RHYTHM: KQKS (KS 107.5/Denver) APD/MD John E. Kage

John E. Kage

John E. Kage’s radio career started back in the Twin Cities as a nightclub DJ, but not just any DJ…his passion for music while tracking trends and keeping a tight scheduled playlist of hits made him very good at his job and some guys from the local radio station took notice. They encouraged Kage to go after an internship at KDWB/Minneapolis. Nowadays Kage calls Denver home where he has served as APD/MD of KQKS (KS 107.5) for nearly a decade. John E. Kage is without question one the format’s most passionate music guys and his focus and attention to detail is sure to make him one of the format’s next great programmers.

eQB presents excerpts from the October FMQB magazine Rhythm/Crossover Up Close with KQKS (KS 107.5) APD/MD John E. Kage

On how the station been able to maintain consistency without becoming complacent…
[KQKS PD] Cat Collins hired the right people quite honestly. We have professional radio people on this staff with a lot of veteran leadership and talent. We have two or three people each who can image, who are passionate about music and who excel at the web. Someone always has the next idea, the next piece of imaging, or the next inspiration. We enjoy winning, we’re all competitive and we’re all inspired. Our General Manager Bob Call and Lincoln Financial Media have certainly allowed us the tools to be successful.

On the excitement of trying to find the hits and where those next potential hits are being found nowadays…I do get excited about finding hits. I look everywhere you can look. All the Internet sites of course, I run the playlists of about eight to ten stations we watch each week and highlight anything they’re playing that we’re not on and call or email them for their thoughts. I run the Top 40 list to see what’s hot and what has the potential to cross over and that goes for Urban too. You Tube is another place I’ve found records recently that otherwise may not have made it on but became powers. About two months ago I’m sitting in the theater and up comes this song over a preview. The song hit me immediately and I went home and looked it up and told Cat about it the next day. That song was M.I.A. “Paper Planes.” A hit can come from anywhere.

On defining a hit record…I am looking for a mass appeal record with a great hook that fits the expectations of the KS 107.5 listener. Simple as that. I want to hear that strong melody. I don’t want to be waiting longer than 55 seconds for the hook and if the hook’s up front even better. I’ll tell you the most perfect record I’ve heard in some time is the T.I. & Rihanna “Livin’ Your Life.” It has a Top 40/Rhythm and Hip-Hop star both present. The hook knocks you out and the melody is strong. Men and women and all ethnicities should like it. That should be an easy #1 record. But after it’s on, what REALLY defines a hit? Ask any programmer who has ever put together a year end countdown how many real hits they played that year. Usually fifteen to twenty REAL hits and then a whole lot of records that had a nice run. A real hit to me achieved power status and was loved by the entire audience, and gets up around 1,500 total spins here. Those are the smashes. That’s what we make a living off of and we need them. That’s my criteria. A label may tell you that achieving Top 10 is a hit, and they may be right. But it’s different for each of us.

On the health of the Rhythmic format now…Hip-Hop’s dead right? Until Lil Wayne drops “Lollipop” and then it’s the hottest record in chart history. We’ve always only had a handful of big stars at any given time. Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kanye West, Nelly, Ludacris, Lil Wayne and T.I. We’ve lived off an album’s worth of material from those guys at one point or another in past years and in between releases from our big stars we scrap for hits. Many harder sounds aren’t the right fit for KS 107.5 so during those times when that’s all I have to look at, it gets a little rough. But right now Kanye, Lil Wayne and T.I. have all given us some great material to work with so it feels healthy at the moment and I expect it to be through the fourth quarter. Mix in the Chris Brown’s,Rihanna’s and Ne-Yo’s around that and you’ve got a pretty nice Rhythmic play-list as it stands today. 

On what makes a great Music Director…It all starts with the talent to hear hit music as it pertains to your market and competitive situation, and just as important is having your priorities in order. You need to know your audience and their timing of course. What do they gravitate to quickly? What do they typically reject? What takes more time? What defines mass appeal for your market? I call or email up to ten music directors or programmers each week to take the pulse of records we’re not on yet. I know the differences between our stations and the signs to look for. You’d be surprised what information you can get. Sometimes a record is on because of a show. Sometimes I see five stations are 45 spins but they tell me it’s not looking good and they’re about to come off. I have saved myself from a mistake many times by networking.

I consider the discipline to stay off a record I’m not sure of and my willingness to seek information to back up my gut, my greatest strength. At the same time, Cat and I heard the T.I. featuring Rihanna one time and we dubbed it in and it was on ten minutes later. But I don’t go looking for that to happen. I let it happen when it’s right. I’m patient. If I hear from a label, “Hey sorry it didn’t work but thanks for spinning it,” I just played a stiff. If I hear “I told you so,” I just played a hit. I’ll take the “I told you so” every time. The entire end game for me is my hit to miss ratio after a record’s life is over at KS 107.5.

On what’s important for record labels to understand about KQKS when it comes to promoting new music…Usually I will already know your record and how it fits at KS 107.5. You’re not going to put a record on the air that doesn’t fit what we do or that we’re not ready for. Your chart position isn’t so important to me, however there are eight to ten radio stations that are very important to me because I know who is in their callout and what their similarities are to KS 107.5. I will have already tracked it on their playlists if we’re holding off and I will have already asked them for their thoughts and current results, so be honest with me. Please keep me informed of your thoughts and feelings on the record’s progress and your commitment to it and any stories and indicators you may have so I know you’re still heading in the right direction. Most importantly, no matter what our initial opinion may be of a particular record, it’s just that – an opinion, and if it shows what it needs to show, we’ll play it. I have no problem with being proven wrong. 

On what its like working under such a seasoned PD like Cat Collins…The best! You look at where he comes from out there at WJMN in Boston and the success he’s had here, and you know KQKS is in good hands. He’s hired a great staff of self motivated professional radio people who all understand what we are and who we need to be. We brand, we entertain, we play the hits, we’re consistent, we’re disciplined and we win! That’s all a result of Cat’s leadership and decision making through the years. There is a reason I’ve stayed at KS 107.5 for nine years. Believe me…I’ve absorbed everything I can.

On the technology front as it relates to serving the audience…I want to see cell phones pick up radio frequencies as a normal, everyday, standard feature. I’ve been screaming that for two years now. I see YouTube and I look at the iPhone and I just envision a marriage of all of it branded under a set of call letters. Radio is local and so spontaneous and entertaining. I truly believe radio can thrive if we all look for ways to make the interaction relevant, fun and exciting.

On future programming opportunities…I’ve done mornings, middays, afternoon drive, nights, Imaging Director, Music Director and Assistant Program Director. I’ve done CHR/Top 40 and Rhythm. Programming is really all that I have left to accomplish and I am fully confidant in my ability to do so. As APD of KQKS I have learned from one of the very best in Cat Collins for almost ten years. You look at the success of his mentors at WJMN in Boston and I like the foundation Cat has instilled in me to stand on. I have a tremendous love for this radio station and I am loyal to it. I live a great life in Denver. I own a home here, my son was born here, we’re successful and this staff is like my family. But one day the right situation will present itself at the right time and it will happen. I’d like it to be here one day. 

** QB Content by Bob Burke **