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10 Questions with ... Braden Merrick
April 26, 2022
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. I’m so proud of our longevity and that our team is intact and thriving. I’m really proud that after 15 years we can still provide what we feel is the best label service to all of our artists that sign here. As you know, it takes a lot of energy. We’re all still really hungry and our recent successes with Wilderado and Fana Hues show that.
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
My start in the "industry" was tuning guitars on stage for various artists while on tour, then that led to raising capital and being a co-founder of redbutton.com, which sold digital downloads of unknown "curated" artists. Then I worked for garageband.com and learned a few things from Jerry Harrison and the managers of Billy Joel and the Grateful Dead (the naming rights were sold to Apple). In 2002, I landed my first A&R position with Warner Bros Records, which lead to discovering The Killers in September of 2002, which lead to my management/producer career. I've since retired from management and have consulted on A&R and Marketing for Island Def Jam, Universal, Sony Music, Columbia, and Epic Records. All of those career moves lead me to Bright Antenna, whom are some of the most passionate and dedicated people I've ever met.
1. Let’s start with your hit record at Alternative Radio. It’s been an incredible run for your artist Wilderado, which has been building on the Mediabase Alternative chart for over half a year. Walk us through how Wilderado “Head Right,” from their debut album, has been developing for the past seven months.
Thank you, we've been amazed at the support. For starters, we felt like the band made an incredible album and we identified what we thought were the singles and "Head Right" being one of them. With the band fully charged from that recording experience, we put a plan into motion that included Alternative Radio because we felt like they are a real Alternative band and that we have some songs to break. Thankfully the band really got behind their debut album campaign and rolled their sleeves up and got to work. They came up with a social media plan with our Digital Strategist that suited them and their fans on an engagement level they hadn't seen before. They came up with a voice and while social media was developing, we were focused on making more content to market that would help drive streaming and create an identity of who they are to the new fans that were discovering them through a playlist or airplay. We knew we had to come to the table with a story and constant "talking points" for radio to support this great song. We also engaged with "What's In Store" retail airplay promotion because it was a way to see what we had in the song through a retail listening environment and when the song started to Shazam, it started to tell us something was special about this track. We organized a promotional tour late last year that started with a Holiday show in Milwaukee w/Kings of Leon for WLUM and earlier this year the band worked their way into Fresno for KFRR, San Diego 91X, and Phoenix, AZ's KDKB so that we could introduce the band in person and people just fell in love. With those station's support, the MScore's were pretty great. Josh Venable at KYMZ gave us a shot which was such a great look for the band locally and the record is researching Top 3 there for him. From there we were Audacy's "POTW" and the data from that program started to show us that we needed to step on the gas and never look back. All of this forward momentum led us to iHeart, Cumulus, Alt Nation and many more partners across the panel. We're so excited and grateful to be in this position.
2. When did you start seeing the signs that Wilderado “Head Right” was really going to breakthrough at Alternative Radio?
I know that when we were fortunate enough to see Audacy's POTW happen and all of the Shazam's from the promotion and then got word of the first 2 weeks of MScore’s in Milwaukee, St. Louis, San Diego, Phoenix, and Austin, we felt really confident about continuing the charge. All of these positive reactions were strong initial signs.
3. C3’s Joe Greenwald and David Barbis have been instrumental in the radio campaign. How do you work with your radio promotion partners?
Passion is everything and having the privilege of working with an artist that is willing to put in the work. I always try to find out if the promotion team will have the same energy as the band and us to meet our goals & succeed. David and Joe are unreal. Seasoned pros. Very communicative and they’re on it all day, which for a label President is what you want to see. They do a brilliant job of making you feel like you’re the only person in the room. We came up with the plan for Alternative because we believed that the song could work at the format. We constantly challenged each other to strategically go and get it done. It’s fun getting your number called with these guys.
4. What does it mean for Bright Antenna and Wilderado to go Top 10 at Alternative?
What a journey and story after 27 weeks so far. It’s been such an emotional rollercoaster behind the scenes. It seemed like our radio partners would come on board right when we “needed” them rather “want” them which meant so much more throughout this campaign. Being Top 10 means the world to the band, to us and our partners that helped us achieve our goals. A big thank you shout out to the ALT radio panel that has given the song a chance. Now we’re thinking Top 5!
5. It’s been 15 years now since Bright Antenna came to fruition. What are you most proud of?
I’m so proud of our longevity and that our team is intact and thriving. I’m really proud that after 15 years we can still provide what we feel is the best label service to all of our artists that sign here. As you know, it takes a lot of energy. We’re all still really hungry and our recent successes with Wilderado and Fana Hues show that.
6. Take us inside the Bright Antenna headquarters in Mill Valley, California. Tell us about your team.
We’re right off of the town square known as “The Depot.” Picture Larchmont in L.A., but as a square surrounded by the redwoods and Mount Tamalpais. It’s a setting that inspires to never let go of it. With the pandemic many of us scattered about and we’ve now become a remote work company. We maintain an office and a few of us have started to come back, which has been great to experience again. The BA team are incredible, and it took a few years to find top talent and put us all together. This team is our family and we’re all pretty much transplants far away from our relatives. Tiffanie our Chief Executive Super Goddess, really taught us the power of “family” and that M.O. is passed onto our artists that we work with. Scott Schumaker is our COO. He helps keep us on the rails like a Jedi. Matthew Aure (VP of marketing) is our creative wrangler on the marketing and product management side. Having him on board has allowed us all to focus on what we’re really good at. Natalie Young is our head of digital strategy and in house Yoga teacher now living in Hawaii, it’s been amazing to watch her thrive and take our artists from zero likes into the thousands. Cielle Spurgeon now in Portland, OR assists at the executive level and brings the “fun” to our team and artists. Karina Kristensen is our graphic designer & social media curator based in San Francisco. She started out as our resident intern while she was attending art school and then made the leap into her current role. Ty Cassutt based in San Francisco is our project coordinator and content creator that can stay up until 4am with our bands, which we all know every label needs.
7. Last time we did this about 7 years ago, you mentioned, “I've always wanted to be a part of an organization that has a real passion for music, its discovery and its development. A place that could be nimble, move quickly and have a 10-year plan and beyond for its artists.” Explain what you mean about a 10-year plan and beyond for artists.
In my opinion real success stories take that amount of time if you have the right artists, executive talent & partnerships. Look at The Wombats for example. It took them 19 years since inception to now headlining The O2 Arena in London or Wilderado. 26 weeks to get to Top 10 at Alternative Radio. There are a lot of startups out there but if you’re truly committed to artist development and can afford to take the time to create sustainable careers it can take a decade. Be prepared for the long game.
8. Tell us about your artist roster and what you have coming up in 2022 for Future Releases?
Our full-time roster is Wilderado, Fana Hues (a modern ALT/R&B superstar in the making), Sports Team (arguably the best UK export in a long time. New LP coming July ‘22), PREP (think Phoenix assaulted by Steely Dan), and new developing artists Lee Lewis, Akira Galaxy, and Trubbleboy.
9. What is your favorite part of your job?
The discovery of the next song that converts me into a fan, turning that initial no into a yes for our artists, and the banter about music with the industry.
10, Finally, tell us about your fantastic Bright Antenna logo.
Thank you, Shawn. We approached Justin Kila (the drummer) from Wilderado about sketching a few new ideas for it. We just love his skillset and aesthetic choices. Their merchandise is stuff we all at BA actually wear. He nailed it for us with like logo 3 or something.
Bonus Questions
You grew up in a small town, Norway, in Maine. What was that like and how often do you go back?
I head back a couple of times a year to see family and swim in the lakes. There’s nothing like a Summer in Maine. From there you can also take these small Cape Air flights and hit coastal islands that are magical. Norway was very Norman Rockwell with a strong community of support.
What led you to Mill Valley, CA?
I think it was where one of my best friends lived. So, it started with house sitting and after a while I was like, “I have to find a way to afford this.” Lol. The bonus was when my business partners (Tiffanie DeBartolo & Scott Schumaker) moved here from NYC. Bright Antenna used to be based in Oakland and the three of us had the revelation that we should take back 2+ hours of commute time and set up BA HQ in Mill Valley where we live. Now it’s walk or ride a bike to the office. It doesn’t hurt that this town has a rich musical history as well. On the daily you can see Neal Schon from Journey, the guys in Green Day, Lars Ulrich, Santana, Bob Weir, John Mayer, Jerry Harrison from The Talking Heads, and more just walking around town or buying vegan cheese at the local.
What are your favorite restaurants?
If we’re talking the Mill Valley area, Buckeye, Watershed, & Sushi Ran.
Favorite food?
Hanger steak salads.
Favorite drink?
Wine
You grow Kefir. Educate us, please.
Haha this is a funny one. My wife is a bit of a nutrition guru. Gut health is responsible for many things in our body, so she started making it on her own for support. She got the “kefir” starts from a doctor in Berkeley. Smoothies for days over here.
I know you are a big Golden State Warriors fan. Rank your sports teams in order of passion.
Since I grew up in Maine, by proximity I would watch Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, & Celtics games so I always check in on those teams. Living on the West Coast since ’93 and a big NBA fan, The Warriors have been so exciting to watch. Miles Anzaldo (KROQ) and I held season tickets for a number of years and caught the team’s rise to Champions right before they started to make that run. It was a blast being a part of that experience. I ran into Coach Steve Kerr the other day. I was taking my daughter to the park in the Presidio in San Francisco, and he was walking his dog. It was great to say hello to him and thank him.
Favorite new band over the past year not on your roster?
If I can mention a solo artist, I really think Holly Humberstone has something to say. You can’t deny Wet Leg either.
Anything else you would like to add?
You’re always great to work with Shawn. Thank you.
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