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10 Questions with ... Adriana Martinez
November 10, 2020
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. The greatest challenge with any rock and alt band is verifying programmer perception of the artist with the music. We just dealt with this at Alt with Neon Trees. While Daughtry hasn’t been at the format in a minute, culturally he is a force at Rock. “World on Fire” came in Top 3 most added at Active Rock in week 9 alongside AC/DC and Greta Van Fleet – it doesn’t get more ROCK than that.
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1. What made you want to get into the music business and who were some of your early mentors?
As I was growing up, I always felt that I needed to get a job in the medical field to make my family proud. I never really considered the music industry until college. I started taking pre-med classes and ended up feeling more connected with my elective classes, which were music based, than I did with my science classes. I made the decision to concentrate more on the music classes and felt so fulfilled! Saint Mary’s College of California offered a class where you could choose the subject matter and cultivate it with a Professor; that Professor was Marty Rokeach. We called the class “Hip-Hop vs. Rap”. This class ended up being so much more than just that subject matter; it was a history lesson for both of us. I discovered a lot about the origins of hip-hop and rap and how it was formed. Marty truly pushed me to reach my potential and encouraged me to learn as much as I could about music. In doing that, he introduced me to so many different artists, which in turn, opened my mind and further developed my taste in music.
When I finally got an internship in the music business after college, I had the opportunity to work with some huge influencers in the industry like Christine Chiappetta, David McGilvray, Michael Chester, Noah Sheer & Rick Sackheim. I really got to see them work and they only solidified even more that the music industry was meant for me.
2. What was your first music job and give us a rundown of the labels and positions you’ve held over the years?
After college I was interviewing at different locations like recording studios, record labels, concert venues, or anything music related that could get me in the door. A random day in July, I interviewed at a recording studio in Hollywood, CA. It did not go as well as I wanted. Feeling slightly defeated that day, I reached out to a friend to meet me for coffee in Hollywood. He told me to meet him at the Hustler store, they had a coffee shop there, and as we walked out of the Hustler coffee shop, I saw the sign for Island Def Jam. I told my friend ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ I had an extra resume in my car from the interview earlier that day and jumped into the elevator. As the doors were closing, I hear a woman yell to me to hold the elevator. I held the doors and three dogs run in. A woman named Christine Chiappetta walks in and says ‘thanks’ and we start talking. She welcomes me into the building and into her office. Next thing you know, we are talking for a couple of hours and exchange information. I heard from her assistant about an internship opportunity about a month later. It was kismet! I interned with IDJ for about two years. I asked Michael Chester if I could go with him to one of his radio meetings at KIIS-FM, where I was introduced to Julie Pilat, who was the Music Director at the time. I was offered a phone operator position at KIIS-FM while I was still interning at IDJ. In 2008, I was officially offered a full-time position with IDJ working in the Promotions department; directly reporting to Christine Chiappetta, David McGilvray and Noah Sheer. I remained at IDJ for over 6 years. When Island & Def Jam split in 2014, I was laid off. I started working at Premiere Networks (an iHeart Media division) in 2015 in their syndicated radio department as an Affiliate Relations Coordinator where I worked for two and a half years. From there, I got a job in the Data & Analytics department at Universal Music Group in 2017, but through all my job changes, I kept in touch with David McGilvray. He finally gave me my shot as a promo rep for ADA in 2019.
3. How long have you been working for ADA and what are your primary responsibilities as Regional Manager/West Coast Promotion?
I just hit a year this month with ADA. My primary responsibilities are to garner airplay at all formats throughout the west coast. I’m based in LA and establish and develop relationships with radio station partners. I basically get to meet with radio, play them tunes and have real conversations about music we are passionate about!! What’s better than that?
4. Besides the Rock records which we’ll discuss in the next few questions, what are some of the other format music and projects you are working at this point?
We work all formats. Our current projects include: Meg Myers “Any Way You Wanna Love” and The Smashing Pumpkins “CYR” at ALT; we are helping Rick Betemit at Asylum Records with Sada Baby “Whole Lotta Choppas” Ft. Nicki Minaj record (Most ADDED again this week!!) and Clipping. “Say My Name” to Rhythm & Urban. We are also working a dance record: Jonsi ft/ Robyn “Salt Licorice”, and two AAA records: Serena Ryder “Candy” & Jeff Tweedy “Love is the King”. We just started working Boys World “Girlfriend” to Top40 and have a few developing alt records we are working; The Beths “Mars, The God of War”, Bully “Where To Start” and Weathers “C’est La Vie” which has a champ at KTCL Denver!
5. Now let’s talk about some of the Rock bands you are working with on ADA starting with the new Daughtry. Getting this into the Top 25 on the Rock charts at this point is a good start for this project. What are the biggest challenges in working this record at Rock?
The greatest challenge with any rock and alt band is verifying programmer perception of the artist with the music. We just dealt with this at Alt with Neon Trees. Daughtry hasn’t been at the format in a minute, but culturally he is a force at Rock. We are currently #23* at Active Rock (Real Time) and we continue to climb the charts!! “World on Fire” came in Top 3 most added at Active Rock in week 9 alongside AC/DC and Greta von Fleet – it doesn’t get more ROCK than that.
6. What are some of the other Rock projects you are working now or will be working in the future?
Ghostemane - “Lazaretto” / “Hydrochloride” / “Anti-Icon”
7. What are the most important tools/resources you use to stay on top of the Rock formats' growth and constant daily changes?
I think it’s important to stay up on the current music – so I LISTEN to my stations and watch the chart and add board to know what our competition is or how the format is evolving. Each week, I pull reports through Music Choice, Mediabase and Chartmetric to look at all of the data across the board – streaming, shazams, social media activity, YouTube streams, etc. Chartmetric is my new favorite app to use to access all of this information in one place – it has been a great new tool!
8. Now Let’s talk about the Active Rock format as a whole. While you work with different formats, what’s your perspective on the State of Rock Radio today?
Rock is just as relevant as it was in the past. Rock will never go away, because it is an essential format for all age groups. Rock influences all genre’s and vice versa. Active Rock, like all formats, has its ebb and flow and right now I think the format looks strong and we are excited to be bringing some familiar names back to Active Rock and developing new acts that could help form the “what’s next” in Rock.
9. What can ADA and other labels, both major and indie, do a better job of to help break the next major Rock acts to Rock Radio?
The state that we are currently in, it is hard to specifically pinpoint what we can all do a better job in breaking the next major Rock act. It’s been a learning experience through this pandemic, without touring and in person encounters, introducing new bands and new music has been a bigger challenge than in the past. While we rely heavily on data, I think it is still so important to have our artists connect with radio staff and their audience. I think that’s why doing live streams and Zoom interviews with artists, rather than promo tours and phoners have been successful in introducing new acts or artists in this time of social distancing. We will all need to continue to work on developing artists without the ability to have them play your station shows, so that is the next big challenge after bands have already done all of the Zoom interviews and Virtual Sessions.
10. Finally, when you’re not in “work mode,” what do you like to do for fun and relaxation?
When I’m not in “work mode” I love to spend time with my family. I like to go on hikes and adventures anywhere. Lately I’ve been trying to visit National Parks. I always enjoy the opportunity for a road trip and just jamming out to music. For fun, I also make greeting cards that relate to the Latino community. I have a little store on Etsy that I sell them through. I love to be creative in any way possible.
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