Fixing a broken record

Over the last decade, Philadelphia has seen the emergence of small nonprofits — think Ars Nova Workshop and Bowerbird — that continue to develop emerging classical, experimental and jazz musicians. But until now, artists working in popular mediums had one, maybe two options: Do it yourself or … be Dr. Dog? That’s just one of the reasons Brian McTear launched Weathervane Music, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the careers of independent popular musicians.

Now, through a partnership with WXPN called “Shaking Through,” Weathervane will choose 10 artists/bands per year to record music at McTear’s studio, Miner Street Recordings in Fishtown. Documentary videos of the recording process will be available on both WXPN and Weathervane’s Web sites (although radio play isn’t a given).

“More and more artists are able to produce their own recordings, and in a lot of ways that’s a good thing,” says McTear. “But over the last 12 years or so, the record industry is no longer investing in new artists. It’s expected that artists will record their own records, at their own cost.”