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Cornbread Talks Retirement Quitting at the height of success seems foreign to most radio folks, which is why so many were surprised by last summer’s revelation that Hubbard WIL/St. Louis morning man Cornbread was retiring (CAT 8/18). He had a successful 11-year tenure with the station and is arguably one of the industry’s most unique and creative talents. In this Country Aircheck exclusive, he explains his decision and hints at his future. You had a particularly good run in St. Louis, so why end it? I’m just ready for a little bit of rest and time with family. The loyalty of the fan base has been beautiful and the city has been so good to me. Sometimes you just want to readjust your life and check things off a bucket list – do some skydiving, go Rocky Mountain climbing and find a bull named Fu Manchu like Tim McGraw did in the song. It really is no more and no less than that. I’d given them notice a while back and they kept going, “C’mon, sign up for five more years.” And I was like, “Five more years?” But I gave them plenty of time to find a show and the split was amicable. So you’re not done with radio? We had literally just gotten done with the final show and were in this limousine coming back. I was feeling good and somebody called and said, “Are you ready to come back?” Come on man! Let me sleep in until seven or eight o’clock for at least a little while. What the future is going to bring I don’t know. If there’s some-thing exciting out there with an energetic staff who want to do it right, likes to do big things and are willing to promote and make beautiful radio, that could be in my future. But right now I’m en-joying putting my six-year-old little girl on the bus. We watch some cartoons together in the morning, share some juice in the sippy cup and put her on the bus. It makes me happy. What was the goal when you started? We went from Temple, TX to Tyler to Wichita with two or three years in each place. I was going to do my three years here, but found the girl of my dreams and (continued on page 11)
Country By The Tail They may have a new promotion team with familiar faces, but what is Thirty Tigers? For starters, the name is taken from the Dr. Seuss book I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! “It sounded mysterious and very can-do,” says President/Co-Founder David Macias of the moniker for his 14-year-old company. Piercing the mystery is a recent No. 1 album debut with Aaron Watson and a string of successful launches the quietly successful label is now banking on finishing in a big way. “We are essentially a label with a different business model,” says Macias, whose career in the record business includes a long tenure at Arista/Nashville. Distributed by Sony RED, the company has worked with artists as diverse as Will Hoge, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Jason Isbell and Lucinda Williams.
In The Key Of Awesome: RCA staff and artists help Chris Young celebrate a BMI Million Air award for his “Aw Naw” during the Key West Songwriters Festival last week. Pictured (l-r) are Matt Galvin, Dan Nelson, Josh Easler, Keith Gale, Josh Dorr, Young, Parker Fowler, David “Bubba” Berry, Liz Sledge and Larry Santiago.
“RED loves the idea of being in business with Lucinda, but it’s untenable for them to do individual contracts with a multitude of artists,” Macias says. “We can aggregate those artists and are a big enough business to be great advocates for them. It works well for both parties.” Artists own their masters and can earn 70% of revenue. “We recoup our expenses, of course,” Macias says. “But an Americana act who sells 150,000 records can net $650,000. That changes lives when artists can buy homes, raise families and have insur-ance. So it’s beneficial for the artist, most of whom stay with us.” Operationally, Thirty Tigers looks much like any other label, with each release having a project manager to interact with sales, digital, social media, marketing and other departments. Publicity is outsourced while Americana, Triple A and non-commercial pro-motion has been handled in-house for years with much success. And that’s where Country comes in. Macias has worked with veteran promot-er Pamela Newman on a project basis, beginning with the Eli Young Band’s 2005 release Level. Macias calls it a good example of “hitting our limitation. Pam lit a fire that turned into a real conflagration at radio, but we weren’t in a position to carry it further. They are a band that’s capable of having big hits and they needed the infrastructure to support that.” More recently, the scenario has replicated with Chase Rice and Old Dominion. Rice’s single scanned 42,000 copies in its first week. “A lot of touring and social media work had been done in the years before we came on board,” Macias says. “We jumped in and added fuel to the fire and were able to help fund that be-cause with $14 million in billing last year, we have the risk capital when it makes sense.” Promotion was handled by RPM initially and then Columbia. “We had a top 5 hit, sold a ton of records and generated a lot of Spotify streams,” Macias says. “Chase keeps the majority of the revenue and has done incredibly well. It’s been a great experience for all concerned.” As for Old Dominion, Thirty Tigers responded to early buzz on SiriusXM’s The Highway by targeting terrestrial radio. “As is my M.O., because I’m just one person if I’m going to go after something it’s going to be big stations in big markets,” Newman says. Adds Macias, “As it has with her in the past, it grew into getting legit airplay at legit stations. I totally understand the guys’ decision [to sign with RCA], but it made us reconciled not to let that happen anymore. “By nature, I’m a competitive guy,” he continues. “It’s not in my nature to not finish. Plus, it’s not a good look for us. We don’t want to be, ‘Oh, they’re great guys and helped us get started.’ We have finished the job in other genres; we’re now going to do it in country.” With Newman as VP/Promotion & Artist Development, the company has fielded regionals Ken Rush, Denise Roberts and Stephanie O’Donnell. “Regions are, generally speaking, wherever you can get something done,” Newman says. The plan is to work three artists at Country radio – the aforementioned Watson, Love And Theft and Granger Smith. “I can’t say we will never have a baby band that we’re starting from scratch, but I’ve always felt strongly that when I come to you at radio I’m not going to ask you to start at the beginning and do the hard stuff,” Newman says. “When I call, we are already going to have a story happening – a touring base, record sales and social followings.” Macias echoes, “We place a big emphasis on marketing around narrative. We may have surprised some people with Aaron’s No. 1 album debut, but that was eight months in the making. We also believe having an amazing team – management, booking – is a point of differentiation. Same with the music. Pam and I take it as a
good thing when something isn’t right down middle of road.” Now, Thirty Tigers just wants to follow those on-ramp success-es all the way onto the freeway. “As a company, the revenue is there,” Newman says. “We’ve gotten several projects to the point where it was a no brainer to go further and invest. Now, if we see those signs that a record is reacting, we can feed a little more into it.” Macias adds, “Or a lot.” Reach Newman here and Macias here. –Chuck Aly
Chart Chat Congrats to Keith Urban, Eric Church, Royce Risser, Shane Allen and the Cap-itol promotion staff on scoring this week’s No. 1 with Urban’s “Raise ‘Em Up,” featuring Church. The song is the fourth chart-topper from his current album Fuse. And kudos to Keith Gale and team RCA on landing 36 adds for Old Dominion’s “Break Up With Him,” which tops this week’s board.
News & Notes LKCM KKAJ/Ardmore, OK has added Westwood One’s Teri Landreth in a 90-second daily entertainment report and as an additional imaging voice. Stoney Creek’s Parmalee are sharing personalized Spotify playlists each week in May and revealing fun facts about them-selves for fans who call (615) 645-1020. Fans can also enter to win a custom “parMAYlee-fied” iPhone 6 here. Streamsound’s Austin Webb has teamed with Bob Tomes Ford in McKinney, TX for an upcoming ad campaign that features Webb and his “All Country On You.” decibel’s Ray Scott has partnered with Team Cocktail to create a personal line of signature swag which includes apparel, adult beverage accessories and specialty home décor items. See the Ray Scott Collection here. Trace Adkins, Thompson Square, Craig Morgan, Joe Nichols, Parmalee, Blackjack Billy, Charlie Worsham, Lindsay Ell and James Wesley are among the performers on the Country Cruising cruise Oct. 23-30. Neal McCoy will host. More here. Crystal Gayle has joined the lineup of the Concert for Love and Acceptance June 12 at Nashville’s City Winery, supporting LGBT acceptance. Ty Herndon hosts. More here.
Summit Media WKHK/Richmond PD Buddy Van Arsdale discusses his most influential music:1. Tina Turner/What’s Love Got To Do With It: I was working in the Quad Cities, Iowa and Illinois when this song came out. I was hooked at the intro. I kept thinking, “I know that voice.” When I found it was Tina Turner I headed to the nearest place where I could buy the album.2. B.B. King and Creedence Clear-water Revival, Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis: It was my first concert and I went
with friends from high school. We came for Creedence, but B.B. King was the best. Those blues songs just hit home. I worried the concert would be raided because people were smoking pot. My friends told me to “just relax and take a toke.”3. Glen Campbell, Davenport, Iowa, 1984: Even with only a few hundred people in the audience, he performed like it was a full house in Las Vegas. It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. And I got to meet him afterwards.4. Dreamgirls on Broadway, New York City: It was my first visit to New York and the girl I was dating surprised with me with tickets. I was floored by the intimacy of the venue and the performances were so incredible – especially Jennifer Holliday.5. George Strait, Richmond Coliseum: Not a lot of theatrics, but from the first song until the last I was thorough-ly entertained and singing every line. As close as I was to the stage, I’m surprised I didn’t throw him off because I can’t sing worth a sh**!•An “important” piece of music you just don’t get: Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard.•An album you played incessantly: Santana’s Abraxus. There’s something about Latin beats set to rock and those great guitar licks from Carlos Santana.•Obscure or non-country song everyone should listen to right now: Ty Herndon’s “Right About Now.” It did well when we played it on WSM-FM in Nashville, but it never did much beyond that. It is one my favorite songs on my iPod. •Music you’d rather not admit to enjoying: The Bee Gees. But every time I hear “How Deep Is Your Love” or “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” I’m busted.
Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis of IRS/Nashville’s Striking Matches put an industry spin on the artist interview: SZ: I grew up listening to WXTU in Philly. A lot of people don’t think there’s a big country following in Philadelphia, but it’s huge there.
JD: I listened to WSRV/Atlanta, which was then an oldies station, and the country station WKHX/Atlanta. SZ: Our first spin was in Stockton, California and I freaked out. It was really cool. I think I cried. JD: We were coming in for a radio visit and after, they said, “Well come on in here and we’ll play you.” SZ: We were in San Antonio and I broke a guitar string. I changed it real quick – it was right before we started playing. And then in the middle of the first song, I broke another one. Then Justin broke one the next day and I broke a mandolin string. JD: It was getting ridiculous at that point. We were snapping them left and right. SZ: Every time we’re at a truck stop I pick up water. It would be coffee but we have a hard time drinking truck stop coffee. JD: We’re not proud of it. It’s inconvenient that we’re coffee snobs. JD: I wish I could have dinner with Hunter S. Thomp-son. I would order to go just in case he got too weird. Or Jerry Reed. Same thing, I’d order to go. SZ: I’d have dinner with Patsy Cline. I would order a lobster because to me, lobster represents a special occasion. SZ: My last impulse buy was a book called All The Light We Cannot See. I just liked the cover and the title. It turned out to be a fantastic book. JD: I bought dark chocolate knockoffs of Reese’s at Trader Joe’s. SZ: I bring my own blanket everywhere we go. I bought it on a mountain in Colorado and it looks like a poncho. We sleep in a lot of hotels and buses now. Having something that feels familiar really helps me sleep better. SZ: I’d love to be stuck in San Francisco. The weather is awesome, the sushi is awesome and you’re only an hour and a half from Napa Valley. JD: I’d like to be stuck in Paris [said the fluent-in-French Davis, en français].
The Week’s Top Stories Full coverage at countryaircheck.com.• iHeartMedia WKSJ/Mobile night personality Colton Brad-ford moved to sister WBWL/Boston in the same shift. (5/11)• Curtis WQDR/Raleigh APD/middayer J.J. resigned for work outside of radio. (5/11)• Broadcasting vet Tori Lynn joined Cumulus WIWF/Charles-ton, SC in afternoons. (5/8)• Cox KWEN/Tulsa morning personality Jim “Carey” Day joined WIL/St. Louis in mornings, along with existing WIL week-ender Jeane Garth. (5/7)• Midwest flipped Active Rock WVRX/Knoxville to Classic Coun-try as “Duke FM.” (5/7)• New South WUSJ/Jackson, MS afternooner Reid Thrush joined Cumulus WOGT/Chattanooga as PD. (5/6)• CBS Radio KNCI/Sacramento MD Matt Vieira joined Stoney Creek as Dir./West Coast Promotion. (5/5)• iHeartMedia WSIX/Nashville APD/MD/night personality Tyler Reese exited. (5/5)
we had a family. I was supposed to go from here to New York or Chicago and be the Country Howard Stern. There was an urgency to it and I wanted to rule the radio world, but radio changed a little bit and my family situation changed. Stability became more important than me going out and pursuing it aggressively. There are those who can go all-in and those who lean more towards family. God bless anybody that can do both. Why were you so successful in St. Louis? It wasn’t easy. There are a lot of people who say, “Oh you just sort of walked into St. Louis and took control.” That’s not it. This is one of those cities that says, “Show me it’s real.” It takes a year or two of proving day in and day out that you are doing everything in your power for the community, like with our Race for the Cure. It’s almost like Field of Dreams; build it and they will come. We built this Race for the Cure team with blueprints from Wichita and the team doubled every year to the point that we had 8,200 listeners and were raising more money than any team in the country – all because we believed in it. People know authenticity when they hear it. When you’re passionate about something, people gravitate towards that. From Free Breakfast Friday to marrying hundreds of people underneath the Gateway Arch on Valentine’s Day. I even got my license and married people personally as the Right Reverend Cornbread! We did a lot of things where people showed up because they wanted to be a part of something. Everybody wants to be part of some-thing. It’s just finding somebody they will follow and knowing that person believes in it as much as they do. The kinds of things you’re talking about are a lot of work. Did that start to wear on you after a while? There was a meeting I had with the suits at one point, which included some consultants and a couple of the big wiggies. They said, “You’ve been the caring country boy and that’s going to take you a long way. You don’t have to do that anymore. You’re good at being funny, so just be funny and let’s stop all the other.” They just didn’t think we needed to put so much effort into those things because they said people already knew me as that guy. But I don’t do it so people know me as that guy, I do it because it’s what I believe. When you lose focus on one of the pillars of what you’re about, that’s when you feel off. I’d never listened to consultants
before. I’d take the good advice, throw away the bad and move forward with what my instincts told me. This was PPM and suppos-edly a whole new world, so I did it. I scaled back the show and got rid of some of the big things we did. That was two or three years ago and probably the beginning of the end for me because I wasn’t doing the show I loved to do anymore. I love making people laugh, but I want to leave this place better than when I got here. And when I could no longer use this radio show – this one big vehicle that we have to make the city and peoples’ lives better – I felt like I wasn’t doing what I was put here to do. What’s your impression of the state of radio currently? There are still pockets of greatness, beauty and creativity, but it seems like they aren’t as deep as they used to be. Shows are sounding more similar. The prep is different, too. Before, you had to prep an hour for an hour. Now it seems like everything is con-solidated to the point that everybody’s getting the same service. Every time you hear a different show you’re hearing the same damn bit; sometimes with the same punch line! And I’m going, “C’mon man! At least write a punch line!” So I worry about that. Radio has a lot of competition and they’re going to need flavor and to be different. And you’ve retired? I don’t really consider it retired, but that’s how the radio station framed it. I’ve got another business and some property I’ve been spending a lot of time nurturing, so I’m not just laying around in my bathrobe until noon. Everybody’s been saying, “Man, you’ve got too much still left in the tank.” Yeah, but you don’t have to run yourself out of gas before you pull over to the side of the road and look at the mountains for a while. –Russ Penuell
The Big Arrival: Valory’s Brantley Gilbert and RCA’s Old Dominion are among supporting acts for Kenny Chesney’s Big Revival Tour stop in Indianapolis Saturday (5/9). Pictured are (back, l-r) OD’s Geoff Sprung, Brad Tursi and Trevor Rosen, WLHK/Indianapolis’ Fritz Moser, Gilbert, WQNU/Louisville’s Jess Tyler, WUBE/Cincinnati’s Grover Collins, Columbia’s Bo Martinovich, OD’s Matt Ramsey, Valory’s Shari Roth, EMI Nashville’s Chris Fabiani and OD’s Whit Sellers; (Front, l-r) WQNU’s Diaz, WLHK’s Lisa Wall, Valory’s George Briner and Morris Management’s Scot Michaels.
Country aircheck Top Spin GainersCHRIS JANSON/Buy Me A Boat (Warner Bros./WAR) 1065
ZAC BROWN BAND/Loving You Easy (SouthrnGrnd/Varvatos/BMLG) 741
KEITH URBAN f/ERIC CHURCH/Raise 'Em Up (Capitol) 683
BLAKE SHELTON/Sangria (Warner Bros./WMN) 619
CARRIE UNDERWOOD/Little Toy Guns (19/Arista) 572
A THOUSAND HORSES/Smoke (Republic Nashville) 554
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE/Sippin' On Fire (Republic Nashville) 536
BILLY CURRINGTON/Don't It (Mercury) 371
LITTLE BIG TOWN/Girl Crush (Capitol) 360
THOMAS RHETT/Crash And Burn (Valory) 323
Country aircheck Top Point GainersCHRIS JANSON/Buy Me A Boat (Warner Bros./WAR) 3427 ✔ZAC BROWN BAND/Loving You Easy (SouthrnGrnd/Varvatos/BMLG) 2814 ✔KEITH URBAN f/ERIC CHURCH/Raise 'Em Up (Capitol) 2113 ✔CARRIE UNDERWOOD/Little Toy Guns (19/Arista) 2025 ✔BLAKE SHELTON/Sangria (Warner Bros./WMN) 2008 ✔A THOUSAND HORSES/Smoke (Republic Nashville) 1915FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE/Sippin' On Fire (Republic Nashville) 1714LITTLE BIG TOWN/Girl Crush (Capitol) 1403
BILLY CURRINGTON/Don't It (Mercury) 1303
BRETT ELDREDGE/Lose My Mind (Atlantic/WMN) 1249
activator Top Spin GainersCHRIS JANSON/Buy Me A Boat (Warner Bros./WAR) 191
ZAC BROWN BAND/Loving You Easy (SouthrnGrnd/Varvatos/BMLG) 181
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE/Sippin' On Fire (Republic Nashville) 180
THOMAS RHETT/Crash And Burn (Valory) 138
BRETT ELDREDGE/Lose My Mind (Atlantic/WMN) 135
LUKE BRYAN/Games (Capitol) 120
RASCAL FLATTS/Riot (Big Machine) 119
BLAKE SHELTON/Sangria (Warner Bros./WMN) 109
KIP MOORE/I'm To Blame (MCA) 96
CARRIE UNDERWOOD/Little Toy Guns (19/Arista) 88
activator Top Point GainersCHRIS JANSON/Buy Me A Boat (Warner Bros./WAR) 1039 ✔FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE/Sippin' On Fire (Republic Nashville) 976 ✔ZAC BROWN BAND/Loving You Easy (SouthrnGrnd/Varvatos/BMLG) 845 ✔THOMAS RHETT/Crash And Burn (Valory) 639 ✔BRETT ELDREDGE/Lose My Mind (Atlantic/WMN) 635 ✔LUKE BRYAN/Games (Capitol) 630
RASCAL FLATTS/Riot (Big Machine) 619
BLAKE SHELTON/Sangria (Warner Bros./WMN) 519
KIP MOORE/I'm To Blame (MCA) 420
BRANTLEY GILBERT/One Hell Of An Amen (Valory) 388
Country aircheck Top Recurrents Points
ZAC BROWN BAND/Homegrown (SouthrnGrnd/Varvatos/BMLG) 16277
SAM HUNT/Take Your Time (MCA/Capitol) 15578
COLE SWINDELL/Ain't Worth The Whiskey (Warner Bros./WMN) 10643
LUKE BRYAN/I See You (Capitol) 9581
CHRIS YOUNG/Lonely Eyes (RCA) 8298
DARIUS RUCKER/Homegrown Honey (Capitol) 7964
THOMAS RHETT/Make Me Wanna (Valory) 7882
SAM HUNT/Leave The Night On (MCA) 7475
BRETT ELDREDGE/Mean To Me (Atlantic/WMN) 6910JASON ALDEAN/Just Gettin' Started (Broken Bow) 6111
Country aircheck add Leaders adds
OLD DOMINION/Break Up With Him (RCA) 36
LEE BRICE/That Don't Sound Like You (Curb) 29
CHRIS JANSON/Buy Me A Boat (Warner Bros./WAR) 21
BRETT ELDREDGE/Lose My Mind (Atlantic/WMN) 20
ZAC BROWN BAND/Loving You Easy (SouthrnGrnd/Varvatos/BMLG) 18JACKIE LEE/Headphones (Broken Bow) 16
SAM HUNT/House Party (MCA) 15
MICHAEL RAY/Kiss You In The Morning (Warner Bros./WEA) 14
May 19 Jon Pardi The B Sides, 2011-2014 (Capitol) Logan Mize Pawn Shop Guitar (Arista)
May 26 John Anderson Goldmine (Bayou Boys Music) The Lacs Outlaw In Me (Average Joes)
June 2 Maddie & Tae Start Here (Dot) Billy Currington Summer Forever (Mercury) KT Oslin Simply (Red River) Kentucky HeadHunters with Johnnie Johnson Meet Me In Bluesland (Alligator) Rainey Qualley Turn Down The Lights (Cingle) Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard Django & Jimmie (Legacy)
June 9 Montgomery Gentry Folks Like Us (Blaster) Ashley Clark Greyhound (IRS/Nashville)
June 30 Easton Corbin About To Get Real (Mercury)
July 24 Ashley Monroe (Title TBA) (Warner Bros./WMN)