Ed Mann

Ed Mann was one of a handful of staffers at KIIS/Los Angeles who decided to dive into what was then the fairly uncharted waters of radio syndication. It wasn't long before the company they founded, Premiere Networks, became the 800-pound gorilla of the business. Inevitably, it would be snapped up by one radio group ... and then another. Yet Mann wanted to stay in the syndication business - only this time he was the David to the Goliaths in the business. More importantly, the company he launched, MannGroup Radio Services, didn't compete against the big boys; he succeeded by offering unique services that complemented them. Here's how he does it....

Early on, you spent time on the air at KIIS/Los Angeles, which for a jock, is pretty much at the top of the mountain. Was it at all tough to leave such an on-air gig for the business side?

A group of us started Premiere while we were at KIIS-FM. Sure, I was happy being on the radio on what was then a 10-share station in Los Angeles, but it wasn't hard for me to look ahead and ask, "What's next?" I was 28. We all felt that there was more to do, something that was really creative and interesting ... and, to be honest, would make us money; I was part-time/full-time there, so money did become an issue by the time we founded the company. I studied business and my dad was an entrepreneur, so starting a company was something I was eager to do

And the original idea for starting Premiere came ... when and how?

It was actually the merging of two companies. Steve Lehman ran one company alongside Kraig Kitchin; Tim Kelly, Louise Palanker and I ran another, but each company had challenges. Somehow when the whole group got together in 1986, things started to all make sense.

Did a light go off in your heads? Was it more being in the right place and right time? Or just plain luck, perhaps?

Luck played a huge part, and timing is everything. We did have the right content at the right time, which radio embraced. The Plain Wrap Countdown, the no-host countdown show we debuted in 1985, took off like a shot. Another was the Premiere Comedy Networks, which we kicked off a couple years later. That hit a nerve. We hit a lot of nerves! Also helping us early on: Clearance on radio stations was easier then; with no corporate lawyers involved, local programmers made most of the decisions about their local programming. Affiliate deals were signed on cocktail napkins. It was much easier to grow the business.

Eventually, you sold Premiere to Jacor, which would in turn be acquired by Clear Channel. What went through your mind once you were on your own again?

That radio syndication was what I wanted to continue doing. I was hooked! I wanted to try this again in a way that would be more audience-friendly and would make the most sense for local programmers. This was 1997, but even though consolidation was taking place, local programmers still had a huge need for assistance, so I started MannGroup Radio Services to get back to the roots of Premiere -- what the audience liked and what the programmers needed --services! That's a big part of our game.

But a lot of your original clients were part of these new consolidated groups, many of whom were owned by the company that owned Premiere. How did you deal with what seemed like a disadvantage?

Frankly, I saw it as an opportunity. Since MannGroup was completely independent, the inventory we sold did not conflict with any other radio O&O company. For example, if we had inventory from a Clear Channel station, which owned Premiere, we could state confidently that our ad sales weren't going to CBS' or Citadel's pockets. Same holds today. The idea was to have a shop that's untethered. The sale of inventory would not go to an affiliate's competition. In that, we found an opportunity.

Secondly, we now realize that big groups such as iHeartMedia, Alpha, Cumulus and Entercom have an ability to clear baskets of radio stations for a particular project. That, in some cases, makes affiliate clearance less of a chore and more of a joy, and makes a larger impact for affiliates, producers and MannGroup.

So what you offered wasn't directly competitive with what Clear Channel/iHeartMedia or Premiere offered...

Nope, and consequently many, many of our affiliates are iHeart. Our offerings are different from Premiere's and don't conflict with them. In fact initially, Premiere wanted to partner with MannGroup, but that didn't make sense for our new company. We wanted independence. So if Clear Channel's stations wanted our jingle packages, singers, comedy pieces, promotion consulting, music libraries, weekend shows .... other companies didn't have them ... we did.

What do you look for in talent, be it a person who creates jingle packages or a promotion mind like Paige Nienaber? Are they filling the proverbial "holes in the market?"

I don't look for talent that fills a hole in the market. That's not the best MO, at least for me and MannGroup Radio. We look for great talent, period, like our production/imaging partner, Grooveworx. Paige Nienaber, for example, is such a unique talent that I couldn't resist him. His absence in a market creates its own hole! I've seen his CPR group work magic for radio stations for years - and once I got a real close glimpse of him at work, that was it. I look for the things that tickle our interest, then I go with my gut. And lately, our Top 40 playlisting service, Right Now Music Radio, and VoiceByte are tickling me a lot!

With jingles and production, certain sounds and effects go in and out of style. How do you keep your finger on those trends when you're deciding on hiring new talent?

I do a lot of listening. You get a feel for where things are going; our imaging partners and I are on it. While "keeping a finger on the pulse" is important, frankly, my gut is more important. I've been a musician all my life, and I trust my ears. And I have a teenager, so that's a great filter for me!

What I listen for is, to put it simply, quality, or lack thereof. Say I hear a bad phone call on the radio, in terms of audio production quality. Now we've all heard these things; it's endemic to everything from Talk radio to morning shows. Crappy phoners! I'm thinking perhaps there's a way to make that better. Our partner, VoiceByte, does just that -- and in doing so, makes the calls sound like the caller is in-studio. Then there's poor playlisting. How many listeners to a Top 40 station shrug and wonder if that's what they're really into. So we aligned with Mark St. John to improve playlisting for Top 40 using curated digital touchpoints ... ideas meet talent to solve the problem.

What are the biggest challenges syndicated content face today?

Engaging the audience, which has long been the province of both the local stations and syndicators like MannGroup. And the declining audience for network radio. These things can impact us all. We saw this gauntlet coming a while ago, and we turned it into a challenge to bring as many smart programmers, hosts and service providers into the fold to meet those challenges. It is MannGROUP!

How has the streaming and the digital boom impacted your business?

That's part of the bifurcation in radio listenership, and it affects sales as well as programming choices. It actually tends to focus our efforts. Compass Media, our present ad sales group is terrific, but as far as I can see, it hasn't hurt us much. We had a terrific year last year and we're looking for a great 2019. Many advertisers are coming back to network radio; they see the value and we've all gotten better at targeting the audience for them.

So where do you see MannGroup Radio going in the future ... more into podcasting, perhaps?

I'm always listening, and podcasting is truly booming. I've attended a couple of podcast conventions and I've learned a lot. It's quite different than radio, and quite frankly, I would need good partners -- and perhaps one day I will go there in full force. But right now, network radio is where I live. I love it, and I have a lot more to do.

In that light, have you set three, five or 10-year plans on what you would like to accomplish?

I never have. I don't believe in five-year plans or goals per se, but I do have dreams and ideas. When I left UCLA, I wanted to try radio and I happened to love it. I knew right off the bat that I wanted to jock on a station like KIIS FM, so at that time, that was my dream ... more than a goal. I guess you could say that I dream a lot! I'm very lucky. A lot of my dreams tended to come true, but writing five-year goals on a sheet of paper wasn't something I ever did.

So what gives you the most satisfaction about your job these days?

Closing a deal on any radio station for anything we do, no matter what it is or where it is. That still gives me intense joy ... the same joy I had when I started doing this in 1985.