10 Questions with ... Casey Carter

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

iHeartMedia Country WTQR/Greensboro, NC Program Director Casey Carter has established solid credentials during her radio career, with programming and on-air stops in Charlotte; Columbus; New Orleans; Jacksonville; Birmingham; and Lafayette, LA. In addition to her current duties at WTQR, Carter programs Rock clustermate WVBZ in Greensboro and still provides middays for her alma mater in Charlotte, WKKT. Her LinkedIn profile describes her as "Lover of my dog and all things radio." Carter is also a huge NASCAR fan. When it comes to music and radio, she's got great ears and is respected as one of the most fundamentally sound Country programmers on our business. During our "10 Questions" chat, Carter shared how she broke into radio, some of the early challenges she faced as a lady in a business dominated by men, her take on the state of Country radio, talent development, plus finding - then becoming - a mentor to aspiring radio pros.

1. Casey, thank you for taking the time for "10 Questions." Let's start with your radio journey. You have a lot of great call letters on your resume - WKKT, WCOL, WNOE, WQIK/WROO, WZZK, WTQR, KXKC. Tell me what first got you interested in radio and where your first radio job was?

I was first interested in radio as little kid; I had a portable record player, and I used to walk around the house pretending I was a disc jockey. I played "Muskrat Love" by Captain & Tennille and "Philadelphia Freedom" by Elton John - those were my two songs. I just played them over and over. Then, as I got a little bit older, my dad started letting me play with his albums, so I was always putting on shows in the living room. When I was 10, I started playing saxophone and had a kind of natural knack for it, where I was winning awards in high school. After high school, I was planning on going in to something music related, and at the very last second, I was like, "You know what, I'm gonna go in to radio and play other people's music." So, I've been in radio since I got out of high school - since 17. My first gig was WMRN-A in Marion, OH. I got to board up the "Jim Bohannon Show" on weekends, and every other Sunday, I got to do noon to 6p. I was 17 on this AM station playing Bette Midler and Mott The Hoople.

2. Last week, I interviewed Ashley Wilson, PD of an alma mater of yours, WNOE. We talked about her move in to programming and how that happened, which was deliberate on her part, as she told me, "I knew I needed to be a decision-maker." Is that similar to how you became an MD, APD, and eventually a PD?

Yeah, absolutely. When I first got in to radio, I was listening to Rock 'n' Roll music like a total Rock chick. My first goal was to be a major market Rock jock, but never got that Rock station job. Everyone was telling me to take what I could get and build my resume. So, after getting a couple hard knocks, I ended up back in Columbus, OH, working for my mom's tanning salon when a woman walked in wearing a sweatshirt from a radio station in Denver. Come to find out, her husband was the General Manager at WCOL, and they had just signed on as Country on Valentine's Day in 1994. So, I went to work there part-time, and that was my first Country job. When I first started in Country, I didn't know anything about Country music - at all. I had heard of The Judds, and I knew Garth, and I knew there was some Alan Jackson guy that did a song about Chattahoochee - that's all I got. My Program Director then really made me learn about Country, and it was so different than any other type of radio I had done. That was my fifth job in radio, and that kind of made my path clear - that I didn't wanna be some major Rock 'n' Roll jock anymore; I just wanted to be a Program Director. I thought that Country radio was really cool and different. Getting that first Country job is what set me on my path to want to be an MD, then a PD, then move on from there.

3. Once you became a part of that decision-making process, did you face any challenges in a business dominated by males, who sometimes have marginalized ladies in our business when it comes to programming input?

At first, no, but later, yes. I worked for WCOL for two and a half years - part-time on-air and doing promotions - but, that's when my path became clear in my mind. WHOK, which also used to be in Columbus, offered me a full-time job, and I said, "That's great, but I really wanna be a Music Director, then a Program Director someday." The Program Director's name was Jim Hayes, and he said to me, "I already have a Music Director, but I'll make you Assistant Music Director, so you can sit in on our meetings, because I feel like the female perspective is very important." That's when I started doing music calls and learned all that, which helped me leap frog to New Orleans to be APD/MD. Les Acree hired me there, and he also liked having the female perspective. Then, I went from there to my first programming job in Jacksonville, and that's when I kind of started learning that being a female PD means you have to work smarter and harder, because you're automatically not a member of the boys club, and there is certainly a boys club in radio. So, you work smarter and harder to show that you belong.

4. You and I talk every week and, invariably, the name Les Acree comes up, unsolicited. He was obviously a big influence and a strong mentor for you. How did that relationship begin, and what were the qualities that made Les a great PD, and eventual Country Radio Hall Of Famer?

Les was just the man; he carried a respect with him. I had worked for some very great people before Les, but he just had this respect for other people in the industry that was awesome. Everybody knew Les Acree, everybody loved Les Acree, and everybody could laugh at Les Acree's expense, including Les Acree himself. He was a true character and so well-loved. He was so knowledgeable and so incredibly good at his job that when he brought me in to work under him, I realized that he was giving me the biggest break I've ever had in radio, and I better shut up, listen, and learn. The things I learned from him are tremendous and still carry with me 'til this day.

5. And, now that you've been in the biz for a while as a PD, do you feel a responsibility to become a mentor or role model for young females aspiring to succeed in the business?

Absolutely. There have been a couple people that I've been introduced to by mutual friends, and there have been other people who have reached out asking for me to listen to their aircheck or give them advice. I feel like that's really important. There were certain people when I was young in the industry that took me under their wing, and I feel like it's my responsibility to take people under my wing. When I first started out, you could go get that part-time job working overnights. That doesn't exist anymore. I think it's more important than ever to take that person under your wing and get them up to speed a little bit quicker than I was brought up to speed back in my day.

6. Let's talk about your market, Greensboro, NC. This is a very strong Country radio market, with more than 12 shares between the two stations. Can you give us a thumbnail on what the core demo is and what kind of music the life group in Greensboro gravitates towards?

This market definitely loves Country, but the strength - in addition to Country - also comes from the Urban stations here, plus there are two major AC stations here, too; one that we own with iHeartMedia and another one owned by Entercom called "Simon." They do play anything, but everything they play is familiar. The stations that really, really thrive in this market are, much to the dismay of the record labels - not the newer music. People in this market have shown us time and time again that they love what they know and know what they love. Of all the markets I've been in, this is the hardest market to break new stuff, just because they love familiarity. Both AC stations are familiar and do well. The Classic Rock station does very well.

7. Thinking beyond the market you're in, what's your take on the format right now? Rod Phillips was our "Power Player" subject last week, and he said, "I'm sitting here in the Summer of 2018, and I feel like we're in a really terrific spot. Today, listeners like a high variety of music, and that's one of the reasons we're seeing Country turn the corner back in to positive ratings. I believe this positive trend is just going to continue." Do you share his optimism?

I absolutely do. As long as I've been doing Country, I think that with the explosion of Bro-Country, we got too copycat on that, which kind of brought us down a bit. But, now, we're starting to see artists do their own thing, and it's not Bro anymore. Look at Luke Combs; he's bringing Country back. I'm really excited about Riley Green; he's bringing the Country sound back. There's still a place for the more traditional Country, but there's also a place for the more Pop Country, and still a place for the Rock Country. I feel like the format has expanded to the point where it's in a really, really good place right now.

8. Do you feel any significant music movement happening? For example, Cody Johnson is seeing a huge buzz right now. He's a traditional, Texas-style artist. Do you feel any format pivot back to traditional, or are we still diverse like the wild, wild west?

I think it's truly a little bit of both. The format has become more diverse, and because of that, there's that natural pivot back to the traditional. I think that we have room for the traditional, but still have room for the Sam Hunts of the world. That's what makes this format great; it doesn't have to be just one sound. It can all vary and all fit.

9. One issue that keeps percolating in our format is the disparity between male and female airplay exposure. The challenge of female artist exposure is often laid at the feet of terrestrial radio. As a programmer who also happens to be female, do you feel that's fair?

Yes and no. I wanna see the women get out there and kill it just as much as anybody does, but with the nature of what we do here in Greensboro and with our playlists being ultra-conservative, focusing on the familiar music, it's hard to break anybody new, regardless of whether they're male or female. A lot of times, when I have one slot to add a record and hadn't had a slot in a couple of weeks, it comes down to the song with the best metrics, numbers, and research. A lot of times, that's just naturally the guys, and it might just be pure numbers. There might be better research on guys, because there are more of them out there. I'm certainly open to playing any female, but looking at the songs going for adds, we always have more guys than we have women. I also think there are really exciting females coming up right now; this new Danielle Bradbery song is awesome, I'm excited about Lindsay Ell, I'm excited that Sugarland is back with a good song. I think that females get unfairly pigeon-holed. I think there's room for everybody. In my particular instance here, a lot of times, I only have room for whatever I see good numbers on, and more often than not, that's a guy.

10. Another concern now - beyond a male-female challenge - is the talent development crisis when it comes to on-air personalities. How will we convince young, dynamic creatives to choose radio over, or in addition to, other means of gaining exposure? And, do they require the same kind of training to do radio that previous generations did?

You have Instagram stars that can go on there and be a star, and they're not worried about people meters. They don't have to worry about getting their thoughts out in seven seconds to be meter-friendly. There's also that mindset of, with social media stars, that just kinda happens, whereas in radio, you've gotta start at the bottom and work your way up. Nobody walks into Ryan Seacrest's job right out of college, or Bobby Bones. I remember ten years ago hiring a producer for our morning show; she was fresh out of college and lasted about six months and came to me one day saying she was college-educated and that her dad said she should be making three times what she's making. I politely told her, "I hear you loud and clear, but you also have some dues to pay," and she wouldn't hear it and got out of radio. I think there might be a little bit of that mindset, too, where everyone wants instant gratification, and in radio, you have to be willing to put in the time to later get your gratification, because it's not instant.

1. We always talk "Hot Picks" when we speak about music each week. If Casey Carter ruled the world, who are the artists she is most excited about or feel that listeners need to hear more of?

Our listeners hear plenty of Luke Combs, but... Luke Combs. I'm really digging him. I love Midland and what they're doing - it's so fun. It's traditional, but almost tongue-in-cheek. Those guys are so fun. I'm excited about Morgan Wallen. And, from what I've heard from Riley Green, that's the CD that keeps going back in my deck in my car.

2. You're obsessed with NASCAR. How did that start, and what active driver is your favorite?

It's funny; my dad designed car parts for a living, so I've grown up around cars my entire life. My dad and his friends used to restore old cars, and every weekend, we'd go to Rod Runs, where a bunch of people with antique cars get together, hang out, listen to 50s music, brag about their cars, and rev up their engines. So, I've been around cars my whole life, and the fact that you can get one car and put another one next to it to see which one goes faster is really cool. Growing up in Ohio, I always watched the Indy 500. I was never into NASCAR until 1998 when I was at 'HOK in Columbus when we got contract to run NASCAR. I kept having listeners ask me who my driver was, and I'd tell them, "I don't have a driver, I just love the fact that you've got more than one car out there to see which goes faster, and to me, that's freaking awesome." They'd tell me I need a driver, so at the beginning of the 1999 season, I picked the rookie, Tony Stewart, because I'd known of him from the Indy 500 and whatnot. So, he became my driver and went on to be the winningest rookie - at that time - in NASCAR history. He's since been equaled with Jimmie Johnson, with three wins their rookie year. I picked a driver that really sucked me into the sport, so I was a huge Tony Stewart fan all those years, and now that he's retired, I root for his drivers, because he's a co-owner with Stewart Haas. So, anytime a Stewart Haas car does well, I'm happy.