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The Industry According To: Michael Starr, Glassnote Records

Keith Cunningham
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The Industry According To: Michael Starr, Glassnote Records

Thank you for checking out The Industry According To… This series runs each Tuesday and features radio and record industry executives, managers, programmers, talent, artists, and professionals from all areas of the business world. Today’s guest is Michael Starr, Head of Promotion at Glassnote Records. To be considered as a future guest, email me at keithblackboxgroup@gmail.com.

Today we dig into the mind of a veteran promotion pro with a long history of breaking records and navigating the ultra-political world of artist promotion and development: Michael Starr. He is currently the Head of Promotion at Glassnote Records — home to a diverse roster of great artists like Mumford and Sons, Phoenix, Silvana Estrada, and more. He previously held similar roles at Wind-Up and ran his own shop.

So, let’s dive in.

The New Reality

Keith: What’s the biggest difference between breaking a record in 2026 vs. 2006 — and is the job harder or easier today?

Michael: It depends on how you view it, or which side of the bed you happen to wake up on. I remember working rock records 20 years ago: it would take over 30-plus weeks to move a hit record up the chart. From my 10-year tenure at Wind-up Records in the 00s, I can still see the impact because many of those artists & songs remain in the core libraries of many rock stations. Those bands still have touring careers!

I think my biggest question is how many of today’s artists & hits from this decade will still be in core libraries with steady touring careers 2 decades from now? We are all so distracted these days. So much vies for one’s attention daily. You have to be realistic, patient, and steadfast. Building and sustaining any artist’s career takes more time than it did previously, and it truly takes a village.

The Glassnote Secret

Keith: What’s the internal philosophy or secret that allows a boutique label to consistently break artists at a major-label level?

Michael: Glassnote punches above its weight because of our founder, Daniel Glass, and our GM, Chris Scully. This summer I celebrate my 15th anniversary at the label. Not a week goes by where I don’t learn something from both of them. Daniel is the driving force and the ultimate mentor. The man runs circles around most people, and his enthusiasm and energy are genuine! He relishes not only the music and the biz — Daniel also lives his life to the fullest. Chris keeps me and the staff on the rails. He is the one I turn to anytime I feel stuck. In fact, the screen image on my phone when I call him is a Peanuts comic strip image of Lucy offering therapy for a nickel!

A 10 vs. a 4

Keith: To your ears they’re a 10, but the data says they’re a 4. In 2026, who wins — your ears or the algorithm?

Michael: I believe the ears still win. Sure, I could pontificate about analytics, social media, AI, blah, blah, blah…. At the end of the day, it still comes down to the music at Glassnote, and feeling it in your gut. This explains our diverse roster, which ranges from Mumford & Sons, Silvana Estrada, bby, Phoenix, Jade Bird, Talia Rae, Hamilton Leithauser, Two Door Cinema Club, Patrick Martin, and more. “Our best is yet to come!” is the attitude I’d prefer to carry into the future.

The Importance of Data

Keith: Where does data fit within your role at Glassnote — does it dictate tactics, timelines, singles?

Michael: My most recent example comes from our latest single from MUMFORD & SONS — a collaboration with Chris Stapleton for the single, “Here.” To begin this year, we delivered an 11-week #1 AAA smash and #1 ALT single with “Rubber Band Man (w/ Hozier).” When the album Prizefighter came out on February 20th, some programmers were pressing me on the follow-up single. My stance was, “What’s your rush?” We wanted to spend the first two to three weeks watching the data and streams to see what listeners gravitated to.

It was very easy to identify that “Here (w/ Chris Stapleton)” was the obvious contender. It wasn’t even the DSP focus track. But it continues to be the #1 streaming track on the album, is #1 Americana for multiple weeks, and is now Top 10 AAA. Heck, it’s even in rotation on SXM’s The Highway!

Hacking the System

Keith: How do you use the system to break an artist who isn’t built for the system?

Michael: This is where I tip my hat to the NonComm and Triple A format. Daniel Glass and I were just at NonComm in Philadelphia to connect with our partners from that great group of radio stations. It’s honestly how we initially launched each of those artists. That format’s hunger for music discovery and the camaraderie among stations and their listeners provide an early litmus test of the potential an artist and their music can deliver.

The Real Reason Some Fail

Keith: How often does a song fail not because of the music, but because of politics between labels, DSPs, and radio?

Michael: You tell me! We can argue that it happens all the time or very rarely. Ultimately, we’re all friends and partners working to release the best music for radio and DSPs to share with their listeners. We’re thrilled when it comes together, and we’re disappointed when it doesn’t. All we can do is learn, grow from it, and move forward.

Is Alternative Still Alternative?

Keith: Has Alternative radio become mainstream, or is there a world of Alt music radio is missing?

Michael: In my opinion, there isn’t a one size fits all answer to succeeding at the ALT format. They are vying for the attention of a mass audience and must cast that net appropriately. Ultimately, they must connect with their city and listeners to remain successful, and gain respect by being part of the local scene. It’s about the brand, and creating a feeling of relatability, making listeners want to be a part of it like many of us felt when grunge exploded in the 90s. We all wanted to be in that club & at that show!  

Like all of radio, the bigger challenge is breaking through to the next generation of potential radio P1s who can’t peel their eyes away from 10-second clips on their phones.

I love Alt stations that embody the breadth of the format: loud & heavy, soft & introspective, current & historical—it should really be a journey. I like large, extensive libraries spanning decades. There is so much to cull from. When you blend in all the great music from the present and the past, you offer listeners what ALT truly is, and you keep them tuned in, curious about what will play next.

But can you secure enough advertising to support it and will the PPM meters respond accordingly? That’s where the record store kid in me has to trust the professionals who have been doing this for decades.

AI & Glassnote

Keith: Where do you see AI helping the industry, and what’s your biggest fear?

Michael: If AI can help us all get more accurate information faster and perhaps teach us how to get along again in this crazy world, I’m all for it. Holistically, the more analog we can remain in our personal lives, the better off we’re all going to be regarding our mental and physical health and overall happiness. But that’s just my opinion at this very moment.

The Toughest Call

Keith: What’s the toughest call you’ve ever had to make as head of promo?

Michael: The toughest calls come when I can’t come through on a big ask from any of our partners. You always wish for timing and budgets to align with the goals you set forth with your label, managers, and artists. It just doesn’t always work out, no matter how much you try.

Will The Real Michael Starr Stand Up

Keith: You share the same name as the lead singer of Steel Panther. I can only imagine some of the things that have mistakenly landed in your lap. Care to comment on sharing a name with the other Michael Starr?

Michael: Many years ago at a SxSW in Austin, I remember sitting at Buffalo Billiards hanging with my KROX pals. They were broadcasting live from 6th Street. Steel Panther came to sit down in the booth behind us. My pal, Dave Downey, introduced us; “Michael Starr, meet Michael Starr!” We shook hands and I simply said, “it’s my real name.” His response was, “that’s cool, my real name is Ralph.” Ha!

My IG handle is @michaelstarrrocks, so I’ve been DM’d or tagged more than I care to mention by folks who can’t seem to notice that we look nothing alike.

Even further back (circa 1991), there was Mike Starr from Alice In Chains. I was a massive fan of the ‘Facelift’ album, and a college buddy and I went to the Clash of the Titans tour (Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax) with Alice In Chains as the opener. After their opening set, I see Mike Starr walking across the floor. I approached him to simply say. “Dude, we have the same name!” He immediately said, “NO WAY!! Show me your ID, what’s your middle name?” We both held our driver’s licenses out and he was so tickled by it that he brought me back to meet the rest of the band. I was 19. It was a cool moment. (RIP, Mike Starr).

Mentorship

Keith: What’s the best advice you have for younger professionals who want to succeed in artist promotion and development?

Michael: Each year for over a decade, I’ve been fortunate to participate in SxSW as a Mentor. I’ll meet with everyone from college students, independent artists and managers, folks pimping ideas and apps, etc..

My best advice comes from a presentation I saw Daniel Glass give to an auditorium full of Sony college reps.

His advice…SHOW UP! Show up each and every day. Show up for work, show up for yourself, show up for your co-workers, your clients, your friends and family. Just keep showing up and good things will come from that!

The Blank Slate

Keith: Blank slate — say anything you want to any sector of the music industry.

Michael: I feel so truly humbled and blessed to be in this industry. This year marks 35 years since I started working at a record store and 25 years doing radio promotion. I want to thank everyone I’ve ever encountered and worked with, from the bottom of my heart. Experiences. Life Lessons. Relationships. Incredible shows. Fantastic music. Personal and professional growth. What a blessing! We’re all in this together. Let’s continue to support each other and lift each other up when needed. Sincerely, thank you for it all!

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

Radio Should Be Asking the Same Question EDM Already Answered

David Hill
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Radio Should Be Asking the Same Question EDM Already Answered

Last weekend I ended up at an EDM festival called Habitat inside the Kansas City Zoo. I know. Bear with me.

Thousands of people descended on the place. And here’s the thing — the zoo was still open. The aquarium was still running. The animals were still there. Nothing about the physical environment had changed. But everything else had.

For one night, a zoo became a cultural event. A community. A temporary world built entirely around music and shared experience. And somewhere between the laser lights and the bass drops, I started thinking about what radio used to be and, in too many places, isn’t anymore.

The music was never the product.

The EDM scene understands something parts of our industry have quietly forgotten: the music is not the product. The feeling of belonging is the product.

Nobody drove to the Kansas City Zoo on a Saturday night because it was convenient. Spotify is convenient. YouTube is convenient. Staying home in your pajamas is extremely convenient. People showed up because they wanted to be part of something larger than themselves.

That is what great radio stations used to manufacture (and some still do) better than almost anyone.

The best stations were never just signal and playlist. They were ecosystems. They had language, attitude, and shared identity. Listeners wore station shirts like jerseys. Morning show bits became inside jokes across entire cities. Big events felt less like concerts and more like reunions. You did not just listen to those stations. You belonged to them.

Walk around any serious EDM festival and you see that same energy alive and thriving. Fans travel for these events. They dress for them. They build real friendships around them. The audience becomes part of the show. The experience does not work without the people.

What struck me about Habitat specifically was the crowd. It was not some narrowly defined demographic slice that a researcher carved out of a focus group. It skewed all over the place. Younger fans. Older fans. Different backgrounds, different energy levels, different everything. All of them there for the same shared moment.

This isn’t a obituary for radio — it’s a reminder of what it’s still capable of

That was always radio’s real competitive advantage combined with its localism. Some stations still have it. This is not a eulogy. But somewhere along the way, pieces of this industry made a quiet pivot. We started thinking about distribution instead of culture. We optimized for efficiency and let identity become optional.

The transmitter stayed. The songs stayed. The personalities stayed. The culture became negotiable.

That is a dangerous trade. Culture is the moat. Culture is the thing an algorithm genuinely cannot replicate. Spotify can tell you what to listen to next. It cannot make you feel like you are part of something. It cannot give you an inside joke with a hundred thousand strangers who all heard the same morning show bit at 7:35 this morning.

A great radio station should feel like a place

Think about what 99X in Atlanta or KROQ in Los Angeles meant to their listeners during their peak years. Those stations were not just playing records. They were building scenes. Creating tribes. Giving people a cultural home.

The EDM world still knows how to do that. And honestly, there is a broader lesson buried in this too. While the rest of media obsesses over audience segmentation and chasing the narrowest possible demographic slice, Habitat drew thousands of people from completely different walks of life and gave them a unified experience. That is not a niche product. That is mass appeal built around emotion. Which sounds a lot like what radio looked like when it was at its best.

The question for every programmer, PD, and market manager right now is simple: are we giving people something worth connecting to?

Radio had what EDM has now. The question is whether it can get it back.

Because song delivery is table stakes now. Every platform does that. The stations and personalities that actually win going forward are going to be the ones that rebuild real emotional connection and community around what they do. That does not require a massive budget or a stadium event, either. Culture starts with smaller things. Local identity. Shared language. Inside jokes. Listener interaction. Personalities who sound like actual human beings instead of something that came out of a compliance meeting.

People still want to belong to something. An EDM festival inside a zoo on a Saturday night proved that to me all over again. Probably not the insight I expected to walk away with. But here we are.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

Sports Radio’s Local Advertising Issues Are Rooted in an ROI Mistake

John Mamola
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Sports Radio’s Local Advertising Issues Are Rooted in an ROI Mistake

The average American encounters thousands of advertisements every single day. From the second your alarm goes off until your head hits the pillow, you are being sold something. You wake up and check your phone. Ads. You scroll social media before getting out of bed. Ads. You turn on a podcast, YouTube video, or sports radio show during your morning routine. Ads.

You drive to work passing billboards, hearing live reads, streaming commercials, and sponsored content every few minutes. Ads. Then ads. Then more ads. Consumers today are overwhelmed by messaging. Attention has become the most valuable currency in media, and connection has become the hardest thing to manufacture.

That’s why a study showing that 61% of local radio sports advertisements failed to meet effectiveness standards should concern everyone in broadcasting. The six-month study, which evaluated more than 5,600 commercials across 108 markets, found that most spots struggled with emotional resonance, brand recall, message clarity, and call-to-action effectiveness.

In simpler terms: listeners are hearing the commercials, but they are not feeling them.

And that should force the industry to confront an uncomfortable truth.

The Human Connection

At a time when radio companies are increasingly leaning into automation, centralized production hubs, and AI-generated creative, the business is drifting further away from the one thing that has always separated radio from every other medium: human connection.

Human beings talking to human beings still works better than software pretending to understand people.

At Barrett Media, we often talk about educating, celebrating, and challenging the industry. Part of challenging the business means acknowledging where radio is creating problems for itself.

Advertising is the lifeblood of the sports radio industry. Without results for clients, there is no business model to sustain stations, staffs, or brands. Every commercial represents an investment from a client trusting a station to help grow awareness, traffic, revenue, or credibility.

And yet, too often, commercials are treated like filler instead of product.

For years, one phrase was drilled into me repeatedly: “It’s all about ROI.”

That hasn’t changed.

A Re-Investment In People

If stations continue accepting advertising dollars while delivering lazy, generic, forgettable creative, the results will continue reflecting it. Audiences tune out content that sounds manufactured, lifeless, and disconnected from their daily experience. That is exactly why talent matters now more than ever.

The most valuable asset inside any sports radio station is not a production system, an AI tool, or a voice-tracking hub. It is the personalities who have built trust with the audience over time.

Listeners form habits around people. They connect with voices. They invest emotionally in personalities they believe understand them. That relationship is what advertisers are actually paying for.

For years, endorsements have consistently outperformed traditional recorded spots because audiences treat them differently. Listeners may mentally check out during a commercial break, but when trusted talent begins speaking authentically about a business, people lean back in.

Personalities create familiarity. Familiarity creates trust. Trust drives consumer action.

If six out of ten commercials are failing to connect, the solution should not be removing more humanity from the process. It should be doubling down on the people capable of creating connection in the first place.

Yet across the industry, many stations continue reducing local creativity in the name of efficiency. Production directors disappear. Commercial creative becomes centralized. AI tools generate copy lacking personality or local understanding.

Stations save money while simultaneously stripping away the very thing clients cannot replicate elsewhere.

The local spark disappears. Instead of viewing talent strictly as on-air performers, stations should be involving them deeper in the advertising process. Include personalities in brainstorming sessions. Invite them into client meetings. Encourage collaboration between programming, promotions, and sales.

A Plan To Move Forward

The more creative minds involved, the stronger the campaign becomes. Talent want ownership. They want involvement. They want to feel valued beyond simply filling airtime between breaks.

More importantly, they understand the audience better than anyone else in the building.

Local personalities know the city. They know the energy of the market. They know what listeners are frustrated by, laughing about, supporting, and talking about at youth games, sports bars, restaurants, and offices every day. That understanding cannot be replicated by a chatbot or generic creative template.

When it comes to connection, personalities still outperform automation. Credibility? Personalities still drive trust. When it comes to memorable messaging, personalities still create emotional impact.

And when it comes to sounding human, real talent still wins every time.

The sports radio industry needs a lot of things to go right moving forward. But if advertising loses its ability to genuinely connect with audiences, the business faces a far bigger issue than declining ratings or shrinking budgets.

The largest investment most stations make is in talent.

So the question becomes simple: Are stations fully maximizing that investment?

Because there is a reason endorsements cost more than traditional spots. There is a reason clients continue requesting trusted voices. And there is a reason audiences still respond to personalities who sound authentic.

They work.

Programmers should monitor advertiser performance as closely as they monitor ratings. Sales managers should collaborate more closely with talent. Personalities should constantly refine how they communicate with listeners and clients alike. And when a campaign misses the mark, stations should not default to more automation. They should lean harder into creativity, personality, and authenticity.

Sports radio has always succeeded when it feels personal. Not perfect. Personal. Listeners are human beings. The industry needs to stop sounding less like them.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

The Digital Advantage Independent News Creators Can’t Afford to Leave on the Table

Garrett Searight
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The Digital Advantage Independent News Creators Can’t Afford to Leave on the Table

Independent news creators have spent years mastering digital media — and most of them still aren’t using it to its full potential. The tools are there. The audiences exist. But too many creators are operating on yesterday’s playbook while the landscape shifts beneath their feet.

The good news? Independent creators possess a structural advantage that legacy media companies can’t manufacture. They’ve built younger audiences organically, and younger audiences are the ones most fluent in digital consumption. That’s not just a demographic footnote — it’s a strategic asset hiding in plain sight.

The model has already evolved once. Not long ago, written newsletters and audio-only podcasts dominated the independent creator space. Those formats built real audiences and real businesses. But the landscape shifted, and it shifted fast. Today, if you’re not on YouTube, you don’t fully exist. Creators who ignored that shift didn’t just miss an opportunity — they ceded ground they’ll never fully recover.

The Platform Has Changed. The Principle Hasn’t.

Here’s what hasn’t changed: distribution is king. The medium evolves, but the underlying truth remains constant — creators who reach audiences where those audiences already spend time win. Independent creators need to think about that principle first and worry about format second.

YouTube isn’t the end of that evolution, either. It’s just the current dominant expression of it. Short-form vertical video, newsletter-to-podcast pipelines, live audio communities — these aren’t fringe experiments anymore. They’re the next wave, and independent creators are better positioned to ride it than any legacy outlet.

The key difference is flexibility. Legacy and mainstream media organizations move slowly. Bureaucracy, brand standards, and broadcast infrastructure all create drag. Independent creators don’t have any of that working against them. They can pivot, test, and iterate in the time it takes a network to schedule a meeting.

The Audience That Changes Everything

New data from Edison Research’s Share of Ear Study underscores exactly why that flexibility matters right now. Listeners aged 13 to 34 consume more audio content per day than any other demographic — by nearly half an hour. That might not sound dramatic in isolation, but consider what it means across a week, a month, or a year. It’s a massive accumulation of time, attention, and habit formation.

Independent creators who’ve already cultivated younger followings are sitting on something more valuable than raw numbers. They’re sitting on loyalty. Young audiences who find a creator they trust don’t just become listeners — they become lifelong consumers. They follow across platforms, advocate to their peers, and sustain the kind of engaged base that advertising agencies increasingly want access to.

Legacy media can’t replicate that relationship by throwing money at a YouTube channel or launching a TikTok account. Trust built over time through authentic independent voices isn’t something a brand overhaul produces. Independent creators built those connections the hard way, and that’s precisely why the connections hold.

The path forward, then, isn’t complicated. Independent news creators need to meet younger audiences where they are, feed their appetite for audio and video content across multiple touchpoints, and refuse to treat any single platform as a permanent home. The creators who dominate the next decade won’t be the ones who found the right platform. They’ll be the ones who understood that the platform was never the point — the audience always was.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

Cluster Warfare: The Radio Programming Strategy That Wins Today

Kevin Robinson
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Cluster Warfare: The Radio Programming Strategy That Wins Today

Each week in this space, we aim to deliver practical radio programming strategy and insight while spotlighting the people who’ve built lasting success in our business. Our goal is simple: offer a quick three-to-five-minute read packed with ideas you can immediately apply to your brand, your station, or your entire cluster.

This week is no exception.

The media landscape today is so fractured that the battle for audience attention requires a clear and sophisticated form of warfare.

Depending on tools and position, brands may wage guerrilla warfare with limited assets, moving quickly and owning niche audiences before large competitors notice. Market leaders rely on defensive warfare, digging into heritage, consistency, and familiarity to defend their most loyal listeners. Each situation is a strategic play.

For nearly two decades, we’ve taken clusters through different strategic situations with clients managing three to seven brands. Sequestered off-campus, we spend a day or two ‘what if’-ing all our brands alongside all cluster leadership — plus one or two individuals not as close to our products, such as a trusted client or long-time listener.

Today’s cluster warfare is fluid, fast-moving, and far less predictable than the old station-versus-station battles of the past. All audio brands are now the enemy.

Success depends on managing an overall cluster strategy designed not only to position and strengthen your own brands, but also to outmaneuver competitors. Careful and consistent strategic planning is critical.

This strategic warfare exercise delivers the following for your cluster:

  • Helps define your programming strategy, tactics, and brand direction from year to year — at times quarter to quarter.
  • Assists in creating a working document that evolves into your annual marketing plan.
  • Provides a long-term reference playbook for your programming and talent teams.

Today’s audio environment demands a deliberate approach built on strategy, preparation, and coordinated execution. On-air and online purpose drives cluster growth while creating opportunities to attract revenue from competing groups.

Here’s where we define which brand requires which strategic play:

Defensive Warfare

Defensive warfare comes into play when you own and dominate a format position in the market. The objective is protecting your leadership position, strengthening the core brand, and forcing competitors into weak or ineffective attacks. True defensive programming strategy requires discipline, awareness, and the willingness to evolve before your competition forces a move.

  • Dominance exists when your brand controls the format hill with a significant advantage.
  • Only the market leader can effectively execute a defensive strategy.
  • Protect your core product at all costs. Never weaken the primary strengths that made the brand successful in the first place.
  • Distinguish between attacks that can damage your position and those that create noise with no real impact.
  • When competitors are not attacking, challenge yourself internally. Reinvent, refresh, and improve before someone else does it for you.

Frontal Warfare

Frontal warfare is the most aggressive — and expensive — form of competitive strategy, occurring when a challenger goes directly against a competitor’s greatest strengths. It requires confidence, commitment, and resources to sustain a prolonged battle. In radio, frontal warfare is direct, visible, and designed to win market perception through force.

  • Frontal warfare means matching your strengths directly against your competitor’s in a head-to-head battle.
  • Begin by attacking a narrow weakness, then broaden the attack once momentum is established.
  • Tactical surprise is essential. Catch competitors off guard before they can organize a response.
  • Total commitment across programming, promotion, and sales is non-negotiable.
  • Frontal attacks often fail because challengers underestimate the leader’s ability to defend its position.

Flanker Warfare

Flanker warfare occurs when stations overlap audience share with several competitors. Flankers search for open territory — unfulfilled audience needs or music positions that remain uncontested. Success comes from precision, focus, and speed.

  • You are either flanking or being flanked when your station carries moderate audience overlap.
  • Effective flankers move toward the largest uncontested space — areas competitors have ignored or abandoned.
  • Strong flankers win by owning a clearly defined position.
  • Tactical surprise is critical. Successful flanking moves often catch competitors unprepared before the threat is recognized.
  • Flanking strategies work best when they create a unique identity that competitors cannot duplicate without weakening their own core position.

Guerrilla Warfare

Guerrilla warfare suits challengers, underdogs, and weak signals — such as a translator or poorly positioned antenna location. It operators rely on speed, unpredictability, and creativity aimed at exposed weaknesses. This play also excels at protecting your market-leading signal.

  • Strike where competitors least expect it. Surprise and unpredictability are central to successful guerrilla tactics.
  • Use unconventional, creative, and quick marketing tactics that larger competitors overlook. Think digital.
  • Stay flexible and mobile. Guerrilla strategies require the ability to adapt quickly when conditions shift.
  • Be prepared to “bug out” on a tactic if it stops producing results or draws an overwhelming competitive response.

Revisit your plan annually. Treat each exercise as a fresh evaluation of your market, your brands, and your competition.

There was a time when “shooting from the hip” and clever tricks were accepted programming tactics. While those approaches occasionally produced short-term wins, they also created resistance to disciplined strategic planning.

The audio brands that thrive will not be those with the widest signals or largest marketing budgets. Winning organizations will have keen programming strategy by learning to fight smarter — knowing when to defend, when to disrupt, and when to quietly outmaneuver others while everyone else is making noise.

In modern branding warfare, the strongest weapon isn’t always content itself. It’s the ability to strategically maneuver to serve audience needs.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

How News/Talk Radio Imaging Can Fix the Format’s Cume Crisis

Peter Thiele
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How News/Talk Radio Imaging Can Fix the Format’s Cume Crisis

News/talk radio has suffered from the lack of cume. This has been a problem for decades. There was a line of thought that was repeated often — the cume problems are because of AM radio, right? I’m not so sure.

Cume seems to be an issue for news/talk radio stations on FM as well. Why? There are many reasons. I’ll share them, and some solutions that you can adopt today.

Hosts need to wake up to a couple of facts. Cume creates long-term success for their show and the protection of their paycheck. The more people listening, the better. Without strong cume, our shows and stations are built upon time spent listening.

Whether you are in a PPM or diary-measured market, this has been the key to success for years. Banking on TSL is highly problematic. A change to the PPM panel where you lose a big listener can be devastating. Diaries getting into the hands of people who don’t use news/talk radio can kill a monthly report from Nielsen. I’m sure that every brand manager has stressed out over both of these real-life scenarios. I certainly have.

Legitimate Solutions

Talk about the things that the audience cares about. If there is a big news story, lead with it. If your hosts were not talking about the ramifications of the attempted assassinations of the president and the crowd at the White House Correspondents Dinner, they were losing more than just audience. They were losing credibility.

Being on Topic A is essential. Some days, Topic A could be many things in your market. Many local hosts believe that being local is the winning strategy. In many cases, that is true.

But if everyone on God’s green earth is talking about an issue that is beyond your community, you better be on it. The biggest story is the biggest story, whether that is in your backyard or on a rat-infested cruise ship off of Argentina. Make those big stories local. Your show’s fans are coming to you for your opinions and observations on the news of the day.

Local News and Station Imaging

Your local news must always be focused on the biggest story of the moment. There is a radio tradition about story rotation. In today’s fast-paced world, your listeners are probably tuning in for short periods throughout the day.

If your newscast is ignoring the biggest story, under the illusion that people are bored, basic radio data is being ignored. Leading with the biggest story is what is expected by our audience. Because of social media and other local news sites, you must be on it. We no longer have information exclusivity. News must be timely. Leading with the best is non-negotiable.

I have one thing I just hate: calling your city by a nickname. I have never heard someone at the grocery store refer to a city by a nickname. But I continually hear news people on TV and radio use these lame attempts at seeming local.

Station imaging is key. How many promos are in your station’s rotation? Are these promos focused on the listener? Or are they just patting the station on the back? Because I have a lot going on, I use one of the promo services for news and network show promos. I receive daily promos that I schedule immediately. I don’t hard-time individual show or news promos in the automation templates.

Due to our format’s reliance on time spent listening, a wide range of promos is necessary. I write stationality-style promos that are community-focused. Sometimes these are about real-life scenarios. I try to use humor or other emotional triggers to make them memorable.

These promos have a limited shelf life. But sometimes can be recycled months later. Using anecdotes connects with people. Obviously, we have either 15 or 30 seconds to accomplish this task, so being quick and to the point is key.

Station Liners and What Comes Out of the Speaker

I hate liners that don’t sell forward. Instead of “Clay and Buck weekdays at noon on [station name],” my liners say “Clay and Buck today at noon,” or “tomorrow at noon,” or “Monday at noon.” Everything sells forward. Station liners are either focused on a station attribute, the station attitude, or a special feature.

I promote weekend programming starting on Wednesday afternoon for Saturday programming and Thursday afternoon for Sunday. Currently, I have 47 liners in the rotation, with weekday programming liners in the rotation three times, separated so that those liners don’t come up too close to each other.

I can do a better job with attitude and attribute liners for the station. Refreshing these liners creates the illusion of making the station very active.

OK, you’re busy. You’re doing the tasks of three or more people. As an industry, we are focusing on multiple ways to distribute content, and sometimes that task hinders the most important thing: what is coming out of the speaker.

I don’t care where people are listening to your station or show, or how. No matter the era or the platform, what comes out of the speaker matters first and foremost.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

Why Great Mentors Matter at Every Stage of Your Radio Career

Bob Lawrence
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Why Great Mentors Matter at Every Stage of Your Radio Career

One of my favorite episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond is when Ray discovers that his parents never really thought he was a good writer. This despite always telling him how talented he was while growing up.

“Parents always believe in their kids,” Ray yelled. His mother, Marie, answered with a typical passive-aggressive yet sympathetic smirk. “No, they really don’t,” she said. Of course, the audience erupted in laughter because we’ve all lived it.

Our parents try to mentor us, but they often tell us what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear. We all heard the typical parental motivation. “Oh, you can do anything you set your mind to.”

It started when we were 3 years old and made finger paintings, to which mom said, “Oh my Gosh, you have the talent of a young Marc Chagall.” In truth, they were no better than any other pre-nursery kid’s artwork.

Mentorship can be a true professional advantage or career-enhancement accelerator, but its greatest value runs even deeper. At its most powerful, mentorship creates a two-way exchange that shapes not only the person on the receiving end, but also the person giving it.

When viewed from that perspective, mentorship becomes less about giver and taker and more about shared growth, perspective, and purpose for both people.

The Balance of Mentorship

For the mentee, mentorship offers something that no classroom, book, podcast, or training seminar can replicate. It provides access to a more seasoned professional whose life experience becomes practical wisdom. Mentors shouldn’t just provide answers, but also help refine the questions.

They challenge assumptions, and offer usable context. Hopefully they shorten the learning curve that often takes years to acquire and navigate alone. For someone just beginning a career, or even someone pivoting later in life, the guidance of a mentor can truly be transformative.

However, the real value for the mentee isn’t just tactical or strategic. It’s more psychological. Having a professional believe in your potential. Especially when you’re still figuring things out yourself. Building that confidence in a way that’s hard to manufacture. And it isn’t the type of belief from a parent like Ray’s mom, Marie, who believes in everything you do.

A mentor believes in your skills because they are experienced, honest, and capable of recognizing your true skill set. They may even help you develop one you may not yet possess.

Gain Another Perspective

Mentorship creates a safe space to fail, reset, and try again. It replaces isolation with human and professional connection, while shifting uncertainty into direction. It’s like navigating to a destination using Google Maps rather than trying to find your way with only a written set of directions.

I remember several periods in my career when I felt like I was drifting. It was a handful of mentors who helped guide me through those moments. That’s exactly why someone would choose to seek out a mentor in the first place.

At some point, most people realize that going it alone is slower, harder, and often more frustrating. We all remember asking, “How do I get experience if no one will give me any?” The best advice I can give is to ask for a mentor. It’s a sign of maturity, awareness, and ambition. It demonstrates a willingness to learn and listen by leaning on someone who has already been where you want to go.

People who seek mentorship are usually the ones most serious about improving and making positive, intentional decisions about their future. In all my professional years, I have never come across anyone who refused a request to become a mentor.

From the mentor’s perspective, the value is just as meaningful. Though less obvious at first glance. Mentoring forces reflection. It requires experienced professionals to articulate what they’ve learned, how they earned it, and why it matters. That process sharpens self-awareness and reinforces life lessons that might otherwise fade into oblivion.

Gains To Be Had

I have always loved the mutual energy that comes from working with someone who is hungry and curious. I’ve been blessed to mentor others and have thrived on questions that challenge “the way things have always been done.”

When I worked with Erica Farber at the National Radio Talent System, she would often tell students, “You are the ones who will change the course of the industry. Someone in this very room may figure out things that those of us who came before you couldn’t.”

I always appreciated her perspective because fresh viewpoints from a different generational lens can help shape the future. As a mentor, I always found that both grounding and invigorating. It keeps us all relevant, adaptable, and open to change.

Why be a mentor? I have always considered it an honor.

I can point to so many people who helped me along the way. Mentorship becomes a way to pay that forward. It isn’t a sense of obligation. Instead, it’s genuine fulfillment in helping others grow, solve problems, and achieve their own goals. It provides a sense of purpose that isn’t tied to personal gain, but to impact within the industry.

There’s also a practical benefit.

As mentors, we expand our networks, gain insight from new ideas, and develop stronger leadership and communication skills. I learned early on that mentoring is one of the most effective ways to continue learning while teaching. Growth doesn’t stop with experience; it evolves through sharing that experience with others.

Mentorship isn’t always easy. It takes time, commitment, and often sacrifice.

At its core, mentorship requires trust, honesty, and mutual respect. It’s not about perfection on either side, nor is it about the mentor having all the answers. The best mentor-mentee relationships are the ones in which both individuals are willing to listen, challenge each other, and learn.

In today’s business environment, which prioritizes speed and achievement. Mentorship slows things down just long enough to make the journey more intentional and impactful for everyone involved. While the roles of mentor and mentee may differ, the outcome is shared growth.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

Jake Steinfeld Launches Body By Jake Radio With iHeartMedia and Universal Music

Bethany Kent
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Jake Steinfeld Launches Body By Jake Radio With iHeartMedia and Universal Music

Jake Steinfeld is back — and he’s bringing motivation to the airwaves. The fitness icon has launched Body By Jake Radio in partnership with iHeartMedia and Universal Music Enterprises.

What We Know: Body By Jake Radio is a new iHeartMedia channel blending music, mindset, and motivation. Steinfeld is a cable television pioneer. He created the first exercise segments, the first 24-hour fitness network, and the first exercise playlist. He will host alongside fitness and mental health personalities.

The channel will structure around the day. Energizing listeners in the morning, sustaining them in the afternoon, and helping them unwind at night. And it launches during Mental Health Awareness Month.

What They Said: Steinfeld set the tone clearly: “Like I’ve done all my career, we’re bringing something to the radio landscape that’s never been done before – motivation and inspiration inside the fabric of the best music on the planet. It’ll be 72 and sunny every day at Body By Jake Radio where we are here to encourage people every single day: ‘Don’t Quit!’ Keep pushing forward, no matter what.”

iHeartMedia’s Jon Zellner added, “Mental Health Awareness Month is a powerful reminder to take care of ourselves, and each other, and we’re proud to bring Body By Jake Radio and Jake’s decades of experience helping people feel their best to our listeners.”

Universal Music Enterprises Chairman Bruce Resnikoff said, “I’ve known and worked with Jake for decades, he is a true pioneer who understood early on the powerful connection between music and motivation.”

What Remains Unclear: The full roster of guest personalities is still unknown.

What It Means: Wellness-focused audio content continues gaining momentum across platforms. This launch signals a broader push to blend mental health messaging with mainstream radio. For iHeart, it’s another content play in a competitive streaming landscape.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

iHeartMedia Reports 9.6% Revenue Increase During 2026’s First Quarter

Garrett Searight
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iHeartMedia Reports 9.6% Revenue Increase During 2026’s First Quarter

iHeartMedia has released its 2026 first-quarter financial results. It saw an increase in several sectors.

What We Know: iHeartMedia saw growth in several sectors during the first quarter. Podcast revenue saw the largest increase overall for the company. It jumped up 27% to $147 million during the three-month period.

What the Numbers Show:

Segment 2026 2025 Change
Q1 Revenue $884.2 million $807.1 million ↑ 9.6%
Digital Audio Group Revenue $327.1 million $277.3 million ↑ 18.0%
Multiplatform Group Revenue $493.5 million $473.0 million ↑ 4.3%
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA $93 million $105 million ↓ 11.4%

What They Said: “We are announcing a new savings initiative that will generate an additional $50 million of annualized savings, in addition to our previously announced $100 million of in-year 2026 savings, as well as now paying minimal cash taxes in 2026, which we expect will have a $150 to $200 million impact over the next 3 years. And today we are reaffirming our Full Year Adjusted EBITDA guide of $800 million and our Free Cash Flow guide of $200 million.” -iHeartMedia President/COO Rich Bressler

What It Means: You can see why podcasting is so important to iHeartMedia. Of the $884 million it earned during the window, 16% of its overall revenue comes from the space. The figures also highlight the changing habits in consumption, as Digital Audio Group revenue is inching closer and closer to that of the Multiplatform group, which houses the company’s radio properties.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

FOX Corp. Sees 8.6% Revenue Decline During 2026’s First Quarter

Garrett Searight
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FOX Corp. Sees 8.6% Revenue Decline During 2026’s First Quarter

FOX Corp. reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2026 on Monday. It saw both positives and negatives in the results.

What We Know: While January, February, and March make up the first quarter of 2026, it’s actually the third quarter of the company’s fiscal year. FOX Corp. saw a decrease in its advertising revenue during 2026’s first quarter. That can largely be attributed to Super Bowl LIX airing in the same period during 2025.

What the Numbers Show:

Segment 2026 2025 Change
Distribution $2.107 billion $2.039 billion ↑ 3.3%
Advertising $1.556 billion $2.036 billion ↓ 23.6%
Cable Network Programming $1.741 billion $1.636 billion ↑ 6.4%
Television $2.197 billion $2.704 billion ↓ 18.8%
Total Revenues $3.994 billion $4.371 billion ↓ 8.6%

The company finished the quarter with an Adjusted EBITDA of $954 million. That’s an 11% increase compared to the same quarter in 2025.

What They Said: “Our fiscal third quarter results once again demonstrate continued strength and momentum across our business. This strong performance, led by robust core advertising trends, underscores FOX’s leadership in live programming, bolstered by continued strength at our leading free streaming service, Tubi. Against this backdrop, we are proud to be bringing the world’s biggest sporting event to American homes with the FIFA Men’s World Cup hosted here in North America across June and July. Meanwhile, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering long-term shareholder value supported by our strong balance sheet.” -Lachlan Murdoch

What It Means: Distribution revenue continues to be a growth generator for the company. A 5% growth at the cable network programming level can’t be underestimated. At a time when cord-cutting continues to rise, FOX Corp. has mastered the ability to continue to grow revenue in that sector.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.

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