10 Questions with ... J.R. Schumann

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/JRSchumann1

Born and raised in Texas, J.R. Schumann developed a love for radio by listening to radio. Ever a fan of the medium, it wasn't until personal events in his mid-20s lead him to reevaluate his career as an EMT and consider making the leap to radio. In short order, Schumann has spent the past 12 years rising through the ranks - from part-time on-air personality and promotions staffer to full-time on-air talent, then on to programming stints in larger markets, which brought him back to Dallas to program some of his favorite stations from his youth. For the past two years, Schumann has served as Sr. Dir./Country Programming for SiriusXM where he oversees the programming and content initiatives for the satcaster's stable of Country-based channels. Now in his mid-30s, Schumann has become a trusted industry leader and music tastemaker as he continues to lead the charge for innovation in both satellite and terrestrial broadcast realms. A constant proponent and champion for radio, Schumann sat down with All Access to discuss his unique career path, programming philosophies, the leadership training that changed his perspective, and what he believes radio can do to push forward in the digital age.

1. J.R., thank you for taking time to speak with All Access! You are not only an influential decision maker in our format, but you've also experienced somewhat of an uncharted career path, having first stepped foot inside of a radio station less than 12 years ago, correct? Can you tell us about the transition from EMT to working in radio? Why radio, and how did you get started?

I know it's cliché, but I grew up fascinated by radio. I loved listening to the radio - News, Sports, music - I loved it all. And, being in Dallas, I got to listen to some of the best people to ever grace the airwaves - Ron Chapman at KVIL; Kidd Kraddick; Terry Dorsey and Hawkeye at KSCS; Harmon and Evans at KPLX; Hubcap Carter at night on KLUV, who had an awesome Oldies show, then on Monday nights would do a Doo Wop show; Chuck Brinkman... [There are] so many legendary people in radio in Dallas from the 80s and 90s, how could you not fall in love with radio?! They were larger-than-life personalities, and I was always fascinated by it and loved it. Going from an EMT into radio, I knew it early on that an 8a-5p office gig wasn't gonna work for me. I've been very fortunate throughout my entire life to have, ultimately, two careers that I love and really enjoyed. But, having been through a number of major life events early on, I've just kinda hit the reset button and said that I've always loved radio, why not? Let me give this a shot and see what happens! That's literally how it went. I just decided one day, "Okay, I need to do something else," and I moved back to Dallas and started banging on every radio station's door in town until somebody got tired of hearing me knock on the door and let me know. I started at Radio Disney AM 620 in Dallas; Jay Jenson and Tara Belle gave me my first shot at radio in any capacity. They were the very first people to hire me. Basically, what I'm saying is, it's all their fault! Jay Jenson Jr. is to blame for everything that happened after that.

2. In fairly short order, you went from Tyler, TX to Birmingham, then on to programming stints in Orlando and Dallas before landing in your current role at SiriusXM. Why do you believe you were able to make such large career leap so quickly?

In Tyler, I kind of picked up in the middle; there were several places before that. I started part-time in Promotions at Radio Disney, and I did that for almost a year. I also worked part-time at another radio station in Dallas doing Promotions, as well, and waited tables. Then, I went to Woodville, TX at KWUD, and I was there for less than a year or so. Then, I went to Victoria, TX and I worked at KIXS and was there for two years. Then, I went to El Dorado, AR at KIXB. Then, I ended up in Tyler doing KYKX, and then, I left there. I was in Dallas working part-time on the air for The Wolf in between Tyler and Birmingham, then to Orlando, then back to Dallas, then to SiriusXM. But, the answer to your question - why I was able to move up and move around so much - quite honestly, I wish I could say it's just some innate, incredible ability that I have to do this job, but it's not! Ultimately, I've had people that have believed in me and given me opportunities that I probably didn't deserve along the way and have given me that vote of confidence that I needed. It was true that, I think, too, it kept me focused on the right things. At that point, it was my responsibility to prove that they were right in making that decision. Guys like Randy Chase, Mike McVay, Bob Kingsley, Mark Phillips, and Smokey Rivers at The Wolf - so many people gave me shots along the way that allowed me to continue to grow and get to where I am today. So, the answer to your question is I owe everything I have to the people along the way that gave me a shot, even probably when I didn't deserve it. There are a lot of people that have been doing this a whole lot longer than I have and were better at radio and programming and everything than I was, but the one thing, for me, is I was fully prepared to outwork anybody and everybody; they might be better, they might have been doing it longer, but eventually, you're gonna take a break, and that's where I'm gonna beat you. I put it all in with every single thing that I've done since I've been in this business. It's been 100%, all or nothing, in every aspect of what I've done in this business. You might be better than me. You might be smarter than me. You might be more seasoned, or whatever, but you're probably never gonna outwork me. But, it took those people and those positions to give the guy without all the experience the shot.

3. What did you learn from each of those different markets that you carried with you to the next, and now in to your current role at SiriusXM?

Honestly, it has very little to do with the market and everything to do with the people. I have been fortunate to work with some really great people, and I have surrounded myself with people that are smarter than me. I've learned so much in so many different things from so many different people and understand being open to new ideas and new things and open to the realization that I don't have all the answers. We might be wrong - we may be way off base - but it's a collective effort from everybody in every aspect of things. The stuff we pulled off in Orlando... we kept winning the battle, because we had a whole team of people that really bought in, and we were all chipping away at the same goal. I've carried all of that with me, from everywhere I've ever been, back when I was on the ambulance to where I am today. I've learned from everybody I've ever been around - good, bad, or indifferent - I learned from the people I work with, I would say, probably more than they've learned from me! And, just paying attention, being aware, listening - I'll be the first to admit, I'm not always the best at it, but it's something I work at every day. Trying to learn something new from somebody else as often as I can.

4. Now at SiriusXM, you are outside of the "traditional" terrestrial broadcast radio model and are very hands-on with the programming efforts for more niche channels within the overall Country landscape on satellite, include the progressive model of "The Highway." Can you discuss why SiriusXM appeals to you, and what advantages you believe you have in getting to program these channels versus the terrestrial broadcast radio model?

I was just a subscriber of SiriusXM long before I came to work here. I loved all the different aspects of music and radio and everything that you could get from SiriusXM - I had it in my car, online, and everything else. When the opportunity came up for me to join the team, for me, it was a no-brainer. This company gets it. What I mean by that is there's Programming, or Promotions, or whatever that, philosophically, we agree on everything - top-level stuff on how to grow it and move forward and advance as not only a media company, but as a business, in general. The understanding of the realization of what we did yesterday was good, but that was yesterday. What are you gonna do tomorrow that is gonna be even better? You've already done yesterday, so you can't do that again. How are you gonna constantly reinvent, recreate, and reengage people to keep [their] interest? This company has done a tremendous job of that, from the different artist partner channels and shows and themes - all the unique aspects of programming and creativity that happen at this company. I'm still over the moon about being a part of it. It challenges us to be better tomorrow than we were today, and surely yesterday. Our audience is our client; that's who we cater to. The moment that they lose interest because we've just been doing the same thing over and over, it's game over for us. It's challenging, it's engaging, it's - dare I say - old school radio in a lot of ways.

5. You have always been a champion of new artists and new music, and your position at SiriusXM has afforded you the opportunity to help break many new, unsigned acts. How do you find the artists and their music, and how do you internally A&R the potential "Highway Finds" artists? What's the difference between a music meeting at SiriusXM vs. a music meeting at terrestrial radio?

I get music from all over. There's so much music that's sent in to us every day from you name it...the artists themselves, the songwriters, the publicists, booking agents, managers, and we haven't even gotten to the record labels yet. There's truly not a shortage of music, but, for me, when we have our music meetings, I'm always listening for the best song that's not currently on "The Highway" that could be from anybody. Maybe it's Keith Urban this week, maybe it's Carly Pearce next week, and Adam Doleac or Steve Moakler the week after that. It comes down to, "What am I playing currently? And, what's the best song that's not currently on 'The Highway?'" And, it comes down to all the normal stuff - the vocal performance, the lyrics, the production - it's all gotta be right, especially from an unsigned artist or an independent artist; you're gonna be up against Keith Urban, or you're gonna be up against Carrie Underwood, you're gonna be up against Dan Huff-produced music, and Jay Joyce-produced music, busbee-produced music, and so your song has the hang in there. It's gotta fit. It has to sound like it belongs. Those are all the things we're looking for while trying to be progressive and stay on the cutting edge, but still providing a product that delivers great, new, cutting edge Country music that the audience wants and continues to pay for. I use the term "music meeting," because that's the term that most people in the industry will know what I'm talking about. But, my music meeting never stops. I listen to music all day, every day. I have music playing in the background while I'm doing other things - I'm constantly listening to music. I feel like I wanna say that I've always been that way, but there's certainly more of an emphasis on it now. And, I listen to things that I had never listened to before, and from a different perspective, because it's trying to find that next thing that could potentially break through. We have a formal music meeting every week, too, where we discuss final decisions, but music is played all day, every day. Everybody's listening to different things, and somebody will go, "Hey! I just found this, you should listen to this," and I'll do the same thing. I was sending around an email earlier today and said, "Hey, I found these songs, what do you guys think about it?" and everybody kinda chimes in. It's a constant, fluid process.

6. In addition to - and in conjunction with - your position of leadership within our industry, you are also part of The John Maxwell Team of independently certified coaches, mentors, and public speakers. How do you believe this training has changed your leadership style, and what would you say is your personal leadership motto?

The opportunity to partner with and be mentored by John and the entire John Maxwell Team has impacted my life exponentially, and that's an understatement. I owe so much of who I am and where I am today to so many people, but not the least of which are The John Maxwell Team - John Maxwell, Paul Martinelli, Roddy Galbraith, Christian Simpson - these handful of people are some of the best thinkers that I've ever been in a room with. I joined The John Maxwell Team about six years ago now. They challenged me, encouraged me, pushed me, and changed the way that I think and approach everything. It's not just in my professional life, but in my personal life, and my family life - everything. I've learned so much through the process of learning how to become an influential leader, which is ultimately what I want to be known for. Radio is a small part of it. The biggest thing that anyone could ever tell me is, "Wow, you really had an impact," or "Working with you I learned this..." or "Because of this, this happened..." That's really what it's about. John said, "When you begin realizing significance, success will never be enough." Once you get into the pinnacle of leadership, which is significance, nothing else matters! My leadership motto would come from John. John ingrained this in me a long time ago: You can care about people without leading them, but you can't lead people well without caring about them. It's [about] understanding that people won't go along with you until they can get along with you. It's understanding that in any business, the only true appreciable asset in your business are the people that make it up - that's the only thing that will guarantee a greater return on your investment and productivity, execution, everything are the people that make up your organization. If you lose the people, you'll fail. Every single time. There's never been a single business that's ever succeeded without people. Back to SiriusXM, this is a company that really focuses on the talent and the people that are creating and making up what we do here. So, my leadership clause comes from the people.

7. In your role at SiriusXM, you have oversight of multiple channels and, therefore, work with many personalities in varying stages of their careers, from SiriusXM "The Highway" morning show producer MC to "Prime Country" personality Charlie Monk. How do you balance the needs of these various personalities as you coach them, and what advice do you have for other programmers who find themselves in a position where they may be coaching veteran personalities and newcomers to the industry all on the same staff?

It goes back into what I was saying, in understanding that you're dealing with people. That is a great example - MC all the way to Charlie Monk - but, it's the same principle. I learned this from John, as well: no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. I can go in and have a conversation with Charlie Monk about really anything, because he knows where I'm coming from - I actually understand his situations, and I actually care. I was Terry Dorsey's Program Director! I grew up listening to this guy on the radio, and all of a sudden, he's in my office for an aircheck meeting, and I'm sitting there going, "How in the world am I supposed to tell Terry Dorsey about how to do radio?!" And, you know, it's [about] understanding that I don't have all the answers, but collectively, we can do really great things. My ultimate goal is for them to be successful, because as long as they're doing what they do and doing it well and winning, then everything else takes care of itself. Advice for programmers would be just that - no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. So, care about your people and approach it from that aspect, and you'll get so much further and so much more out of them. It was Goethe that said, "See a man as he is, and he will forever remain the same, but see a man as he could be, and he will unlock his potential." It's paraphrased, but that's it. You have to go in and truly believe that you have the right people in the right place, doing the right things. Sure, they made need direction here or there, or you're the bumpers on the bowling alley, but as long as they know, and you really believe it - you can't fake it, and you can't pretend - do that, and you'll find people that will run through a wall for you.

8. As someone who, demographically, falls in to the "Millennial" bracket, but who is in a position of forward-thinking leadership in our industry, what would you say are the biggest challenges facing terrestrial radio? In your opinion, how should we be preparing ourselves for the future of radio and the music industry?

Am I millennial? I guess I am. How should radio be preparing ourselves? Pay attention. Pay attention to everything, because everything matters. Watch for trends. Embrace change; welcome it, and then try to get ahead of it. You might not always be right, but as long as you're constantly chasing it and evolving and following and seeing where the people go and what they're doing, you're doing it right. There's so much data readily available to tell you everything you need to know about what your target audience and demographic is doing and what's important to them. It's really just a matter of truly paying attention and seeking those things out, finding the hot buttons, and then trying to capitalize on them. What worked five years ago doesn't work today. And, today doesn't matter! If you're worrying about today, you already lost. You need to be looking at next week, next month, [and] next year, because that's really where the present time is. The present is the future. You have to be so much further ahead and so much more engaging in order to stay relevant.

9. Similarly, the media landscape continues to evolve as our target demos become more technology-minded and "plugged-in," so to speak. Where do you see radio going, and what is the outlook for our industry looking ahead at, say, the year 2025?

The people that are in that beloved 18-34 demo in the year 2025 were born in the year 2007 - the year of the iPhone. It even goes back, prior to them. The people entering that demo today - in the last two years - everything has always been available to them, whenever they've asked for it, and at their fingertips. If it's not, it must not be important, and they move onto something else. Radio, I think, as an industry, can learn so much from Netflix, because of two things. Don't forget the fact that Blockbuster Video was approached by Netflix with an opportunity to purchase Netflix for what, today, would be considered pennies on dollar - the 40-50 million dollar range in the early 2000s - Blockbuster Video could have purchased Netflix and passed on it, because Blockbuster says, "Well, people love coming into our stores, and they love the experience, and they get the popcorn and Junior Mints, and they pick out a video, and they go home and watch it. It's a whole Friday night experience, and doing it at home will never work." And, today, Blockbuster is completely out of business, and Netflix is a billion-dollar company. Radio can learn a lot from Netflix, just from how they approach things. Netflix isn't just about putting on old movies that you can go and rent at Blockbuster; it's about creating new content. Netflix puts out a show, and they'll give you an entire season, then the Netflix consumer consumes all of it at once. They will watch an entire season of something in a weekend and then be foaming at the mouth waiting for Netflix to give them the next fix, in essence. Netflix is the perfect example of create, create, create - create the best stuff that you can and put it out there. Then, constantly keep the funnel full, and keep people engaged. The idea of people listening to one song on a record at a time is over. When you go to the show, and the audience knows four or five tracks from the album that just came out - tracks that have never been played on the radio - that's not by accident. People consume our products much differently today. Give it to them! Over-create and continue to fulfill that want and that need for creative, funny, engaging, compelling content, and people will be there. They want it. They need it. But, it's far more competitive now. The Amazon Echo and the Sonos systems are fantastic, because, suddenly, for the first time in probably ten to fifteen years, people have radios in their homes again! For the young people - the people in the 18-25 demo - they never grew up with radios in their homes. No one went home and turned on their radio, because it didn't exist. The home stereo system was a thing of the past, but now, it's back. So, creating that content, being compelling, and keeping them engaged so that they go, "Oh my gosh, I heard a thing on the radio," or "Buzz mentioned this on 'The Highway,' I gotta find this and listen to this interview," or whatever it is. Keep them engaged. I watch "The Tonight Show" every day, and I don't think I've ever seen it live on TV; I catch the clips and the interviews on Facebook or through Jimmy [Fallon]'s socials. Same with "The Ellen [DeGeneres] Show." I can tell you who was on "The Ellen Show" recently, but it's on during the day, and I don't get to watch it, but her show gets all the credit for it. It's just a whole different landscape that radio should not be afraid of and should embrace, because it's just about content - that's it. We're a content business; provide content. Give the audience engaging content, because that's what they want, and that's what they're getting, basically, from everybody else.

10. Having already made your way through the ranks of terrestrial radio, and now having spent approximately two years with SiriusXM, do you continue to create and update your personal five-year career plan? As a goal-setter, how do you plot your own goals, and what steps do you take to work toward them?

I've always been a very goal-oriented person, because I believe you have to know where you're going, otherwise how will you know if you ever got there? So, I set goals - long-term goals, five years, even ten-year goals. For me, I will start with a huge goal of where I wanna be five to ten years from now and then work my way back, ultimately creating the plan of how to get there. It's like you asking me earlier in the last twelve years, how did [I] get from where [I was] to where [I am] now - in some version of that, I try to picture myself five or ten years from now, and I've achieved this... How did I get from where I am now to there, and then start working your way back. If you're gonna be there in ten years, where do you need to be in eight years, where do you need to be in five years, where do you need to be in two years, what do you need to be 6 months from now? Give yourself actionable, attainable goals, and plan to work through and know, "Okay, by six months, I need to have achieved X. Then when I get to a year, I need to have already done A, B, and C. When I get to four years from, I need to have achieved X, A, B, C, E, and F," so that you can track your progress, understanding that things are gonna change and gonna be unexpected. You can adjust your plan along the way, but as long as you're continually working and developing to get to where you need to go, you will get there - often a lot sooner than you originally anticipated. There's a guy named Dan Kennedy who said once, "Disciplined use of the time everybody else wastes will give you the edge." So, mapping out your goals and having that plan will give you the ability to have that more disciplined use of your time than everybody else sits around going, "Gee, I wonder what I should be doing next." While they're all doing that, you're moving forward.

1. As we look ahead, where do you think the next generation of great on-air talent will come from? How can we better recruit and train personnel for radio?

There's a lot of great people out there, and they're not just your broadcast or [Radio/Television/Broadcast/Film] majors in colleges; they're servers in restaurants, bartenders, Uber drivers. You know, if you're a host on the air, you're constantly looking for content. If you're a programmer or somebody in charge of hiring and developing talent, you're always looking for the next great talent or personality. There's a guy, today, that's one of the most successful voiceover artists - he's been in radio a longtime and is hugely successful - he was discovered at a drive-thru of a fast food restaurant in Tyler, TX. A programmer heard him talk over the drive-thru speaker and was like, "You should be in radio." And, now, 25 or 30 years later, he's been doing it for that long and has had one of the most successful voiceover businesses today, and he works for himself. You see people all the time that would make a great co-host or whatever, but then we never follow up on it, because they're "just" a server, or a bartender, or this, or that; we try to find the people that are at a radio station somewhere. Maybe they have no idea that's what they should be doing. Maybe they're working in a fast food restaurant and need someone to come along and go, "Hey, you should be in radio," and 30 years from now, they have lived a life they never would have imagined. It's just a matter of being aware and paying attention to everything - everything matters. You never know when your next great morning host is bringing you your basket of cheese sticks - you never know!

2. Less than six months ago, something happened that affected you both personally and professionally, as you were on-site in Las Vegas during the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. What steps do you feel our industry can take to continue to progress in areas of safety and security at public events and concerts? How do you think on-site radio promotions can and should change to better ensure the safety of all involved?

For me, it's pretty simple; be prepared. And, be prepared for everything. There's a reason these things ALWAYS happen when you least expect it. So, start expecting it. Not expecting it as in, "Oh my God, something terrible is gonna happen," but expecting it from a standpoint of readiness and security at your event. We wanna be the accessible format. The label's managers and artists go above and beyond to do that, and you know, to provide that accessibility to these artists. We've gotta be reasonable about these things. We live in a different world these days. Check bags when people go in. Secure your events. Know who's at your event. Have tight security and secure areas of your event or venue and the backstage area. I know Bob's Power Barn is a very important client, but he doesn't need ten or twenty all access passes, you know? Limit transferability of these tickets and your passes. Limit the number of people allowed at a meet and greets. Have the meet and greet in a location that is secure; know who's going in and coming out. Approach everything from a perspective of "If something were gonna happen, how would we protect our people?" And, have a real plan that you've discussed with people about "What to do if..." so that people know and train and work through those. Bring in outside security. Don't trust your Promotions part-timers to work the front door of an event or the backstage door of an event. Create an environment that, when these artists show up, they feel safe. Your listeners are going to be understanding, because they live in the same world; they know that this kind of stuff happens. Tell them upfront, "When you go in, security's gonna be a little tighter than it has in the past, but we're doing this for this and this reason..." I went to the Super Bowl, and the security checkpoints at the Super Bowl were three blocks away from the stadium! Then, there was high fencing, and you had to walk through this maze to finally get to the stadium before you even got in. But, you knew it was gonna be like that, and people had to plan accordingly. It's terrible that we have to be like that, but it's just the reality. Communicate with the labels and the artists' managers who are gonna be in the meet and greet. They all have lists of people that they don't allow in certain parts or in the venues at all, even. And, cross-reference; knowing who's at your event is the biggest thing you can do. It's not always easy, but have an idea, and have a plan, because most of the time, the most vulnerable things happen in those events where it's like, "Oh, it's just a small thing - no big deal." There are going to be unforeseen things that are gonna happen. Nobody could have ever imagined what happened in Vegas. Route 91 was a secure event, but you can't predict that a guy is gonna be 300 yards away in a sniper's position with machine guns. You can't predict that. But, you know, there were plans put in place in those events. You talk to artists' managers or whoever - they have a plan if something happens. Radio needs to be doing the same thing. When and if something happens, here's what we do, here's where we go, here's where we meet up, here's where who says what, here's who talks to who, here's who calls the cop - whatever it is! Whether it's a medical emergency [for] someone in the audience or some catastrophic event, have a plan and know what to do. Identify key people that, when something happens, know to find this person, or this person find this person. When I worked on the ambulance, we'd call it a mass casualty accident, which is basically any event that exceeds your immediate resources, so if it's just you and your partner, three people or three injuries might be considered a mass casualty - it's the moment the incident has exceeded your resources. When you come up on an event like that, there's a whole system in to place with accountability, command, one person that has the incident commander - for a reason, because it's chaos. When everybody is just running wild and nobody knows what to do, that's where things go from bad to worse. So, it's about having that plan of order in monster chaos and letting people know, "If this happens, do this." Do that enough, and it'll become automatic, and when something - God forbid - happens, people will know and remember it, and you'll be able to really affect and hopefully save lives. But, you've gotta have a plan and make sure everyone knows about the plan, especially your key people.