The effect of NPR programming upon album sales has always been remarkable. One short segment of 5 minutes or so on even an obscure artist would often lead to a spike in sales. Now NPR is taking its relationship with its listeners one step further with its Discover Songs series of compilations. The first one in the series is The New Jazz Divas, a 13-song sampler of contemporary jazz vocalists, ranging from Diana Krall to Catherine Russell.
Barbara Sopato, director of e-commerce and consumer products at NPR, explained that the genesis for the project has always been NPR’s unique relationship with its listeners. “We’ve found that people come to NPR to discover new music and we focus on different genres than you see out there,” said Sopato.
