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10 Questions with ... Haley McLemore
August 28, 2006
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NAME:Haley McLemoreTITLE:Sr. Director of PromotionsCOMPANY: Mercury Nashville (UMG)MARKET:SEBORN:MississippiRAISED:Nashville
Please outline your radio career so far:
I've been at Mercury for 7 years now. I was hired to be the promotions coordinator. One year later, I was promoted to MW regional. Did that for 2 years then, did the SW briefly and now have been in the SE for 3 years.
1. In our highly competitive music field, where it seems more and more that every artist needs something special to get paid attention too, how do you position your self, and your label, to get YOUR artists the shot they need?
Each artist is different, as is each radio station and PD. So, I try to choose the right station and start building. You can't get every artist on every station out of the box so I really try to prioritize.
2. What is the first thing you do when getting into the office every day? And the last thing before leaving?
Drink coffee and read All Access in the morning. At night, I generally have to take a nerve pill. Kidding.
3. You are the remaining survivor on a remote tropical island with no chance for rescue. You have a CD/DVD player with endless power. What five CD's are a "must" to have with you? What five movies?
CD'S: William Topley - Black River
Diana Krall - The Look of Love
James Taylor - Greatest Hits
Bruce (The Boss) - The Rising
Sugarland - Twice the Speed of lifeMOVIES:
Thomas Crown Affair. Yummy
Goodfellas
Napoleon Dynamite
Office Space
There are so many more.4. What would you say is the toughest region in the country to work Country music today?
That depends on each artist. The SW is tough unless you are working a Texas act but then Texas acts are tough everywhere else. I can't say that there is an easy region now.
5. In your opinion, how has the slowness of the chart hurt the format, and what would you like to see done to speed it up, if in fact that's something that should happen?
I think that the slowness of the chart has hurt a few markets that follow the chart instead of gut. The stations that step out and step up are thriving. Look at Chicago and Atlanta. They believe in what they play. They don't play everything but if they commit they are there. Those are just two examples of stations that I've worked there are many more out there.
6. Has the consolidation of radio made the job of promotion harder or easier? Explain why.
I think harder. When you have one person making decisions for several stations and he/she doesn't like something it's tough. We have less PD's that will step out just because they like a song. I think very few PD's have time to listen to a full project and form an opinion on the project versus a single.
7. How do you handle it when a programmer tells you that your single is too country or too pop?
Well there are many ways to work a single. There is an angle you just have to find it! I usually ask for opinions from others at the station or a test spin to see what the results are. Then, go from there.
8. In your opinion, does the use of callout research help to determine "real" records?
Depends on if someone is telling you that your record isn't testing and they only have 50 spins. I think that you can see trends from research. I think it's a tool to check your gut by but shouldn't be used as a fortuneteller.
9. How do you go about building relationships in your region? How important are they in obtaining airplay?
I try to be honest with my radio guys/gals. If I can't do something I don't hold them up and bs them. I am always coming to them with different ideas to use. I try to think out of the box and not take things personally. I do think that it helps but again a hit is a hit!
10. What do you do in preparation for making your weekly radio calls?
I call Jimmy Brooks at WYPY and after that all else is a breeze!
Try to take into consideration that each radio guy has a different situation and each market is different. I try to not wear them out with a bunch of smoke and mirror talk. Facts are facts. I can't have everything at each station so I try and prioritize each artist per station. I try really hard to stay away from flat out saying I need a favor, it's over used.
Bonus Questions
1. What is you favorite CRS moment?
Last year when I wasn't there!
If I have to give you one I guess it would be. When Ettinger passed the MW off to me and challenged me to a shot with every programmer in my region this was at 6pm and at 2am I was still going. Whew. Why did I do that?
2. How do you balance your family life?
It's tough. My husband is a rep too and we have a new baby. We really try and coordinate our schedules and when we are both home we try to only do family things.
3. Best road story?
Steve Azar, Jason Young (percussionist), Damon Moberly (NE) and myself. We took Steve out on a run that was back and forth from the MW to the NE. So, we rented the biggest car they had which was a Crown Victoria that was WAY too small. I had one tiny lil bag and Steve and Jason and Damon packed the freaking kitchen sink. Here we are with a guitar in the back window and a big suitcase in the back seat between Jason and Damon. We stopped off at WCOL and stole Danny Zuko's head (a large cardboard cutout of his head at the front desk) and put it in the back window so he could go with us. Then, we would call him everyday with a ransom messages. We drove like 8 hours a day until we were gitty tired. It was way funnier than I can even describe.
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