The future of Philly music stations WRTI and WXPN is unclear as Republicans defund NPR and PBS

Big Bird and Elmo are what many people associate with NPR and PBS, with Terry Gross and some politics sprinkled in somewhere.

But among the outlets threatened by Republicans voting to fully defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are beloved music stations across the country, including two in Philadelphia — WRTI-FM (90.1) out of Temple University, and WXPN-FM (88.5), the home of World Cafe.

“We’re trying to serve people with great classical music and jazz,” said WRTI general manager Bill Johnson. “So being caught in a narrative that is about something we don’t control is certainly frustrating.”

Federal funding makes up about 6% of WRTI’s annual budget, but the cuts go deeper. In addition to distributing grant money, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting also negotiates music royalties on WRTI’s behalf, then distributes the music to them at no cost.

So in addition to losing about $327,000 a year in federal funding, WRTI will also have to pay to acquire the music it airs across the Philadelphia region. Johnson estimates the total hit on the station’s budget will be about $700,000 a year.

“It’s going to hit us hard,” Johnson said.

» READ MORE: How WHYY and other Pa. stations will be impacted after Republicans voted to defund NPR and PBS

The station has more questions than answers at this point. WRTI pays NPR to manage and maintain its website, so what happens now that federal funds are being cut off? Then there are the royalties that need to be paid to the artists whose music is airing on WRTI, which is also managed by NPR.

WRTI doesn’t even know how much the music royalties cost, because the Corporation for Public Broadcasting negotiates that directly with music companies on the behalf of public media stations, which includes a nondisclosure agreement with record labels.

The only positive news is that the royalties are paid through the end of the year, giving WRTI and other music stations a few months to figure it all out.

“It’s going to be a lot of work and it’s a big number,” Johnson said. “I’m confident we deliver enough value that we have a strong case for additional support.”

The situation is similar over at WXPN, which has been providing the Philadelphia region live music for more than two decades.

WXPN had been receiving about $550,000 a year in federal funding, which represents about 5% of its annual budget. But like WRTI and other public media music stations, WXPN doesn’t know how big the financial hit will ultimately be.

“We estimate we’d have to raise about $1 million more a year, every year, just to offset the cuts,” said WXPN general manager Roger LaMay.

On top of that, WXPN distributes World Cafe, a live performance and interview show launched in 1991 and currently hosted by Raina Douris, to about 300 stations nationwide, including small and rural stations that may be forced to shut down.

“It’s going to have a profound impact on us,” LaMay said. “This isn’t something that threatens to put us out of business, but it’s certainly going to impact the range of things we’re going to do.”

That includes everything from WXPN’s regular Free at Noon series on Fridays (which just celebrated its 20th anniversary) to its homegrown live concert series featuring local bands. There’s also WXPN’s annual festival, which LaMay said was difficult enough to manage before the federal cuts.

LaMay is also concerned about the artists who benefit from having their music air on WXPN and other stations. Less money to purchase rights and less stations to air music also means musicians will be hit by these federal budget cuts.

“Music stations are collateral damage in all this,” LaMay said. “There’s more to life than politics.”