CRS 2017’s Overall Winner? CRS 2017

In recent years, processing Country Radio Seminar (CRS) has taken me a day or so. Following a good night’s sleep and a full day of sobriety (for the first time in a week), I’m able to sort out what just happened, and identify who or what emerged as that year’s CRS champ. Keith Urban took the crown in 2015; the women dominated the event last year.

But 2017? Hard to put my finger on that one thing. And, I’m not alone. I asked around Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, emailing friends who were there – some who I actually saw, and others I never did (because: CRS) but followed on social media – to get their take. They agreed with me. So therefore, I’ve decided to declare the winner of CRS 2017…wait for it: CRS 2017. The sum of the entire event is this year’s champ.

I didn’t see everything at CRS. If I had, you’d be attending my memorial service sometime soon, because that entire list of events is murder. I stuck to the track I was on, but asked everybody about theirs, too. So here are the strongest takeaways I personally witnessed or heard the most about. If I missed something glaring and obvious, be sure and let me know.

Data. Lots Of Data: CRS always features a treasure trove of information for attendees via the annual Edison Media Research project it commissions. But this year, several other panels delivered valuable and insightful research results, too. If I’m being honest here, research projects from previous years have been stronger in terms of actionable takeaways for attendees, but keep in mind, I’m using Edison’s own untouchable standards and quality as the benchmark – and that’s a very high bar. Think skyscraper here. The Edison study for 2017 was still excellent, focusing on the increasing mobile usage among Country listeners, who are among the 81% of humans that own a smartphone. What are they doing with it? Owned music and streaming occupy 81% of the audio usage, with AM/FM at a low 8%. Edison’s Tom Webster acknowledged the overall challenges for AM/FM radio on a smartphone, but pointed out that Country mobile users are more likely (78%) to also use AM/FM than other music fans. Country fans love apps, too, using at least seven each day. No surprises as to which ones lead the way with Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat most popular. Edison’s key takeaways: Remember, radio is the original mobile media; capitalize on Country fans’ inherent loyalty; hug and embrace vendors to use Facebook and other socials to interact; and, know that custom audiences empower you to better target listeners. The presentation is lively in addition to being very interesting; check it out here.

Another session I thought provided strong takeaways was Friday morning’s (2/24) “Dicing The Data” panel, which offered viable alternatives for airplay consideration. Stone Door Media Lab’s Jeff Green suggested that, in addition to intangibles like gut and playlist fit, five measurable factors should be part of the decision-making process: watching Shazam activity early; monitoring a song’s most-added progress, which forecasts chart success; achieving Mediabase “Airborne” status; sales-per spin; and Pandora streaming data. For example, Green’s tracking showed 55% of most-added songs go on to reach #1, with 82% making top 15. Achieving Mediabase “Airborne” status is meaningful, with the average peak for such songs at #12. Also important to watch, says Green, are sales-per-spin stats and Pandora streaming data, which he says leads Mediabase in predicting top 10 songs.

Still not enough data for ya? The CMA shared its “The Power Of The Country Music Consumer” study results, which paralleled the Edison study, in terms of how heavy mobile phone usage is among Country listeners. Late Thursday, Integr8 Research President Matt Bailey and Warner Music Nashville’s research savant Victoria Nugent powered “Moving The Listeners And Numbers that Count,” with Bailey asserting that songs take 13 weeks to become top 10 hits, and the big hits stay big for 28-44 weeks in most cases. Nugent shared data that showed 52% of early airplay on songs happens in overnights, and that the biggest amount of consumption for #1 songs happens within the first 15 weeks of airplay.

Garth Is Always A Big Freakin’ Deal: His hour-long presentation on Thursday showed that he can pack a room, whether he’s singing in it or simply speaking. Like at his record-setting live shows, Garth never stood still, pacing the stage and hitting all the right notes while talking about retirement, un-retirement, the music biz, and being influenced by Queen’s late front man, Freddie Mercury (he had me at Queen). Garth came up with more than a few money quotes during his chat, including his advocacy of songwriters, saying, “If something's not good for the songwriters, it's not good for the industry,” as he pointed out that since the explosion of digital music platforms, Nashville has lost 80% of its songwriters. And, knowing full well who was in the room, Garth repeatedly thanked and praised radio: “What I love about radio is that there's still that art side. Some of the best faces I remember seeing in the crowd were the radio people. I think people are in radio, because they just love music." A long Q&A included a question about Garth’s ability to play extended shows, often performing several in one day. Putting it into perspective, Brooks said, “If your job was eating ice cream for a living and your boss said, 'You're gonna have to pull a double shift today’…that's my life. I love it." He had me at ice cream. Now it all makes sense.

Keith Urban: Yep, him again. Deal with it. The overall winner of CRS in 2015, Urban certainly made a case for repeat honors this year. In fact, Urban is becoming well-known for being present at CRS in a high-profile way, always delivering memorable moments that remind all of us we’re pretty damned lucky to do what we do. This year, he presented Zac Brown with the CRS Artist Humanitarian Award – which Urban received last year. Always humble, generous, and eloquent, Urban once again delivered while honoring Brown. That evening, Urban took attendees through a guided tour of his album “RipCord,” explaining how the songs and album were conceived and recorded. I saw Urban do this right before “RipCord” was released – also in a small setting – and it was amazing then. If you thought “RipCord” was a special project after simply listening to it, imagine having Urban walk you through it with live musical intervals. Priceless. Thursday, as Urban played “Blue Ain’t Your Color” at the annual UMG lunch inside the historic Ryman Auditorium, he was joined by label mates Chris Stapleton and Vince Gill for an extended, guitar-shredding jam. Where else are you going to see that? Of course, that’s a rhetorical question, because the answer is: Nowhere.

Mentoring – It’s A Thing: I absolutely love what the agenda committee has been doing the past few years here, which is expanding the opportunities for CRS attendees to meet experienced industry pros to seek quick advice or establish a mentoring relationship of some kind. Last year’s panel on mentoring evolved into this year’s “Women Empowering Women,” which I was privileged to moderate. It featured three sets of ladies, each who had a long term, mentor-mentee relationship, and they offered strong, viable takeaways on how to seek out a mentor or how to be a helpful mentor to someone else. CRS also featured three mentoring breakfasts: One focused on programming, another for sales, and – as an excellent companion piece to the panel I just mentioned – a women’s mentoring breakfast. A common theme at CRS in recent years is our industry’s lack of a farm team or feeder system to develop new leadership – or, even people who want to be in our business – in the coming years. I think panels and informal breakfasts like these are productive steps toward that challenge. Look for more next year.

Music In General: Well of course CRS provides a ton of it every year. The UMG lunch, as I mentioned earlier, featured all the label group’s stars, with Darius Rucker following Luke Bryan and joking that Bryan just opened for him. The buzz I heard on Lauren Alaina was strong. It’s a rapid-fire, entertaining, leave-‘em-wanting-more show that has become a signature CRS event. The BMLG lunch on Friday was also a fast-moving, music-focused affair. I loved all of it, but to my ear, Maddie and Tae stood out, showcasing new songs that demonstrated a more mature sound, and signaling the arrival of Maddie to an entirely different (higher) level as a vocalist. It’s a level commonly known as “badass.” Midland planted an earworm last week with its debut single “Drinkin’ Problem,” which we saw live at the luncheon, and again via video at Friday’s (2/24) CRS New Faces Show. It’s memorable, retro-sounding, and traditional, continuing what feels like a slow and steady shift back toward more Country sounding Country music. They join William Michael Morgan and Jon Pardi, both of whom played New Faces, plus Mo Pitney, Luke Combs, and other young artists that were obviously heavily influenced by traditional sounds. I think it’s good to have those back as an option, and potentially, a stronger presence on Country radio than its current role as texture.

Linda Lee: CBS Radio Country WYCD/Detroit’s afternoon co-host had a better February 22nd than you and I put together. On Wednesday morning, she and on-air partner Rob Stone were announced as Academy Of Country Music Broadcast Personalities of the Year in a tie with George, Mo, & Cowboy Dave from CBS Country sister KILT/Houston. Hours later, Lee was one of nine 2017 Country Radio Hall of Fame inductees announced by Lady Antebellum during CRS 2017 Opening Ceremonies. Lee is a 21-year radio vet whose entire career has been spent in Detroit, where she was born and raised. In addition to validation on a professional level, last week’s honors provided an emotional lift. In September, Lee announced she was fighting stage four lung cancer. According to CBS Radio VP/Country and WYCD PD Tim Roberts, Lee continues to battle, having good days and bad ones. I have to believe last Wednesday was a good day, and I hope all of us will keep her in our thoughts while continuing to send positive energy her way.

Every time I hear Whitney Houston’s rendition of the National Anthem from the 1991 Super Bowl, I am moved and inspired. Ditto the classic movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” which also makes me cry. When Michael Douglas jumps on the podium and delivers that impromptu speech at the end of “The American President,” ending with “My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I AM the President,” it’s goose bump time, every time. It makes me want to do something exceptional.

And that’s how I feel about Country Radio Seminar (CRS). Even after attending 33 of them, it never gets old. These days, I’m not even in radio, but I still showed up to work today (2/28) excited, motivated, and still proud as hell to be involved with this format and the people in it.

PS – Because it’s never too early to start planning, CRS 2018 has already been set, returning to the Omni Nashville Monday through Wednesday, Feb. 5-7, 2018.