Bill Mayne

Starting as a jock, then a PD at KNOW/Austin in the '70s, Bill Mayne eventually started his own consulting company. All that experience certainly helps him meet his current challenge - reinvigorate the Country Radio Seminar as Executive Director of Country Radio Broadcasters. It's not an easy challenge. The CRS has to provide an agenda of meaty issues to delve into and choose from a wealth of talent looking to perform. - and there's no shortage of either. On top of that, these tight economic times has forced the CRS to lower registration rates to help those on tight budgets. Yet Mayne remains bullish on offering a premier showcase for Country radio and music.

Congratulations on being named Executive Director of the CRB. Can you give us a snapshot of your responsibilities?

My job, basically, is to run day-to-day operations for the Country Radio Broadcasters and the Country Radio Seminar, which is our primary product that has been going on for 42 years. In addition to running the operations and managing the staff, the mission given to me is to reinvigorate and rebuild an event with this kind of heritage. It needed some reinvention and fun - and that's the exciting part of the job. We are abuzz with activity; we feel very energized about the mission,

The CRS is an annual forum that brings together Country radio and the music industry to provide a platform to exchange ideas and basically try to find ways to do business better together. One reason I took this assignment is because I believe in our mission. At no time in our history has there been a greater need for a service that connects people in such a forum.

What kind of changes have you made in the CRS?

We have accelerated our timeline to be much more aggressive than we have been in the past. We have an agenda committee of industry pros who helped put together an agenda for the panels. We brought that group together a month earlier this year to get a jump on it.

We have revised our business model. We realize that a significant portion of our constituency is hard-pressed financially this year. Our mission is to make the CRS experience as affordable as possible. Because more people are paying out of their own pockets and less have company support, we announced a week ago that we're rolling back registration costs 20% to $399, which is less than it has been in years. Our goal now is to find sponsorships to make up that difference.

What are the main issues of concern for the CRB?

First of all, we're not membership organization, so we don't have a membership to reflect any specific positions on specific issues. What we try to do is define the most pressing issues that impact constituents in the industry, be they Country radio, Country labels, the artists or affiliated industries. Our goal is to bring together experts in all these fields to discuss those issues, but not to take a political stand on anything. We serve to be a platform for their ideas.

If you ask me what I think people in Country radio and the labels think, the most pressing issues are the economy and the challenge of revenue generation for the stations and the labels. Another issue is the changing marketplace, where we're all moving into the digital age -- how not only to survive the transition, but seek appropriate opportunities to grow our business. Thirdly, if you drill down to a personal level, it's to make a positive impact of change by providing the necessary resources to people in this industry, so they can make the best decisions for their careers.

Has the typical CRS attendee changed over the years?

It has evolved over the years. In the beginning, it was more of a disc jockey convention -- on-air personalities who were also programmers. In the '80s, the CRS evolved very heavily into programmer-oriented convention. Today we have a much more diversified group, with everyone from market managers to sales managers, marketing directors, PDs of course, and some air personalities. It really has diversified as much as radio has. There's a much broader spectrum of participation now.

We have to try and serve what our constituents want; radio, labels and affiliated industries want a business-to-business convention, not a consumer show. So it really is about bringing these constituents together and letting them discuss, from an education standpoint, the hot topics of the day, as well as a rollout or presentation of live talent, which can include both heritage artists and new ones.

Is the CRB or CRS doing any kind of outreach to bring different perspectives into the fold?

Definitely so. With respect to the CRS specifically, we're focusing on bringing new voices and ideas into the mix, bringing expert opinions in areas such as in new media and marketing. If anything, we've been criticized in the past for talking to ourselves and speaking about the same subjects. A lot of conferences fall prey to that. We're making a concerted effort to find unique points of view to issues that challenge the industry. That's where you'll see some significant changes

We've done a lot of things format-wise and logistically as well. Last year, we changed the space of the format hall to enhance the experience, as well as moved on several digital initiatives. We launched a brand new website platform to share more information faster and more conveniently. We're integrating more of that into the CRS this year

What kind of digital component will the CRS have?

It took us two years before we took the first step and determined that we could put six sessions from the CRS on the web. Part of it came after we built a new digital platform. Now we can start accumulating data and information, so our website can serve as a resource that can include everything from webinars and podcasts to the streaming of panels and presentations.

Another initiative we started, outside of the convention, is "CRS: One on One," a mentoring experience. We've done two of them, where we brought in a couple of industry pros and recruited a small, intimate class of 12-15 in radio. We do it in a conference room on a Friday from 10a-2p -- and videotape it for potential on-demand. We provide our constituents with virtual one-on-one mentoring. We've had Rusty Walker and Joel Burke ... and it was an incredible experience. We pattern it after "Inside The Actors Studio."

There's not enough mentoring going on in the industry today; almost everyone in the industry is uber-focused on doing seven jobs at once and making their numbers. Not enough importance is put on content and talent development.

We did a second session on new media with Paul Williams and Roy Elkins; we had variety of radio participants, including station owners, GMs, sales managers and marketing directors from major-market stations. We provided a great experience on how radio stations can improve their web marketing efforts if they truly understand the resources available to them.

One takeaway I got from that experience was that in the old days, our marketing efforts were based on our transmitter and stick, which defined our coverage area. The web provides radio a much bigger stick that can cover the globe. Now each individual station represents not just terrestrial coverage; its "radio brand" is extended through the web globally. Now a WSIX/Nashville or a 'QYK/Tampa can appeal to a worldwide base. It gives radio a distinct advantage if it has developed quality brands

How does the CRB prioritize things like terrestrial programming, web development and even HD growth for its panels?

Although this organization doesn't hold a perspective on what's more important, I think radio is a very special brand, be it terrestrial, on the web or HD. Whatever new technology holds for us in the future, it should always be looked as just an additional means to touch listeners ... another vessel, if you will. We have to be willing and open-minded to embrace all of these technologies

In terms of prioritizing, that's an age-old business question one of my former bosses at Warner Bros. Nashville taught me: "We can't do everything, so we've got to find the things that move needle and focus on them." We're currently going through all those new technologies. The challenge radio -- and the labels -- face is that to be successful, they have to pinpoint which portals are the most viable, then pursue those. You have to make tough choices in business. I was at an AM station that poured a lot of money into AM stereo back in the day; I also remember quad. There has always been and there will always be choices to make. The real visionaries understand what each potential technology delivers, then make the better choices.

Seminars and conventions are some of the first expenses cut by broadcasters that are trimming budgets. How has the CRS managed to survive through such difficult times?

As I mentioned earlier, we have lowered our registration to accommodate more people on smaller or tighter budgets. Our revenue is mainly generated by putting on the CRS; now we have to extend our mission in other ways, such as digital initiatives. Also, we've given a great deal of time and investment to develop our future leaders in the form of scholarships to broadcast students. We've given scholarships away for years, but only recently have we in started to realize that the best thing to do was to create perpetual endowments at places like Belmont, Central Michigan, Green Valley Community College and Middle Tennessee State.

Is it difficult finding enough time and stages for all the acts that want to perform at the CRS? Do you have preference, vis a vis the new acts or the Classic Country acts?

There's no question that more people want to perform than we have slots available, much like there are more pertinent topics to be discussed than we have time available to discuss them. It really is about trying to get the highest priority issues, information and entertainment available to our participants. Of course, because of that situation, you can't make all the people happy all the time. We're very respectful of people's interests, but when it comes down to it, we have to make the most informed decisions to respond to our constituents. Our situation is no different than the ACMs or the CMAs; you can't have every band on every bill.

The other thing I would be remiss if I didn't talk about, is that we want CRS to be the greatest opportunity to get people together for networking. I can honestly say that my personal career, much like most industry professionals, wouldn't have taken a path of success had it not been for the networking afforded by the CRS. Traditionally, it's one huge opportunity people in our industry have to come in and spend a couple of days connecting and developing new relationships.

What's your take on those who want to come to the CRS to just hang out in the lobby to network - without registering?

I don't think that's fair to the people who do pay for the CRS. This is a business convention; it's not about hangars-on. We try and provide, through our digital initiative, ways to help people whose economic situation prevents them from registering. We provide many resources via our website, as well as ways to still engage in conversations with experts and people in major markets, medium markets and small. We offer multi-level networking through our website.

Finally, what about your career? Do you have a plan in mind on how long you want to head up the CRB? Are there any more goals you'd like to achieve?

I learned a long time ago to take every day as it comes. I'm very excited and challenged by the CRB and CRS. I can't say where the road will lead ... and I won't know that until I get there. I do know everyone here is really fired up. We're having a great time and feel like making a difference for this industry is priority one.