April 16, 2012 Clear Channel’s AIP: The Big Questions - April... · Clear Channel’s AIP: The Big Questions ... Envision Radio Networks has signed up Tejas ... the presentation
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Clear Channel’s AIP: The Big Questions Last week’s Country Aircheck Weekly (4/9) detailed the impact of Clear Channel’s Artist Integration Program for Kenny Chesney’s & Tim McGraw’s “Feel Like A Rock Star” (CAW 4/9). Broader questions about the effort remain, however: Which artists and projects are chosen? Who initiates? Does one size fit all? And what’s in it for Clear Channel? For answers, Country Aircheck turned to CC SVP/Programming Clay Hunnicutt. His first revelation is that “Rock Star” was more of a world premiere event with elements of artist integration. “One of the key components of an AIP is utilizing unsold commercial inventory to build the brand of an artist,” Hunnicutt explains. The plan for Chesney/McGraw, anchored around 28 straight hourly airings of the song, didn’t include commercial inventory. That contrasts with the AIP run for Madonna earlier this year. “With her, we had billboards in the markets, promoting and counting down to the world premiere of her video,” Hunnicutt says, noting he was not involved in that promotion. “It’s more than just saying the album is on sale now; it’s about telling the bigger story of the project and the artist. We all have an interest in creating hit songs and more core artists. It helps everybody: listeners, radio, labels, publishers, artists and touring.” Each iteration of AIP will be unique, Hunnicutt explains. “The artists are all different, and so is where they are in the life of an album or single.” In the case of Madonna, her Super Bowl halftime performance was preceded by an extensive buildup. “With Tim and Kenny, it was the ACMs and a national TV event,” he says. “But there’s a lot more to this than just the single. There’s a Brothers Of The Sun tour, the history of these two touring together and the video for this song. The single is just the tip of the iceberg.” Clear Channel approached Chesney’s management and label with the airplay idea. “We said, ‘You have to world-premiere this on the ACMs, but we’re going to blow this up,’” Hunnicutt continues.
Air Play: Radio pros are blown away by Carrie Underwood’s new album ... Blown Away ... during a listening event at Sony/Nashville today. Pictured (l-r) are Country Aircheck’s Lon Helton, Clear Channel’s Clay Hunnicutt, WSIX/Nashville’s Michael Bryan, Underwood, Sirius XM’s Jon Anthony, Sony’s Gary Overton and Arista’s Lesly Tyson.
Digital Summit: Getting Social Combine the top digital mind at America’s biggest concert promoter, a socially connected top artist and more than 20 experts across the social media/online music spectrum, and you can understand why “Social Media & Its Impact On The Music Space” is the timely theme for this year’s Leadership Music Digital Summit at Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) April 25. LiveNation.com President Eric Garland, Sugarland’s Kristian Bush and numerous digerati (continued on page 8)
Page Three Pick: Blake Shelton nose a future promotion pro when he sees one. He’s pictured here (l) with Columbia/BNA’s Chris Waters ([email protected]). Want to sinus up to run your vintage photo? Email it to [email protected].
P A G E T H R E E P I C
given moment. It’s a big goal for us to make this conference as accessible as possible.” Frank points out how crucial it is that artists be involved in the social media process. After all, they are the ones with whom fans want most to engage. “Success in social media is in the mindset of the person operating it,” he says. “In most cases, that’s going to be the artist. When we talked with Kristian about the keynote, he took an extraordinarily active approach to explaining Sugarland’s social media channels. He’s very much a believer that this connection to their fans has had a huge impact on the growth of their career. Artists might need somebody to help execute things, but there are tons of artists making financially viable businesses with social media without hiring people. I am confident people will leave this event feeling strongly they can master social media themselves.” –Jeff Green
Chart Chat Congrats to Blake Shelton, Chris Stacey, Bob Reeves, Kristen Williams and the entire
from the front lines will guide the Nashville music and media community through all aspects of social media, from audience development to measurement to revenue-generating strategies. “In years past, we’ve done a great job of giving a taster’s choice of what’s happening in digital,” says conference chair Jay Frank. “This time, we wanted to do a deep-dive on social media, a topic of utmost importance no matter what end of the business you’re in. If you don’t grasp social media, you’re going
to have a difficult time succeeding in music. So we wanted to give people a full day’s worth of panels so that they can use social media to its fullest extent.” Rather than gaining a general overview, Summit participants are expected to come away with practical working knowledge. “We want people to take one piece of an idea, go back to their office, implement that idea and a week later be able to say, ‘We just did this
and gained 300 new fans.’ Or, ‘We grossed $5,000 in a day,’ or ‘We jumped up the charts because we activated a fan base.’ For example, we have Spotify’s Steve Savoca coming in to explain how to utilize the relationship between Spotify and FB – knowledge that, moving forward, is crucial for creating hits. There’s going to be so much information given out that attendees will have at least several actionable nuggets upon leaving TPAC.” Frank points to Toby Keith as a recent example of an artist earning dividends from social media’s power. “The country music consumer is clearly very active in social media,” he says. “More and more, the songs becoming popular are those discussed, shared and become part of the conversation. ‘Red Solo Cup’ technically isn’t a crossover hit, but if you look online, part of the reason why it’s sold so many downloads was because it was a conversation piece that did cross over. There are countless examples of artists who have something people really want to be active about.” Unlike most conferences filled with industry biz-speak and theoretical debates, the LMDS aims to educate in layman’s, real-world terms. “We went out of our way to work with the speakers to be talking directly to the audience in a language they understand,” Frank says. “Certainly, there will be some new hot terminology to introduce to the audience, but overall, they’re going to get information in ways they can use. For example, Next Big Sound’s Alex White has a product that looks at analytics quickly and easily to show what level of success an artist is having at any
WQDR/Raleigh, NC Station Manager Lisa McKay discusses her most influential songs, albums and concerts:1. Kristin Chenoweth/Defying Gravity: This one’s from the Wicked soundtrack. So many people try to pull you down sometimes. I just get feisty and throw that one on to cheer up.2. Bob Marley’s Legend: It never
fails to take me to my happy place and keep me there!3. Rascal Flatts/I’m Moving On: Change is always so hard, and this song really captures that feeling.4. Stevie Wonder/Ribbon In The Sky: I used to play that as my “last chance” song when I DJ’d clubs. I’d say, “If you can’t find someone with this song, you might as well call it a night.”5. U2, RFK Stadium: I was with college friends, and I’m having trouble remembering to wear matching shoes, so I don’t remember what year it was. But Bono wrapped himself in the flag and sang “Amazing Grace.” Time stopped for a moment, at least.• A highly regarded song or album you’ve never heard: Anything by Susan Boyle.• An “important” piece of music you just don’t get: Anything by Wilco.• An album you played or listened to incessantly: Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers’ Damn The Torpedoes, The Clash’s Combat Rock and The Big Chill soundtrack. • One obscure or non-country song everyone should listen to right now: Anything by Bruno Mars. I love every song he sings.
MY TUNES: MUSIC THAT SHAPED MY LIFEWMN promotion staff on scoring this week’s No. 1 single with Shelton’s “Drink On It.” The song is Shelton’s sixth chart-topper in a row and the third from his current album Red River Blue.
News & Notes Journal’s KTTS/Springfield, MO has been honored with four regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, which recognizes news excellence. Sister station KFDI/Wichita was also honored. Winning entries can be found here. GT2 Entertainment, producers of Country Fastball, have added Rio Grande Broadcasting’s KALP/Alpine, TX to its list of affiliates. Envision Radio Networks has signed up Tejas Broadcasting’s KOUL/Corpus Christi, TX as the newest affiliate for The Live Ride With Marty McFly. The NAB Show is offering a free, interactive stream of the session “Making Sense Of The Great Content Shift” with Institute For The Future’s Marina Gorbis. Moderated by The Wall Street Journal’s Andy Jordan, the presentation will offer the top five trends that will shape the future of your business. Tune in at 9am
PDT Wednesday, April 18 via NABShow.com. Loudmouth PR has added Maggie Rose to its client list, which includes Average Joes Entertainment, Backroads Records and AVJ Records. Rose was previously known as Margaret Durante. Loudmouth is headed by Karen Tallier. Broken Bow’s Jason Aldean is the only country artist featured in Mountain Dew’s This Is How We Dew marketing campaign to introduce
the brand’s new tagline. Clips of an Aldean concert are featured in a 30-second TV spot that includes Lil Wayne, Mac Miller, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., snowboarder Danny Davis and skateboarders Theotis Beasley and Paul Rodriguez. Nashville-based PR industry veteran Estella Pan has formed Rock Stellar Relations, which will offer artists and companies social media services, bios, press releases and website/blog content management. Learn more here, and reach Pan here. Savannah Music Group has added Jack Williams to its songwriter roster.
Benefit News The inaugural 2012 Christmas 4 Kids Celebrity Golf Tournament Presented By PREVOST raised more than $32,000 for the charity. Keith Burns, Joe Diffie, Troy Gentry, Buddy Jewell and Tracy Lawrence were among the participants at the April 10 event. Heidi Newfield: We Are Our Brothers Keeper, Music For MS is Thursday (4/19) at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley at 6pm (doors open at 5pm). Proceeds will benefit the National MS Society’s Mid-South Chapter. An Evening With The Stars: A Benefit For Kevin Sharp is scheduled for April 25 at the Texas Troubadour Theater in Nashville. Tickets are $15 in advance, with all proceeds going towards Sharp’s mounting medical bills from surgeries related to his original cancer. More than 38 songwriters and artists are set to appear. Tickets and information here.
April 24 Josh Abbott Band Small Town Family Dream (PDT) Lee Brice Hard 2 Love (Curb) Kip Moore Up All Night (MCA)
May 1 Carrie Underwood Blown Away (19/Arista)
May 8 Pat Green Songs We Wish We’d Written II (Sugar Hill)
May 15 Willie Nelson Heroes (Legacy)
May 29 Chris Cagle Back In The Saddle (BPG)
June 5 Colt Ford Declaration Of Independence (Average Joes) Alan Jackson Thirty Miles West (ACR/EMI Nashville) Jana Kramer Jana Kramer (Elektra Nashville/WAR) Love And Theft Love And Theft (RCA)
June 12 Edens Edge Edens Edge (Big Machine) Josh Turner Punching Bag (MCA) June 19 Kenny Chesney Welcome To The Fishbowl (BNA)
Music News Saguaro Road will release Goin’ Down Rockin’: The Last Recordings Of Waylon Jennings Sept. 11, timed with the 10th anniversary of Jennings’ death. The collection features 11 new originals and Tony Joe White’s “Goin’ Down Rockin’.” Longtime accompanist Robby Turner and Jennings recorded the guitar, vocal and bass prior to Jennings’ passing in 2002, and Turner completed the instrumentation with Reggie Young, Richie Albright and White, who guests on “Rockin’.” Carter’s Chord will host an online chat tomorrow (4/17) on Facebook and Ustream at 7pm CT.
Did It For The Adds: The BMLG and Republic Nashville gang celebrate a big add week for newcomer Greg Bates tonight in Nashville. Pictured (l-r) are publisher Mike Molinar, Scott Borchetta, Matthew Hargis, Bates, Jimmy Harnen, Stacy Blythe, Megan Knutson, Kelsey Chandler, Kathleen Drosey and pub-lisher Martha Earls.
MA. We got there right around 5pm, so everything was
closed. So, we just walked around a few cemeteries.
Do you remember the first time you heard yourself
on the radio? I was driving through North Dakota with my
parents when we heard my first single “Hard Rain.” My jaw
dropped. I didn’t realize it was me until my parents turned it
up and it got really loud. They were so proud.
How do you adjust to all the travel on the road? I try
to have a daily routine. I’ll set up my hotel room with a candle
and a picture of my boyfriend. I find if I stop doing my normal
routine, I get worn down and sick. I like those Voluspa candles
even though they’re stupidly priced.
Have you ever wanted to buy anything from SkyMall?
Yes! I’ve wanted to buy the adult onesie pajamas. I think I will.
What app is the biggest time-waster for you? Twitter.
I follow Dane Cook, Martina McBride, Reba and, of course,
Blake Shelton. I think Blake trumps Dane as far as funny goes.
Is Adam Levine that attractive in person? He’s hotter
in person. What you see on TV are spliced critiques, but when
I was up there, he said some really kind things to me. That
makes him even hotter. Like, triple hot.
Gwen Sebastian
OFF THE RECORD : GwEN SEbASTIAN Smith Music Group will release Billy Joe Shaver’s Live At Billy Bob’s Texas July 17. The CD/DVD set features 20 live tracks, as well as new songs “Wacko From Waco” and “The Git Go.” Godhead front man Jason Charles Miller has signed with Render Records to release a country album in May. The lead single “Up To Me” ships to radio May 1. Valory’s Thomas Rhett has joined Toby Keith’s Live In Overdrive Tour Presented By Ford F-Series, launching June 14 in Salt Lake City.
The Week’s Top Stories Full coverage at www.countryaircheck.com.• CBS Radio entered into a definitive agreement to sell its five-station West Palm Beach cluster, which includes Country WIRK, to Palm Beach Broadcasting. (CAT 4/10)
• Clear Channel’s KAJA/San Antonio parttimer Bree was promoted to MD/middays. (CAT 4/10)• Curb relaunched the Sidewalk imprint originally formed by Chairman Mike Curb in 1963. The label’s first artist is Heidi Newfield. (Breaking News 4/12)• White House Promotion & Marketing’s Angela Borchetta White was named to the newly created role of Canadian Dir./National
Promotion for Big Machine Label Group. (CAT 4/12)• Music industry vet Debbie Schwartz Linn was named Leadership Music’s Exec. Director. (CAT 4/11)• Capitol’s Keith Urban was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry during last week’s (4/10) All For The Hall concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. (CAT 4/11)
Clear Channel’s AIP: The Big Questions(continued from page 1)
“It was one of those times where everybody was excited about it, and that’s when things can really take off. The song wasn’t exclusive to us; everybody had it at the same time. We didn’t beat anybody to the proverbial punch and we were clear about that, but it goes back to whoever has the best idea wins. We sprung into action after that.”
It’s hard to imagine any pushback on such an idea, but all involved considered what could happen in week two. “They have to balance that short-term explosion of volume against a long period of time because of the way the chart works,” Hunnicutt says. “I don’t think there’s a likelihood that somebody would play [Kenny and Tim] all day one day and drop it the next.” In fact, after debuting at No. 17 in its first week, “Rock Star” retained its bullet and improved to No. 15 in week two. Even after such a fast start, the song gained an impressive 127 spins last week. Madonna, Chesney and McGraw are established superstars. What are the chances that mid-level acts would be considered for AIP? “We probably wouldn’t do a world premiere or an all-day, every-hour program,” Hunnicutt admits. “But there are so many other ways we can offer support between online, digital assets and other story-telling opportunities. We’ve done that in other formats. You don’t have to play the song every hour to help break an artist or use the platforms at our disposal.” Finally, the $64,000 question: What benefits does Clear Channel reap after utilizing its airwaves and other platforms to further an artist’s career? “I’ll sum it up in a simple way,” Hunnicutt says. “A better listening experience for our listeners on the air and creating a moment. There are never any conditions on these, no quid pro quo. This is who we should be – contributing to a greater good when we have the opportunity to do it. We all benefit when there’s more music that is known, familiar and helping to support Tim- and Kenny-level acts.” –RJ Curtis
Orange You On The Radio? WKSJ/Mobile staffers hang with Chris Cagle at the station’s 11th annual Kruise For St. Jude event Sun-day (4/15). Pictured (l-r) are Bill Black, Cagle, Shelby Mitchell and Dan Brennan. The event, which included performances by Cagle and Gloriana, raised $25,646.
Country Aircheck Top Spin GainersJASON ALDEAN/Fly Over States (Broken Bow) 661
MIRANDA LAMBERT/Over You (RCA) 505
JOSH TURNER/Time Is Love (MCA) 365
ELI YOUNG BAND/Even If It Breaks Your Heart (Republic Nashville) 360
ERIC CHURCH/Springsteen (EMI Nashville) 334
THE BAND PERRY/Postcard From Paris (Republic Nashville) 330
LUKE BRYAN/Drunk On You (Capitol) 308
DIERKS BENTLEY/5-1-5-0 (Capitol) 297
TOBY KEITH/Beers Ago (Show Dog-Universal) 285
RASCAL FLATTS/Banjo (Big Machine) 248
Country Aircheck Top Point GainersJASON ALDEAN/Fly Over States (Broken Bow) 1905 4MIRANDA LAMBERT/Over You (RCA) 1513 4LUKE BRYAN/Drunk On You (Capitol) 1087 4ERIC CHURCH/Springsteen (EMI Nashville) 1077 4ELI YOUNG BAND/Even If It Breaks Your Heart (Republic Nashville) 1033 4THE BAND PERRY/Postcard From Paris (Republic Nashville) 1012JOSH TURNER/Time Is Love (MCA) 1006TOBY KEITH/Beers Ago (Show Dog-Universal) 1005ZAC BROWN BAND/No Hurry (Southern Ground/Atlantic/BPG) 938DIERKS BENTLEY/5-1-5-0 (Capitol) 926
Activator Top Point GainersJASON ALDEAN/Fly Over States (Broken Bow) 1877 4KENNY CHESNEY & TIM MCGRAW/Feel Like A Rock Star (BNA) 1271 4MIRANDA LAMBERT/Over You (RCA) 1197 4KIP MOORE/Somethin' 'Bout A Truck (MCA) 1069 4JOSH TURNER/Time Is Love (MCA) 964 4LUKE BRYAN/Drunk On You (Capitol) 876
DIERKS BENTLEY/5-1-5-0 (Capitol) 854
KEITH URBAN/For You (Relativity/Capitol) 767
RASCAL FLATTS/Banjo (Big Machine) 747
TOBY KEITH/Beers Ago (Show Dog-Universal) 724
Activator Top Spin GainersJASON ALDEAN/Fly Over States (Broken Bow) 332
KENNY CHESNEY & TIM MCGRAW/Feel Like A Rock Star (BNA) 247
MIRANDA LAMBERT/Over You (RCA) 230
KIP MOORE/Somethin' 'Bout A Truck (MCA) 193
DIERKS BENTLEY/5-1-5-0 (Capitol) 182
JOSH TURNER/Time Is Love (MCA) 175
KEITH URBAN/For You (Relativity/Capitol) 170
LUKE BRYAN/Drunk On You (Capitol) 156
RASCAL FLATTS/Banjo (Big Machine) 148
TOBY KEITH/Beers Ago (Show Dog-Universal) 126
Country Aircheck Add Leaders Adds
KEITH URBAN/For You (Relativity/Capitol) 31
GREG BATES/Did It For The Girl (Republic Nashville) 28
DIERKS BENTLEY/5-1-5-0 (Capitol) 27
THE BAND PERRY/Postcard From Paris (Republic Nashville) 15
JERROD NIEMANN/Shinin' On Me (Sea Gayle/Arista) 13
EDENS EDGE/Too Good To Be True (Big Machine) 10
KELLIE PICKLER/100 Proof (BNA) 10
TOBY KEITH/Beers Ago (Show Dog-Universal) 10
CHRIS YOUNG/Neon (RCA) 9
JAIDA DREYER/Guy's Girl (Streamsound) 9
Country Aircheck Top Recurrents Points
TAYLOR SWIFT/Ours (Big Machine) 9825
MONTGOMERY GENTRY/Where I Come From (Average Joes) 8652
DIERKS BENTLEY/Home (Capitol) 8051
KEITH URBAN/You Gonna Fly (Capitol) 7252
CHRIS YOUNG/You (RCA) 6998
LUKE BRYAN/I Don't Want This Night To End (Capitol) 6763
GEORGE STRAIT/Love's Gonna Make It Alright (MCA) 6320
ZAC BROWN BAND/Keep Me... (Southern Ground/Atlantic/BPG) 6244
ERIC PASLAY/If The Fish Don’t Bite (EMI Nashville) 302 points, 112 spins 2 adds: KEGA, WXBM
MATT STILLWELL/Ignition (Average Joes) 301 points, 106 spins 2 adds: WBCT, WSOC* Aircheck Activity includes songs that rank 45-50 on this week’s chart and/or are not charted and have a minimum of 300 airplay points and have shown growth in two of the past three weeks. (* indicates auto adds)
CMTERIC CHURCH/Springsteen (EMI Nashville)
CMT PUREERIC CHURCH/Springsteen (EMI Nashville)
GACERIC CHURCH/Springsteen (EMI Nashville)
JOSH ABBOTT BAND/Touch (PDT)
ThE CoUNTRy NETWoRkNo new adds
V I D E O A D D S
APRIL 23KELLY CLARKSON/Mr. Know It All (19/RCA)
NEAL MCCOY/Shotgun Rider (Blaster/Rodeowave)
RICK MONROE/Crazy Not To (Render)
BILLY GILMAN w/VARIOUS ARTISTS/The Choice (CVR)
APRIL 30LITTLE BIG TOWN/Pontoon (Capitol)
LEWIS COPELAND/She’s Got It Going On (Phull/Jeff McClusky/Turnpike)
MONTGOMERY GENTRY/So Called Life (Average Joes)
GEORGE STRAIT/Drinkin’ Man (MCA)
KRISTEN KELLY/Ex-Old Man (Arista)
LOCASH COWBOYS/C-O-U-N-T-R-Y (R&J)
JASON STURGEON/Time Bomb (Toolpusher)
MAy 7RANDY HOUSER/How Country Feels (Stoney Creek)