August 29, 2022, Issue 822
Q&A: Pandora’s Johnny Chiang
Johnny Chiang joined Pandora as Sr. Dir./Country Programming earlier this month (Breaking News 6/27) after a long run in radio during which he rose to Format Leader for Cox. He discussed the move, similarities and differences between the platforms, and even the cup of coffee he had in the label world between the two gigs. CA: Two weeks in and, presumably, still drinking from a fire hose? JC: Someone else said that and I replied, “No. I’m drinking from the bottom of the Hoover Dam.” Overwhelming is probably the Johnny Chiang best word for it, but here’s the key difference: It’s overwhelming ... but exhilarating learning all these new tools. I’ve never seen so many Google docs and spreadsheets in my life. You absolutely need multiple screens for the applications that need to be open at all times. My first week on the job, my boss [VP/Programming & Content Kevin Stapleford] happened to be on vacation. We had our first real one-on-one catch-up [last week] and things are slowing down. The operational stuff is noise – important noise I have to understand in order to do my job – but at the end of the day, it’s about the music. That’s very clearly the mission for Pandora/ Country, as well as our parent SiriusXM. That’s the fun part and I’m jacked about it every day. How much do you oversee? How many stations? With the help of the Pandora/Country team and Kevin, my job is to program or oversee all the country stations. There are a lot. More than I even know – including many created by fans. There’s no way for one or two people to keep track of every song on every station, but some are priorities. We’re laser focused on the top 10 with the most users, but I’m actively programming all the stations that aren’t listener-built. What’s the Pandora/Country team structure? In radio terms, I’m the PD and [Head/Country] Beville Dunkerley and [Sr. Mgr./Artist Marketing & Industry Relations] Alina Thompson are the IR team – sort of more marketing and promotions. (continued on page 7)
Beers On We: Dierks Bentley‘s Beers On Me Tour hits Nashville‘s Bridgestone Arena. Pictured (l-r) are the label‘s Mike Dungan, Red Light‘s Mary Hilliard Harrington, Bentley and Live Nation‘s Brian O‘Connell.
ACM Honors Is Lambert’s House
“We’re celebrating all sides of the industry tonight,” began Triple Crown Award recipient Miranda Lambert at last week’s (8/24) 15th Annual ACM Honors. Returning to TV for the first time in five years (Sept. 13 on Fox), the annual event recognized the 57th ACM Awards special award honorees and Industry and Studio Recording Award winners. Following performances of “The House That Built Me” from Little Big Town and Brooks Miranda Lambert & Dunn’s “Kerosene,” Lambert
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