Charlie Cook On Air: Resolutions

Let’s see, which New Year’s resolution should I break first? I made three: Lose weight, work an extra hour every day, and quit swearing so much. Well, I’ll be damned if I didn’t leave work early Wednesday to go to the all you can eat buffet.

Seriously, we all put unrealistic expectations on ourselves and each other only to disappoint every one. Radio and records rewards hard work. There are abundant examples of people in the business that work a little harder than the average bear and their efforts have paid off.

Mike McVay is the hardest working human I know. It has been both a burden and a pleasure to work for and with him for all these years. I know how hard he works and I see how it has paid off for him. He is at the top of his game today.

Scott Borchetta has benefited from his hard work in Nashville. We look at Scott today and say, wow how fortunate he is to have Taylor in his camp. Don’t forget the chances he took early on with his label or how hard he worked at MCA in the old days.

Mike Dungan is one of the smartest executives in Nashville but, along with playing hard, works very hard. Mike saw around the next turn and put together the label of the year. Yeah Lady Antebellum is his lead-off batter but his lineup is deep and Mike is the architect of that team.

Bob Pittman has decided to spend his efforts in support of the merits of radio in the traditional format. That is going to take a lot of work on his part. We who work in radio are fortunate to have Bob as our spokesman because he is tireless and brilliant.

Artists like Jason, Brad, the Flatts, Kenny and Miranda are continuously on the road. New acts like The Band Perry, Chris Young and Thompson Square get up every day knowing that it is worth the hard work to make a name for themselves so they can soon be in the first group of artists.

I enjoy working hard. I appreciate that I work for a great company and would not want it any other way. Wait, let me check my Mega Millions ticket from last night…

Okay, as I was saying, I love working with others dedicated to the radio business and as we kick off 2012 I tell those people, it is going to be tough this year. If you still have a job, you are working harder than you have in the past years. Most likely you have picked up an extra duty or two to replace the co-worker who moved on.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who has been out of work for about 6 months and he said that the only thing he has from 2011 is a used calendar. That is glass half empty. I told him that the number one New Year’s resolution each year is SPEND MORE TIME WITH THE FAMILY. There you go.

Hey, he is ahead of the game. A recent study found that only 12% of those making New Year’s resolutions actually kept them.

According to Wikipedia, a study in 2007 by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol showed that 78% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, and those who succeed have 5 traits in common. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying “lose weight”), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

As we all (pick one) — 1. Rush into 2. Ease into 3. Are pushed into — 2012 remember to keep your wits about you. If you’re in the record business there is not going to be a huge increase in the number of CDs sold this year. The model is still broken but GREAT music does reach the consumer and every year a Brantley Gilbert or a JaneDear Girls come along that lifts our hopes.

I believe that the glass is half full. Now, it is teetering right on the edge of the desk, but it is half full.

I do want to mention too that I saw three GREAT shows since we last chatted. Lady Antebellum played the Coliseum in Morgantown and were fabulous.

Jim Brickman played his Christmas show at the Clay Center in Charleston, WV. An A+ evening.

And I saw Bill Anderson play the Wheeling Jamboree in December. Bill has been doing this a long time and his showmanship and professionalism were apparent. I don’t remember enjoying an evening more.

Happy New Year.