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10 Questions with ... Bob Hathaway
April 16, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. As for the state of Rock radio today, this question leads me to my soapbox. I don't understand why the Rock format just waits for the next song from the same 10 bands they play! There is so much great rock out there that I feel it is really important to continue to cultivate new music and break some new bands. If the format just continues to play the same bands, there won't be anything that is the core for radio in the next 10 years. I realize listeners sometimes resist change or new things. But we have to believe we are right, and expose new music to the listeners. Eventually, people will come around
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1. What made you want to get into the music business and who were some of your early mentors?
I wanted to work at a record label ever since I was in high school. I was able to get a job working at Rose Records. Obviously, I loved music. I used to see people from the different labels come into our store to promote their music. They would be wearing jeans and T-shirts, and they would always give us free albums and concert tickets. I thought to myself, I want to do that when I grow up! That looks amazing! Getting paid to work with music seemed like a dream job!
My two earliest mentors once I landed at Warner Bros. were Bill Rusch and Ross Grierson. They worked at other labels, but took time out to teach me the things I needed to know to become successful. Bill taught me how to interact with radio, and Ross was instrumental in teaching me the business of the music business. Some of my peers at WB had a big impact on my career as well. Those people included Jim Anderson, Jason Minkler, and Howard Frank, who taught me how to get out of my own way.
2. What was your first job and give us a rundown of the labels and positions you've held over the years?
As I mentioned above, my first job was in a record store. Then I went off to college and was able to get hired as a CBS College Rep in Boulder. From there I moved out to L.A. to pursue a full-time job at a label. While there I worked for Radio & Records in their mailroom for about six months. That's where I met Joel Denver. Once I left there, I worked for a few years at Macy Lipman Marketing. Then in 1989, Al Carolanza got Russ Thryet, George Gerrity and Kenny Puvogel to take a chance on a young guy who had never done commercial radio promotion and hired me to work records for Warner Bros. in Kansas City I was there for 23 years, eventually moving from KC to St. Louis and then to Chicago in 2001. Once I left there in 2011, I started my own company at the urging of some of my ex-Warner Bros people. In 2013, I joined the Artist Cooperative. In 2015, a group of us started FM Music Management. Currently, I work at FM Music Management and The Artist Cooperative.
3. You worked at Warner Bros in the Midwest for many years and helped break many bands. What are some of the best highlights of your time with WB?
This question is tough to answer as there were so many highlights. Working at Warner Bros was some of the best working years of my life. Working at one of, if not the biggest label in the US meant I got to work with many of the biggest acts in the world. I'll never forget sitting in a hotel room with Tom Petty as he did an interview with WXRT. Or, hanging out with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in a studio in L.A. as they played us the Stadium Arcadium album. As an added bonus, Paris Hilton was lurking about as well that night. Or the quality and crazy times I spent with Avenged Sevenfold. Or, going out to casinos with Muse before they were playing stadiums here. Or, hanging with REM back in the day. Or, playing a large role in breaking the Goo Goo Dolls and becoming friends with them. If I had to pick one thing, I'd say it was the night in Omaha where I got to go have beers with Robin Zander from Cheap Trick. I was in the Cheap Trick fan club in high school, and it was surreal hearing one of your all -ime favorites telling stories about things that happened to Cheap Trick when they were recording various albums. Crazy! And then Robin talked me into leaking a Prince record, but that's another story....
Honestly, it was like I was getting paid to live out a dream.
4. How long ago did you start your own company Bob Hathaway Music Marketing?
In 2011, I was unceremoniously thrown from the Warner Bros ship as they decided to merge the Warner and Reprise Promotion staffs together and they got rid of many great people that day. I was one of the casualties. I really had no idea what to do, as Warner Bros was really they only label that I knew, and I identified with being the Warner guy. I was in a bad spot. Heather Luke and Rob Goldklang convinced me that I could work for myself. Since I loved music and didn't feel like a company should be able to dictate what I do and don't do with my life, I decided to give it a go.
It was fun for a bit having no boundaries on what bands I could or couldn't work with. But ultimately I grew tired of not working around other people. I wanted to be part of a team. Thankfully, The Artist Cooperative called and I was able to join their team!
5. In 2013 you joined The Artist Cooperative as well. Tell us some of the bands you helped Rock to success?
Yeah, in 2013 I got a phone call that changed my life for the better. It was from Bob Divney, and he told me that there was an opening in the Midwest for The Artist Cooperative. It took about two seconds to say yes, and immediately I felt home again. Since everyone there was ex-Warner/Reprise people, the mindset of how the records were worked at radio was very familiar to me. And, I was part of a team again!
Since 2011, I've gotten to work all kinds of projects from the big of the big, like Five Finger Death Punch #1 songs to developing bands like Zero Theorem or Ded, and everything in between. Some of the highlights for me was getting to work with the band Live, now that Ed is back in the band! Also, I used to like to argue with Rock radio PDs about Nickelback for fun, but recently I got to have the argument on the clock! Other bands I've had the pleasure of working with include Asking Alexandria, Palaye Royale, Shim, Art of Dying, Art of Anarchy, Blink 182, Billy Idol, Jackyl, Jonathan Davis, The Pretty Reckless, The Used, You Me at Six, Korn, Staind, and Trapt.
6. You've been in the record promotion business for a long time. What are the most important tools/resources you use to stay on top of the Rock formats' growth and constant daily changes?
This is an interesting one, as it is amazing to me how the criteria for identifying hit records has changed over the years. I remember waaay back to the time when radio stations basically had paper playlists with nothing monitoring anything. Then we got BDS to be the eye in the sky, and stations could see what other stations were doing. Back then, phone requests and sales were the main indicators for identifying hits. Now with all this technology, it has become more challenging to know what the main indicators are. The main thing now is streaming. If you have a song streaming, that indicates that people are seeking it out, and therefore, they must like it. Since sales aren't what they once were, streaming has replaced sales as the main indicator. In addition to streaming, I try to keep up on Shazams as some PDs look at those numbers. Lastly, social numbers can be indicative of potential up-and-coming bands, but you need to make sure the numbers are "real" and not "bought." So in a nutshell, I use Mediabase, Streaming data, and Shazams to tell me what songs are the real hits of the moment.
7. Now let's about Active Rock music and the Rock format overall. What's your take on the state of Rock radio today?
Rock music is as alive and as healthy as it ever was. I get so tired of people always talking about the demise of Rock, and then others to proclaim it isn't dead. Face the facts; there are people out there who really like to listen to Rock music. It is probably the most consistent genre of music there is. All one really needs to do is to look at the big summer shows, and you will see the majority of them are Rock based....
As for the state of Rock radio today, this question leads me to my soapbox. I don't understand why the Rock format just waits for the next song from the same 10 bands they play! There is so much great rock out there that I feel it is really important to continue to cultivate new music and break some new bands. If the format just continues to play the same bands, there won't be anything that is the core for radio in the next 10 years. I realize listeners sometimes resist change or new things. But we have to believe we are right, and expose new music to the listeners. Eventually, people will come around. I mean, I remember radio not wanting to play the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song, "Give It Away," which is now one of their anthems. The list is long. We need to power through the resistance.
Also, there is a place at the format for melodic rock. I'm so tired of feeling like I'm being yelled at when I listen to Rock music on the radio. Not everything on Rock radio needs to be on the harder side of the genre. I like getting a wide variety of songs when I listen to the radio. Some can be melodic and some can be angry as hell. As long as there is a good mix, I'm happy.
Lastly, I like what the Cumulus stations do with their playlists in terms of tearing down the walls between Rock and Alternative. Troy Hanson and Derek Madden have it right when it comes to playing big hits from Alternative. I wish more Rock radio stations would follow their lead, and not be afraid to play things from other formats that fall under the Rock/Alternative umbrella, so long as the songs show good indicators. The Rock genre is very big, and shouldn't be limited to just things with big guitars and angry vocals.
8. In 2015 you started a management company with your partners called FM Music Management. Who are your partners in this venture and how did it all come about?
FM Music Management was the brainchild of Frank Mastalerz, Chris Jones, Dino Kourelis and myself. Basically, Frank had signed Justin McCain of Emphatic (later to become Through Fire) and had a few other smaller bands. He wanted to form a legitimate management company and called Dino and I to see if we would be interested in working together. Dino was in the band Lovehammers, which I managed, but the band was currently on a hiatus. So Dino and I talked about joining up with Frank and Chris, and we both said yes because Frank and Chris both had stellar reputations in the business. Frank owns FM Entertainment as well, so he knew all the various agents. Since the lifeblood of any working band is touring, it seemed like a great idea to join up with a guy who is an expert in that world.
So we formed FM Music Management in 2015. We are proud of the dynamics of our group as we have me dealing with the radio aspects and day-to-day management of our bands. Frank handles some day to day managing as well as a majority of touring options. Dino does day-to-day stuff, touring, and is the finance guy for budgets and things like that. Chris handles all the graphics needed for our bands and their websites.
Recently we expanded and welcomed in Andy Goerlich and Josh Petrone to our happy go lucky crew. They both handle day-to-day managing for their bands as well. Additionally, we also expanded to bring in the publicist Shauna O'Donnell to handle our bands publicity and industry vet Maria Musaitef to help with touring and radio.
We have been able to make a whole bunch of noise in a very small period of time!
9. Who are some of the bands that FM Music Management is working with and what are some of your best success stories as an artist management company?
I'll rattle off a bunch of stuff about our bands, but I wanted to address the second part of the question first. Our biggest success story is our bands' successes over the past few years. We are a group of people who are largely working with unsigned bands, and those bands are having as much, if not more success than some of their label counterparts. I am very proud of the music and the artists that I am fortunate to work with.
As I mentioned above, we manage Through Fire. They have a new single and album on the horizon. Also, they are going to be touring this Summer and Fall extensively in support of their new music.
We manage Shim, who was the ex-lead singer for the Sick Puppies. His single, "Crucified," is currently in the Top 30, and it has been exciting reconnecting him with his fans. What other "new" artists have a #1 song at the format on their resume?
Royal Bliss is back with their newest single, "Pain," from their new self-titled album coming out 4/19. They will be touring all year as well in support of this.
The Black Moods are back inside the Top 40 on the Rock charts. This is a band that will blow you away live. I feel like they are going to be one of the next big things. You should make a point to go see them live when they are in your town.
MEYTAL has a new song out called "Armalite." Meytal Cohen has over one million followers on Facebook and YouTube. Meytal enlisted Sahaj Ticotin of RA to handle the vocals. They will be out playing around this summer as well.
Nonpoint is going to head out with POD shortly and will have a new single out as well to support their touring.
Betsy Ade, the singer for Well-Known Strangers, is currently on the TV show, The Voice, as part of Kelly Clarkson's team.
Other bands that we manage that have new projects on the horizon include: Discrepancies (A Rap/Rock band out of St Louis), The Native Howl (a Thrash/Grass band from Michigan), Madame Mayhem, Vyces, Spoken, Keith Wallen, The Orphan The Poet and Deadset Society.
10. Finally, what do you like to do for fun and relaxation when you're not in "work" mode?
This is the easiest question you asked! For fun and relaxation I love to watch baseball, football and hockey. I also am in a gazillion Fantasy Sports leagues. When I'm not driving my wife crazy with my sports addiction, I can be found in a movie theatre, as I love going to movies.
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