CountryBreakout No. 1 Song

/by

It’s well established that sound and memory are tied together. A snippet of an old TN show theme, a car’s horn, a grandfather clock’s chime–they can transport you to another time and place.

Eric Church gets it, and the new CountryBreakout No. 1 song “Springsteen” is a fine example of the phenomenon. It’s not about the titular rockstar so much as it’s about how his extensive body of work conjures up a sacred (and enduring) memory for the song’s narrator. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t relate to that idea, Springsteen fan or not.

The No. 1 is well-timed for Church, who is returning home to perform at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday (5/5). Church’s Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour with Brantley Gilbert has been selling out venues nationwide, and he will also play CMA Music Fest at LP Field on Saturday, June 9.

Charlie Cook On Air: Radio Chips in Cell Phones

/by

I am a small government guy. I think the less government intrudes in the private business world the better.

But we all have our own agendas and in this one case I am not such a small government guy. I would love to see the government mandate the addition and activation of radio chips in cell phones. I am happy to admit to being self-serving here. I guess it would be redundant to say I am self-serving and I don’t care.

We know House members have met with smartphone manufacturers in the last two weeks and while the government may not force this issue, just scheduling the meeting may very well push the phone folks in the right direction.

Adding a radio chip would save lives, be a real convenience and would be fair. One of the best parts of having a radio chip in your cell phone is you get the local weather, news, sports and music without having to worry about eating up your data plan.

I lost my smart phone about 6 weeks ago while on a road trip. I ran across the street to a Best Buy and picked up a “load as you go” Nokia phone and was pleasantly surprised to learn that this $25.00 phone came with radio included. I found my $400 smart phone a few days later at Delta’s lost and found at Hartsfield. Yeah I have a million radio station apps and all of the push apps on the smartphone. But when I am on the treadmill and I want to listen to the Mountaineers game, I can do it on the cheapo phone. The Mountaineers cannot be streamed by their local affiliates.

And I am not using up my data plan.

When enjoying a beautiful West Virginia afternoon, hiking the magnificent mountains, and I want to check the local weather forecast, I can also do it on this cheapo phone. (Okay, I have never actually hiked the beautiful West Virginia Mountains, but I would feel much more comfortable doing do so if I had a radio on my cell phone.)

What about the safety issues? I have never heard an Amber Alert on Pandora. Spotify has yet to warn me of a tornado in the area. What happens if the school bus is going to be 2 hours late? Darn! I missed that announcement on Last-FM.

I mentioned fair above. Usually people cry “unfair” when they have no case to make, but players like Pandora and Spotify have lobbied the auto manufacturers to include them on the dashboard while CD makers were blindsided and lost their space in new Fords.

Radio has the right to lobby smartphone makers to get on the handheld units. But you have Consumer Electronics President Gary Shapiro saying that mandating radios in cell phones is, “not in our national interest.” WHAT!? Allowing al Qaeda to set up a recruitment booth in Times Square is not in our national interest. Releasing killer bees on the Mall in Washington, DC during the 4th of July celebration is not in our national interest. But not being able to tune in Brad Paisley on my cell phone while I grill hot dogs on my deck, really? Heck, the NAB and RIAA can not agree on what day it is most of the time and they BOTH think putting radios in cell phones is a good idea. They know this is good for both of their businesses. At the recent NAB meeting in Las Vegas, the talk was about HD Radio on phones. Think of the additional 40 or 50 options in a city like LA. Mr. Shapiro must be looking for new ways to warn the nation.

We are a society of choices. We watch television shows on our phones and tablets. We listen to push and pull audio on our smart phones.

Does it make me a self-serving SOB to want to hear “God Gave Me You” by Blake Shelton while I read his tweets on the same device?

Weekly Chart Report (5/4/12)

/by

Average Joes Entertainment recording artist Matt Stillwell (R) visited with WJVL/Janesville, WI's Justin Brown promoting his new single, "Ignition." WJVL listeners were also treated to a short acoustic set at Wiggy's Saloon in downtown Janesville.

RADIO NEWS
• Longtime WATZ/Alpena, MI Music Director Susie Martin has retired after 18 years with the station and her last day was April 30. Going forward she can be reached at susie-martin@charter.net. Taking over her music duties is Phil Wenzel, who can be reached at pgwenz@gmail.com or 989-354-8400 x 304. Music call times are Tuesdays 1:30 – 4 pm ET and Wednesdays 2 – 4 pm ET.

• WQNZ/Natchez, MS Operations Manager Mark Porter has taken over Music Director duties following the exit of Mickey Alexander. Reach him at countryboy@95country.com.

• Rob Grayson has been named Program Director for WKBQ/Covington, TN after the departure of Jimmy Hicks. He can be reached at rob.grayson@us51country.com or 901-619-2468.

SPIN ZONE
There’s no need to apologize for this one: Eric Church has earned his second CountryBreakout No. 1 song with “Springsteen,” on the day after his birthday. Jason Aldean’s “Fly Over States” flies over a couple spots to land at No. 2, followed by Luke Bryan’s “Drunk On You.” Also muscling for top of the chart status are Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl” and Zac Brown Band’s “No Hurry.” And everyone’s on the move: Eli Young Band, Brantley Gilbert, Kip Moore, Toby Keith all benefit from some extra spins.

It looks like one of those good weeks to be a promotion rep. A big section of songs is earning triple digit spins, positions are mostly improved, and newcomers are buzzing toward the Top 20. Rachel Holder’s “In Your Arms” is now at No. 20, followed by Thomas Rhett’s “Something To Do With My Hands” at No. 21, Jana Kramer’s “Why Ya Wanna” at No. 24, and Dustin Lynch’s “Cowboys and Angels” at No. 26. Also making big gains are Keith Urban’s “For You” at No. 19, and George Strait’s “Drinkin’ Man” at No. 43.

Blake Shelton had (literally) a zero to 60 week with his new single “Over.” Right in his wake at No. 61 is “Pontoon,” the latest from Little Big Town. Lee Brice is coming off a huge hit with “A Woman Like You.” It’s currently outside the Top 80, but get ready for a big debut from “Hard To Love” next week.

Frozen Playlists: KIAI, KYKX, WBKR, WJVL, WKWS

Upcoming Singles
May 7
Randy Houser/How Country Feels/Stoney Creek
Michael Dean Church/That’s How We Roll/MDC Records
Bucky Covington/I Wanna Be That Feeling/eOne/New Revolution
Lewis Copeland/She’s Got It Going On/Phull/Jeff McClusky/Turnpike
Jason Thomas/Roll On/MD Records

May 14
Jessie James/Military Man/Show Dog-Universal
Due West/Things You Can’t Do In A Car/Black River
Lee Brice/Hard To Love/Curb

• • • • •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Blake Shelton/Over/Warner Bros. – 60
Little Big Town/Pontoon/Capitol – 61
Neal McCoy/Shotgun Rider/Blaster – 66
Scotty McCreery/Water Tower Town/19/Mercury/Interscope – 76

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Blake Shelton/Over/Warner Bros. – 390
Dierks Bentley/5-1-5-0/Capitol – 388
Keith Urban/For You/Capitol – 377
Toby Keith/Beers Ago/Show Dog-Universal – 307
George Strait/Drinkin’ Man/MCA – 295

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Blake Shelton/Over/Warner Bros. – 30
George Strait/Drinkin’ Man/MCA – 21
Little Big Town/Pontoon/Capitol – 21
Neal McCoy/Shotgun Rider/Blaster – 15
Edens Edge/Too Good To Be True/Big Machine – 14
Lee Brice/Hard To Love/Curb – 13
Jon Pardi/Missin’ You Crazy/Capitol – 12
Greg Bates/Did It For The Girl/Republic Nashville – 12
Kelly Clarkson/Mr. Know It All/19-RCA – 12
Montgomery Gentry/So Called Life/Average Joe’s – 11
Jerrod Niemann/Shinin’ On Me/Sea Gayle/Arista – 10
Keith Urban/For You/Capitol – 10

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Lee Brice/Hard To Love/Curb – 199
Lucas Hoge/Give A Damn/Animal House – 197
Adam Gregory/High On You/Calusa Entertainment-GMV Nashville – 191
Jaida Dreyer/Guy’s Girl/Soundstream – 178
Clinton Gregory/Bridges/Melody Roundup – 164

Don Gosselin (WNOE/New Orleans OM/PD) joined The Band Perry during the filming of the trio’s new music video for, "Postcard From Paris." Gosselin is pictured behind the wheel, Kimberly riding shotgun, and Neil and Reid in the backseat.

UMG Nashville’s Lauren Alaina appeared with label mate Easton Corbin at KFDI/Wichita’s Listener Appreciation Show. (L-R): KFDI’s Carol Hughes, Lauren Alaina, Mercury regional Jill Brunett

Kellie Pickler recently stopped by WSIX Nashville to co-host the morning show and promote the title track from her album 100 Proof. (L-R): WSIX morning show host Billy Greenwood, Pickler, WSIX midday personality Amy Paige, and BNA/Columbia's David Friedman

Gonzales and Dorman Launch Triple Crown

/by

Rich O'Toole

Former Nine North Records regional promotion staffers Doc Gonzales and Jim Dorman have announced the launch of Triple Crown Promotions Company, an independent promotion outfit. Will Robinson, also previously with Nine North, has also joined the team.

Triple Crown’s first artist project will be Rich O’Toole, who is releasing his single “Drunk Girl” to country radio.

Reach out to Gonzales at doc@tc-promo.com, Dorman at jim@tc-promo.com, and Robinson at will@tc-promo.com.

Sirius XM Reports Positive First Quarter

/by

Sirius XM reported an all-time high of 22.3 million subscribers on its first quarter 2012 financial results, released on Monday (4/30). Based on the growth, CEO Mel Karmazin raised the 2012 subscriber growth projection to 1.5 million, an increase of 2 million.

Sirius XM is installed in more than 60 percent of new vehicles. The current basic package costs $14.49 per month.

Revenue for the first quarter was $805 million, up 11% over Q1 2011 revenue of $724 million. Net income for the first quarters of 2012 and 2011 were $108 million and $78 million, respectively.

Karmazin also said the company plans to introduce a personalized radio service later this year which would be similar to Pandora.

 

No. 1 Party: Dierks Bentley’s “Home”

/by

ASCAP and BMI recently celebrated the creative teams behind Dierks Bentley’s chart-topping song “Home” at Arnold’s in Nashville. The song is the title track to Bentley’s latest album and the singer’s ninth career No. 1 hit. Bentley co-wrote “Home” with Brett Beavers and Dan Wilson.

(L-R): BMG Chrysalis's Daniel Lee, ASCAP's Marc Driskill, Dierks Bentley, co-writer/co-producer Brett Beavers, co-producer Luke Wooten, and BMI's Jody Williams. Photo: Ed Rode

Nine North Announces Promotion Staff Updates

/by

Nine North/Turnpike Music’s Larry Pareigis and Tom Moran have announced a round of promotions and additions to the company’s staff.

Jessica Harrell, formerly of Radio & Records, Country Aircheck and most recently Radioinfo.com joins as Manager, Southeast Promotion. She will be based in Jacksonville, FL. Congratulate her at jessica@ninenorthmail.com.

Nashville-based Ryan Barnstead will continue his current job as Director, East Coast for Turnpike but will additionally add Midwest regional duties for Nine North. Reach him at ryan@ninenorthmail.com.

Greg Stevens will maintain his work as Director, West Coast for Turnpike but also add West Coast responsibilities for Nine North. He will be based in Dallas. Email him at greg@ninenorthmail.com.

Another as-yet-unnamed promotion person will soon be added to the staff as Nine North’s Manager, Northeast Promotion.

Exiting the company are regional promotion reps Will Robinson, Doc Gonzales, and Jim Dorman.

2012-2013 CRS Agenda Committee Announced

/by

The 2012-2013 Country Radio Seminar Agenda Committee has been announced, and 11 new members have been added this year.

“We had a great CRS 2012 earlier this year, but we’re always looking for ways to make the seminar even better,” says 2012-2013 CRS Agenda Committee Chair Annie Sandor. “We’ve put together a team that certainly has the tools to do just that!”

The 2012-2013 CRS Agenda Committee is made up of volunteers from all areas of the music industry and gathers to plan events for CRS. This year’s committee members will meet June 20-22, 2012 in Nashville to put together topics for CRS 2013, held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013.

The complete 2012-2013 CRS Agenda Committee (* denotes new committee member):

Lee Adams / Broken Bow Records *
Daniel Anstandig / Listener Driven Radio *
Andy Denemark / United Stations
Dale Desmond / KTHK *
Ryan Dokke / Arista Records *
Greg Frey / Cumulus Media, Inc. *
Jeff Green / Country Aircheck (Agenda Committee Co-Chair)
Gator Harrison / WUSY
Andrew Kautz / Big Machine Label Group *
Judi Lakin / Cox Media Group Houston *
Stephen Linn / CMT
Nick Martin / WXFL
Lisa McKay / WQDR *
Daniel Miller / Borman Entertainment *
Mike Preston / KKWF
Ron Rodrigues / Arbitron
Sean Ross / Edison Research/Radio-Info.com *
Annie Sandor / Curb Records (Agenda Committee Chair)
Chris Stacey / Warner Music Nashville *
John Trapane / Capitol Records (Agenda Committee Co-Chair)

Weekly Chart Report (4/27/12)

/by

Brett Eldredge (L) visited with WQYK/Tampa MD Jay Roberts (R) at Sunday’s (4/22) Fun 'n Sun concert and promoted his latest single “It Ain’t Gotta Be Love.”

LIFENOTE
Congratulations to KKWF/Seattle Morning host Fitz and wife Bethany on the birth of their new baby girl, Drew Lynnae. Drew was born Saturday (4/21) and both she and mother are doing well.

SPIN ZONE
You know you’ve had a pretty big hit when you can shed a few spins and stay at No. 1. And so Rascal Flatts’ “Banjo,” 16 weeks into its chart journey, holds for a third consecutive week in the CountryBreakout Chart’s top spot. But it could all change by next week: Eric Church’s “Springsteen” moves up to No. 2, and looks strong with a gain of 102 spins. Also eying the top position are Jason Aldean’s “Fly Over States” at No. 4 and Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl” at No. 5.

Arista Nashville’s Kristen Kelly recently visited KPLX in Dallas to promote the release of her debut single “Ex-Old Man.” (L-R): Mark Phillips (KPLX Dallas), Kristen Kelly

Kip Moore might also have a big ole hit on his hands with “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck.” He’s at No. 10, and still adding on the rotations with each new chart. And to continue the hit parade, look at Keith Urban’s “For You.” It’s only three weeks old at this point, and already to No. 24. On top of that, it made a huge gain of 505 spins–the week’s largest–to move up from No. 42. There’s also an indie insurgence happening in the Top 40, with Shawna Russell’s “Waitin’ On Sunrise” (No. 31) and Tim Culpepper’s “Ghost” (No. 33) leading a pack that includes Darryl Worley (No. 35), Kaleb McIntire (No. 38), and Marlee Scott (No. 39).

King George Strait is ever the picture of consistency with “Drinkin’ Man” making a big debut at No. 57, which lands just in front of “Come On” by Eric Lee Beddingfield, last week’s top debut. This chart also features the solo country debut of Kelly Clarkson, whose “Mr. Know It All” is finding favor with country programmers at No. 68. Keep an eye out for upcoming singles from Neal McCoy (“Shotgun Rider”) and Jaida Dreyer (“Guy’s Girl”) as they prepare to debut.

Upcoming Singles
April 30
Kristen Kelly/Ex-Old Man/Arista
Little Big Town/Pontoon/Capitol
Montgomery Gentry/So Called Life/Average Joes
Jason Sturgeon/Time Bomb/Toolpusher
George Strait/Drinkin’ Man/MCA
JJ McCoy/Sunshine State

May 7
Randy Houser/How Country Feels/Stoney Creek
Michael Dean Church/That’s How We Roll/MDC Records
Bucky Covington/I Wanna Be That Feeling/eOne/New Revolution
Lewis Copeland/She’s Got It Going On/Phull/Jeff McClusky/Turnpike
Jason Thomas/Roll On/MD Records

• • • • • •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
George Strait/Drinkin’ Man/MCA – 57
Kelly Clarkson/Mr. Know It All/19-RCA – 68
LiveWire/Gone (Remix)/Way Out West – 75
Justin Haigh/People Like Me – 77
Josh Abbott Band/Touch/PDT – 79
Erica Nicole/Tell Me What You Think About Us/Heaven Records – 80

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Keith Urban/For You/Capitol – 505
Dierks Bentley/5-1-5-0/Capitol – 354
George Strait/Drinkin’ Man/MCA – 266
Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw/Feel Like A Rock Star/BNA – 257
Luke Bryan/Drunk On You/Capitol – 208

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Keith Urban/For You/Capitol – 26
George Strait/Drinkin’ Man/MCA – 21
Neal McCoy/Shotgun Rider/Blaster – 13
Kelly Clarkson/Mr. Know It All/19-RCA – 11
Dierks Bentley/5-1-5-0/Capitol – 11
Edens Edge/Too Good To Be True/Big Machine – 11
Montgomery Gentry/So Called Life/Average Joe’s – 9
Little Big Town/Pontoon/Capitol – 9
Scotty McCreery/Water Tower Town/19/Mercury/Interscope – 8
Chris Young/Neon/RCA – 8
Rick Monroe/Crazy Not To/Render Records – 8
Love and Theft/Angel Eyes/RCA – 8

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Lucas Hoge/Give A Damn/Animal House – 195
Neal McCoy/Shotgun Rider/Blaster – 171
Scotty McCreery/Water Tower Town/19-Mercury-Interscope – 169
Jaida Dreyer/Guy’s Girl/Soundstream – 169
Adam Gregory/High On You/Calusa Entertainment-GMV Nashville – 167

Black River Entertainment’s Glen Templeton recently paid a visit to WYNK/Baton Rouge. (L-R): Templeton, Black River's Megan Good; WYNK Music Director Austin James; Black River's General Manager, Greg McCarn

Marlee Scott stopped by Thunder 102/WDNB in upstate New York to be a co-host on Ciliberto & Friends. She also helped Paul Ciliberto with his karate kick. (L-R): Michelle Semerano (Ciliberto & Friends), Scott, Ciliberto.

Charlie Cook On Air: Chrysler and Advertising

/by

Newsflash: Advertising works!

I guess those of us in radio have always known that. Otherwise why would we be playing 10-20 commercials per hour?

Chrysler Motors has discovered this recently. Considered the little sister of the Big Three automakers, Chrysler was way behind in the perception of the car buying public.

I grew up in Detroit and as a kid Chrysler was always behind GM and Ford. General Motors was SOOOOO big and Ford was the local company.

Chrysler tried so many things to chase primarily Ford. They went the muscle car route chasing the Mustang and then they finally hired Lee Iacocca after he left Ford. Mr. Iacocca went in a different direction and basically invented the minivan taking Chrysler to a specific winning position. (I understand that Mr. Iacocca was not the designer of the minivan but without his support it would have never happened.)

Fast forward to the last five years as the auto industry hit the skids. Radio was one of the biggest losers in this fall. Less car sales means less advertising. Less advertising means less disc jockeys. (It will be interesting to see if more car sales and thus more advertising means more disc jockeys. HAHAHA I crack myself up).

Two of the three American automakers took financial support from the US government in order to get through these bad times. Chrysler was one of the two and their future really did look gloomy.

But something has happened that has lifted Chrysler ahead of GM. Chrysler does not seem to be as stained with the bailout as GM, derisively referred to as Government Motors.

What has helped Chrysler climb out of the basement? Good ole advertising.

A lot of people will look back to the Clint Eastwood spot during the Super Bowl as a reason for the success but a recent survey found that this was more of a negative than a positive for Chrysler. The spot certainly got America’s attention but some thought that it was more a political endorsement than a car commercial.

Getting everyone’s attention was worth the effort though, as Chrysler got on people’s radar. Once the car buying public was attuned to Chrysler again their marketing started to make inroads.

You cannot sell something to someone unless you get their attention. Running a spot, any spot, in the Super Bowl will usually get people’s attention.

The car company launched a huge “comeback” theme campaign and introduced 16 new or redesigned models in the last couple of years. They had a lot to talk about and this has translated into a 25% increase in sales last year and just as importantly an increase in positive opinion with potential car buyers. The more often you see a Chrysler product on the road the better you feel about the car and it opens your mind to purchasing one.

A survey company named YouGov calculates a buzz score for products. Their results measure the difference between the positive and negative things people are saying about a company.

This month Chrysler measured a +17. The scale goes from -100 to +100 so +17 is better than it sounds.  And the +17 was good enough to best GM’s +15. Ford is at +37.

And to put this in better perspective, three years ago Chrysler scored -41.

This 57 point swing tells us that the trend for Chrysler is very good and you will begin seeing even more Dodge and Jeep products on the road. You will also be hearing more Chrysler advertising on the radio and that is good for us.