Tune in to win
WWPV holds money-making contest

Chelsea Thompson | staff writer

St. Michael’s campus radio station, WWPV “The Mike,” has teamed up with myTracks.com to provide students with a free concert of their choice.

Teamin' up

WWPV is teaming up with myTracks.com to win $5,000 prize. Alex McIntire, photo

According to senior Kyle Chadburn, station manager of WWPV, myTracks.com allows colleges from across the nation to register and download MP3s from artists on the rise.  Unlike many other music downloading programs, myTracks.com doesn’t come with software and is safe for your computer, he says. 

myTracks.com currently offers downloads from only independent artists and record labels, but they hope to spread the word and get major artists listening, according to its Web site.

To help get the word out, myTracks has created a contest to award $5,000 for a concert of choice at any college. The more people that sign up for the service, the better chance the school has of winning, Chadburn says.

In the lead

St. Michael’s has only been registered with myTracks for a few months, but has already reached number one, Chadburn says.  As a result, WWPV decided to get involved, matching the $5,000 purse prize with existing WWPV funds, Chadburn says.  Because the contest only lasts until December, Chadburn hopes that students keep signing up, he says.

If St. Micahel's wins the myTracks.com contest students will choose wich artist comes to campus. Alex McIntire, photo

“We really need everyone to sign up if they haven’t already,” Chadburn says. “We’re in the lead, but another school could step up anytime…We still have a month left in the competition.”

To register for the contest, students need to provide their St. Michael’s e-mail address. Students then can choose to visit the site again or they can help send an artist to St. Michael’s for free, Chadburn says.

Sophomore Brian Blaski signed up for myTracks when he received an e-mail from WWPV explaining the contest.

“I thought it would be awesome to win,” Blaski says. “Usually the students don’t get to pick who comes to perform so having a vote would be great.”

Peter Murray, a St. Michael’s junior, thinks that the college should have a hip-hop performance.

“Last year we had O.A.R. come, so it's time we bought someone like Method Man, Talib Kweli, or Mos Def,” Murray says.“Making it our vote is so much better … By voting we can please the population.”

More money in the future

If the St. Michaels community can show its competitive side, WWPV hopes to do more contests like this one in the future, Chadburn says.

WWPV hopes to have more contests for students in the future. Alex McIntire, photo.

“As far as I know this is the first contest that WWPV has been involved with,” Chadburn says. “But I foresee many opportunities like this one in the future both through myTracks and other companies as well.”

According to Chadburn, St. Michael’s students are greatly advantaged in having a campus radio station.  WWPV gives the students a chance to broadcast to a real audience and see what working at a radio station would be like, he says.

“Larger universities might have a larger broadcast area and more up-to-date equipment,” Chadburn says. “But small colleges like us still have a huge impact.”