Radio: "If, When & How" -- an interview with Jeff McClusky
Tuesday, 04 January 2011 23:20 Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 June 2011 02:11
Radio: If, When, and How: Jeff McClusky Dials up Decades of Radio Wisdom, Success
The radio promotion business Jeff McClusky began in his apartment 28 years ago has grown into one of the world's most respected music industry imprints: Jeff McClusky & Associates has championed countless superstars, from U2 and Bruce Springsteen to Celine Dion and Lady Gaga (pictured left). Yet behind the business, McClusky remains a man of boundless drive, enthusiasm and most of all passion. He’s built his many successes on long-term relationships and delivering tangible results that labels, artists and their teams rely on to make smart business decisions.
On a rare break between meetings and brainstorming sessions, McClusky sat to discuss his business model, the philosophies behind it, and how he serves as the vital link between the artists and labels he services, and industry insiders who introduce new music to eager audiences.
Perhaps most refreshing: McClusky's positivity. He's heard all the dire forecasts for radio, recorded music, major labels and the industry. Yet he sees 2011 as an ideal time to focus on technological inroads and innovation—while relying on time-tested insight and integrity.
Over 28 years, you've built Jeff McClusky & Associates beyond your greatest expectations, while also enduring tremendous changes in the music industry. You've branched into areas such as artist development and music exposure. So how does radio promotion—the original focus of JMA—still fit into your current business model?
We are first and foremost still a radio promotion entity. We have worked and promoted for major labels, independent labels, artists, publishers and variety of content owners and rights owners for 28 years. Radio has been commercial, terrestrial radio stations in a variety of formats including Top 40, alternative, rhythm crossover, rock, adult and hip-hop have been the areas of our focus. Radio airplay, to me, still has an extremely significant effect on developing first song and then artist and brand recognition for a consumer. That enables the consumer to identity with the song, ultimately with the artist, and begin developing a song-fan-artist relationship that results in commerce — that results in [going] from a song download to a CD [purchase] to a ticket to a T-shirt. Up until five years ago, radio was generally the first mover in all of those formats, as far as exposing new music. Probably college [radio] more than commercial alternative, as an example of a particular format, but radio was not only the most important exposure vehicle but also the only vehicle other than MTV that had any significance. I still believe that for pop music, alternative, rock, adult, hip hop and country music, radio is still an extremely critical exposure piece that an artist or an artist manager wants; it still holds that incredibly important piece.
Yet some people would argue that radio is less critical, that it's not as important in the grand scheme of things. What's your response to that?
I dispute that. The Internet and various music Web sites or social media platforms have become extremely important in the artist discovery process. So I have a team of high school and college interns at any given time, and I also have two teenage children, so to them and their friends, music discovery today that might've been on KISS-FM or WXRT or Q101 ten years ago is now down more with the iTunes Download of the Week or Gossip Girl or Pitchfork or what's on Grey's Anatomy and word of mouth. They are finding music through those methods, so that’s what's different, and it's powerful that it’s different like that. Then what happens? For something to gather momentum, to go from discovery and some flurry of activity because of a song on a television show which is reflected in the iTunes download chart the next day, or a key placement in a film that attracts a music consuming audience — it's incredible that those opportunities exist. But in order to separate the 7 million bands on MySpace and separate the little blips of activity that a song might get in a variety of web based platforms, social networks, in order to raise the bar to start driving into consumer penetration, that’s where radio — with its repeated rotations and measurable, definable audience measurement impressions — is still so critical.
Case in point: the biggest songs of the year, like Taylor Swift having hit singles and being the most played artist of the year. It’s not by accident she sold 5 million records and maybe 1 million concert tickets. So what role has radio played with Taylor Swift? She’s enormously successful in Country, Adult, and Top 40 radio. Multiple number one songs at three formats that have 30 and 50 million audience members — that's the key factor. With a cool hip alternative artist or a hip hop artist or a pop artist who may develop through the Internet or develop through television, the difference that radio makes may be through the fifth inning to the end of the ball game. The change is really in the first few innings of the game, that's really what the Internet has allowed to happen for young consumers and that music in those genres.
You maintain this strong belief in radio across a variety of formats. Yet radio clearly stands at a crossroads. Is it possible that with consumer habits changing—as with downloads—and some stations in financial trouble, radio's importance could diminish?
There's definitely a change underfoot here, and part of that is also driven by the fact that in addition to the complete disruption and decline of the major record companies structure that we've lived in, the same thing is going on in the radio business. The broadcast companies were rolled up, bought for too much money, over-leveraged, and they ended up in situations where they were predicting a growth model that got completely disrupted in '07 and '08. And just as it happened in the housing market, advertising stopped and went backward because of the economic decline. So two years in a row of double-digit advertising decline has given the radio stations lower value, so the companies have to pay the debt. How do they pay the debt? They cut costs because there's nothing else to do. So radio is at an important juncture. But I want to see it survive and thrive again. I want Top 40, alternative, AAA, adult, hip-hop and country radio to grow again, and I want them to grow because the more syndicated shows they put on, the more jocks that are on in 10 and 20 markets, the more morning shows that are crossed over 100 markets and the more syndicated programming, the more difficulty radio puts on its own shoulders.
Where do you see radio going if it is to survive and thrive once more?
It will be a locally owned set of businesses again — this time because it's forced by bankruptcies and over-leveraging. There are 50 radio companies today owning the same number of radio stations that 20 radio companies owned even five years ago. So we're seeing that through force of sale and bankruptcy, and yet I'm not saying that WLS in Chicago will be an AM Top 40 radio station again with a 10 share. I don't think that's going back 20 years. Go back ten years — will B96 FM or the Loop as a rock station have seven, eight, nine shares again? I don't think that's it either. I don't think either one of that will happen, but I do believe that some of the smart broadcasters — those at CBS, Emmis, Entercom and Clear Channel — are bright, brilliant executives still in transition of amalgamating the properties within their brands, especially their online offerings that will make up what the KISS FM brand is to Chicago. My kids don't even watch television on television anymore; they watch it on their computers. So why doesn't that mean that Q101 online, Q101 in the car and Q101 in the office ultimately represent what Q101 is? That's what I see as the future of radio.
That would also seem to apply to iPhone applications, where suddenly you can hear a station like Q101 anywhere. Do you see that as something that can bring a station to an entirely new audience?
Absolutely, and the same thing with music. So an artist gets excited about iTunes and MySpace and certain different social applications because I can use them to attach myself to people that might be fans of mine because they're fans of someone else that sounds like me. The tools are incredible and enormous. But it always has and always will come down to great content. The American audience, and probably the worldwide audience, has a pretty unique sense of what the hits are. Actually I really believe the top ten songs are the most popular songs. That's it. Nobody made that happen; the music machine or the media machine can help get something exposed. Good radio promoters can find a way to expose songs and get them to an audience. But radio programmers play the hits for their audience because their relationships with the music industry stop at the point where they have to do what's right for their audience. I can play a song several times a week because I like it, because I'm testing it, because I like the people involved, but the top 10 at any radio station in Chicago — that's their top 10. It's not because of anybody, it's not because Norm Winer of WXRT likes Bono, it's not because Todd Cavanagh at B96 likes Kid Cudi. The top 10 are the top 10. And that's audience research, it's call out research, solicitor response, all the measurement tools put into their music meeting and their formula.
With Web resources from MySpace to Amazon.com available to everyone, thousands of artists are all vying for attention. How do you help artists get critical exposure?
What becomes most needed today — with the fact that you can get your music out there, you can get your music recorded, and very well, and cheaply, and you can get it distributed — is getting it marketed. The key is to help lift you above the fray and get your music exposed to the people whose decisions reach larger numbers of people.
In terms of our core business — the radio promotion business — our long-term customers are major labels, up-and-coming artists on major labels, major artists on major labels, artist management companies, and publishers who represent the larger selling artists in the course of a year. We assist as a supplemental part of their marketing and promotion teams, and we always have. That's part number one. So we get hired by Interscope Records for a small retainer fee to add to their marketing plan for a U2 record or a Fergie record or a Black Eyed Peas record. And why do we get hired? Because we have very close relationships and credibility that they acknowledge. To them it's worth the price they pay for us to call a number of radio stations in a variety of formats and help them get to people with a little more of an objective view.
Some may mistakenly believe that you have to be a heavy hitter with a major label to approach JMA and say "I want to work with you." What do you have to offer the indie label, or the independent artist who's prepared to invest in promoting their own career?
We've always been dedicated to new artist development, so we've always had divisions such as our College Specialty department, run by Chris Stowers for many, many years. All his business came from international and independent labels, and that was focused on nighttime airplay at commercial, alternative, R&B and hip-hop stations. We have always been interested in new artists in terms of radio promotion, music exposure services, and artist management. This past year independent artists outside of the major label system represented probably 25-30 percent of the company's income, so that's been the biggest growth area for us. "Independent artist," by the way, includes Pearl Jam: This year we were on the radio team for Pearl Jam.
People who have watched the business see that the independent artist today is Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails and the Eagles. There's four right there. Not small artists, and they certainly have meaningful budgets, but they weren't spending what the labels that they were on spent before. And that's probably for a variety of reasons: a) they don't want to spend that kind of money, b) the times are different, and c) they're making $7 a record instead of $2 a record so they can get more of a return for less money because their profit margin is so much higher.
I find that that is also a huge growth area of the business. I'm sure there will be 10 to 20 more of those bands this year. Who qualifies in that? An artist that's done pretty well, who has an infrastructure and a management team of smart individuals who know media, marketing, sales, distribution and promotion.
You're unique in that you have strong ties with people in radio and people who can expose the music to a wide audience. Yet you also have great relationships with artists such as U2, whom you've worked with from the start. You've built a complete bridge.
As far as the relationships we have with artists, bands, managers — and I would like to think that if you just spun the dial and chose ten people with whom we've done business over the years —that 10 out of 10 would say the same thing. Our strengths are the passion for music and that we're customer-relations management people. That's really what the skill is. I am personally a reach-out person, and that's what I've always taught here; we listen to a lot of music from major and independent labels, and that when we hear something we like, people get a call, people get an email. That could be Clive Davis, Jimmy Iovine, Doug Morris, or Josh Deutsch at Kid Sister's label, Uptown or Jack Rovner, the manager of Ke$ha. Ke$ha is a female hip-hop artist whose song just went number one at Top 40 radio. So Ken Levitan and Jack Rovner, her managers, got an email from me the other day, and they sent one back. It's what I've always enjoyed doing: An acknowledgement, a congratulations, leads to a phone call, leads to a discussion about a major management company. It keeps the circle of relationships and business going. I think those are our biggest strengths: We're big music fans, we study music, we scour music, and we connect with the people who make the music through our tireless communication efforts.
You have this defining philosophy of radio: If, when and how. It's catchy, but there's a great deal of business wisdom behind it. Can you unpack it for us?
If I were speaking a music conference, we'd have people asking: "How are we going to get our music out there? How do I find an audience? How do I make an impression? How do we get on the radio?" And if they're asking me as a radio promoter, I would say "Radio: If, When and How." That's the big statement. The if translates to "if I think it's good enough for me." And that's often subjective. If I don't think it's right for me, that doesn't mean that one of my competitors won't think so. Doug Morris and Clive Davis have made many, many mistakes. The public is interesting and quirky and there's timing and many other factors that determine whether songs break through or not: economic factors, weather factors, the situation in America, the concert season. You may have a wonderful song but if the timing is bad, maybe you have to pull it back and release it six months from now.
My major label clients make the when decisions, but if I'm working with an independent artist, I get to be part of the when and the how. If you come to me with a song and you're not relying on the president of Columbia Records to make that decision for you, then you're asking me and/or other people who are part of your team to help. And that's when I have to say: "Now I have a different role." I'm not answering to Columbia Records, which gives me 50 projects a year. I'm answering to someone whose part-time job money is on the table — and he's asking for help. My answer should be based on if I think I can, when is it appropriate, and how to do it.
"Success in the music business" means so many things depending on whom you ask. For you, what is success in the music business?
Success in our company will be based on a profitable business venture where the relationship with customers, consumers and employees is based on credible interactive dialog and offerings offered, performed and paid for because of the value and delivery of the service. That's probably all that needs to be said. What are some of the other definitions of success? To have been in a business my entire career and not know how often I've looked at the clock while I've been here. I've been here early, I've been here late. I've had a flexible schedule, I get to listen to music and talk to people that I genuinely like about music that I like and I get to do it in an environment that I like and I get to have a lot of young people around me who seem inspired to learn about this interesting business and get closer to the people and songs for whom they have admiration.
I get to be in a business that allows me to listen to music that I love. I get to attend very interesting events like the Grammy's and the MTV Awards and the Dove awards, and I get to engage with the my family, who love music, so we get to do things as a family that have to do with my career. It's a benefit of the business I'm in. Not only have my children and wife and I been able to have lunch at Bono's house and go to the MTV Awards and meet Elton John and meet Bruce Springsteen and have Sean Kingston show up at my daughter's birthday party… I get to take teenage girls to concerts and take them back stage. Most dads of teenage girls go through that two- or three-year period where Dad is off limits; I wasn't off limits. Of course the relationship changed, but I always had a bond there — even when they didn't like me they went to concerts with me. I'm incredibly blessed that way.
Another thing I've been able to do is be involved with organizations like Special Olympics and bring my family and my business into it: My daughter Lauren puts on concerts for Special Olympics; my daughter Rachel had a bowling tournament for Special Olympics.
I've just been fortunate enough to be blessed. My wife and daughters have seen my company go from 50 people to 10. Fortunately they've seen enough areas of my business; they've walked through enough hallways of enough record companies, thank God, for them to say "I know it isn't just Dad." Columbia Records isn't bigger today than it was. My daughter worked at EMI in Nashville and saw a company that was two-thirds empty. When they've seen empty rooms here they've fortunately known that it wasn't just me. I know that they say that no matter what, I know that my Dad gets up and is excited about his day. Our faith is absolutely the driving force behind this, and the belief best expressed in Romans 8:28 ... that of course everything will work out.
