There’s a legitimate music industry buzz about XM Satellite Radio’s contemporary hit channel 20on20. Label promo execs feed off the energy, spark and creativity of the channel. The catalyst behind this dynamic at XM is 20on20 Programmer Michelle Boros. As both PD and afternoon drive host at the channel, Michelle’s days are often fast and furious, but never without the creative thought process that goes into the 20on20 programming mix. With an air talent background in Dallas terrestrial radio at both KDGE and KHKS, where she also served as Kidd Kraddick’s assistant producer, Michelle has taken the challenge of her first programming gig on with passion and purpose.
What are your primary responsibilities as PD of XM 20on20?
Part of working here is there are no “primary” responsibilities. You’re responsible for most everything related to your channel and it’s all important. I’m involved in every aspect of the channel, like choosing the music, working with talent, meeting with labels, writing imaging, executing promotions, working on-air and all of the other details that come with being a Program Director. I wear all of the hats for my own channel, and it’s been an amazing experience to learn and grow in all of these different areas.
How would you best describe the philosophy and attitude of the channel?
XM 20on20 is the one-stop shop for the biggest songs and what’s happening today. We’re all about fast, forward momentum and being on the pulse of Pop culture. I try to not just say that, but actually execute it. We play “hits,” but we also play songs with a buzz that won’t be on FM until months later. It’s a very tight playlist, with an A-D-D presentation and lots of attitude.
How personality driven is the channel?
I’d say we hit a good balance. Personalities are definitely involved on the channel without being overbearing. One thing I stress to my jocks is to sound real and not contrived or silly. I really think “schticky” air talents wear old quickly anymore. I also can’t understand why some jocks yell. People want to be spoken to, not barked at. I always encourage jocks to talk like they’re talking to a good friend. We save a lot of the campy stuff and poking fun at current events for our imaging, which is really edgy.
Other than no ad spots, how do you differentiate the channel from terrestrial Top 40 radio to make the listening experience more distinctive?
Oh wow, there’s so many ways. Not having formal commercials is just one aspect, but imagine being able to just talk to people without watching the clock or trying to get in slogans and messages. We actually get to do that here. Ads and slogans are becoming a tune out, and people are so over-marketed to these days. Our focus is on the music and enhancing the subscriber experience as a whole. We want to make sure you’re happy listening to 20on20, but we aren’t afraid to tell you if another channel is playing something you may really enjoy. We also break new music and are definitely more aggressive in that area. I don’t limit the playlist to “Top 40 Radio.” I will stick my neck out on songs that may not be getting “worked” by the labels. Some of our biggest hits have fallen into this category and these are songs that you’d never hear on terrestrial Top 40.
How involved do you get promotionally with your subscriber base?
I’m very selective about promotions on the channel. Again, I think people are so over-promoted to in every way right now. When they’re paying for our service, they’re here. I don’t have to have them ring the cash cow or say the phrase that pays. I’d like to think they’ve come to us to get away from the gimmicks and just be entertained in a more pure way. Remember when MTV used to be about the MUSIC and not about seeing product placement everywhere in videos?
Having said that, I have done promotions that are special ideas; ones that you wouldn’t normally expect to hear. Bigger scale promotions that go above and beyond the “win it before you can buy it” level. This doesn’t mean you have to have a huge budget, just a new presentation on how you do things instead of the same old tired ways.
Michelle and Natasha Bedingfield
Any recent example of a unique promotion you’ve executed that possibly couldn’t be executed on terrestrial radio?
I had this idea to take the “channel takeover” concept to a new level. I wanted to do a miniseries, and I had my eye on Hilary Duff since I know she’s done a lot of TV hosting. It just so happened she was about to go on tour for her CD, Dignity. I thought it would be cool to give her a mobile studio and do the miniseries during her tour, experiencing her everyday environment. Her camp loved the idea, and a week later I was in Hilary’s kitchen in L.A. mapping out the plans with her!
The Dignity Diaries with Hilary Duff was on each week for three hours from wherever she was on the tour…her hotel, on the tour bus or backstage. It aired Fridays at 3p EST, and then again on Saturdays and Sundays.
It’s been great exposure for her and her tour of North America, and a great promotion on the air because it’s so unique. I don’t know if anyone has ever followed an artist around on a grand scale like that. Most terrestrial stations are obviously only concerned with the one show in their market. This worked wonderfully for us though. We could follow the entire tour and give away tickets to any of her shows, since we broadcast to the U.S. and Canada. It sounded amazing to have a big celebrity as a regular personality on the channel. The best part was since it was in her environment, we really got Hilary just being herself and showing what being on her tour was like. It really did feel like you were just hanging out with her and it was so different to hear her run with it with no outside interference. We received great reaction from listeners and also from people in the industry who heard it. I’ve already been approached by other artists to do it next!
How do measure the success of the channel on an ongoing basis and keep it fresh?
I think you can’t ever stop and say, “We’re there.” It’s just an ongoing process, especially in this format. Things are happening at lightning speed in our world today, and if you stop to take a break, you’ll fall a step behind when tomorrow’s next big thing happens. I have to always think of what we could be doing better or differently. I’m one of those people with the pen and paper on the nightstand, because my mind is always going.
We also have a pretty vocal subscriber base, and whether they like something or not, they let us know. I’m grateful for it. I read and answer every email that comes in. Listener feedback is priceless and I appreciate anyone who will take the time to share ideas or thoughts about what we’re doing. After all, we’re here to make them happy.
What is your music philosophy?
It’s simple. I just like to play good music! Of course you play the hits, but what constitutes a “hit” today? Is it chart position? What about the artists selling out venues or selling tons of records with little airplay? What about something getting a huge buzz on different web sites or on the phones? Sometimes, the story is there but programmers let their preconceived notions get in the way. There are a lot of factors to take into account.
I also don’t do adds based on “Rock slots” or “Rap slots”. How can you deny playing a record your listeners want to hear just because you don’t have any “Rap slots”? I always imagine telling a listener that and picturing their reaction. I know what mine would be. In fact, I’m laughing just thinking about that whole idea.
What are the components you look for when adding new music to the mix?
If it’s a core artist, your audience is going to want to hear it. But if not, is there a story? There are so many different avenues for music today. There could be a story with no chart position or airplay. I have my own mix of factors I go through each week. Along with sales, I keep up with airplay charts to see the national picture. I look on MySpace, YouTube, Spin, iTunes, Rhapsody…basically anywhere music is being talked about. I also have a ton of listener friends on MySpace and I take the time to look at their pages. They’re light years ahead of where radio thinks they are. I try not to limit the criteria, but keep it open to the story and why a 20on20 listener would want to hear it. And sometimes it’s just a damn good record.
What allows one record to get on the air faster than another?
Sometimes a song is a no-brainer. When you hear it you know it’s a smash. Other times, there’s a gut factor. There was a little song by Carrie Underwood called “Before He Cheats.” When I first heard the song I put it on the air and said it would be the “Since U Been Gone” of 2007. Everyone thought I was nuts for playing a country artist, but I’ve had success with several of her songs on 20on20. She won the biggest show on television and has sold over 5 million records. People want to hear her! It also drives me nuts when people try to pigeonhole music. I’m the type of person that likes hearing Carrie Underwood, T-Pain AND My Chemical Romance all on the same station. If it’s a good song, you can’t deny it, and you shouldn’t limit your listeners because of old stereotypes of what you should and shouldn’t play.
What kind of audience research do you employ when evaluating the acceptance/progress of your music mix?
I’m constantly scouring for information, not just because I’m a programmer but because I’m generally curious. I watch sales and digital downloads, still a hugely underrated element in my opinion. If an artist sells 5 million albums in today’s poor climate, you better take notice. That’s millions of people in today’s instant gratification society that physically sought out the record and decided to purchase it.
The best research is to actually listen to your listeners. Read their emails, take their calls. We do eight countdowns a day on 20on20, where we play the top 20 songs based on listener votes. That’s usually a pretty great barometer of what they do and don’t like!
How artist driven is the channel, with special features, interviews, etc?
When we do something with an artist at XM we really try to make it special, like the Hilary Duff miniseries. But even traditional interviews can be fun and compelling without dumbing it down. I actually had a Rock band in a few months ago that said, “Thanks for making this fun. We just got asked yesterday at a Top 40 station who would win a fight between us and The Fray…we just wanted to walk out.” Can you blame them?
Kelly Clarkson came in on the day of her CD release, and rather than gloss over her current situation or ask her if she’d mud wrestle with Britney Spears, I let her vent. She ran with it and was totally genuine and real. She let her guard down and it ended up being one of the best interviews I’ve ever done. We had a blast and she ended up staying on the air all afternoon talking with me about every single track on the record. That’s something you don’t hear every day on the radio from an artist of her caliber.
Diddy and Michelle
Do you feel the record industry now recognizes satellite radio as a means to help break new artists?
Absolutely. With XM having over 8 million subscribers, and millions more listening via AOL, DirecTV, United Airlines, AirTran and JetBlue, you’d be silly not to…especially when we have the name of the artist and song right on the radio display. It’s instant gratification for listeners enjoying what they’re hearing and wanting to purchase it. That information is readily available. I have so many people tell me they’ve heard things first on 20on20, and that’s really powerful to me. They’re actually listening and looking to us to help them discover music. We’re not just background noise.
What is your strongest argument to support the notion that your channel can make a difference in the breaking of new artists?
The results we’ve delivered on stepping out on artists and songs. XM 20on20 played an integral part in breaking several artists like Panic! At The Disco, Gorillaz, Fall Out Boy, Regina Spektor, Amy Winehouse, and at Pop radio specifically, Carrie Underwood and My Chemical Romance. In the case of Panic!, I went with an entirely different single than the label was pushing (“I Write Sins Not Tragedies”), and it ended up being their big smash.
People are paying more attention when songs blow up here, because oftentimes it translates into a national success story. After all, our audience is national! We now reach more listeners than New York and LA, so that’s quite a huge exposure. Especially when you consider the few secret weapon records we play that FM Top 40 isn’t on yet (or at all).
What do you think is the most misunderstood concept of satellite radio?
That we aren’t really being heard or it isn’t “real radio”. There’s no bigger proof of the opposite than when I’m on the air and the phones go crazy with people from Seattle to Miami. Also, that we can’t be as good as local radio because we aren’t local. At XM, we have most metropolitan areas covered with instant traffic and weather. We have sports, news, talk and music. Just because we aren’t at the local gas station doesn’t mean we don’t provide great content and local information if you need it. In fact, we have an Emergency Alert channel that focuses solely on emergency areas around the country, constantly giving updated and targeted information. If anything, we provide more than you’ll ever need, no matter where you are.
Who are the most influential people in your world at XM?
Our Chief Creative Officer, Lee Abrams, is insane and I love him to death. He’s my go-to guy whenever I’m creatively blocked, and I don’t know how he’s kept so fresh and non-jaded after all of his years in radio. Eric Logan, our EVP/Programming, is a machine and a master at multitasking. He always inspires me to be more, and I’ll never stop trying to impress him. Our SVP/Programming, Jon Zellner, has taught me to be a better programmer and manager by always keeping his door open for me and all of the programmers at XM. He allows me to do my job but is always there to help when I need guidance.
I’d also have to say I’m greatly influenced by the other Program Directors and incredible staff at XM. We have such a melting pot of talented people here, all with different backgrounds and ideas. We’re our own little family and we help each other a lot. It isn’t competitive because it doesn’t have to be, we’re all on the same team.
**QB Content by Fred Deane **
