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10 Questions with ... Kevin Fleming
February 6, 2007
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NAME:Kevin FlemingTITLE:PDSTATION:KRBV V100, the R&B Station!MARKET:Los AngelesCOMPANY:Radio OneBORN:Minneapolis, when we used to play recordsRAISED:Moved to Atlanta for college, never looked back
1) What was your first job in radio? Early influences?
My first real job in radio was WIGO in Atlanta. Quincy Jason was my PD. He was a beast. Great guy but hard to work for. I must have been cussed out every night on the hot line. LOL! I learned a lot. My influences were WAOK. Dr. Feelgood was my hero. I came up on Fat Al, Larry Tinsley, and Doc Elliott.
2) What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment that made you realize "this is it"?
I just loved radio. I was the kid who sat there and watched the radio like I was going to see something happen. We had a guy who bought block time on an AM station. His name was Thornell Jones, but he went by Pharaoh Black. The fox in the box that rocks your soul, the funky, funky Pharaoh. My dad knew this dude, and he took me to a party with him when I was about 14; I met this guy, and he was so cool! I knew then I wanted to be on the radio. When I was 15 and just starting high school, Pharaoh would let me read the community news in his news segment. My mom would drive me to the station and sit in the parking lot waiting for me. Then she would critique me on the way home. Wow, those we're the days!
3) If you were just starting out in radio, knowing now what you didn't then, would you still do it?
Hell no! Radio has changed, and not necessarily for the good. I wish I would have had the foresight to amass some content that would have value today. Looking back, I've been so blessed. I've been exposed to so many huge superstars and major-league players in our business. I worked with Frankie Crocker, Chris Blackwell, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and on and on. I've met just about every major R&B artist in the last 25 years. I love this business. But if I had to do it all over again, I would probably do things a little differently.
4) Where do you see yourself and the industry five years from now? How do you feel about the PPM replacing the diary in Los Angeles starting in 2008?
Five years? Man, I don't know where I'm gonna be five minutes from now. I just want to be a part of turning this radio station around. I'm surrounded by pros, and that's a good feeling. If the PPM gets us closer to the truth, then bring it on. Good or bad, it's coming and we have to deal with it. I hope it helps Urban radio everywhere.
5) How you feel about being made to wait on a record you hear until call-out validates it? And are urban programmers going to be slower in adding and playing new music because of the often distorted "passion scores" on which call-out is based?
No comment on the first question.
Research: It's a great tool. But it's only a tool. You really need to understand your market and your listeners. We need to play the hits, but we also need to entertain our listeners. New music isn't the problem, bad music is the problem.
6) What is going to happen to the training of tomorrow's talent and programmers if the current trend continues? How do you feel about syndication and voicetracking?
Major concern. No one really wants to develop talent these days. Very few people know how to develop talent. The boss says just be funny or just be street or smooth, and that's not enough. We have to know why things work and don't work. It's an ongoing process. I learn everyday. I'm not a fan of syndication -- at all.
7) With the recent adjustments and call-letter, staffing and imaging changes made with V-100 and the complexity of the Southern California market, do you feel you may see some instant results or will the impact take longer to register with Arbitron?
No comment.
8) Of all the skills you have gained through the years, is there an area you'd like to improve?
I need to be able to multi-task faster. There's so much to do, and I like to think about it before I act when sometimes you just have to move quickly. I'd also like to improve communication, both outgoing and incoming. Clarity in underrated.
9) What's been your biggest disappointment in radio today?
I don't really have any disappointments. There have been missed opportunities. I'm saddened that, as an industry, we're not giving good programmers that chance to do what they do.
10) As you look back over your career, any regrets? Missed opportunities?
There was a time when ownership was being discussed. It was a big number then, but now it's next to impossible for one person to buy a station in a market where you can win and want to live in. Unless you print your own money.
Bonus Questions
1) What would people who think they know you, be surprised to find out about Kevin Fleming?
I'm hooked on golf.
2) How did you get your present job?
I met the former GM at a station event. Flipped that to a meeting, that meeting to a conversation with the CEO and consultant, and the rest is a story that's still being written.
3) What do you do with a song you don't like?
I'm not the target.
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