10 Questions with ... Myra Simpson-Dehais

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• Atlantic Records - 1991
• Epic Records - 1994
• Warner Brothers - 1997
• Red Distribution - 2009

1) Did you start your career in radio? How did you make the segue to a record label? Would you ever go back to radio?

I segued from radio in Charlotte NC to Atlantic Records in 1991. An Atlantic promotion man named Kim Stevens believed in me and sent me to New York where Danny Buch and several of the Atlantic people interviewed me and then hired me. Danny actually took one look at me and asked me if I "ALWAYS dressed like that?" I was wearing a navy blue business suit that I bought with my last $50 at a TJ Maxx. I've now come full circle...except that I have not owned a suit since that one. Would I go back? Sure! And I have jumped behind the microphone throughout my music career to enjoy doing an airshift here and there. So I have never lost the radio bug, but I love what I do on the record side of the business.

2) What is it about our industry that keeps you wanting to do it for a living?

I love music, I love radio and I love people. I am that obnoxious person that hits scan on the car radio when I am travelling. Yes, I do have an iPod, but I always listen to the radio in the car. Just ask my husband. Oh yeah, and I love a challenge! I could've done something else but I knew I wanted to work in the music business when I was in college. I worked at a Top 40 radio station in Eastern Carolina doing overnights and weekends, and I helped the PD listen to records and pick singles. I had the bug early on and I still have it.

3) What's been the most significant change in the business since you've been in it?

When I started my music career the job was all about developing relationships and becoming a friend of the programming department. It was important to be recognized by every person in the radio station from the receptionist to the GM. As the years have flown by I have found my job to be more than a professional schmoozer, and I have become a marketing manager and an artist development manager. We not only have to have relationships in order to communicate with programmers, but we also need to understand their product as well as our own. We have to find the right reasons to get that record on the air and then market it.

We need to market the music. And when we can't get that record on the air, we still have to find a way to market the artist whether online or on air...and in a world of PPM many stations aren't even interviewing artists unless they are huge superstars. It's still very rewarding and an even bigger challenge. I like a challenge. Bring it!

4) How is the relationship between programmer and record label changing? For better or worse?

I think the relationship between labels and programmers is becoming more difficult to maintain. Programmers are wearing as many hats as are record folks. PD's are programming multiple stations and trying to protect their product. Record labels are no longer able to nurture relationships the way we did in the past due to budget cuts, larger territories, and compliance constraints. (Thank you E.S! You Dawg!)

We now have less opportunity for one-on-one time with programmers, and the time that we do have needs to be well executed and complete with information and knowledge of a market and a radio station, their goals, and how our records fit into their programming.

5) Has the consolidation of radio made the job of promotion harder or easier?

It is now much harder. We've become an industry that communicates via email. It's made the job so much more impersonal. I miss many of my radio friends. They just don't have the time to spend on the phone with us anymore. Not to mention they have so many consultants, format heads etc. to answer to now. It must be very frustrating in some situations to not be able to exercise your gut instinct. I get it...it is what it is. Fortunately there are still radio stations that are still able to program locally and use creativity and gut instinct to crank out a great product. We all flock to those situations because that is what makes this job worth all the effort. We are all trying to survive so we can feed our families.

6) What do you feel is the most valuable research tool that radio should be paying more attention to?

Sales! Always sales!! There is no truer sample than the consumer who spends their hard earned dough on a record!

7) How have music file sharing services affected the way you market your music?

It's just another tool to consider. There are many ways to manipulate file trading so it should be used as one of many tools to develop our marketing plans.

8) What was the craziest promotion you ever did with a radio station?

The weekend before Pearl Jam released "Yield" I rented a gutted tour bus and executed (along with the 99X/Atlanta promotion staff) a mobile listening party. Leslie Fram liked the idea so much she gave me the entire weekend, turned the radio station into "Pearl Jam Radio," playing all PJ all the time!

We stocked the tour bus with beer and Krystal burgers. On Friday and Saturday night we rolled from nightclub to nightclub picking up listeners, playing the record for them, giving them swag and coupons to buy the record and dropping them off at the next nightclub stop. It was a huge pain but it was a huge success. I got an entire weekend of nothing but Pearl Jam as part of the promotion, and the radio station got clubs to sponsor the event and they sold lots of advertising.

9) Many say that because of the Internet, we are now in a "singles business." Should musicians be writing and recording every song with the intention of getting radio play? Or is today's music consumer looking for more of those "deep tracks" rather than three-minute uptempo songs with catchy hooks?

That depends on what the artists goals are. Not all artists want to be "radio artists". It also depends on the format. I don't really think Modern Rock and Triple A are singles driven formats. Pop artists who want to be on the radio should absolutely try to record every song as if it were meant for airplay if that is what they want. I've heard so many pop programmers say "We add songs not artists". And there you have it.

10) Where do you see the industry and yourself five years from now?

I see the industry morphing into new business models. We already are. Take RED distribution for example. We are a Sony Music Entertainment indie distribution label with a promotion staff of seven. We don't have a field staff, so we wear multi format hats and go out on the road and see all formats regardless of the format we spearhead. It may have taken us longer to get Phoenix "1901" but we got it. We are very proud to work with Daniel Glass and his great team on this record.

People are absorbing music now more than ever...they're just doing it for free. As an industry we need to continue to find new ways to expose our artists and reach the audience while keeping costs down. We have to find ways to help the consumer feel good about purchasing a piece of music. We have to morph into a business model where the artist gets paid too. Artists should be paid for their craft!

1) What can radio and record companies be doing with their radio station web sites to drive more music fans to these sites?

Well, I would suppose offering more compelling music content and contesting should do the trick.

2) What's the best concert you've been to so far this year and why?

Greenday at The Fonda earlier this year, and Greenday at Viejas in San Diego. Those dudes put on a great show!

3) Name a record person, not on your label, that you really admire?

John Boulos...my mentor, my friend and a guy I will always look up to and respect. He is a great teacher and manager. One of the most liked people in the business and with good reason.

4) What's been your most rewarding project to work?

There have been many, but to name a few; Hootie & the Blowfish, Matchbox 20 , Linkin Park, Muse, and currently Phoenix. Again there have been many but for the sake of brevity these are the ones that I feel great pride in having had a hand in watching them go from zero to sixty in one minute.

5) Who is your best friend in the business?

My husband, he works for Pat Magnerella Management. They manage some great bands...artists, surfers...and lots of fun stuff. He's my best friend...he sticks by me through thick and thin...and he does me lots of favors. He makes me coffee every morning while I am plowing through BDS and Mediabase. I thank him for always being kind to me and for bringing me pretty flowers on a "no adds" day!