October 14, 2019, Issue 674
Programming: Do You Hear What I Hear?
Year-end may be a breather for record labels, but Country stations are busy with challenges unique to the season. The chart freeze brings respite from calls about adds and spin counts, but PDs, APDs and MDs are making decisions in an environment in which, typically, at least one station in their market has gone allChristmas. With all there is going on – and ahead of the inevitable Halloween-adjacent flips by eager AC programmers – Country Aircheck asked around about tactics, strategies and best practices for Yuletide cheer. On The Air There’s A Feeling... From a macro perspective, the elephant in the room market is typically an AC station that flips to holiday music early and vacuums up ratings Bob Walker in the process. What sets Country apart from other formats, however, is the ability to offer Christmas tunes from listeners’ favorite artists. “One of the biggest surprises during my 10 years at WCTK has been how much our fans like country Christmas music,” says Hall/ Providence VP/Programming Bob Walker. “We have a unique proposition the ACs cannot offer – country-textured Christmas music. “We have versions of the classics by Bob Barnett some of their all-time favorite artists, like Darius Rucker’s ‘Winter Wonderland,’ plus a strong list of unique classics,” Walker continues. He cites George Strait’s “Christmas Cookies,” Faith Hill’s “Where Are You Christmas” and Alan Jackson’s “Let It Be Christmas.” “A couple of years ago, we polled our fans and AJ’s ‘Let it Be Christmas’ was their favorite,” Walker says. “Then I checked Media Monitors and discovered ‘Let It Be Christmas’ was WCTK’s top scoring song from any genre in the month of December.” Entercom/Rochester VP/Programming Bob Barnett also places an emphasis on holiday music. “It’s been part of the fabric of the station since we signed on in the ‘80s,” he says. “It’s expected by the life group.
(continued on page 8)
No Pain, No Champagne: Wide Open/Records/GCE/Arista’s Matt Stell is surprised by WWKA/Orlando staffers with a balloon, cake and champagne to celebrate his No. 1 debut, “Prayed For You.” Pictured (l-r) are the station’s Ashley Stegbauer, Stell, the station’s Steve Stewart, the label’s Ali O’Connell and the station’s Melissa.
NSHoF: Rivers Rutherford
Spotlighting individual inductees leading up to tonight’s (10/14) Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala concludes with Rivers Rutherford. Born and raised mere blocks from Graceland, Rutherford learned to play guitar at seven using a big, orange songbook boasting 100 songs from – who else? – The King himself. From playing the Memphis Queen riverboat to clubs on Beale Street he wasn’t legally old enough to patronize, Rutherford’s love affair with music endured. That dedication eventually led to a chance meeting with producer/ Rivers Rutherford writer Chips Moman and, one challenge later, Rutherford had his first cut ... with a little group called The Highwaymen. The string of hits continued with “Shut Up And Drive” by Chely Wright, Kenny Chesney’s “Living
© 2 0 1 9 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