arts + literature laboratory Archives

Contact Information

Music Director: Sybil Augustine – musicdirector@wortfm.org (for music submissions, charts and tracking, promotional exchanges for music events and following up on volunteer applications or other requests. Please include specifics in your subject line, such as “Hiphop Music Submission” etc, )

Music Assistant: Aaron Scholz – musicass@wortfm.org (for record donations and sales, promos recording volunteers, etc.)

Music Calendars: Submit your events online here or send by email to calendar@wortfm.org

How do I get my music played on WORT?

We accept submissions in most genres and styles of music, focusing on noncommercial, out-of-the-mainstream, independent releases (check out our playlists and music charts for more information.) It may take up to a few weeks for us to review and process your submission so we appreciate your patience, and feel free to contact us to follow up. Please send your music, indicating any tracks with language that needs to be aired after 10 pm and including a one-sheet description and any biographical and tour information, to WORT Music Director, 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI 53703 and/or to musicdirector@wortfm.org.

We do accept digital files on .wav or mp3, but currently we still prefer CDs to digital submissions because it’s the quickest way to get it into the hands of our programmers and onto the airwaves, though we have a growing digital library. Digital submissions should be .wav or other lossless files, or high quality mp3s [128-320 kbps.]

You can follow up or “track” your submissions by email, or call 608-256-2001 on Wednesdays between 1-4 pm CST to ask if we received it, has it been reviewed, has it been added to our library, and what kind of airplay it’s getting—e.g. light, medium, heavy or charting. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

WORT Music Playlists

What was that song I heard? Who was the artist, what is the album title, where can I get it? Where can I find the entire playlist for a show?

Click on the Playlists button to bring up a calendar where you can choose any date to find the playlists for that day. If you can’t find the right playlist or the song you’re looking for, your best bet is to call the station the next time that program’s on and ask the host yourself. If that’s not possible we may be able to help you, but please have as much information as possible at hand when you contact us, such as: approximate day and time the music was played, what type or genre of music it was, who hosted the show and any other information you remember about the selection and we’ll do our best to track it down.

Once you figure it out, there’s a “Buy It!” link next to each track in online playlists that leads you to a place where you can buy songs and albums, and by doing it that way a small portion of each purchase goes to support WORT.

Healing the Divide Reading

May 11, 2019 by WORT 89.9FM

Healing the Divide urges us, at this fraught political time, to move past the negativity that often fills the airwaves, and to embrace the ordinary moments of kindness and connection that fill our days. The anthology features work by Mark Doty, Ross Gay, Donald Hall, Marie Howe, Naomi Shihab Nye, and many others. These poets, […]

Undocumented: Great Lakes Poets Laureate on Social Justice

April 1, 2019 by WORT 89.9FM

Join us for this gathering of six poets laureate from the Great Lakes region reading from the new anthology, Undocumented: Great Lakes Poets Laureate on Social Justice. The book is organized around themes from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide,” calling on readers to act on behalf […]

Kids Open Art Studio

January 23, 2019 by WORT 89.9FM

Children ages 5-19 are invited to Art + Literature Laboratory for an open art studio experience on early release Mondays. Participants can practice techniques and materials or learn new things! Each week, we will offer ideas for learning new techniques or practicing with different tools, but students may also work on an ongoing project. It […]

Madison’s mayoral challengers on the arts

January 17, 2019 by Tone Madison

On this episode we’re bringing you a live conversation with most of the people running to be the next mayor of Madison. The event was called “Madison’s Arts Future: A Mayoral Candidate Forum on the Arts, Culture and Creativity,” and it took place this past Wednesday, January 16, at the Barrymore Theatre on Madison’s east […]

Rebroadcast – The Happy Show: 2018 Edition

January 1, 2019 by A Public Affair

Today’s episode is a rebroadcast from December 18, 2018. Pop open the bubbly—it’s time to celebrate the achievements of our community! For her annual Happy Show, Carousel catches up with local leaders and organizations about all the good work they’ve been doing this year. First, we hear from Aaron Bird Bear (assistant dean of student diversity programs) […]

Creative Conversations – Art & Activism

December 19, 2018 by A Public Affair

“Art is not neutral. It either upholds or disrupts the status quo, advancing or regressing justice.” –adrienne maree brown For today’s episode, we take a deep dive into the world of creativity and the role of activism in artists’ lives and work. Our guests are visual artists Simone Doing and Max Puchalsky (known professionally as […]

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