February 21, 2023, Issue 846
Meet ACM EP Raj Kapoor
Oscars, Grammys, Emmys and tour creative for scores of artists are among his credits, but the 58th ACM Awards on Amazon Prime Video will be Raj Kapoor’s first time at the helm. Taking over as Exec. Prod. for the long-tenured RAC Clark, Kapoor is well into developing the May 11 show – being held for the first time at The Star in Frisco, TX. CA: How did you get started with the ACMs? RK: My very first ACM performance was with Carrie Underwood; I was her Dir./ Raj Kapoor Creative for more than six years. I went through a phase of doing [creative work for] a lot of country artists – Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Dan + Shay, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill – and started getting integrated into quite a few of their television performances. There were times I had three or four performances on the ACM show. RAC asked me to come on staff when we did the [2015 ACMs] in Dallas. Having worked on so many types of shows and with artists from various formats, is there a difference with a country show or artists? Honestly, I didn’t grow up listening to country music. One of my first experiences was The Chicks tour, and I remember this real appreciation for the craft of songwriting. I was on the road with them for a while, and the music really moved me. When I started working with Carrie, being at country shows with her – CMAs, ACMs, CMTs – exposed me to so many other artists in the format. What I took away was how talented country artists are. They play instruments, write their own music and are very involved in the music process. That felt so different from many other genres. I also saw the family of artists that exists – how they support each other. When they win a big award, the entire community supports them. They’re happy for each other, congratulate each other and have drinks backstage. That’s unique and one of the things [Grammy/ACM producer] Patrick Menton and I wanted to bring to the Grammys, which felt a lot more competitive. (continued on page 8)
Peace Up, A-Town Brown: RCA‘s Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown (c) with WUBL/Atlanta’s Angie Ward.
Building The College Radio Bench
Despite major broadcast companies’ continued downsizing and more radio vets departing for opportunities outside the industry (CAW 7/25/22), some college radio programs are seeing an increase in students looking to pursue careers in audio content creation. University of Tennessee WUTK/Knoxville Station Mgr./PD Benny Smith says he has seen increased interest in his program over the past five years, especially post-Covid. “These students have the choice to work at the radio station, television station or campus newspaper Benny Smith if they are a [Journalism And Electronic Media] major, and the shift to interest in audio has been noticeable,” Smith says. He credits an increased interest in podcasting, social
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