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10 Questions with ... Byron Cooke
August 15, 2006
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NAME:Byron CookeTITLE:PD/MDSTATION:KMBY The X 103.9 RevolutionMARKET:Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz (#79)COMPANY:Mapleton CommunicationsBORN:Sydney, AustraliaRAISED:Sydney, Australia
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Graduated with Bachelor of Commerce at University of Western Sydney in '97. Modern Rock 96.1-Sydney late nights/weekends in '98-'99; Alternative XFM/London England station floater/morning show producer '99-'00; owner of production company Captain Cooke Productions (distributes internationally syndicated music programming in US, Canada, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, UK, and South Africa); presenter Today Network Australia [two-day FM Sydney /Fox FM Melbourne /SAFM Adelaide /B105-Brisbane /NXFM-Newcastle ] 2001 including relief host of nationally syndicated "Hot 30," Triple M Network (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane); national drive time host for Australia's most listened to radio show "The Shebang," fill-in afternoon drive host on Indie 103.1/Los Angeles December '04; and guest host "Passport Approved" with A& R Worldwide Artists Development Executive Sat Bisla.
LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:
In the marketing communications department of an Australian company called, AGL.
FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:
Bon Jovi "Slippery When Wet." At the age of 10, I thought the album title pertained to road conditions.
FIRST CONCERT:
Through some sponsorship arrangement with my Dad's work I ended up at the Sydney Entertainment Centre at the "Bros" show in 1989. European radio folks will know who they are, two gay twins with blonde flat-tops. It was dad, me as a 12 yr old and 10,000 gay men inside Sydney Entertainment Centre rocking out to "When Will I Be Famous" -- not quite what we had planned but fun in any case.
FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:
No contest, AC/DC.
1. How did you become interested in radio?
My mum was a dance teacher so music was in the blood. I was even making my own radio shows on cassettes from the age of 7 or 8 using my Dad's old sound effects records. Radio is like a sickness for me and I've had it from a very young age!
2. Tell us about this renegade radio format you are doing?
This Meta format that Mike Anthony (Mapleton Group Head Of Programming) and I have created is a world first. Musically we play anything that tests with 18-34 men, regardless of the musical genre. Because the industry seems to demand that we categorize everything we do, think of us as a hybrid of Alternative/Urban/Active Rock/CHR/Classic Rock/Sports/Talk. As a general rule we aren't playing any R&B or Pop.
The talk content of this station excites me as much as the music policy. I'm using my experience from Triple M to deliver the ultimate listener driven afternoon drive show called "The B-Team". Mike Anthony advised that we focus on that daypart and for 18-34 men; 3p-7p is an ideal time to deliver a punchy combination of relatable talk and music. We will also be broadcasting Oakland Raiders games live, NFL talk programming on weekends, with more to come.
3. How did the idea come about to do this rock and rap hybrid format?
Meta is not really "rock and rap" so much as a broad music and talk format aimed at 18-34 men. The idea was born from the failure of "Alternative" radio to properly own the male 18-34 demo. Look at the 2006 post-Stern Arbitron numbers on stations like WBCN and KITS. Howard was holding up entire radio stations that were otherwise not in tune with their target demo.
If I didn't create a new format I knew I would never be as successful in broadcasting as Howard Stern. So I hit myspace with my partner Crissy and we started collecting mountains of information from personal profiles of men 18-34. The results were as we suspected, 85% of the demo put both rock and hip-hop artists in their favorite music section and the 15% who didn't actively mention both styles weren't online saying they hated hip hop or rock either.
From there we looked at other complimentary lifestyle factors that brought this demo together and NFL is massive, particularly the Oakland Raiders in this part of the world. Comedy is a big part of the demo's interest too in many forms.
So then it was a case of sitting down and designing the ultimate radio station for an 18-34 male in this area. The result of all that hard work is now on the air!
4. How did you sell the format to the company?
Crissy and I had developed a great relationship with Kenny Allen and his team at Santa Cruz X and had been working with them on our weekly magazine style Alt-Import show "Import X." It was clearly a station with potential, particularly given the competitive landscape of the market.
A number of discussions with management made it clear however that like many other Alt-format stations across the country, Santa Cruz X was facing a potential format flip. Despite some genuine attempts to revive the station by Mapleton, including additional investment in street teams and syndicated morning shows, the station just wasn't making enough inroads with 18-34 men.
So rather than swim against the tide, Crissy and I decided to pitch Mapleton with our new format vision. We put a 40 slide ppt presentation together and presented to Mapleton GM Dale Hendry and Group Head Of Programming Mike Anthony. Whereas many management teams in radio have a closed-door policy with new talent and ideas, Mapleton embraced the concept and showed great faith in what we wanted to achieve. Mike Anthony from that day forward has worked very closely with us and brings a wealth of experience particularly on the research side. Mike had already been thinking along very similar lines having conducted a number of research projects into the very same subject.
5. What has the reaction been from the core alt audience?
The post-Howard Stern era has proven there is no such thing as "core alt audience." I have just inherited the "Alt" format Santa Cruz X with a 1.8 share -- and that's in a market with no other Active Rock or Alt station -- it was a clear lane to the hoop. We weren't even number 1 in 18-34 men. There was a female leaning CHR Rhythmic station beating us easily 18-34 men!
I'm really not interested in the musical opinions of an ever-decreasing minority of elitist white dorks who still think its 1997 and can't wait for the next Nirvana Box Set to come out.
6. Why will this format will successful?
Because it gives the middle finger to some incredibly dated U.S. radio industry paradigms such as:
* White guys don't listen to hip hop
* Sports fans only want to hear sport on 24/7 sports stations
* Latino and black guys don't listen to rock music of any kind
* Its ok for "open minded" alt stations to spin hip hop records by the Beastie Boys because their skin is white
* If there is a white person involved in a rap project then it's ok to play that on alternative radio [gorillaz]. But don't play De La Soul records on their own, that won't fly.
* The biggest names in hip-hop are primarily of African American decent and therefore should not be played on the same station as predominantly white rock bands.
* If I'm a guy and I like hip hop, I must listen to a station that also plays a huge percentage of girly R&B and no other station should exist to service my listening needs.7. What would surprise people most about the station?
After only three weeks on-air on a station that has over 15 years of rock heritage we already get more requests for hip hop records than rock records.
8. What part of your job do you like best? Least?
Best: The limitless creative freedom associated with being a PD and an on-air talent at the same time.
Least: These industry Q & A things are a pain in the ass!
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?
The love of my wife and regular meal breaks every 2 hours (I'm 6'5 tall and 225 lbs).
10. What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
Always make sure you are on the right side of the radio station receptionist. If they like you, they will let you in without your pass.
Bonus Questions
What are your hobbies?
I'm a huge fan of horse racing and would like to part own a horse that runs in a Melbourne Cup.
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