January 7, 2019, Issue 634
CRS 50: People Get Ready
Five weeks and a couple days from now, the broader country music industry will gather in Nashville for the 50th Country Radio Seminar. In celebration of the milestone year, Country Aircheck spoke with 50 key players in compiling 22 consecutive pages of information for study. Luckily, that plan was scrapped in favor of the following much more concise (and digestible) preview of the biggest industry event of the year. Fifty Forward: Returning to its Wednesday-to-Friday configuration Feb. 13-15 at the Omni Nashville, CRS will continue to be focused on the challenges and opportunities of the present and future. CRB Exec. Dir. Bill Mayne says the event’s gold anniversary will Bill Mayne be marked throughout with celebratory moments and segments, but content will remain topical. “Our focus for this important year has been on moving the seminar into the next 50 years,” he says. “Progression is key. We have to stay relevant.” Attendee feedback from last year fuels the Agenda Committee’s efforts to push the event forward. “We heard from a lot of people that they wanted more content, especially on the first day of the seminar,” says Incoming Exec. Dir. RJ Curtis. “So we are including additional panels and presentations on the opening day this year. We have also added a mini-session to discuss Nielsen’s transformation to Continuous Diary Measurement for over 200 small markets. [Agenda Committee Chair] Judy Lakin and CoVice Chair Jay Cruze and Monta Vaden have excelled at building out this year’s agenda, along with their committee team.” A Look Around: CRS is kicking off with RJ Curtis a newly added luncheon sponsored by and featuring performances from Warner Music Nashville. “Blake Shelton is our Artist Humanitarian Award recipient, so we are (continued on page 7)
The Boys Are Back In Town: RCA’s Chris Young (c) stops by the debut broadcast of Cumulus’ The Ty Bentli Show in Nashville with Ty Bentli (l) and Chuck Wicks this morning (1/7).
Float Like A Promo Guy, Sting Like MD Picture a boxer, then ask if what you have in mind bears any resemblance to the two fellows to the right. Nevertheless, WKHX/ Atlanta’s Scott “No Pain No” Gaines and Pearl’s Chris “Shiney” Waters, among others, will lace up their gloves and come out swinging at the 15th Annual Ringside: A Fight For Kids gala March 1 in Franklin, TN. For Waters, the decision to participate came at a time when he needed a goal to work toward. “Life has come at me hard the past Scott Gaines five years, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” he says. “I’m on the backside of a separation and divorce that had really gotten me down. My focus will always be on my son, Gavin, and I want him to see me as a fighter – literally. And I will be five years cancer-free in March.” The build up to fights usually includes smack talk, insults and personal attacks (often in underChris Waters wear at weigh-ins), but Gaines has nothing but
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