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Country’s Radio Coach, John Shomby, is a coach and mentor for radio programmers and on-air talent. The Nashville-based consultant has worked with high profile talent and programmers in multiple formats.
He has programming experience in Augusta, Flint, Birmingham, Portland, Dallas, and Norfolk/Virginia Beach.
Shomby is also available to “to coach aspiring or current podcasters in the art of audience engagement and personality development.”
He is this week’s featured consultant.
Jeff Lynn: What is the current state of Country radio?
John Shomby: This depends on who is answering the question. From my point of view, the homogenization of the format is still an issue. You have a couple of major companies handling music programming AND talent for a large group of their stations, thus a very” centralized” sound. In addition, the formula hasn’t changed for most for 15 to 20 years. What does”#1 for New Country” or ”Today’s Best Country” really mean? The genre is in a great spot and I’m not seeing stations really taking advantage of that. I listen to a different country station every day in my home office and there are days when I think I’m hearing a station from the day before. Lots are programming not to lose rather than to win.
JL: Knowing it is market-dependent, is there a baseline for current/recurrent/gold in the music formula?
JS: I really see this as a market-to-market situation, taking into consideration the target demo, competitive landscape, etc. The baseline should be based on the station’s image in the market. What I would play at a station in Norfolk/Virginia Beach should have very little, if any, bearing on what a Milwaukee station would play.
JL: How can radio programmers effectively program around the ever-increasing spot load?
JS: Assuming this isn’t going to change any time soon, I think strong creative promotion/teasing could give a station an edge. I love what The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has started doing to promote the next segment. They showcase a key snippet of that segment going into a break. Rather than the usual jock tease, why not find a way to highlight what may be a part of the next segment? Sure, it’ll be a recorded piece, but listeners don’t care. They just want to be entertained. It could be a piece of a new song, an excerpt of a show bit, etc. Watch how other mediums do this. You can learn a lot. Bottom-line, you need to give the listener a real reason to stay or come back.
JL: Promotional budgets, in most cases, are gone. Do you have a tip for market outside your cume with no money?
JS: Get out in front of the listeners. These political candidates may be spending $$$ on advertising, but their bread and butter is getting out and shaking hands. The same applies for any station. Build FANS, not followers. Fans come from personal contact. The Swifties are the number one example of the success of growing a fan base. Money can’t buy that.
JL: What’s the best promotion you’ve seen lately or been a part of?
JS: When I was programming a classic rock station in Boston back in the day, our competitor was the big-dog heritage radio station. Every St. Patrick’s Day, U2 would come in to play the old Boston Garden, and that station would be all over it. We decided that it was time for us to get in the middle of that and hopefully steal a little thunder. We had a small budget to purchase tickets, which we did………six pair total. We created a fictitious character called the” Ticket Phantom” and told our listeners he would be lurking around the Garden with tickets in hand before the show. All the listeners had to do was have our station call letters displayed somewhere on their person. I sent two of bigger staff people out there just in case a few hundred showed up. Well, turns out that over 10,000 showed up, all displaying the station calls. I was getting calls from the director of the Garden, the concert promoter, and, of course, the press. So – we gave the tickets away and got out of there. The big-dog station did live TV cutaways prior to the show and every report sported a background of our station call letters. The follow-up press on this went three days ending with the city no longer allowing large gatherings in that area ever again. All for 12 tickets!!
JL: Many big Country stations now have a syndicated morning show and out-of-market voice trackers for the rest of the day. How can a programmer make his station feel like part of the community?
JS: Make those out-of-market folks as much a part of the station as the local staff. I programmed three nationally syndicated daily shows for four years a few years back, and, I will tell you, there were a handful of PDs who drove me crazy, wanting local break-ins, liners, etc. You know what? They were all consistent ratings winners. Be relentless in getting those personalities involved. From the national level, it’s expected, so take full advantage of it.
JL: Do you have a tip for brand extension for both stations and individuals into social media and podcasting?
JS: Don’t do it just to do it. With your socials, engage your listeners. Don’t use them as a promo liner extension. It’s a viral way of shaking hands so don’t waste it. At one station, we had all personalities having ongoing convos with listeners during the actual CMA awards. Rather than post the winners, we wanted to know what they were thinking. Engage them!!
With podcasts, I would say don’t do one just to do one. Make sure there is a clear purpose. If it’s your morning show, maybe it’s an extension of a popular benchmark or create a podcast of artist interviews that really tell a story. No matter what, be clear and simple………..and reasonably short.
JL: Classic Country stations are popping up. Do you see long-term success for that branch of the Country format? I loved listening to them initially, but after some time, I realized my ears needed to rest “Chattahoochee.” No offense to AJ.
JS: Yes, I do, and I also see some future success for a more current-based branch, too. Country is really the only format that hasn’t splintered as AC, Rock, Top 40, and R&B have. Time to open up.
JL: With gold in mind is 90s music returning to current-based stations.
JS: This depends on the station, but I can tell you that a good song is a good song is a good song. Plenty of 90’s tunes have stood the test of time, so I’d play the best of those.
JL: What was the best career advice you were ever given?
JS: I’ve been fortunate to have some great mentors throughout my career, but I must tell you, the best advice ever came from a book – “Called Out” by Paula Faris, a former ABC news anchor who is now a Christian podcaster. That book hit me between the eyes with the fact that your identity is not your job……not what you do. It’s what you’re good at…..what gets you up every morning……what you are CALLED to do.
Contact John Shomby here.
Email 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.
