In the Student Activities Building, thousands of vinyl records, CDs, and tapes line WCBN-FM’s music library. The collection spans decades and genres: from jazz and blues to punk, hip-hop, classical music, and recordings from around the world. Among them is a growing collection of South Asian music that continues to introduce University of Michigan students and radio listeners to artists they may never have listened to otherwise.
For many decades, WCBN has served as the University of Michigan’s campus radio station. Unlike commercial stations, WCBN follows a freeform format, giving student DJs the freedom to build their own playlists and explore music beyond the mainstream. The station’s extensive physical library remains at the heart of that mission, encouraging students to discover new artists by browsing shelves rather than relying on streaming algorithms.
“Our goal is not for everybody to play the same music,” said Ethan Eliassen, one of WCBN’s music directors. “We are always thinking about what a new record adds to the collection and what gaps it fills.”
That philosophy shapes every addition to the library. Music arrives from record labels, independent artists, promotional agencies, and alumni who donate personal collections to the radio station. Staff members listen to every submission before deciding whether it belongs in the station’s rotation, considering not only its quality but also how it broadens the range of music available to DJs.
The station is currently cataloging several large collections donated by former members, a process that reflects WCBN’s long history of preserving music while keeping it accessible for future generations.
The South Asian collection reflects the same approach.
Rather than organizing music strictly by country, WCBN catalogs its collection primarily by genre. Color-coded labels identify recordings from different regions of the world that allows DJs to discover unexpected connections across musical traditions. As the South Asian collection continues to grow, the station hopes to expand its holdings through community recommendations, donations, and future acquisitions.
Eliassen noted that many of WCBN’s student DJs come from disciplines far removed from music: he himself was a mathematical sciences major at U-M. The station’s leadership includes students studying subjects such as engineering, political science, art & design, and the natural sciences, who develop their knowledge through curiosity and hands-on experience.
During training, new DJs are encouraged to explore sections of the library they may know little about. Experienced volunteers guide them through the shelves, introducing them to unfamiliar artists and genres while emphasizing the station’s commitment to musical exploration.
One recent addition to the South Asian collection demonstrates how forgotten recordings can find new audiences. Disco Jazz, an album by Kolkata singer Rupa Biswas originally released in 1982, blends disco, jazz, funk, and South Asian musical traditions. Although the album received little attention when it first appeared, it was rediscovered decades later by collectors and DJs before being reissued by Chicago-based archival record label Numero Group, introducing a new generation of listeners to Rupa’s music.
For Eliassen, discoveries like these illustrate why physical collections still matter.
Streaming platforms often guide listeners toward familiar artists through recommendation algorithms. At WCBN, students are encouraged to pull records from the shelf because they appear interesting, rare, or simply strange, with a strong emphasis on supporting local Michigan artists, broadcasting world music, and exploring unfamiliar genres. That process of discovery and alternative musical education, Eliassen says, often leads DJs to music they otherwise would never have had the chance to come across.
The station’s freeform philosophy also creates opportunities to introduce listeners to South Asian traditions that receive little airtime elsewhere, including South Asian classical music, regional folk traditions, film soundtracks, and contemporary recordings.
As conversations about preserving cultural heritage increasingly focus on digital archives, WCBN continues to demonstrate the value of a living collection. The station’s music library is not simply stored for preservation – it remains an active resource that students use every day to learn, experiment, and share music with the broader community.
For the Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS), WCBN’s South Asian collection is another example of how cultural traditions continue to find new audiences through unexpected spaces, and these recordings are a part of an ongoing conversation, carried from one generation of listeners to the next.
