-
10 Questions with ... Troy Hanson
July 13, 2020
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
1. What was your first job in radio and early influences?
Answering request lines for Wally Walker at KQRS. This led to my first paying job which was driving the KQ van around town for then Promotions & Marketing Director John Lassman. $4.25 an hour and on top of the world! Early on-air influences were Tom Barnard, Garth Kemp, Johnny Rock Lassman, anybody on Z-Rock out of Dallas (it was on 950AM in Minneapolis) as well as anyone at Hot Rockin’ 104 KJJO.
2. What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment, which made you realize “this is it”?
I wanted to be a rock star growing up, but you need to be able to do two things, either know how to play an instrument, or sing - I am unable to do either. When I pointed that out to my Mom, she suggested playing music on the radio. A light bulb when off – enter Brown Institute and an internship at KQRS. Defining moment – Lassman hands me a mic and tells me to go out on stage with the KQ Fabulous Babes and introduce The Steve Miller Band to 18,000 fans at the Target Center for a KQ Birthday Bash in 1991. At 18, I was instantly hooked; all the while, not knowing how this business would both reward me and simultaneously kick me in the nuts at times to keep my ego in check.
3. You spent quite a few years in Detroit at WRIF. How did that experience prepare you for your years in Nashville, Atlanta and now Chicago?
Big radio station and great radio station. I have to give Doug Podell credit for showing me how to do “Big” radio, to think big. They do stuff on a different level at WRIF and still do to this day. Mark (Pennington) did an amazing job of steering the ship into a new era with air talent and the right music, while maintaining the core elements of what makes it a great rock radio station. To that “Big-ness” and how it transcends to what I’m doing today, I try to get our programmers to think in that big sphere – create that listener experience that cannot be purchased or duplicated elsewhere. Be it a unique interaction with their favorite band, or the listening experience compared to all the other outlets anyone can hear any number of our artists in these days. What is the standout?
4. Before we jump into your corporate Rock duties, how long have you been VP/Operations in Chicago including programming Alternative WKQX?
It’s been five years since Cumulus transferred me to Chicago and it’s been an incredible privilege to lead this spectacularly talented team. A tip of the cap to Marv Nyren and Wade Linder because I really, really love working with those two and am proud to call them both not just working partners, but friends.
5. Besides your programming duties in Chicago, you’re the VP of Programming for all Cumulus Rock formats. What are some of your primary roles in this area?
My primary role is to be of service to our great Programmers and Market Managers however that might be. To be both a listener and personality advocate. Equal parts talent recruiter, coach, consultant, someone to lend an ear and or eye on any aspect of our rock brands our local managers feel they need an extra mind in the room on. My place or role if you will, is not to dictate, demand or command, it’s to listen and suggest. Ultimately, it’s our local market operators that make the end decisions on what’s best for their respective market after seeking out advice if they choose to do so.
6. Now let’s get your take on current Active Rock music and the format as a whole. What’s good about the format and what concerns you?
We’ve become more bullish on the Rock Format, but from a more conservative approach. We are pleased with the progress of our X brands - Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Kansas City. They join consistent performers in Oklahoma City, Wilkes Barre, Saginaw and Harrisburg. We move a little slower than the panel and hang on to titles longer to stretch out their potential. While I think the thought process of more rock programmers has opened up (that’s good), we still find ourselves in a challenge spot as a format to create bigger moments and movement (that’s concerning). We had some bright spots - the new Tool record was a strong moment as was the last Metallica record; and while FFDP is limited in crossover appeal, their metrics match those of larger artists at other formats - this is what we need to see more of in the rock space. We simply have too much low hanging fruit that is being propped up to be huge via promo, when it really isn’t. This overall topic was the “wear a mask” debate before we knew about masks. How do you convince some folks to stop shooting themselves in the foot? For some, you can’t. Some will double down on dumb (aka - “that’s not rock!”). That’s not my focus. My focus is on our brands, our audience, our stations and our Programmers - whom we applaud for being open minded & thoughtful to their approach. They want to see larger potential from a song, larger reach and larger return; not just playing a song because it was released by (fill in the blank) band or label. One thing we won’t do is apologize for being straight shooters about what we see when we look at the health and metrics of a song at this format. We get that label and mgmt reps have a job to do in promoting their specific tracks and artists. That said, if all you are delivering is low hanging fruit, maybe radio isn’t the problem, maybe you and your product are the problem. We don’t have the best track record of developing quality re-currents at the format over the course of the last decade. That points to a product issue. Don’t think we have a product problem? Why do you think labels are punting to cover songs? (Hey, we’re not alone, it’s starting to infect the Alt format too). To the format as a whole question - have more respect for your audience and their ability to adjust their taste and mindset. If you are still having the “we get beat up on Social Media if we play this band or that band,” you are incredibly behind in the conversation and should be frightened by what you don’t know about the silent majority.
7. What are your three favorite artists or songs of this year in the Active Rock format and why?
Highly Suspect - I’m hard pressed to pigeon this band as just Active Rock cause if you caught this band on their last touring cycle, you can tell Johnny is challenging himself, his band and the audience to go in unique directions beyond just power chords. It’s equal parts dangerous, emotional, creative and balls out rock. This next tune Canals proves that.
Biffy Clyro - stop sleeping on this band. They play stadiums in Europe. I’ve always wondered why rock radio has let alternative lead the way and sometimes own bands like Biffy, Muse, Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Black Keys and Cage The Elephant. Guitar based bands. To that point, Cage The Elephant is the best live rock band in the country. Period. No apologies for them not checking off the boxes some rock programmers seem to demand. Get out of your own way.
The Glorious Sons - Call this a hold-over from last year into early this year. This band reminds me of how great it is to watch a band start out and grow through hard work, constant touring and belief in good partnerships. They are only going to get bigger.
8. Now let’s move over to the Classic Rock format that you are also overseeing for Cumulus. What’s your take on Classic Rock in 2020?
From a ratings standpoint, the format is as strong as ever for many CR outlets across the country. It truly is a comfort food format, especially in these times. As the Godfather of our format, Fred (Jacobs) has always had a unique perspective on preaching the health and commercial appeal of this great batch of music. We can all as an industry dwell on the demo cliff that every CR station is challenged with, but that hyper focused ten year cell of 45-54 is driving strong ROI. I’ll have more on that below. We do know this, just adding 90’s era titles to try to appeal to the 35-49 cell is not necessarily the answer and can take a brand off its expectation.
9. I’ve asked this question to other Classic Rock programmers. One of the programming challenges of the Classic Rock format has always been how to keep the station sounding fresh and relevant while it’s playing Rock music that’s sometimes 30 or 40 years old. Thoughts?
Stations like KSHE, WDVE and KLOS have always been inspiring for their ability to be heritage brands, yet sound fresh between the records. This is exactly why we moved James (Kurdziel) to Minneapolis and our crown jewel KQRS. Just because your brand is 50 years old, doesn’t mean you have to sound 50 years old. Attitude doesn’t have a number attached to it. Texture certainly comes into play, but attitude is ageless. I’m not talking about movie drops and “we made the classics classic” lines. Concise, clever writing is key and a lost art on some outlets. The body of music is what it is (and its great by the way), that is unchangeable, how you present that is everything.
10. Finally, this might be a bit off the subject, but you’re originally from St. Paul, MN and the eyes of the world have been on Minneapolis since the death of George Floyd. How has this situation affected you and how have the Cumulus Rock stations handled this on the air?
This is heartbreaking on many levels. First and foremost, the incredibly awful event that took place causing George Floyd to lose his life. Second, the subsequent destruction that took place in my hometown. The dialogue that is now taking place is a long time coming and it’s incredibly important. I’m a firm believer that out of the bad, comes good. There is a learning moment for all of us as a country and as people. Diversity isn’t just a word to use in the moment or to casually throw around, it’s a thought process and an action that calls on us to unite instead of divide. Now more than ever, we need leadership in this country that celebrates our diversity, our difference and brings us together. Let’s hope that this unfortunate set of events sets in motion a stronger thought process that helps us as a society.
-
-