To support the launch of the new Barrett Media, we’ve created a special series titled “20 Brands In 20 Days.” Highlighting successful stations across the country in various formats by conducting conversations with their brand leaders. Up next is Townsquare Media’s Ryan McCredden. Ryan is PD of KJOC (I-Rock 93.5) Quad Cities/IA-IL. The station we are highlighting today.
Jeff Lynn: You’ve done what many people couldn’t do, which is make a very successful brand on that frequency. Tell me about how you got started with it.
Ryan McCredden: It was kind of one of those things that the Quad Cities and the Midwest, in general, like to rock. I saw the opportunity, put the plan together, and put it out there.
And I think it was a good, well-executed plan that we were able to build together to say, hey, this isn’t just another rock station; this is how we’re going to do things. So, the launch of it was very, very successful.
JL: I was just looking back, and I can’t believe it’s been five years already. How has the brand evolved, if at all, over five years?
RM: Yeah, we’ll have our five-year anniversary party on August 31st, celebrating with a big concert like we do. From an evolution standpoint, I would say the only thing that’s kind of evolved is… well, there are two things.
One has been the music. When it started, it was a little more 90s-heavy. We were probably playing two to three 90s tracks an hour.
Over time, that has changed to the point where now I’m only playing one an hour and doing a lot more new rock. But every year, the 90s become a little more classic, and we become a little newer. So that’s kind of the big thing musically.
And then the other big thing is just the personality that has taken control of it, and that would be me. It wasn’t something that I planned on when I started the thing. It wasn’t like, I’m going to start this station, and I’m going to be the host and the face and blah, blah, blah.
I started it not with that intention. But then it was during COVID that I kind of just felt like, okay, if this thing just sits here without a personality, it’s going to kind of fade away. So, I just kind of started doing more and more with it, and now, somehow, this face and voice is what it is.
JL: Your position is “Hard Rock For The Quad Cities.” You own it.
RM: A hundred percent, yeah. No, it is a hard, heavy station. We don’t play some of the things that a typical, even new rock station plays, and we steer clear of the older stuff and the alternative stuff.
I mean, this is the Quad Cities—Iowa, Illinois. This is the home of Slipknot and Mudvayne. We’re going to embrace that, and that’s our core.
Those kinds of bands are the core bands, and they bring it hard and heavy.
JL: Townsquare has what I would call a Rock wall. You have a very successful Classic Rock station in 97X (WXLP) with a huge morning show. How do they co-exist?
RM: We’ve done a really good job of making sure both of us know what we’re doing, but we also work very well together. There’s no denying it. There’s no hiding 97X is in the building or anything like that. We work very well together to be able to do things like the Mississippi Valley Fair.
Our tents are literally zip-tied together so they don’t blow away. We work hand-in-hand and know, okay, this is your core, this is my core. Yes, of course, there’s crossover in the world of people listening and stuff like that, but that’s fine.
If they’re flipping back and forth between the two of us, and those are the only two stations they listen to, we are okay with that.
JL: Midwest people are very embracing of their talent. How are you out there with them?
RM: We truly are a local radio station. I’d have to go back and look at my calendar, but I think over the course of the summer, there were only two weekends that I didn’t have something going on, and during the spring, I think maybe it was one. So, there’s always something.
We are the concert leader. That is what we use on the air. It’s what we say, and it’s what we believe in as well. We’re everything from the 10,000-seat Vibrant Arena to the 200 Club Rascals.
Then we have our own events, too. We’ll go to different bars in town and stuff like that. Just two weeks ago, we did a big thing at a place called Analog, and we’re going back there in a couple of weeks again.
I’m going to play Giant Connect Four against people, and I’m terrible at it, so they’ll probably win a lot of prizes, but that’s okay.
I’ll try, but I’m not good, so I pretty much already know I’m going to lose. So, yeah, we do stuff like that, and then we embrace the city’s big events as well. Obviously, the fair this week, last weekend, was the Bix Race, which you’re familiar with, the race up Brady Street, and we were out there at 7 a.m. and cheered on every runner that came by,
So, whether it’s something that we’re putting on locally or something that the community is already doing, we want to be involved. We want to be there because that’s the job of local radio: to still be a part of the community, and I think we are.
JL: You’re the face of a very vibrant brand doing all the stuff you’re doing, but you’re also OM for the cluster. How do you balance it all?
RM: Lack of sleep. You do have to do more, and that’s because people can get their entertainment in so many different places now.
They can get their entertainment from the radio, but they can also get it, obviously, on their phone, on their smart speaker, on YouTube, or whatever platform they want to pick. So, my philosophy is that we have to be in all those different places. We can’t just play a song on 93.5 and be like, well, come find us.
That’s not how it works. I use this Fair, for example, since I’m here. We’re going to talk about it, post it on Facebook, on the website, and on the app, and do all those kinds of things because people are in different places.
So how do I, do that and do all this? I’ve got a really good team here. When it comes to the other brands with 97X and B100 (KBEE) and US1049 (KIIK), I’ve got a lot of good people who are very helpful and manage them and work with them every day, but they know what they need to do to get the job done as well. So, it’s a lot, but this too, when you enjoy it, it doesn’t seem like as much.
JL: Has AI entered your world at this point? And if so, how?
RM: No, there’s nothing here.
JL: For people who may not know, your radio stations are in an old funeral home. When I worked there, I had a friendly ghost. Have you seen the woman in white yet?
RM: You’re not the first person to talk to me about the woman in white, but no, she has not haunted me yet.
JL: Don’t go to the basement. That’s my only advice to you.
RM: We did a Valentine’s Day exorcism in the basement. I had listeners send in pictures of their exes, and we took them down there and hung them up on the wall in the room that has all the numbers where they kept the bodies.
JL: Oh, I’ve been there, yeah
RM: Yep, and we did an exorcism. So, again, talk about doing things differently with listeners. There was another example, and people loved it, of course, because everybody was interested and intrigued by what was going on in that basement.
JL: Closing thought?
RM: I am super happy with how this community has embraced us over the last five years and with what I still get to do daily. I mean, it’s Rock and Roll, and we’re living it in every way, shape, and form and having a good time doing it. We couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve done and what the city has let us do.
Listen to I-Rock 93.5 here. Find them on Facebook. Connect with Ryan here.
Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
