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10 Questions with ... Jeff Murphy
August 16, 2022
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. "Keeping everyone focused on their brand strategy. Plus helping programmers manage their time and reduce their stress. I’m betting that most PDs feel their creativity has been pinched, their ability to manage the product compromised and their programming skills marginalized. We try to be therapists and confidants, then re-ignite their PD’s internal competitive drive to win."
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1. What led you to a career in radio?
I wasn’t an athletic kid, so playing baseball wasn’t gonna happen. So, I managed the sports teams at my high school. One fateful night, the PA announcer at a game had laryngitis and I filled in. After player introductions, the head coach said “you just found your career.” That, and thousands of hours imitating John Records Landecker on WLS/Chicago triggered my radio addiction. That spring, my hometown got a new radio station and figured hiring the high school Student Council President for nights would bring in young listeners. We played “Luckenbach Texas” and Abba – not so much.
2. Give us a brief history of your Radio career as a Programmer and Consultant up to now.
After WCLL/Chillicothe (1978), I worked at WIRL-AM/WSWT-FM Peoria for a couple of stints before getting hired at WWCT in 1981. I rose to PD and we mainstreamed the album rocker, achieving multiple #1 12+ books. That landed me at KKLZ/Las Vegas in Spring ’87, an also-ran station playing Freda Payne into Led Zeppelin. Alex DeMers consulted our sister station KKZX/Spokane and joined our team, flipping it to Classic Rock and becoming one of the highest rated Classic Rocks in the country. I joined Alex’s consulting firm in Winter of ’92.
3. Is there anything you specialize in for DeMers Programming?
Peter Smith and Alex would tell you that I specialize in “Dad Jokes” (and I do) but they also tell me that I’m their go-to for creative (sometimes wacky) promotional ideas, contesting, imaging copy, memorable branding and such. As part of that I handle our weekly Promo/Sales “Closed Circuit” memo for clients and keep the website full of fresh ideas. I especially enjoy talent coaching and mentoring newcomers to the business. And of course, we all work with our clients to develop their vision, build a strategic plan and work on all the details (music, research, marketing, social etc.) to create a winner.
4. Without giving aways exact stations and markets, how many Active Rock and Classic Rock stations are you working with?
If you listen to a Rock station in the top 100 markets, there’s a 75% chance you’re listening to a station we’ve worked with.
5. Besides working with the Music, Morning Show and the other Air talents, as a consultant, what are the most important things you can do to help a radio station become successful?
Keeping everyone focused on their brand strategy. Plus helping programmers manage their time and reduce their stress. I’m betting that most PDs feel their creativity has been pinched, their ability to manage the product compromised and their programming skills marginalized. We try to be therapists and confidants, then re-ignite their PD’s internal competitive drive to win.
6. Let’s talk about the music on Active Rock stations today. What do you feel is the right balance of new music to library music for Active Rock? Is there a magic balance or does it depend on the station and its market competition?
There’s been a shift in Active Rock that parallels how newer music has been treated on other contemporary formats. New rock songs often have short shelf-lives. Smart stations aren’t playing as many Recurrents – nor for as long.
Some markets embrace more contemporary Rock stations and others remain loyal to library-based heritage Rockers. Radio’s a 35+ industry now, and older folks have less interest in newer songs. They’re curious about the new Ozzy – but still prefer “Crazy Train.”
7. Now let’s talk about the music on Classic Rock stations. What’s the formula for keeping a Classic Rock station’s music sounding fresh, even though many of the titles have been around for 30 plus years or more?
A difference maker in some situations is being open to playing 80s music that the previous generation of Classic Rock stations wouldn’t have played. The impact of MTV is hard to ignore. We’re seeing an increasing acceptance of 90s Grunge and Alternative.
8. If you are consulting an Active Rock and it’s Classic Rock sister station for a market cluster, how much music sharing between artists and decades do you think works, or is it a market-by-market decision?
We believe people worry too much about this. It’s not about an individual song, it’s about the quarter hour listening experience. The songs before and after the shared artist matter. Station A playing Disturbed, Nirvana and Linkin Park is a different listening experience than Station B playing Pink Floyd, Nirvana and Tom Petty.
9. Who are some of new Active Rock artists that your research is showing as break out acts in 2022?
The question is staying power, as I mentioned. Jelly Roll and Giovannie and The Hired Guns stand out as pleasant surprises, Papa Roach “Kill The Noise” and Ghost “Call Me Little Sunshine” seem to have longevity.
10. Finally, I know you are a huge Chicago sports fan (sorry about the Cubs this year). With the NFL season upon us, how do you think Da Bears will do this year?
Ken, this was a pleasant and thought-provoking exercise, and you ruined it with question #10. However, I am contractually obligated to answer 10 questions, so – the Bears will suck. The Cubs suck. The Blackhawks suck. How can all those owners in the 3rd largest sports market let their franchises go to hell at the same time?
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