Albright & O'Malley & Brenner Host Pre-CRS Discussion

A&O&B

ALBRIGHT & O’MALLEY & BRENNER hosted its pre-COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR (CRS) 2017 discussion this AFTERNOON (2/22) at the MUSIC CITY CENTER in NASHVILLE.

Speakers included BECKY BRENNER and MIKE O’MALLEY from A&O&B, BIG MACHINE LABEL GROUP President/CEO SCOTT BORCHETTA; FUTURI CEO DANIEL ANSTANDIG; SPOTIFY Global Editor/Country JOHN MARKS; and a "Producing The Magic" panel consisting of "TY, KELLY & CHUCK" Executive Producer GLENN JOHNSON, SILVERFISH MEDIA PD PATRICK THOMAS, and A&O&B Producer/Show Prep DAN VAN.

A&O&B opened the panel with its annual ROADMAP, as well as studies in mobile usage, streaming habits, new media implementation, and the brand-content matrix. More than 11,000 Country fans were surveyed in over 65 markets across the US and CANADA for this YEAR’s ROADMAP presentation, including 85% Country P1 users. While station satisfaction appeared to remain consistent across all demos regarding Country radio usage, noted hot-button issues emerged this YEAR that are new to the mix. As the majority of listeners still cite Country as their preferred format because it has the “best music,” and complaints of “repeating songs” and “too many commercials” remained top-of-mind, new hot-button complaints included the “music mix” and that listeners polled “don’t like Country as much” as they used to. Contact A&O&B for the complete ROADMAP study.

ANSTANDIG presented information regarding utilizing all three "microphones" at your station -- on-air, digital, and social. Topics included the importance of station apps, utilization and implementation of social strategies, and the future of digital as it relates to radio.

MARKS addressed the crowd by combining his background in terrestrial programming with his more recent career journies at both SIRIUSXM and SPOTIFY to explain the appeal of Pure Play services. He advised radio attendees to consider the usage of Pure Play systems in their programming, as it relates to finding songs and artists that are already popular and appealing to their audience. MARKS urged radio to keep pace with Pure Play services by offering music discovery and pushing songs out of overnight categories to find hits quicker and propelling passion projects to the forefront of the music mix.

Special guest BORCHETTA touched on the topic of performance rights as it pertains to radio and radio's digital delivery methods. He reminded attendees that digital and social are important in branding for stations just as it is in branding for artists, and he echoed MARKS' sentiments regarding finding passion projects and supporting artists and songs that strike a chord and make sense for your market. BORCHETTA also spoke about the formula -- or lack thereof -- for finding and developing raw talent, stating that it never happens the same way twice. Emphasis, he said, should be placed on finding stars -- both artists and on-air personalities -- who change the feeling in the room with their presence.

BMLG RECORDS artist RYAN FOLLESE entertained attendees with songs from his current EP, including "Float Your Boat," "Put A Label On It," "One Thing Right," and "Wilder."

The seminar concluded with the "Producing The Magic" panel, which helped address the topics of show prep, locating trending topics via social media, guiding and training talent, and collaborating with the sales staff and clients to produce winning projects on-air and off-air that will benefit listeners, the station, and clients.

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