Like far too many others in radio, Matt Sneed’s life was upended recently when he was told that his hours would be drastically cut at Audacy’s New York cluster and WCBS-FM. Sneed was not let go, but with the reduced hours, he’s looking for what’s next.
“I’m caught up in all of the Audacy layoffs, and budget cuts that came down last month. I made it through the initial round in March when so many people were let go. I thought I was safe.”
“For the next month, it was status quo. And then just a couple of weeks ago, I got the word that those budget cuts were happening. I had hosted Saturdays and Sundays on CBS FM for the past six and a half years, along with swing stuff during the week.”
Sneed worked for five years at New 102.7 WNEW in various shifts before returning to weekends and swing.
That led to an interesting moment when he got a call.
“There was an issue at CBS FM. There was an emergency. I think Scott Shannon was stuck in Florida after the holidays. There was a problem with his flight or something like that. Dan Taylor, who was hosting middays then, was filling in on mornings. I got a call; can you do midday tomorrow on CBS FM?”
“I’m like, huh? Me? I’ve never even set foot in their studio before. And of course, you say yes. I was nervous as hell.”
And of course, there had to be a complication.
“I was late, which is never a good thing in radio, but the guy on my train, two cars in front of me, had a heart attack. The train was stopped, and emergency services were called. I’m texting people left and right, saying ‘sorry, I’m going to be late. There’s nothing I can do’.”
“I was 20 to 30 minutes late. And I just remember huffing it from the one city block from Houston Street to the studio, booking it to the elevators, getting up there, getting in the studio. There’s a board up there. He says, “You have two minutes until your next break. Do you want to bag it?”’
“I do the first break and it’s admittedly a very basic break. And it took off from there.”
Travel was even more of an issue when Sneed performed two live weekend shows: one in New York and one 100 miles away in Philadelphia.
“I thought, this is the coolest thing ever. Two major markets on the same day. It’s amazing. And I guess it was about three months where I was like, holy hell, this day is so long.”
“I was up at 4:30 to catch a 6 am train. It was a 90-minute train ride, and 25-minute car ride to the train station. Once you’re in the city, it’s another 10 to 15 minutes on the subway to get to the station, and do a five-hour air shift.”
“Now I’m leaving New York City, another 10 to 15 minutes on the subway back to Penn Station, another 90-minute train ride back, then back to the train station, and another 25-minute ride home.”
“I would be able to come home for maybe half an hour. Then I’m on my way to Philadelphia, a 45-minute car ride for another five-hour air shift. Then you’re coming home, another 45 minutes, finally there around 1:15 in the morning after being up at 4:30. It was a 20-hour day.”
Sneed has a very active social media presence, and recently opened up about his personal life. He shared how his childhood framed who he is today.
“When I post on Facebook about being abandoned by my father when I was 17 and the deep hurt that caused me and how far I’ve come in life, it’s because that is the thing I am most proud of. All the troubles I had in my teen years and my twenties were because my father abandoned me when I was 17.”
“I found that some people like you to show a bit of vulnerability. Others say, ‘dude, you’ve got to stop doing this, man. You’re talking way too much’.
“Somebody told me you’re never going to get hired posting about these stories. My thing is, this is who I am. I’m a fighter. I’m a survivor. I’ve made it this far in life after having a hard childhood. I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished. So, I’m going to post about it because it helps me. I hope somebody else reads it and it helps them.”
Radio led Sneed to the Rock & Roll stage, albeit just for one song and one night. But he made the best of it.
“So I’ve always been a huge Bon Jovi fan. Island Def Jam was in with the new Bon Jovi album at the time, and they found out. I immediately told them, ‘God, I’m such a huge fan’. They were doing a showcase with the band in New York City. They’re going to perform the new album. It’s a family and friends’ event.”
“We got there early and were right up next to the stage. About halfway through the songs, Jon says to Richie (Sambora) off mic, ‘I really got to pee.”
“I’m 25, I probably have two or three beers in me. I said, ‘Hey Jon, go pee, I’ll sing’. He looks at me and says, ‘You want to sing? C’mon up’. I go on stage and he says you want to sing ‘Born To Be My Baby?”’
“Jon says this is our version of ‘American Idol.’ He kicks off the song with the two, three, four and leaves the stage to go pee.”
“I sang the whole thing. It was the coolest experience of my life.
Another involves a full-circle moment with none other than Scott Shannon.
“I was an intern at PLJ in 1996. I was outside the studios in the hallway. We had a giant vinyl PLJ banner that was dirty from an event. The interns had it spread out on the floor. We were on our hands and knees scrubbing it. At the end of the long hallway was the exit from the studio. All of a sudden, that door opened, and here came Scott Shannon with his bag and everything.”
“He was leaving for the day, and he walked by and saw us all scrubbing this thing. And he says, ‘That’s a lot of PLJ stuff.’ Cause the promotions closet was spilled out everywhere.”
“I’ll just never forget being on my hands and knees looking up and going, that was Scott Shannon. I was 19 at this time. I was starstruck.”
And the full circle?
“I get to be on the same air staff with the guy. Okay. And I started hearing that he really likes me. Jim (Ryan) would tell me ‘you’re becoming Scott Shannon’s favorite on the station’. I said, ‘get the hell out of here’.”
“During the pandemic, I was sitting home one night, watching TV, when my phone rang. It was a New York number and unfamiliar, but I said, ‘well, it’s probably something work-related. I should probably answer it’. “I picked it up, and he said, “Matt, it’s one of your DJ friends.”
“And I said, ‘Scott’? He goes, ‘yeah. What’s up? I just wanted to call you and say thank you for all you’re doing for us during this difficult time. You sound great. You sound like I trained you, but I didn’t. Where the hell did you come from’? You’re the perfect blend of brevity and personality’.”
“We talked for about half an hour, trading radio stories and stuff. At the end of the call, he says, ‘all right, you got my number now. If you need anything, use it. I’ll talk to you later’. He hangs up. I was shaking when it was over.”
Matt earned Scott Shannon’s respect, and hopes to earn yours too. He is looking for his next opportunity and can be reached by email here.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
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.
I listen to Matt Sneed whenever he’s on. I met him through Facebook a few years ago and have come to enjoy his perspective on things- well everything except baseball. He’s a Yankees fan and I’m from Cleveland. LOL!
Thanks for the great article!