About See Hear

See Hear covers the arts and culture of Western North Carolina through short-form video, conversational podcasts and news articles. The founding editor is Asheville journalist Matt Peiken.

Before launching See Hear, in summer 2026, Peiken hosted and produced the hyperlocal Asheville podcast The Overlook and spent more than five years as the arts reporter for Blue Ridge Public Radio. Previously, he was a staff journalist with WCPO-TV, in Cincinnati, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, in Minnesota, and a longtime contributor to Modern Drummer Magazine.

Peiken is building See Hear atop a unique, member-based funding model. Through their memberships, local arts organizations and individual artists/collectives can request a certain amount of coverage throughout the year, based on their membership tier. Commissioned podcast interviews and short documentary videos (at See Hear’s editorial discretion) can preview performances, profile artists, illuminate artistic process and show how your work serves the community.

Memberships started any time in 2026 carry through all of 2027. From Jan. 1, 2027, all new memberships are annual. After you join See Hear, Matt Peiken will set up a meeting to look at your programming calendar, discuss your needs and build a coverage plan. To be clear, members only commission coverage—for instance, locking in a preview of a specific production or performance that would likely otherwise go uncovered. Members don’t have editorial control of See Hear stories or the opportunity to vet or approve them before publication.

While See Hear will always prioritize stories of member organizations and artists, we will cover noteworthy artists and cultural happenings in our region regardless of membership. Many organizations, artists and small collectives aren’t in a position to pay for memberships, and it’s important See Hear is a gateway of discovery for a broad spectrum of artists.

Over time, See Hear will diversify its revenue through advertising, grants, memberships to the general public, consulting and special event ticket sales.