10 Questions with ... Hurricane Dave Smith

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I continue to have one of the greatest careers of anybody I know in radio. At one time overseeing the programming strategies of 14 radio stations and three nationally syndicated programs. I’m pretty sure I’ve groomed more Assistant Program Directors into Program Directors and Operations Managers than anybody currently in the radio game. I’ve been blessed to have worked with some awesome talented programmers. I’ve had 12 - #1 stations under my leadership from Classic Rock to Hip-Hop. Because of the talented teams I’ve worked with I’ve been rewarded with so many honors including the Jerry Boulding Radio Living Legend Award, two Lifetime Achievement Awards, an Icon Award and many more. That only happens by the grace of GOD and the great teams I’ve worked with. Unfortunately, I have fallen into what is known as the “Tall Poppy Syndrome.” Just Google that and you’ll figure it out.

1. What are you up to?

It’s more like what I’m not up to. 2020 was a rough year for everybody. For most it was the year of the pandemic. For me personally it was the year of the “PlanDemic.” Because of my positive demeanor and outlook on life it was one of the best years of my life. I was able to work from home and help homeschool my six-year-old daughter. I became an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) certified coach. I mastered search engine optimization. I started a company called “ADA Me Now” (adamenow.com). Most websites are not in compliance with the laws regarding Americans with Disability Act. I became an expert in Postproduction Video Editing; my game is pretty good. My wife and I just celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary and we still have lots of exciting date nights. I’m eating healthy, lost 20 pounds and I’m in the best mental and physical shape in probably 20 years. I could go on, but I don’t want people to start hating on a brother. Hahahaha. I’m just loving life and no stress.

2. What other business sectors & tools should radio use as a baseline for growth?

That’s an excellent question. I think it’s more of a question of how we stop losing growth. There are so many other choices and ways people are consuming music and content. It seems like every week there’s another new platform looking to get radio’s audience. I think companies must apply what I’ve been saying for many years. Go where your listeners are hanging out and set up shop. The most popular hangout spot right now by far is “Clubhouse.” I see a lot of DJs marketing their skills and becoming experts on this platform. What if your radio station had a club/room on Clubhouse? You should bring a major artist in the studio with you and jump on Clubhouse for an hour then send everyone in the room back to your radio station. Radio must do things it’s never done before. This is how my brain works.

3. Would you share some of your programming philosophies?

Whenever I look at a new situation, I always look to see what we’re doing well and try to improve on that. That old saying that music is the star holds less value in today’s environment. Music can be consumed from so many different places, so you better focus on having amazing talent. Talent is where it’s at if we are going to survive. I would also recommend when you hire talent, remember why you hired them. I don’t like managers who hire incredible talent and then put them in a box. I believe you teach and coach them how to not break company policy or put the company at risk, but man let them be free. Let them be who they were when you first listen to them and said I want them on my team. I would also recommend the entire staff get the book, “Who Moved My Cheese?” The business is just like the weather it’s constantly changing. If you’re looking for that cheese to be in the same location you’re going to fail.

4. What’s the funniest or interesting thing that has happened to you during your radio career?

Getting into a heated debate in Cincinnati Ohio with Prince at a meet and greet before a concert. This was in front of the station owner I worked for at the time Blue Chip Broadcasting. There were no cameras allowed like always with meet and greets with superstars. Prince literally berated me in front of everybody because I was in charge of Programming the music at the Cincinnati Ohio-based company. He called me the matrix. He was very upset with our company (not with me personally) when we would not let him continue as acting Music Director for the station we had in Minneapolis. When he came to Cincinnati, he knew the PD for the company would be there and he targeted me. Every time he got in my face I respectfully got right back in his. Every time he would say something negative about the radio station or me, I would respectfully remind him that he hadn’t had a hit record in 20 years. That it was him who was out of touch with the times. I was always respectful when speaking to him. At times it was very heated, and you could hear a pin drop in the room. I will put that in a book one day. But the concert started 45 minutes late that night. I will always love Prince. As I walked out of the meet and greet room, he looked at me and said I respect how we debated tonight, he gave me an almost sinister smile and a friendly head nod. That night at the concert he performed some of his new music and everyone in the arena just stood there, no energy. But when he played his classics everyone including myself went crazy. I will remember and cherish that night for the rest of my life. The next day the radio station owners let me know they were very proud of the way I conducted myself and that I stood up when being confronted by Prince. I handled the situation at hand with respect and dignity.

5. Would you share the names of some air personalities you grew up listening to?

Sly Joc, Porsha Fox when she was on WAMO in Pittsburgh. I was in love with her voice. Rick Dees, Wolfman Jack, John Cline mostly Pittsburgh personalities.

6. How did you get into radio?

I got kicked out of study hall in high school, who gets kicked out of study hall? I was a sophomore in a newly consolidated high school. The high school was created from four-4A high schools into one massive campus. So, you had schools that went to war against each other during football season now consolidated. The first couple of years were very trying with regards to race relations. The counselor told me to take a class, study hall was not for me, so I picked radio and television. Little did I know this brand-new high school had a real low power FM radio station that covered the city. Once I went on the air, I knew it was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

7. Who have been some of your influencers and mentors?

Spiritually Joel Osteen saved my life. When individuals teamed up to lie on me and tried to destroy everything that I worked for my entire life I found myself in a very dark place. Listening to Joel’s messages gave me hope and re-planted seeds of faith that things aren’t happening to you, things are happening for you. During this time of faith testing one of my friends told me to go dark and stay off social media for a while but I refuse to be the victim of the tall poppy syndrome. I stayed on message with a positive post just about every day. I’m thankful to God that situation has been resolved/closed and I’m moving on. On the radio side the mentor who always comes first in my mind is Elroy Smith. He was like a rock star to me when I was just getting into Urban Radio (12 years after my time in Rock and Pop Radio) Elroy and I speak quite frequently, he’s the reason why I am pretty talented at this marketing thing. Elroy had the most amazing intros before he would go on stage or appear on panel discussions. He’s still a Rock Star to me.

8. What’s your forecast for radio innovation for 2021?

COVID-19 has changed everything for radio. Some say gone are the glory days. But I’m not giving up on terrestrial radio. I read in Variety magazine that music streaming in fourth quarter 2020 was up by huge numbers. They compared streaming platforms versus music terrestrial platforms and streaming was getting about 30% of the music consumption market while terrestrial music radio stations were getting 15%. I can tell you I found that quite disturbing. Radio is still an extremely valuable platform. Radio may be losing the new music consumption battle to streaming and other platforms including TikTok, SoundCloud, Twitch and YouTube but artists still want those number one records at radio. Radio has become more important after the artist gets exposed. We play songs much longer than streaming companies. As I stated earlier if we’re going to innovate, we have to get on some of these other platforms. Wherever our audience is radio must put a stake in the ground and set up a tent and promote that were there. I also think people are underestimating the importance of the smart speaker. If you don’t have promos and your jocks promoting the smart speaker devices you’re going to get left behind. The other thing that surprises me is I don’t think broadcasting companies understand the significance of making sure that the stream is functioning properly. Most are leaving it up to the streaming companies. Their job is to just make sure the stream is on. The radio stations don’t even monitor their streams. If they did, they wouldn’t sound so bad. We can’t just create an app or just say “Hey check us out on your smart speaker” without making sure they are sounding as good as our terrestrial signals. Most streams I’ve heard sound like trash. We also need to find a way to get with the car manufacturers to get local radio stations back on the “front page” of these digital dashboards.

9. How do you approach solving problems?

Most problems can be easily resolved. It’s a matter of managing expectations. Managers are not always right. The first thing I try to do is take off my glasses and put the individual who has the issues glasses on. When you look at things from their filter you might discover some things. One of the major talents I used to work with used to say “Dave just make it make sense to me” if you manage expectations at the beginning of the relationship things usually work themselves out.

10. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

My VP/GM in Tallahassee, FL John Columbus told me “Dave, people will disappoint you every time.” I was a little puzzled by that advice. Later in life I discovered exactly what he was talking about. It’s always the ones that you trust the most, that you try to help the most, that you care about the most, that will cut your heart out and serve it back to you and your family with a smile on their face. I had no idea when celebrating the many victories my team and I had, I was also creating unimaginable hate and resentment from those on the sideline. I’ve had to turn a lot of pain into purpose the last few years. I am more in love with my wife and kids, and more spiritually connected to my purpose of motivating people and never folding on faith than any other time in my life. I’m a very blessed man.

What things you are most proud of?

A couple of things, I worked with some of the best APD’s like DJ J1, Bill Black, Jay Teck, the late Kris Kelly, Kelly Mac and the late KJ Holiday they went on to be successful programmers and quality people. The other thing is my faith walk. People of asked how I stay so positive and on message. Just be the genuine article is my response every time. You see it’s easy when you’re always speaking from the heart. You don’t have to remember what you were saying if you were being an imposter. Just be who you are.

How should programmers utilize Digital Steaming Providers (DSP’s) in make music decisions?

It’s just another form of research. I take all those things into consideration when making decisions about music. It’s important to know who’s listening to the stream. Sometimes the two don’t add up. That 80/20 rule always comes into effect. 80% of your audience is based on 20% of your P1’s. I’m always going to be more interested in what that 20% wants as opposed to altering my radio station for the next big thing on a streaming platform. Streaming plays in important part in my life. As a seasoned programmer we have to stay on top of a lot of things. I just don’t make radio decisions solely off of streaming information.

Why did you get a remote pilot’s license?

I didn’t know you noticed that. I’ve always had a fascination with flight. When I was programming in Columbus Ohio I would go down to the airport and watch the planes takeoff from my car. I find it amazing that something that weighs that much can takeoff and glide into the atmosphere. I got my remote pilots license because some of the best views are from above.