November 2, 2015, Issue 472 Emcee Clamor: 49th Annual CMA Awards hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley (c) with gathered radio programmers and personalities at the CMA radio remotes orientation Sunday night (11/1) in Nashville. ©2015 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 2, 2015 Page 3 Remotes Open CMA Week “Brad does most of the parodies,” Carrie Underwood said of her CMA Awards hosting partner in an interview at the radio remotes orientation last night (11/1). “Anything you don’t like, Brad usually does.” She and the referenced Brad Paisley hammed it up in typical fashion, proving that though some things have changed from last year, their quick wit isn’t one of them. CMA board Radio Committee chair Clay Hunnicutt (now running label Big Loud) addressed the programmers and personalities gathered in the Music City Center, promising a strong slate of participating artists. “One of the things the radio committee did this year is establish a new criteria for artists to get into the room,” he said. “You have to have a No. Clay Hunnicutt 1, be on the charts, Hall of Famer, previous winner – things like that. What you’ll see is really the best of the best.” The shift may cut the total number of artists making the rounds by a handful from last year’s 90, a smaller drop than expected. “Because of how great it went last year, a lot of artists saw how beneficial it was,” Hunnicutt said. As was pointed out later, stations can’t pass on an interview, so the roster of well-established artists should help participating stations get audio “you’ll actually use – not the famous, ‘We’ll can it and use it later,’” Hunnicutt said dryly. “If you say you don’t do that, you’re lying.” The main event, of course, was the press conference with Paisley and Underwood, whose hosting commitment precludes hours spent at the remotes. The Q&A format was slightly more controlled this year, with radio attendees reading pre-selected questions. ABC Radio’s Andrea Dresdale opened with one about gauging what jokes might be too mean Andrea to another artist. Dresdale “It’s what would make you feel bad personally,” Paisley said. “It’s kind of an exercise in empathy ... putting yourself in that person’s position and asking, ‘Would that offend me?’ Then realizing we aren’t quite as easily offended as a few, so would that offend them?” Underwood added, “Between the two of us we know everybody pretty well and can usually say whether or not somebody would be okay with something. We hope everybody can laugh at themselves because ... we are not afraid to laugh at ourselves.” WQDR/Raleigh’s Mike Wheless inquired about the aforementioned comedy songs. “We didn’t do parodies the first year,” Paisley said. “The second year we were hosting I did Letterman the Monday before the awards show. He had somebody come on and sing the top 10 list. They were (continued on page 10) Write On The Money: SESAC celebrates songwriters and publishers at last night’s (11/1) 2015 Nashville Music Awards. Pictured (l-r) are SESAC’s Tim Fink, Country Songwriter of the Year Cary Barlowe, Song of the Year (“Homegrown”) writer Wyatt Durrette and SESAC’s ©2015 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at Shannan Hatch. www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 2, 2015 Page 6 A Fine Line Of Compliance PAGE THREE PIC When Premiere’s syndicated The Bobby Bones Show drew a $1 million FCC fine for iHeartMedia over the misuse of EAS tones (CAT 5/19), many broadcasters began to question the extent to which today’s personalities are versed in the rules of the radio. “It wasn’t supposed to happen,” Bones says of the incident, without going into specifics in the SeptemberCountry Aircheck print publication. So Country Aircheck asked some top-level programmers what they do to make sure those kinds of mistakes don’t happen. Cumulus SVP/Content & Programming Mike McVay says it begins with the first statement in a “Welcome to Cumulus” manual given to new PDs and air talents. “’Our number one responsibility is to protect the license,’” he says, paraphrasing the frequently updated document’s opening line. Mike McVay “We’ve included what to do and not to do, along with the things the NAB suggests like not using emergency sirens in commercials, stunts or bits because a driver may Can You Dig It? Indy promoter Mike Borchetta (c) be looking around for the source.” with Nashville mayor Richard Fulton (l) and Cash Midwest VP/Programming Jeff McCarthy says protecting Box’s Jim Sharp at the 1978 CMA convention. the license takes advanced and ongoing training, particularly for Have far out pictures of your own? Send them to new personalities. Simulating various scenarios can also prepare [email protected]. jocks for virtually any situation that might come up. “If you’re just starting out we might put you in a production studio in advance and allow you to do a show,” he says. “It’s going through what McVay says a refresher never hurts, as others’ mistakes can be the values are of the company and the radio station. What are the learning opportunities. “We instruct our program directors to take things we expect in terms of the type of content you’re going to people through it, and after Mr. Bones got in trouble, we certainly have on the air? Where is the line? That’s really important and a sent it around to everybody and asked every lot of times we blur it.” air talent to acknowledge that they’d read and McVay points out that no matter how many eventualities you understood it,” he says. plan for, some you figure out the hard way. “One of the things in our The bottom line, says McCarthy, is everyone booklet is the seven words you cannot say,” he says. “We recently had needs to be on the same page before anyone an air talent spell out one of the words, thinking that would be ok. So goes on the air. “If you had a car you paid $5 we had to file the proper paperwork and reprimand the talent – the million for, would you just hand the keys over to poor kid just didn’t know. We didn’t suspend him but we gave him a someone and say, ‘I’ll see you in five hours?’” warning. Since then, we’ve added that to our manual.” he asks. “This is what happens way too often “A lot of this starts at the top,” says McCarthy. “If you go back with radio stations. ‘Oh, they’re just a part-timer.’ Jeff McCarthy to when radio had smaller operators who were much more hands- At some point that part-timer is driving that car. on, they were conscious of those rules and regulations. Now that They should never be allowed to go on the air it’s become much more corporate, less attention is being paid.” before being prepped. It really comes down to the goal of the PD to He adds that Midwest still has that focus. “[Owner] Duke Wright educate that person, especially if they haven’t had the experience or follows the laws of the FCC to the letter,” he says. “You don’t ever education in the business.” want to explain to him why we got a fine from the FCC.” Reach McVay here and McCarthy here. –Jess Wright ©2015 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 2, 2015 Page 8 Writers Rock OFF THE RECORD: RYAN KINDER That lady or gentleman in formal wear at tonight’s (11/2) Warner Bros./WEA’s Ryan Kinder puts 53rd Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards could have been an industry spin on the artist interview: one of Nashville’s top songwriters – or perhaps it was a member I grew up listening to of the Secret Service. Trisha Yearwood was honored with the Birmingham’s WDXB and WZZK. PRO’s Voice of Music Award, presented by former President The first time I heard myself on Jimmy Carter, and celebrated with three tribute performances the radio, I was sitting in a car with my introduced by Justin Timberlake. Both are Yearwood’s wife. We were about to go in the Kroger. personal friends. Lady Antebellum sang Yearwood’s We were both freaking out. I rolled down “Walkaway Joe” while Reba performed “The Song Remembers the window and yelled at the closest When” and Garth Brooks’ daughter Allie Brooks sang “She’s person to tell them I was on the radio. In Love With The Boy.” Ryan Kinder They came over and listened with us. Top winners included Ashley Gorley, Songwriter of the Year; My favorite people to travel with Sam Hunt, Songwriter/Artist of the Year; “Leave The Night are my manager Nick Garvin and my songwriting partner Luke On” (written by Hunt and Josh Osborne, performed by Hunt), Sheets. We’ve been buddies for so long and we know how to Song of the Year; and Warner/Chappell Music, Publisher of handle each other on extremely long road trips. the Year. I’d love to have dinner with Quincy Jones or the late Stevie Logan’s Roadhouse CEO Sam Borgese was presented the Ray Vaughn. Quincy is the epitome of a music producer and Partners In Music Award, which recognizes an ASCAP licensee that musician.