10 Questions with ... Peter Berard

1.  You’ve been at Domino for 15+ years. Take us back to how you got started with the label after working in College Radio and what stands out the most?

In college I worked at the University of Kansas' incredible radio station, KJHK. I was a Music Director there for a few semesters, and during my tenure discovered a label called Domino, which was releasing some of my favorite records that we played on the station. My love of the roster led me to uncover that they had an internship program. I was so fortunate to get an internship after they initially discouraged me because of various impracticalities, namely being a kid living in Kansas. Once securing that internship I just never left. Literally. I’m still here. 

2.  Tell us about your-day-to-day duties as U.S. Label Manager for Domino and how you work with radio.

I work closely with our very talented team across marketing, DSPs, publicity, radio, sales and production to help construct and manage the label's album and single campaigns. Radio is very much a team effort at Domino — we work with a number of incredible independent promo teams across Alternative, AAA, Non-comm, college and a variety of other formats.   

3.  2021 ended with your hot new signing Wet Leg. How did you discover these ladies and take us through how the story has built at radio on “Chase Lounge?”  

We can’t contain our excitement about Wet Leg — Rhian and Hester formed on a Ferris wheel in the Isle of Wight, UK and we joined the ride not long after. It has been a hell of a lot of fun bringing their music about chaise longues and Buffalo 66 to Alternative radio. 

The story started when Audacy, Sirius XMU and Alt Nation took an early seat on the Chaise Longue. They were joined by KEXP, Colorado Sound, KCMP, KCRW, KCSN, KUTX, KXT, KTBG, KVOQ, WNXP, WFUV, WNRN, WTMD, MCAL, WEQX, along with many others. These programmers believed in the magic of the band as much as we did and once, they sat down on the Chaise Longue, they got cozy and haven't left. You could say that they have been on the Chaise Longue all day long. 

Building on tremendous airplay from last year and the explosive increase of fans and metrics that followed, Chaise Longue has come off its best week at Alt cracking Top 20 on BDS. The Audacy family have been extremely supportive, starting with their “Pick Of The Week” program last fall through to last week's formal airplay commitment across all their stations. iHeart Alt 98.7 and their vital New Music Discovery kicked in last week as well. It is so hard to mention everyone who has been supportive, but WLUM and 91X have had the record in heavy rotation since last summer, WRFF came on in early December, and WEQX has been there from the start. These stations — and a great many more — have been instrumental to the single’s Alternative trajectory. 

None of this would be possible though without the incredibly dedicated promotions work of David McGilvray, Karen Glauber and the HITS team, Jen Daunt & Karen Moran from Dauntless and Joe Greenwald.

4.  It’s been a hot start to 2022 for Domino. The new Bob Moses song “Love Brand New” landed and immediately was featured as Audacy’s Pick Of The Week and then #1 Most Added at Alternative Radio. You couldn’t draw up a better script. Tell us about your new partnership with Astralwerks and Capitol and how this was launched with Redlight Management?  

We had previously worked closely with Toby Andrews (President of Astralwerks) as he was Bob Moses' manager at the time of their Domino debut album and breakout single “Tearing Me Up.” He's been invested in the band's success since the very beginning, so we liked the idea of joining forces again — particularly with the added expertise of his Astralwerks/Capitol team factored in. 

Geoff Barnett, Ed Green, Howard Petruziello and the entire Red Light team assembled a mighty radio strategy alongside Dan Connelly and the Astralwerks/Capitol team and David McGilvray, who led the band’s previous radio campaigns. Collectively they designed a terrific roadmap, and the execution has been stellar. 

5. You also have a new Franz Ferdinand Greatest Hits record coming with a couple new songs. Tell us about this project.

‘Hits To The Head’ is a collection of some of our favorite Franz Ferdinand songs, along with two killer new ones titled “Billy Goodbye” and “Curious” (launched this week). Franz Ferdinand made such an influential splash when they arrived almost two decades ago, so it's been fun to revisit some of the tunes that helped build their career — modern classics like “Take Me Out,” “Do You Want To,” “No You Girls” ...the hits go on! The band remain in peak form, their live show is unmissable — stay tuned for North American tour dates, announcing soon. Hits To The Head will be out March 11th. 

6. It’s going to be a busy year for Domino. Give us the 411 on what you will have coming up for Alternative Radio.

In addition to the current and future singles for Wet Leg, Franz Ferdinand and Bob Moses, we’ll have new music from Superorganism and Hot Chip, as well as some other surprises for later in the year. We can’t wait to talk to programmers about the records we have coming. 

7. Tell us about how Domino has grown since opening a U.S. office 20 years ago and how much the work environment has changed with Covid.

A fun fact about Domino U.S. is that the first employee was Daniel Kessler. He would ultimately get a little busy with his local NYC band Interpol. From that original one-person operation in the U.S., the team has grown to around 30 people across our label and publishing company in the U.S., with offices in New York and Los Angeles. 

The work environment has of course been challenging during Covid — we've missed the energy you only get from being in-person with colleagues. Obviously, the scarcity of live shows has been a huge bummer too. On the upside we have gotten really good at Zoom. 

8. How would you describe your promotion style?

I leave it to the professionals. We do our best to give our teams the information, data and support that they need to be successful. 

9.  What is the toughest part of your job? 

There aren’t many tough parts about listening to incredible music all day and working with extremely talented people and artists. 

10.  What would surprise people the most about you?

I used to run a fan website for The Appleseed Cast, the seminal Lawrence, KS post-hardcore emo band. I also ran a site with friends called Lawrencerock.com. It was like the Brooklyn Vegan of Lawrence, but before blogs existed. 

How often do you get back the Kansas City area and what are your top priorities when you get back home? 

I actually just went back earlier this month for less than 24 hours. My parents were taking care of my puppy Pickles over the holidays, and I flew in and out from L.A. in one day to pick her up. I do try to make it back a few times a year for longer than 24 hours and I always try to go to my favorite record store Love Garden Sounds in Lawrence, KS. 

What are your favorite restaurants in L.A.? 

101 Noodle Express, Mini Kabob, Skafs, Jitlada, Pearl River Deli, El Ruso & Playita Mariscos combo, Bridgetown Roti and too many more to name. 

Favorite new band over the past year that you’re not working?

Yasmin Williams, an incredible instrumental guitarist. She released my favorite record of last year called ‘Urban Driftwood.’ They aren’t new but I also love the new Turnstile record. It’s very exciting to hear a hardcore band on the Alternative airwaves. More please! I want to hear Deafheaven on the air next.