Charlie Cook Q&A
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December 12, 2016, Issue 530 Cloud Nine: Charlie Cook Q&A Cumulus’ WSM-FM (Nash Icon)/Nashville has spent nearly a year as the market’s top Country station 6+ and OM/PD Charlie Cook has overseen the station’s emergence. Doubling as VP/Country for the group, Cook has a unique perspective on the hybrid format and why it’s working so well in Nashville. CA: Obviously Cumulus Country is on quite a roll in Nashville, but we only see the boxcars. What’s going on once you dig into the demos? CC: It’s one thing to be the 6+ guy, but that takes in 60-year- olds and I totally get that is an advantage for WSM-FM over the other two. When you look at 25-54, which is what everyone cares about, in a bunch of different ways, ‘SM is in front. In 6am to midnight, WSM still does well and is the leading Country station with a 5.1. Last December, that was a 3.5. Average Quarter Where’s The Blow? Capitol and UMG/Nashville staffers Hour Persons grew from 2,000 to 3,100 celebrate the label’s eighth consecutive Label of the Year win during that time, which is a 35% jump. TSL, with eight-ball cupcakes courtesy of Country Aircheck. Pictured cume and daily cume all went up. (l-r) are UMGN’s Chris Schuler, the label’s Ashley Laws, CA’s A lot of people look at Monday-Friday Lon Helton, Capitol’s Brent Jones, CA’s April Johnson, UMGN’s 6am to 7pm, and WSM is still the leading Donna Hughes, Capitol’s Bobby Young, UMGN’s David Friedman and Jason McColl, and the label’s Sarah Beth Watson. Country station in that window. We have a Charlie Cook 5.4 share 25-54, up from a 3.3 in December 2015. That’s up almost 40%. Have we Programming Note stumbled onto something? Maybe we have. As noted previously, today (12/12) was the final How do you define what you’ve stumbled on? add-reporting day for Country Aircheck/Mediabase There’s a significant portion of the listening population that stations. Next Monday (12/19) will be the last chart wants a broader base of music. The thing about WSM-FM is we of 2016 and the last full Country Aircheck Weekly feel every song is a hit. Every song has a level of familiarity you will be delivered that evening. A charts-free weekly will be sent don’t get on the contemporary-based stations. People get tired Thursday, Dec. 29. of current music quicker than they do gold. We also play a lot of The first add reporting deadline of 2017 is 2pm CT Tuesday, Jan. music in mornings while [iHeart’s WSIX] and [Cumulus’ WKDF] 3. The add board will be published via email that day. The first chart are more personality driven. (continued on page 7) of 2017 will be in Country Aircheck Weekly Jan. 9. ©2016 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] December 12, 2016 Page 3 The Gift That Keeps On Giving just a song we were going to sing at Christmas shows," she No holiday playlist would be complete without Vince Vance & remembers. "What you hear on the radio was a scratch vocal. I the Valiants' "All I Want For Christmas Is You." Written by Vance began to think it was maybe a big deal when the musicians on (aka Andy Stone) and Troy Powers and sung by "Valiantette" Lisa the recording – all really in-demand Layne, the 1989 classic might never have made it to Country Nashville musicians – stuck around radio if not for the unusual single artwork. after their job had been done. They WPOC/Baltimore's then-PD Bob Moody tells don't usually do that." Country Aircheck he and then-MD Greg Moody knew he had a hit on his Cole and a few others were in their weekly hands. "One of our clues was when music meeting when Vance's cone-shaped we started getting calls from retailers hair caught their attention. who were annoyed," he recalls. "They "Just from the way it looked, we all thought it said, 'We've got people asking for this was a heavy metal band," Moody says. "So we song and it's not on the Top 100. We played it as a joke, expecting it to be terrible. don't even know what label it is. The Lisa Layne It turned out to be one of the best songs we've rack jobber doesn't know anything about it.' We posted a list in the ever heard. I don't think anybody believed it control room of local stores that had it in stock, because we were at first. We just sat there and it got real quiet getting so many calls. in the room. I said, 'Greg, would you play "Around '92, we realized it was so big that instead of putting that again?' We were a pretty big station to be it on the Christmas playlist, we added it to our current playlist at going outside of the box on this act nobody Christmas," Moody adds. "We'd put it in as a medium the day had ever heard of, that probably wasn't even after Thanksgiving, and a couple of weeks before Christmas, we'd country. We took it into the control room to the put it in heavy. People would call and say, 'When are you going to afternoon drive guy, Todd Grimsted. I said, start playing that song?'" 'Todd I just want you to play this in a segue. No Moody acknowledges 'POC wasn't the first station to play it, Bob Moody intro, no back-sell. Just play it and see if we get but probably the first in a major market. Stone even sent Moody any reaction.' He came into my office a couple printed sheet music to thank him (Stone had copy No. 1; Moody hours later and said, 'I'm still getting calls from people wanting to No. 2). "It was a little easier in those days," Moody says. "We know what that song was.' Everything about it was outstanding, had the latitude to take a chance on it. And that has to do with starting with the song itself. And Lisa Layne's vocal is one of the best stations being programmed locally. If you're making decisions for performances ever recorded. She's incredible." a hundred radio stations, you can't put other people's careers in Layne first heard the song when Stone and Powers were writing jeopardy. But it was a song that couldn't be denied. If your station it. "I wasn't thinking in terms of 'this might be a hit' because it was wasn't going to play it, [your listeners] would go somewhere that ©2016 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] December 12, 2016 Page 5 would." Moody thinks the song's Cinderella moment could happen MY TUNES: MUSIC THAT SHAPED MY LIFE today – but on YouTube. "Radio people are not in a position to Brandon Lancaster from Arista’s take those chances now." LanCo discusses his most influential Layne attributes the song's longevity to "that magical music: combination that doesn't happen often. The song, musicians, 1. Randy Travis’ “Three Wooden producer and the singer all came together at the right time for a crosses:” The first time I heard that timeless piece of music." song, it completely changed my The tune brought Layne more than just a hit song. "I ended up perspective on songwriting. I knew I marrying the first DJ in the country to play the song," she says of LANco wanted to use music to tell stories. then-KISX/Tyler, TX PD and air personality Ted Stewart, who played 2. Eric Church: In 2012 I saw Church the demo before the single was released. "He was the love of my at the Tivoli theater in Chattanooga. I had been to concerts my life. He passed away in 2008 from a heart attack." whole life, but I had never felt anything as electric as that night. "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has been covered by country I sang every word to every song and held a boot high in the air artists Sammy Kershaw (1994) and LeAnn Rimes (2004). Layne during “These Boots.” still performs the song in her solo shows and is touring again with 3. Alabama: We are obviously huge fans of bands who’ve Vance, who was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in come before us and laid the foundation. Alabama’s anthemic 2010. "It is still so much fun," she says. "Every show has to end with songs and harmonies are definitely a huge influence on us. that song." Reach Moody here; Layne here. –Wendy Newcomer 4. Brad Paisley’s “Whiskey Lullaby:” I’ve always been a big folk and bluegrass fan, so combining Alison Krauss’ pure Chart Chat voice with Paisley’s ability to tell a story, it’s the ultimate musical Congrats to Old combination for me. I still get chill bumps every time I listen to Dominion, Steve Hodges, this haunting song. Keith Gale and the RCA 5. Alan Jackson:UPDATE All the guys in LANco go through his promotion team on securing catalogue like crazy on the road.