COUNTRY
RCHECK
HAPPY HOLIDAYS • December 19, 2016, Issue 531
Happy Do Year: Consultant To-Do List
An English artist once said, “I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s.” The same can often be said of radio programmers, but not because they have some noble desire to live life a day at a time. Programming today is a tough lesson in ball juggling that offers little time for reflection, evaluation and planning for the long term. With that in mind, Country Aircheck enlisted three Country consultants to drive home the importance of finding that time and to explain why it might be right now. Scott Huskey New Horizons: An end-of-year station evaluation and potential freshening make sense for a lot of reasons. “Fewer folks are around for one thing and you can get a lot done with limited interruption,” notes RWPC’s Scott Huskey. “There are very few times during the year with actual downtime and this is as close as it gets.” More importantly, people have their eyes Joel Raab on the horizon. As Country Radio Consultants’ Joel Raab puts it, “The beginning of the year is a really good time to introduce new concepts on a radio station because people are just more open to it.” Foundations First: Start with the broad view. “Think strategically rather than tactically,” Huskey suggests. “You’ve had your nose to the grindstone all year, so use this time to sit back and look at the station from a Phil Hunt holistic perspective.” Revisit the station’s position relative to the marketplace. “The keys to an effective position are to be (continued on page 5)
Twice Is Nice: The WGKX/Memphis crew hoists a check for their second Country Cares For St. Jude Kids Radiothon of the year, this one for $302,145. The station shifted from a February to December schedule, which led to doubling up in ’16. Pictured (l-r, front) are Duane Shannon, Kay Manley, Scott Gaines and Marvin Emilien; (back, l-r) are Rachel Muller, Abby Summers, Lana DeLuca and Ariel Sawyer.
The Year In Music ... And More The No. 1 airplay artist of 2016 is Valory’s Thomas Rhett, powered in large part by the three-week No. 1 and overall No. 1 Song of the Year “Die A Happy Man.” The full breakdown of The Year In Music can be found in Country Aircheck’s December print issue, out this week. BMLGR’s Florida Georgia Line and 19/ Arista’s Carrie Underwood are the second and third-place finishers, with Reviver’s
Thomas Rhett
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