations and outside purchasers (non-station entities that have special permission to license on PRX) in 2009.

  1. Philip Nusbaum
  2. Fred Flaxman
  3. Paul Ingles
  4. Aaron Henkin
  5. Daniel Wargo  
  6. Jamie Hoover
  7. Curtis Fox
  8. Peter Bochan
  9. Charlie Warren  
  10. Nate Dimeo  

Most Licensed Group

Groups are collections of two or more producers who distribute content on PRX. These are the groups that had the most content licensed by stations and outside purchasers in 2009.

  1. Vinyl Cafe
  2. LA Theatre Works
  3. NPR Music
  4. Smart City Radio  
  5. Isla Earth
  6. Joyride Media
  7. World Vision Report
  8. The Moth  
  9. BackStory with the American History Guys
  10. Listener Directed Productions, Inc.


Most Licensed Station

Stations are also big producers of content, and these stations sold the most pieces to other PRX stations and outside purchasers in 2009.

  1. WXPN - Philadelphia, Pa.
  2. WNYC - New York, N.Y.
  3. WNPR - Hartford, Conn.
  4. WFIU - Bloomington, Ind.
  5. KUT - Austin, Texas
  6. WHRV - Norfolk, Va.
  7. WKSU - Kent, Ohio
  8. WGUC - Cincinnati, Ohio
  9. Tie:
    WBGO - Newark, NJ
  10. WAMC - Northeast Public Radio: N.Y., Mass., Conn., Vt., N.J., N.H. and Penn.
  11. Vermont Public Radio - Colchester, Vt.

Most Licensed Piece

9,024 pieces were sold on PRX in 2009. Here are the best-selling pieces that were not part of a recurring series.

All of these pieces are new Zeitfunk winners. And, with the exception of "Fundraising Voices - Leonard Nimoy" in 7th place, all were new to PRX in 2009. New content sells the best!

  1. Back To The Garden: Woodstock Remembered from Paul Ingles
  2. Can Do: Stories of Black Visionaries, Seekers, and Entrepreneurs from the Kitchen Sisters
  3. The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger from Media Mechanics
  4. Tie:
    A Spin Down Abbey Road from Paul Ingles
    Looking for Work: A History of Unemployment from BackStory with the American History Guys
  5. Three-way tie:
    Barack Obama - The Remix from Peter Bochan
    The Promised Land: Different Takes on the Legacy of Martin Luther King from The Promised Land
    Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue from Joyride Media
  6. Naughty & Nice: A History of The Holiday Season from BackStory with the American History Guys
  7. Three-way tie:
    The Last Year In The Life of The Beatles - 1969/1970 from Paul Ingles
    Fundraising Voices - Leonard Nimoy (Contribute and Prosper) from Listener Directed Productions, Inc.
    India Rising from The Stanley Foundation
  8. Jazz: The '59 Sound from Joyride Media

Most Licensed Series

Series come in many forms on PRX: weekly, monthly, occasional — even daily! And, they come from individual producers, groups and stations. These were the most licensed in 2009.

  1. Vinyl Cafe from Vinyl Cafe
  2. Blues & Beyond from WXPN
  3. Compact Discoveries from Fred Flaxman
  4. LA Theatre Works from LA Theatre Works
  5. The Bluegrass Review from Philip Nusbaum
  6. Blues File from WXPN
  7. The Moth Radio Hour from The Moth
  8. The Needle Drop from WNPR
  9. Radiolab from WNYC
  10. All Songs Considered from NPR Music

Station that Licensed the Most Content

PRX stations are from all over the United States and are all different sizes. No matter what they need, they can find it on PRX. These are the stations that bought the most in 2009.

  1. KUOW - Seattle, Wash.
  2. KXOT - Tacoma, Wash.
  3. KOSU - Stillwater, Okla.
  4. WBEZ - Chicago, Ill.
  5. Yellowstone Public Radio - Mont. and Wyo.
  6. WEFT - Champaign, Ill.
  7. New Hampshire Public Radio - Concord, N.H.
  8. North Country Public Radio - Canton, N.Y.
  9. WAMC - Northeast Public Radio: N.Y., Mass., Conn., Vt., N.J., N.H. and Penn.
  10. KUT - Austin, Texas

Most Licensed Debut Producer

Consider this the "best new artists" category on PRX. These are the individual producers who were new to PRX in 2009 who sold the most pieces.

All of these producers were new to PRX in 2009, and are therefore new Zeitfunk winners.

  1. Chris Kuborn
  2. Grace Hood
  3. Ben Vaughn
  4. Three-way tie:
    Sasha Aslanian
    Thomas Crann
    Amy Wallen
  5. Chuck Ayers
  6. Three-way tie:
    Jay Ungar
    Ruxandra Guidi
    Dred-Scott Keyes
  7. Audrey Quinn

Most Licensed Debut Group

Consider this part two of the "best new artists" category. Here are the groups of producers who were new to PRX in 2009 and sold the most pieces.

All of these producer groups were new to PRX in 2009, and are therefore new Zeitfunk winners.

  1. Music Mountain
  2. Savannah Music Festival LIVE
  3. NPR Fundraising
  4. NPR Economic Training Project
  5. Encounters: Radio Experiences in the North

Most Licensed Youth-Produced Piece

PRX has hundreds of youth-produced pieces from different radio groups and individuals around the country. Here are the youth pieces that were licensed the most by stations and outside purchasers in 2009.

  1. Chasing the Crescent Moon: The Story of Dr. Frempong and Sickle Cell Disease from Aaron Schwartz
  2. Tie:
    How the West was Won from Lacy Roberts
    Fresh Greens: Teens and the Environment from New Hampshire Public Radio
  3. Climate change in Shishmaref Alaska from Alaska Teen Media Institute
  4. Three-way tie:
    Growing Up in The System from Radio Rookies
    My Plate Full, Yours Empty from Curie Youth Radio
    WNR: A Short History of the Taliban from War News Radio (Swarthmore College)

Most Listened-To Piece

To keep our public radio community open and growing, we allow anyone who signs up on PRX.org to stream any piece for free. Here are the pieces that were listened to more than any others in 2009.

  1. Moth Radio Hour #1 from The Moth  
  2. Joe Strummer's London Calling - Episode 1 from Joyride Media
  3. Weird Al Yankovic: Everything You Know Is Wrong from Joyride Media  
  4. Moth Radio Hour #5 from The Moth  
  5. A Spin Down Abbey Road from Paul Ingles  
  6. Joe Strummer's London Calling - Episode 2 from Joyride Media
  7. Moth Radio Hour #2 from The Moth  
  8. Moth Radio Hour #4 from The Moth  
  9. Moth Radio Hour #3 from The Moth  
  10. Back To The Garden: Woodstock Remembered from Paul Ingles  

Most Active "Commenter"

PRX lets anyone who signs up for PRX post comments to give producers valuable feedback and to help stations see what listeners enjoy. These are the PRX members who commented the most in 2009.

  1. James Reiss
  2. Jane Campbell  
  3. Hans Anderson
  4. Tie:
    Rob Shinnick  
    Robert Karl Skoglund (the humble Farmer)
  5. Megan Sukys     Check out her neat rating system on her profile!

Most Playlisted Piece

PRX members love to save their favorite PRX pieces in playlists so they can listen to them again later. These are the pieces that were most added to playlists in 2009. We do not include PRX's staff editors' picks or our format curators' picks in the totals.

Make your own playlist!

  1. Moth Radio Hour #1 from The Moth  
  2. Barack Obama - The Remix from Peter Bochan  
  3. A Spin Down Abbey Road from Paul Ingles  
  4. Everything Was Right: The Beatles' Revolver from Paul Ingles
  5. Back To The Garden: Woodstock Remembered from Paul Ingles  

Useful Stats and Facts

Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 2009, PRX had...


Image by Gary A. K.

As of March 2010, PRX has...

  • 213 active stations
  • 2,216 producers
  • 87,015+ listeners (PRX members who don't buy or sell content, but who listen to pieces)
  • 25,135+ published pieces
  • 1,297 series
  • paid over $1,000,000 in royalties in six years
  • had 2.5 million+ downloads of the Public Radio Player iPhone app

Most Licensed Piece Lengths of 2009

This kind of information is extremely useful to producers so they can see what sells.

  1. 55+ to 60 min.   (3,102 pieces)
  2. 50+ to 55  (1,815 pieces)
  3. 0+ to 5  (1,658 pieces)
  4. 5+ to 10  (789 pieces)
  5. 25+ to 30  (595 pieces)
  6. 115+ to 120  (451 pieces)
  7. 10+ to 15  (171 pieces)
  8. 15+ to 20  (78 pieces)
  9. 110+ to 115  (45 pieces)
  10. 20+ to 25  (39 pieces)

Fun Stuff

Staff Yearbook Awards

PRX employee...


Image by Miles Gehm

Staff Favorites

We listen to A LOT of pieces at PRX. This year, we'd thought it'd be fun to ask our staff to share some of their favorites.


Weird Google Searches

With over 25,000 pieces, all kinds of topics are covered on PRX. Here are search terms that have brought people to PRX in the last year.

  • college theme parties
  • us marijuana market estimate
  • money making schemes for kids
  • bad songs from the '80s
  • catfish noodling
  • exotic conifers
  • tupperware

Original image by Matt Chan