NPR Music becomes an unlikely tastemaker

NPR Music might not have the instant name recognition of the broadcaster’s news programs, but it’s become a surprisingly successful online venue for artists who want to reach its large, affluent, and relatively young user base. Among its top achievements is “First Listen,” which offers listeners a chance to hear unreleased albums in their entirety. At The Wall Street Journal, Steve Oney describes how the five-year-old website successfully connects its eclectic selections, and how it can lay claim to coolness despite NPR’s stereotypically bourgeois image.