CRS 37 RECAP

Feb 21, 2006 CRS 37 RECAP

DIVERSITY of TOPICS HIGHLIGHTS EDUCATIONAL ELEMENT OF COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR (CRS-37) Entertainment and Awards Additional Highlight of Seminar NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 21, 2006) ¬ The educational content of this past week's Country Radio Seminar was the most diverse in the 37th year history of the event. Two full days of over 30 panels, workshops and discussion groups touched on numerous topics of interest to all facets of record and radio. The Record Label Head panel was dominated by discussions of digital downloads, radio's relationship with the record industry, the ongoing investigation into that relationship and the decline in the number of new female artists in the format. The Group Heads Panel resulted in consensus that the much-publicized inquiries have resulted in increased policing and education efforts within radio. When it came to High Definition (HD) radio, the discussion was lively and its importance was not so clear-cut with some discussion that the hardware was not widespread enough to make a major impact on consumers at this point. They all agreed that they would be watching this in the future. The special sales panels - featured as part of radio sales day - were well attended and many registrants felt positive about the advice given by the cross section of panelists. The Gettin' R Done with Country Radio panel showed examples of success stories and the value of making compelling presentations. Examples were also shown in the Main Street to Madison Avenue panel and the main point of the discussions was the accessibility of artists and country radio personalities which is important to this format. The controversial discussions of reporting playlist adds dominated the Charts, Dollars and Sense panel. The quality and depth of the information involved in the decision-making was discussed at length. New technologies were discussed in a number of panels and workshops. Their influence as a competitor to radio was obviously a hot topic of discussion for programmers who feel the competition from Internet, television, video games and satellite radio. Small market radio's concerns were spotlighted in two panels; Small Towns ¬ Big Challenges touched on the challenges that small market programmers face in competing with direct or out-of-market competitors on a limited budget. In the How to Get Your Piece of the Pie panel, label representatives and radio programmers discussed how small market stations can get the attention and support of record companies. Kenny Rogers was the special guest at the Life of a Legend panel, hosted by Gerry House. The discussion focuses on the "riding the highs and lows of the entertainment business" and featured a video retrospective on Kenny's career. General Tommy Franks delivered a powerful and humorous keynote speech where he expressed gratitude for the support country radio is giving the US military and shared personal anecdotes from his distinguished military career. Among the many honors and awards given during the seminar were: CRB Career Achievement Award - Ronnie Milsap President¹s Award ¬ Industry veteran Jack Lameier Country Music DJ Hall of Fame -Terry Dorsey, Lon Helton, Arch Yancey Country Music Radio Hall of Fame Jonathan Fricke, Ed Salamon Promotion Winner (Small Market) - WFYR; Peoria, IL Promotion Winner (Medium Market) - KKCS; Colorado Springs, CO Promotion Winner (Large Market) - WQYK; Tampa, FL Tom Rivers Award - John Hines, Morning Air Personality for K102 in Minneapolis, MN Artist Humanitarian Award - Neal McCoy Radio Humanitarian Award (Small Market) - KDXY-FM The Fox; Jonesboro, Arkansas Radio Humanitarian Award (Medium Market) - WIVK-FM; Knoxville, Tennessee Radio Humanitarian Award (Large Market) - WQYK-FM; Tampa, Florida The Secretary¹s Award for Outstanding Service to American Veterans - Toby Keith Many superstar and upcoming artists showcased at the seminar including: Music City Jam, sponsored by the ACM and United Stations Radio Networks, with Keith Urban, Dolly Parton, Pat Green and Ronnie Dunn; Curb Nashville Luncheon with Clay Walker and Bomshel; special independent label showcases by Imperial Records featuring Ricky Hendrix, Monica Meza, Whitney Padgett and special guest Keith Bryant and Rust Records Nashville featuring Shane Owens, PovertyNeck Hillbillies and BlackHawk; Sony Music Nashville Luncheon with Miranda Lambert and Van Zant; Capitol Records Nashville Luncheon with Dierks Bentley and Eric Church in the CMA Performance Hall; BMI WCRS Live! with Miranda Lambert, Craig Morgan, Tim Nichols, Jon Randall and host Bob DiPiero and the New Faces of Country Music Show, sponsored by R&R, with Jason Aldean, Keith Anderson, Jeff Bates, Little Big Town and Hot Apple Pie. Next year's seminar will again be held at the Nashville Convention Center. Its announced dates are Feb. 28 to March 2, 2007. The DJ Hall of Fame Dinner is set for Feb. 27, 2007. For more information on CRS-37 and CRB, Inc. please visit www.crb.org or call 615-327-4487.