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Turns out, asking that question is like throwing a lit match into a crowd.We first took the query to a group of country programmers via e-mail, and got some interesting responses, some of which are quoted below. But when we took the question to Facebook, things took an interesting turn." name="description"/> <meta content="A.J. 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McCreery" height="61" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220im_/http://s3.amazonaws.com/radio-info/crops/5705/display.jpg" title="Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery" width="147"/></a> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/programming/country/american-idol-finalists-could-get-a-chilly-reception-at-country-radio">Idol Finalists Not Country's Pick</a> </p> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="column_page"> <div id="header"> <ul id="breadcrumbs"></ul> <div class="logo" id="column_logo"> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/about/our-writers/phyllis-stark" alt="Phyllis Stark" title="Phyllis Stark"><img alt="Phyllis Stark" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220im_/http://s3.amazonaws.com/radio-info/author/images/53/full.jpg" title="Phyllis Stark"/></a> </div> <h1> Country </h1> <p class="tagline"> </p> <p class="description"> This essay, <span class="italic">Artist Development Is A Heated Topic At Radio </span>, was written by <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/about/our-writers/phyllis-stark">Phyllis Stark</a> for Radio-Info.com's <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/programming/country">Country</a> column. </p> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div id="sidebar"> <div class="section"> <h5>Options</h5> <ul> <li> <a class="print_icon icon eventTracker track_Sidebar_PrintClick" href="#" onclick="javascript:print(); return false;">Print</a> </li> <li id="adjust_text_size"> <a href="#" class="increase_btn eventTracker track_Sidebar_TextIncrease"><img alt="Increase text size" src="/web/20110525222220im_/http://www.radio-info.com/images/redesign/icons/plus.png?1306274646"/></a> <a href="#" class="decrease_btn eventTracker track_Sidebar_TextDecrease"><img alt="Decrease text size" src="/web/20110525222220im_/http://www.radio-info.com/images/redesign/icons/minus.png?1306274646"/></a> <span>Text Size</span> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="section"> <h5>Share</h5> <ul> 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src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220if_/http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.facebook.com/like.php?href=http://www.radio-info.com/programming/country/artist-development-is-a-heated-topic-at-radio&layout=button_count&show_faces=false&width=90&action=like&colorscheme=dark&height=21" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:90px; height:21px;"></iframe> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="section"> <h5>Related Tags</h5> <ul class="truncate"> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=A.J.+McCloud">A.J. McCloud</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Al+Skop">Al Skop</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Anne+Weaver+Price">Anne Weaver Price</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Billy+Greenwood">Billy Greenwood</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Bob+McNeill">Bob McNeill</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Buzz+Jackson">Buzz Jackson</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Charlie+Dean">Charlie Dean</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Country">Country</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Frankie+Ballard">Frankie Ballard</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=JaneDear+Girls">JaneDear Girls</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Jessie+Roberts">Jessie Roberts</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Josh+Thompson">Josh Thompson</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Kelly+Nash">Kelly Nash</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Kevin+Mannion">Kevin Mannion</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Mark+McKay">Mark McKay</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Marty+McFly">Marty McFly</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Melissa+Frost">Melissa Frost</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Mike+Kennedy">Mike Kennedy</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Phathead">Phathead</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/search/tagged_with?search=Rusty+Walker">Rusty Walker</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="content_container"> <div class="sub_container"> <div class="publication_date"> <span class="timestamp">Friday, April 29, 2011</span> </div> <h3> Artist Development Is A Heated Topic At Radio </h3> <div class="essay_wysiwyg"> <img alt="Frankie Ballard" class="show_page" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220im_/http://s3.amazonaws.com/radio-info/crops/5481/full.jpg" title="Frankie Ballard"/> <div>Is it radio’s job to develop new acts? Turns out, asking that question is like throwing a lit match into a crowd.</div><div><br></div><div>We first took the query to a group of country programmers via e-mail, and got some interesting responses, some of which are quoted below. But when we took the question to Facebook, things took an interesting turn. The topic generated more than 60 comments spread out across two discussion threads, including several from consultant Rusty Walker, who posted, “Thank you for seeding one of the most valid and engaging FB subjects on the country music business . . . EVER!”</div><div><br></div><div>With our e-mail group, we also asked them what developing artists they’re trying to “invest in” with their airplay to help build the next generation of superstars. Those responses are posted in a separate story <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/programming/country/what-acts-are-country-programmers-investing-in">here</a>. To give you some quick highlights, however, Frankie Ballard (pictured) was the new artist most often cited by programmers as one they’re trying to help develop. Interestingly, two of Ballard’s Warner Music Nashville label mates, Brett Eldredge and the JaneDear Girls, were the next most frequently mentioned acts, followed by Republic Nashville’s The Band Perry and Columbia’s Josh Thompson.</div><div><br></div><div>So, back to the question about radio’s role in artist development. KNIX Phoenix APD/MD Kevin Mannion sums up the feelings of many when he says, “You have to invest in developing artists, but be smart about it.”</div><div><br></div><div>WGGY (Froggy 101) Wilkes-Barre, Pa., APD/MD Jessie Roberts is more emphatic about it. “It is absolutely radio’s job to develop new acts, whether that’s developing new acts as ‘superstars’ in the market, or helping to share the love on a larger scale,” she says.</div><div><br></div><div>KBEQ Kansas City VP of operations Mike Kennedy agrees. “I certainly think radio is a key, if not <i>the</i> key, in developing the next generation of stars,” he says. “Call me crazy, or just old and set in my ways, but I still think radio is THE music medium. What happens when someone is ‘discovered’ on YouTube or ‘Idol’? They bring the music to radio, right?”</div><div><br></div><div>Adds Kennedy, “I am a bad one to ask about ‘investing’ in the next batch [of artists] because I honestly think we [in] radio screw so much up trying to be safe and not recognizing some real opportunities.”</div><div><br></div><div>But WKDF Nashville PD Marty McFly notes that new stars are still being developed, despite what some may perceive as radio’s worst efforts. “I’m in a three-way country battle with three great country stations,” he notes. “I invest in hits. I don’t care who it is, if the song shows growth, fits what we do, and we somewhat like it, it plays. I’ve heard ‘radio is not investing in new acts’ for 25 years, but somehow new superstars are still launched. Something seems to be working.”</div><div><br></div><div>Al Skop, SiriusXM Radio’s director, music programming offers a slightly sarcastic take on the question. “If it’s not radio’s job, even better for us at SiriusXM, ’cause it’s certainly our job to discover and develop new talent,” he says. “And not just the newly-signed artists that haven’t gotten their due airplay yet, but unsigned artists that are really bubbling under. DEEP down under!”</div><div><br></div><div>WDRM Huntsville, Ala., MD A.J. McCloud, says, “I feel radio’s job is to play the hits. Although one radio station can’t develop or make anyone a star, without country radio I don’t see how an artist can become a superstar. As the old saying goes, the cream will rise to the top, and I’m looking for the cream.”</div><div><br></div><div>WJVC (My Country 96.1) Long Island, N.Y., PD Phathead notes, “It’s hard to develop artists with all of the monster artists and hits out there.” But his station has gone out of its way to support young artist Sarah Darling.</div><div><br></div><div>Finally, WMAD (96.3 Star Country) Madison, Wis., APD Steph Peters says at her station, the listeners are as invested in new acts as the programmers. “We love artists coming in and going <i>on air</i> with our morning show instead of just playing in a conference room for sales staff, etc.,” she says. “It makes our listeners feel like they were there literally right in the beginning of the journey, too, for these artists.”</div><div><br></div><div>On Facebook, the responses were more mixed to the question “Do you think it’s part of radio’s job to help develop new acts so the format will have future superstars?” Here’s a sampling:</div><div><br></div><div>• Consultant Rusty Walker: “Nobody can say we DON’T!!! Thirty of the artists on the current top 50 did not exist five years ago! The chart is pregnant with new acts. If that’s not re-investing in the future, I don’t know what else we can do.”</div><div><br></div><div>• KPLX (The Wolf) Dallas APD Smokey Rivers: “Sure. But we are the last link in that development chain. We fulfill our part of the deal by simply playing the hits and exposing their work for millions of ears to hear.”</div><div><br></div><div>• WGH Norfolk, Va., APD/MD Mark McKay: “I think the key word in your question is ‘help.’ It’s a two-way street, and we’re just one part of the equation.”</div><div><br></div><div>• KIIM Tucson, Ariz., PD Buzz Jackson: “It depends on how you define ‘develop new acts.’ Ask a label person what’s hot, and they’ll say everything they’re working is hot. Here in radio, we actually touch the country music consumer on a daily basis and can provide feedback to the label. Unfortunately, by the time we’re playing it, the label has probably already spent a million dollars on it and they’re committed, regardless of how much the country consumer cares or doesn’t care. Which is how you get three singles deep into an act that has no future.”</div><div><br></div><div>• KRRV Alexandria, La., APD/MD Melissa Frost: “Yes, I think sometimes the labels get lost in what’s hot right now. We in radio are in touch with the listeners and know what they really want. We should be the filter and keeper for country music and its future. At the same time, we shouldn’t abuse that power.”</div><div><br></div><div>• WSIX Nashville morning man Billy Greenwood: “Not only to create future superstars to help grow the format, we need it to continue to be relevant. If we allow new media (satellite radio, Internet, etc) to become the destination for discovering new artists and music, we’re done. Listeners have as many songs on their iPods as we have at the station. We have to be where they come to find the new music they want to add to their iTunes library.”</div><div><br></div><div>• WCOS Columbia, S.C., morning man Kelly Nash: “No. It’s radio’s job to keep a huge audience so that record companies can introduce their new act to a crowd that can make them superstars.”</div><div><br></div><div>• Veteran country programmer Bob McNeill: “While I’ve always taken every opportunity to introduce my listeners to new acts and new music, it’s primarily the labels’ job to break the acts. Radio’s job is to play music people who listen want to hear. Having said that, the problem is you can’t research something that’s not familiar. It’s a conundrum.”</div><div><br></div><div>• Veteran record promoter Anne Weaver Price: “Radio is the major component in breaking new artists. Yes, there are other things to be done to assist in getting exposure, but let’s face it —it’s radio, radio, radio.”</div><div><br></div><div>• Dial Global air personality Scott Gaines: “Yes, because its our job within the format to make sure our core audience sees them, and then they as an audience have the opportunity to love and embrace them . . . I am happy to help a new country artist anytime . . . Always a pleasure to meet and move new acts thru the ranks.”</div><div><br></div><div>And finally, this passionate last word from Mercury Records Midwest regional Charlie Dean.</div><div><br></div><div>• “More than just our job, if radio and records don’t work together to build the future of the format, we won’t have one . . . Radio and sales are how we find out what’s working and what’s not. NOTHING is more powerful than a jock who loves the format as much as his/her listeners and shares the passion he/she is feeling for a particular artist or song. We ALL need to get in the street a bit [and] pay attention to our guts. So many times I hear ‘I really like it, but I don’t know how it’s going to work on the air.’ Trust THAT. Play something you love, or one of your jocks loves, and communicate that passion to your audience and see what happens. This is the BEST world to be in. NO other music format is as close to its audience as country, and I believe no other radio format is capable of being so integral a part of the community. We have the best tools to build on that, and yes, we CAN and SHOULD.”</div> </div> <div class="clear_left"></div> </div> <div class="sub_container"> <h3>About the Writer</h3> <p> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/about/our-writers/phyllis-stark" class="no_print"><img alt="Display" height="70" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220im_/http://s3.amazonaws.com/radio-info/author/images/53/display.jpg" width="70"/></a> Veteran entertainment journalist Phyllis Stark is Executive Editor of Country Music at Radio-Info.com and author of the company's twice-weekly Stark Country newsletter. She is also a freelance writer whose work appears regularly on MSN and numerous other publications and sites. She authors MSN's music blog, One Country. </p> <div class="footer"> <a class="email_icon icon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220/mailto:phyllisstark@radio-info.com">Email Phyllis</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525222220/http://twitter.com/StarkCountry" class="twitter_icon icon new_window">Follow Phyllis</a> </div> </div> <div class="sub_container" id="comments_area"> <h3>Comments</h3> <div class="comment_icon icon"> <span>0</span> Comments So Far </div> <p id="join_discussion"> Wanna join the discussion? </p> <p id="join_instructions"> You must <a href="#login_div" rel="prettyPhoto">login</a> or <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/register">register</a> in order to post comments. </p> </div> </div> </div> <div id="innerpage_sidebar"> <div id="most_popular"> <h3 class="bottom_bordered">Most Popular</h3> <ol class="fancy_numbers"> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/new-media/connected/the-state-of-social-networking" alt="The State of Social Networking " class="eventTracker track_MostPopular_click label_2377-the-state-of-social-networking" title="The State of Social Networking ">The State of Social Networking </a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/programming/country/wbtu-fort-wayne-stages-stunt-to-find-the-9" alt="WBTU Fort Wayne Stages Stunt To 'Find The 9'" class="eventTracker track_MostPopular_click label_2359-wbtu-fort-wayne-stages-stunt-to-find-the-9" title="WBTU Fort Wayne Stages Stunt To 'Find The 9'">WBTU Fort Wayne Stages Stunt To 'Find The 9'</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/programming/country/long-islands-my-country-961-finally-unveiled" alt="Long Island’s ‘My Country 96.1’ Finally Unveiled " class="eventTracker track_MostPopular_click label_2184-long-islands-my-country-961-finally-unveiled" title="Long Island’s ‘My Country 96.1’ Finally Unveiled ">Long Island’s ‘My Country 96.1’ Finally Unveiled </a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20110525222220/http://www.radio-info.com/programming/newstalksports/pd-meet-your-audience-audience-meet-the-pd" alt="PD, Meet Your Audience. 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