Country Aircheck

CMA 2021
Voter's Guide

A quick reference guide to the 2021 CMA Nominees

inside The CRS Daily Buzz (2/18)

Day Three: UMGN Explodes With Music
Listening Habits Are Changing
A Knight In Country’s Court

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Country Aircheck Weekly (1/24)

Inside This Issue:

"Her vocals were incredible as always, and the production and scale were well done."

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Top Stories

UPDATE

» Red Street Details Team: Red Street Records CEO Jay DeMarcus has formed Red Street Country, a division created by DeMarcus and Co-Owner/Chairman Dan Crockett, with flagship artist signing Ryan Griffin. The Red Street Country team consists of DeMarcus and Crockett, Pres./GM Mark Lusk, SVP/Radio Promotions & Artist Development Alex Valentine, VP/Radio Promotions & Artist Development Johnny Chiang (CAT 1/27), Sr. Dir./A&R Kelly King, Dir./Field Promotion Sally Allgeier, VP/A&R-Publishing Don Koch, Exec. Asst. & Project Mgr. Mary Thorsby, Mgr./Marketing & Distribution Taylor Day and Mgr./Social Media & Artist Development Cambria Mackey.

“As Red Street’s Christian division has continued to grow, it felt like the natural next step was for us to move into the country music space,” says DeMarcus. "I am one of the genre’s biggest fans, and it feels like the right time to really hone in on the next generation of country superstars. The team that has come together is beyond my wildest dreams, I can’t wait to get started."

Red Street Country has also announced an external consulting team comprised of former Amazon Head/Country Kelly Rich, Girlilla's Jennie Smythe and Conley Sweeney, Red Street Christian's Ronn Tabb, 615 Leverage +Strategy's John Zarling and Jackie Campbell, and The GreenRoom PR's Kristie Sloan and Courtney Johanson.

» BREAKING Chiang To Leave Cox: Cox Country Format Leader, Houston OM & Country KKBQ/Houston PD Johnny Chiang is leaving after 30 years to join Rascal Flatt's Jay DeMarcus in the creation of Red Street Records. Chiang joined Cox in 1991 following two years with then-Clear Channel/Los Angeles, and became PD of AC KOST in 1999. Chiang was named PD of KKBQ in Aug. 2004 and was elevated to his current post in 2020 (Breaking News 10/20/20); reach him through late March here. At Cox, the search is on for his successor in Houston. See the complete job description and apply here.

» Black Hawk Up:

Here are select Nielsen Audio Fall 2021 (9/16-12/8) diary ratings for subscribing stations compared with their last books (Fall 2020 and Spring 2021). Ranks (in parentheses) are also among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Anchorage, AK	KBRJ Alpha 3.4 (8t) - 4.6 (6t) - 4.0 (9t) KASH iHeartMedia 3.4 (8t) - 2.6 (10t) - 2.3 (11t)
Binghamton, NY	WHWK Townsquare 9.5 (1) - 12.5 (1) - 13.4 (1) Largest share since Spring 2016. WBBI iHeartMedia 1.6 (10t) - 2.9 (8) - 1.0 (9t) WINR iHeartMedia Classic Country 1.6 (10t) - 1.0 (11) - 0.5 (12)
Charleston, WV	WKWS West Virginia Radio Cl. Country 6.3 (4) - 4.6 (6) - 4.7 (5t) WKAZ West Virginia Radio 3.2 (7) - 2.5 (7) - 1.6 (7) WQBE Bristol Does not subscribe.
Erie, PA	WXTA Cumulus 4.5 (9) - 3.6 (8) - 3.8 (6t) WTWF iHeartMedia 6.8 (4t) - 5.4 (6) - 3.0 (10)
Eugene, OR	KKNU McKenzie River 11.5 (1) - 11.3 (1) - 7.9 (2t) KEED-AM Mielke Classic Country 1.6 (12) - 2.9 (9) - 1.7 (13t) KFLY Bicoastal 1.9 (11t) - 1.9 (13) - 1.7 (13t)
Evansville, IN	WKDQ Townsquare 8.2 (3) - 7.6 (3) - 8.9 (2) WLYD Midwest 2.5 (9) - 4.3 (5) - 5.7 (4) WBKR/Owensboro Townsquare 1.4 (10) - 1.8 (9t) - 1.8 (11)
Huntington, WV	WDGG Fifth Avenue 7.6 (3) - 8.3 (2) - 8.2 (2) WTCR iHeartMedia 10.3 (2) - 7.9 (3) - 7.7 (3) WXBW Fifth Avenue Cl. Country 4.0 (5t) - 4.2 (5t) - 3.0 (8)
Macon, GA	WDEN Cumulus 7.2 (3) - 7.9 (3) - 9.0 (2) Largest share since Fall 2014. WIHB iHeartMedia 2.6 (8) - 2.1 (8t) - 2.4 (9) WIHB-AM iHeartMedia Cl. Country 1.4 (10) - 0.8 (11) - 1.2 (11t)
Morgantown, WV	WKKW West Virginia Radio 17.5 (1) - 14.2 (1) - 13.0 (1t) WPDX West Virginia Radio Cl. Country 4.9 (5) - 2.8 (7) - 3.2 (7)
Rockford, IL	WXXQ Townsquare 5.5 (3) - 6.8 (2) - 5.8 (4) WRTB Mid-West Family 4.3 (6) - 3.7 (7) - N/A Did not subscribe this survey.
Tallahassee, FL	WTNT iHeartMedia 3.7 (7t) - 5.8 (4) - 4.8 (5) WWOF Adams 5.6 (6) - 3.6 (7) - 2.2 (10t)
Valdosta, GA	WKAA Black Crow 4.8 (4t) - 3.2 (5t) - 2.4 (8) WAAC Rivers Radio Does not subscribe.
Wausau, WI	WDEZ Midwest 9.3 (1) - 8.9 (2) - 7.6 (2t) WYTE NRG 4.7 (6) - 5.4 (6) - 5.0 (6) WAXX Mid-West Family 3.1 (8) - 2.3 (8t) - 2.2 (11)

» WCHK's Thompson Leaves Radio:

Forever WCHK/Ocean City, MD morning personality Bryan Thompson is leaving radio after nearly 30 years in the industry. “I have decided to go back home to Pennsylvania and step away from radio ... at least for now,” sharesThompson. He joined WCHK in 2020 (CAT 6/9/20) following stops at WCZX/Poughkeepsie, NY; WGGY/Wilkes-Barre, PA; WRJY/Brunswick, GA; WCTO/Allentown, PA; and WNKI/Elmira, NY. Reach Thompson here. At WCHK, Market Mgr. Mark Schollenberger is seeking a successor; send résumés and airchecks here.