Jimmy Steal
Jimmy Steal has been an influential force in radio for years; in fact he’s been voted by his peers as FMQB’s Most Influential Rhythm/Crossover Programmer it seems almost annually. But Steal’s success is well earned with the many stations and companies he’s been involved with over the years including WXXL/Orlando where he helped elevate the station from a 4 share to a 12 share 12+, its highest rank and share ever. As PD at WKRQ/Cincinnati he posted a 7.3 share 12+, its highest rating in 5 years. At KEGL/KDMX/Dallas as Director of Programming and Operations for Clear Channel Dallas, Steal helped KDMX achieved its highest ratings in their 25 year history and KEGL’s highest share 12+ share since the mid 90’s. Steal currently serves as KPWR (Power 106)/KMVN (Movin 93.9) PD and VP of Programming for all Emmis Radio Properties, he has guided KPWR to its highest ratings ever…across all demos! In the most recent Winter 2008 Arbitron, Power 106 is ranked # 1 again in Los Angeles in 18-34 Adults.
e-QB presents excerpts from the June FMQB magazine Rhythm/Crossover Up Close featuring Emmis VP/Programming & Power 106/Los Angeles PD Jimmy Steal
On the status of Power 106 as we near the the midway point of 2008…
Power 106 just received another stellar #1 18-34 adult book. I couldn’t possibly be more proud of Power 106, our entire Power crew, and their commitment and passion. It feeds our daily exrecutional excellence that Arbitron has been great about confirming over the years. Power has had a target on its back for many years and everyone wants a piece of the number 1 18-34 adult radio station in Los Angeles…and they can’t have it! I remember when the Reggaeton station here signed on, and the cover of USA Today (not the cover of the Life section, the actual cover of the entire USA Today!) anointed Reggaeton the next big thing and everyone kept asking us if were going to change formats since they thought Hip-Hop was over! Through creative destruction we have blown up Power 106 several times since I’ve been aboard. It’s always best to attack yourself first instead of waiting until you are attacked from a lame, yet potentially brand-diluting wannabe competitor. We have the best crew ever on Power 106 right now, which is really saying a lot! Big Boy is at the peak of his prowess and is becoming a Hip-Hop cultural icon. We just added Perez Hilton to Big’s already #1 show, and he’s having more fun than ever as we roll out the show across the country in syndication with more announcements shortly forthcoming. I hope you don’t have to compete with him in morning drive. Our home girl Yesi Ortiz in middays is so real and sweet in her presentation, Big Syphe and Eric Delux in afternoons put their party on everyday like no one else in LA, and our award winning, hit record making, mixing night show personality Felli Fell is just blowing up! With KKBT gone we expect some others to follow them out of the format because honestly competing with us is a pretty tough hand to be dealt. Did I mention our competitor’s staffs all want to work here? I read their e-mails to my staff!
On the quality of Hip Hop music in the Rhythmic format…
Our incredible APD/MD E-Man and our hotshot AMD Ryan Dillon, or Feli, our mix show coordinator would probably have a much better answer than me on the music! I do think though that we are in dire need of more Hip-Hop hit making artists that people truly feel an affinity for. Anytime we can have multiple hits from the same artists, fill venues, and get coverage outside of the Hip-Hop world that is always a huge plus. Lately Kanye West has really filled that void. He’s trying to expand the breath of Hip-Hop and you have to love him for doing it!
On music research being overvalued and overused…
I don’t know if it’s my place to say it’s overused or overvalued, but if you are asking me if it’s sometimes misused the answer is yes. Think like a fan, never forget who your audience is, how do they actually use your product? What do they want every time they tune in? And most importantly are you delivering it? Research is a very important part of the decision making process at Power 106 in establishing what the four or five real consensus hits are at any given moment. You need a great crew with great ears that invites receptionists, listeners, AEs, pizza delivery guys, etc. into the music meeting, and then listen to what they say. Weigh that against Big Champagne stats, ring tones, CD sales, video play, and all modes of exposure for an artist or song. Four years ago we put a feature on Power that was nearly an hour of all new music, “New at 2.” Everyone thought I was crazy to feature all new music for almost an hour at two o’clock in the afternoon! Today it’s one of our best hours in Arbitron and is one of our top three station benchmark features, and yes it’s trademarked! Breaking new music is part of the Power 106 brand, though we do it in a fashion that is very well packaged, promoted and programmed. Props to our music crew and our incredible Imaging Director Juice for making these types of Power features jump out of the speakers.
On the biggest issue radio stations are facing nowadays…
I believe there are two of particular urgency. One is Wall Street. As ambassadors of this incredible medium we must constantly remind the financial community, through projects like the NAB’s radio 20/20 initiative, that today radio remains incredibly viable to our audiences that continue to consume it with great zeal. PPM shows audiences doubling and tripling! How exciting is that?! A few major market station cumes even beat out TV networks, satellite radio and the so called cable “giants.” Combine our massive cumes with an the insatiable appetite for new music, and an incredible passion and buzz surrounding new artists, and the creative new opportunities they have in marketing themselves, it all makes for quite an enthralling recipe! The second urgent issue to our industry is keeping our unique entertainment brands vital to kids coming up, by making our brands digital or platform agnostic. Almost five years ago Carly Fiorina, the CEO of HP at the time, said this at an NAB
“In the digital era, the future is one in which consumers watch or listen to what they want to watch, when they want, at any time they want, on any device”.
This has become a mission statement of sorts at Emmis. It was a theme we organized our corporate meetings around several years ago and has become intertwined in how we do business everyday. We realized as everyone does now, that we are not radio programmers, we are stewards of great brands that are delivered over a variety of portals with the sole purpose of meeting the entertainment needs and expectations of our audiences. Another quote that frames this thinking a bit more widely and we’ve all been living since it was uttered a few years ago by the CEO of NBC Universal Television Group Jeff Zucker. “We will see greater changes in the media industry in the next five years than we have in the last 50 years.”
On the development of HD Radio…
I love HD radio. Rich Dalton out of Emmis/St. Louis is our HD champion at Emmis. Here’s an excerpt of his HD “manifesto” he sent out to all our Emmis PDs.
“The reason for this letter is the biggest development in radio since the birth of FM rock….HD Radio, specifically the HD2 stations that all of our stations have at their disposal. I have had the great pleasure for the past year in creating a really excellent radio station. Right now, we all have the opportunity to create something of quality that can again impact the radio industry as powerfully as the advent of FM! One thing is very clear and very important….HD2 stations must get their own audiences! We do this by appealing to those who may be currently disenfranchised from radio and listening to alternative audio sources….We also need to establish with the audience and advertisers that HD is a newer technology than iPods, satellites or the Internet. Terrestrial radio must grow to thrive and the HD2 stations must get their own audiences. Otherwise you have only fragmentation rather than growth.”
Pretty passionate and pretty right on! In LA I love programming our KMVN HD2 station which plays a wide variety of Rock that is unavailable elsewhere in the market. One could hear the following artists in any given hour: Stereophonics, Replacements, Star Spangles, The National, The Jam, Duffy, Oasis, and Mott The Hoople. I’ve found that there is just as much passion amongst listeners to not only discover new music, but to also discover “new” old music they might have missed due to lack of exposure or simply their age. Our KMVN HD2 here in LA was the incubator for our new New York rock station “WRXP – The New York Rock Experience”….and boy has that been a blast getting on the air. We are reviving a dormant New York rock culture in market #1!
On more effective ways radio stations and record companies can work together…
For me I gravitate towards people who get our stations, are music fans themselves, understand our audiences and can help us dream up unique entertaining experiences to share with our audiences. I wish they would call off the RIAA, I feel a lot of empathy for those employed by the labels because their companies have fallen short in their transition to the digital age. I can’t find a business model anywhere where suing your customers has a positive outcome for anyone. I’m just hoping that enough energy is being spent in figuring out the new world as it’s trying to hold on to the old one. A few weeks ago I went to the worldwide A&R convention here in Hollywood, the excitement was palpable. Hits are coming from every corner of the world, from acts signed and unsigned. It’s such an exciting time. I’m not a gloom and doom person and the opportunities that lie in front of us all both in radio and records are much more exciting than they are daunting.
On what keeps you excited about radio after all these years…
Everyday I wakeup and get to say good morning to Big Boy and Rick Dees. I get to work with Val Maki who is the quintessential manager and Regional Emmis VP based here in LA. And working with Dianna Jason and Fernando Lujan who make our promotions rock! I get to see a mature brand through its various life cycles, and I get to nurture a baby brand called “Movin 939” into becoming a viable big sister to its little brother Power 106. Power targets young Latinos where Movin targets adult Latinas – noteworthy in the last 30 days (Mar-Apr) 25-54 females AQH listening has nearly doubled which is very exciting! I get to bring talented new people to Emmis like [Power 106 AMD] Ryan Dillon and [(Movin APD] Ricci Filiar, who is doing just a tremendous job. I get to speak with and learn from, the best Emmis PDs, incredible on-air talent, and the best researchers in the industry. I’m involved in our new media initiatives, I get to help WRXP launch in New York and when I’m not traveling I get to come home to my very patient wife Juli, and wonderful kids Ally and Dylan, so what’s not to be excited about?
**QB Content by Bob Burke**
Also in the June Issue:
Street Scenes
Ray J, Yung Berg, Sean Kingston, Rihanna, Nelly, Duffy
