weekly March 3, 2025, Issue 950
CRS: First Time’s The Charm
Like a lot of people who have never attended, KSCS & KPLX Dallas Dir./Promotions Jessica MacKenzie-Williams had heard about Country Radio Seminar for years, but “it was always a mystery to me what happened there.” Seeing it firsthand last month, she was overwhelmed. “Everywhere you turned you saw someone you knew,” she says. MacKenzie-Williams and other firsttimers share their impressions and experiences with Country Aircheck below. KKBQ/Houston APD/MD/afternoon host Lauren “Lo” Sessions “expected an incredible mix of industry connection, education Jessica and inspiration, and it delivered on every level. The MacKenzieenergy in Nashville, the networking opportunities Williams and the insightful discussions exceeded my expectations, reinforcing why Country radio is such a special community.” For Sessions, the “human connection” was the most valuable part of CRS, especially “getting to build relationships with people from all sides of the industry – from artists and programmers to label reps and fellow radio talent. Being in the same room, sharing ideas and learning from each other reinforced Lo Sessions the passion we all have for country music and its fans.” She also appreciated the event’s organization and variety. “I loved that I could come and go as needed, allowing me to focus on the discussions and panels that were most valuable to my learning,” she says. “The flexibility made it easy to maximize my time and get the most out of my experience.” WJVL/Janesville, WI PD/afternoon host Justin Brown had long heard from radio friends and Life With You: Curb’s Kelsey Hart with colleagues about how useful CRS is for networking. WJVL/Janesville, “It was exactly that and more,” he says. “At first, I WI’s Justin Brown felt a bit of FOMO, but once I settled in on day one at CRS. and made a plan for each day, things fell into place. (continued on page 7)
Dirt Turns To Gold: Leo33’s Zach Top celebrates his first gold single, ”I Never Lie,” with his label team at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Pictured (l-r) are Ailie Birchfield, Chris Fabiani, Meg Goggins, Tracy Gibson, Top, Katie Dean, Natalie Osborne, Dusty Cantrell, Joseph Manzo and Daniel Lee.
Country’s Three-For-All
The long wait to see the impact of Nielsen’s new three-minute quarter-hour credit methodology came to an end with the release of the January PPM books last week. Programmers contacted by Country Aircheck were mostly muted in their comments, and all preferred to remain off the record. “At first blush it looked like the high cume stations benefitted the most – and spoken word formats too,” says one major market PD. Another answered more simply, “I’m not going to put any stock in anything until I see the Winter book.” “Zero surprises,” says another PD. “Pop stations are doing better because their TSL is lower. We knew that would happen. It will make radio ‘look better,’ but the agencies know about the qualifier. They’re not going to spend more money. It’s making people obsessed with tactics rather than building great brands that activate.” “Every market’s going to be different on this,” explains a multi-format OM. “There’s no doubt cume is up, we’re seeing it across the board. It looks (continued on page 3)
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