July 19, 2021, Issue 765
Radio Reads Social Cues
As more artists find audiences on social media platforms before finding success on Country radio, and as label A&R teams continue to diversify the ways in which they scout new talent, Country Aircheck talked to some current spin-to-date leaders of singles that first found a home online to see how programmers are handling this new performance metric when selecting and scheduling music. Saga WCKN/Charleston, SC PD/ afternoon personality Hunter Meyer says, “I first heard [Walker Hayes’ ‘Fancy Like’] in an email send and immediately reached out to my rep, Katelyn, to let her know I wanted to add it. She was the one who sent me the TikTok numbers after that, and it became even more Hunter Meyer of a no-brainer for me.” Meyer notes that his station does not rely on research or current chart position but that he instead places heavy weight on consumption and Shazam data. “Not only is this a fun, feel-good song that’s perfect for summer, but it’s clearly resonating with our audience based on the data and it being a viral sensation,” he states. “We don’t have the luxury of waiting on a song if the Phathead audience is already out finding the music and consuming it heavily elsewhere.” Similarly, JVC Country WJVC/Nassau Dir./Country Programming Phathead – who has been out in front of both Lily Rose’s “Villain” and Andrew Jannakos’ “Gone Too Soon” – says, “If a programmer doesn’t jump on [‘Fancy Like’], they just aren’t paying attention. There is no song hotter on socials or downloads right now, and it’s a country artist! What more do you need?” He also credits country record labels for paying attention to social media hits and scouting the best possible talent with future hitmaking potential to bring forward to radio. “When you see a new act on a label [like Rose being signed to Big Loud], you have to figure [the label] did their due diligence and [they] know something.” (continued on page 7)
Mist Opportunity: Artists throw together an impromptu guitar pull for radio after Kane Brown’s Columbus show was canceled due to weather. Pictured (l-r) are Mercury’s Travis Denning, WCOL’s Kayla Hanley, Restless Road’s Colton Pack, Garrett Nichols and Zach Beeken, WCOL’s Dan Zuko, Big Loud’s Lily Rose and WGAR/Cleveland’s Carletta Blake.
Hot Tip: PickleJar Connects As the name implies, PickleJar takes the concept of tipping performers into the digital space, but the idea goes further than that. In connecting artists with fans, venues and charitable organizations, the app offers engagement tools not previously collected on one platform. With an eye on big data and functionality for radio, PickleJar is aimed at being kind of a big dill ... er, deal. “The premise was to create an ecosystem that would serve artists at varying stages of the life cycle – from busker to the first tip to being inducted into the Opry – rather than just Jeff James a way for money to move back and forth,” says CEO/Founder Jeff James, whose wide-ranging background includes a run serving on the CRS Agenda Committee.
© 2 0 2 1 Co u n t r y A i rc h e c k ™ — A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . S i g n u p f re e a t w w w. c o u n t r y a i rc h e c k . c o m . S e n d n e w s t o n e w s @ c o u n t r y a i r c h e c k . c o m