August 31, 2020, Issue 720 PD Crosses Country From Couch Ed. Note: Veteran programmer and CRB board officerJohn Shomby recently took a stationary road trip through Country radio at Country Aircheck’s behest. Here’s what he found: During my years as a day-to-day PD, I rarely had enough time to spend with my own radio station, let alone others in my market or across the country. But with unexpected time on my hands (who can relate?), I have been afforded the chance to sample Country stations in various markets from the comfort of my home office. I heard lots of good, solid and safe Country radio, but is that where we want to be heading into 2021 – considering everything that’s changing around us? Methodology: In partnership with Alexa, I set a goal of listening to at least one Country station in each of the top 50 markets. I Nauti By Nature: Warner/WAR’s Chris Janson (r) receives a John Shomby managed to actually get through the top 55 plaque commemorating “Buy Me A Boat” being certified 3x markets, making sure to get a balanced cross- platinum from the label’s Ben Kline Friday night (8/28) during section of stations owned by various companies. The dayparts or Live at the Ryman. portion of dayparts I heard depended on the time zone. I would start four or five hours of listening each day around 10am ET, finishing between 3pm and 5pm. That window was intentional, ACM Remotes Go Virtual as I thought it would offer a better feel for imaging, local feel, Moving from April in Las Vegas to Sept. 16 in Nashville, the promotion and personality. 55th Academy of Country Music Awards are setting more than a few Talk, With Personality: The patterns that emerged were precedents. Hailing from the Grand Ole Opry interesting and undeniable. Across 55 markets, all but two House, Ryman Auditorium and Bluebird Café, stations had a woman in middays and only three had a female this year’s event won’t be its typically busy and in PM drive. Those three stations had a male voice in middays. boozy industry gathering. One of the biggest No station had back-to-back female personalities. For the most differences is in reimagined radio remotes. part, the on-air approach was very basic – back-selling or front- ACM Radio Row will be held selling a song, a promo liner or typical show prep and country/ Sept. 14-15 in an Opryland Hotel pop culture news. Surprisingly, I heard very little about the ballroom with radio stations and groups pandemic or anything related to it. I could only single out three represented virtually, and a pared-down personalities in the top 55 who sounded extremely connected to list of artists moving through a widely their audience. Each had something to say every time the mic distanced, no-touch experience. Getting to opened, giving their stations a much stronger local feel. Overall, that plan was an evolution, however. lots of “live” but not a lot of “local” from the personality side. “It’s been constant change,” says ACM Sr. Mgr./Marketing (continued on page 7) Melissa Moldovan. “We’d get something set, and safety ©2020 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] August 31, 2020 Page 3 guidelines would be updated.” Adds remotes producer Ellen Appleton-Adkins, “We’ve gone back to scratch 30 times trying to get it right and make it a great experience for everyone. We have to keep the artists, labels and management teams – and our staff – safe.” Physically, the set-up isn’t much different from the pipe-and-drape look familiar to anyone who’s been to an awards show remote (left). Wider gaps, fewer booths and the absence of actual radio personalities in favor of virtual participation are the main changes on-site. And safety starts before the remotes even begin. “Artists, crew and staff will all be tested prior to ACM Radio Row arriving then will receive a temperature check and health Schematic screening before they enter the ballroom,” Moldovan says. Unlike years past, the only artists participating will be performers, presenters and nominees to keep the numbers manageable. “The focus is on keeping people spread out,” Appleton-Adkins says. “Every artist gets their own pre-packaged and sanitized gear – mic and headphones – with a never-opened, new windscreen for the mic.” That gear stays with them as they go from station to station, and none of it will be reused in those two days. Wide Open Spaces: “When artists come through, they’ll have the floor to themselves in some ways,” ACM Radio Row she continues. “They won’t feel compelled to stop and Booth Layout shake hands. There will be no fans. It’s very easy, very secluded and they won’t have to interact with anyone in person beyond our team.” Adds Moldovan, “There’s one way in, the artists move in one direction, and there’s one exit door, so no uncomfortable situations where artists are crossing paths.” Each artist will only be allowed one person to accompany them rather than the typical gaggle of promotion and management staff. “They all understand and feel better about it,” Appleton-Adkins says. “One person per artist creates less traffic. The room is very big and is set up with a huge open space in the middle to help with distancing. Between that, masks and a much lower number of participants, we can protect everyone and have a successful event.” In the booths (left), artists will see two laptops, allowing them to switch between interviews before moving to the next location. “It’s no different from a typical remote, except there will be multiple stations at each stop, and one engineer in the booth plus the artist escort,” Appleton-Adkins says. “And even though ©2020 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] August 31, 2020 Page 5 WITH ... NOAH SCHNACKY A day in the self-isolated life of Big I find that I’m the most creative when Machine’s Noah Schnacky: I can be left alone to work. So, for me, it’s been I’ve gotten closer than ever to my fans, helpful being home so I could explore new ideas never had more time to be creative and been for songs and go deeper in my artistry. constantly tempted by the snacks in my house. I’ve never been closer to my fans, and So, it’s been a growing experience all around. that’s partly because of going live. Ironically, I’ve been feeling like I’m on The as I’ve gotten to know my fans more over live Truman Show, living the same day again and streams, it’s left me longing get back out on again. I wake up, eat the same breakfast with tour to see them in person. Watching the way the same coffee, work on content to put out on they connect with songs like “Meet The Man,” social media until the afternoon, workout, take “Maybe We Will” and “Feels Like Love” in the an hour or so break and go work for a couple videos they create gets me even more hyped to more hours at night. Then, my brother and I go watch their response in person. to the gas station to get snacks and come back I just finishedWaco on Netflix, which was to have a movie night. (Editor’s Note: They’re solid. We did the whole Harry Potter series, and I running out of movies, so send suggestions to @ think I’ve seen every action/comedy ever created NoahSchnacky) at this point. I’m also re-watching Friends in my I’m living in a pretty full house right now. free time, because it’s the best. It’s me, my three sisters, my two parents, my brother, Besides kettle popcorn, my brother and my dog and my sister’s best friend. I usually take I can’t seem to get enough of boiled peanuts. long drives at night to keep myself sane. They’ve become our tradition. I have adopted some new (and bad) eating I’ve never been closer to my family. habits. I’m obsessed with kettle popcorn right now. I’ve also had the opportunity to reach new fans Besides that, I’ve been getting pretty good at ukulele and share my music on a larger scale than ever Noah’s Ark and wake surfing, and I’ve been having fun learning before. I’ve been able to go wide with reach and how to use new social media platforms. deep with fans on a scale I never knew existed. stations aren’t with us physically, they’ll be there virtually through Chart Chat Zoom, Teams or WebEx. Our partitioned spaces will have that ACM Congratulations to Florida Awards look to make our radio partners feel like they came to the Georgia Line, Matthew Hargis, party and can share that with their listeners.” Michelle Kammerer and the Beyond video conference content, ACM will send broadcast BMLGR promotion team on level audio of each artist session to stations for on-air use. landing at No. 1 with “I Love My Appleton-Adkins says the goal, slightly secondary this year, is to Country.” The song is the first single keep one of country’s cornerstone events as top-of-mind as ever. from FGL’s forthcoming fifth studio Florida Georgia Line “There’s been a lot of discussion about how to make this safe but album.