February 14, 2024 • 24 mins
Steve Reynolds is a renowned radio talent coach focusing on Top 10 Talent.
With a career that started in the 1990s, he has worked his way up from on-air positions to programming and management roles at notable stations including the legendary WRAL.
In 2001, he established the Reynolds Group, offering innovative strategies and assistance to top shows and stations across the country.
In this episode, Steve unveils ways to conquer the fear of change and embrace it, as the world is constantly evolving. He emphasizes the importance of staying relevant and updated, encouraging radio shows to constantly adapt and modernize their content to maintain a connection with their audience.
Steve also offers some interesting ways for you to become multimedia stars, with a presence on TV, social media, and of course, within the community,
Steve has also written for major media publications and regularly speaks at industry events.
Time-Stamped Highlights:
(01:58) Steve shares some of the biggest opportunities for local radio hosts and stations today, as the industry reacts to current conditions.
(05:01) The question is never how to make mistakes, but rather, how to avoid them. Steve identifies some of the most common and suggests ways to avoid them.
(07:23) If you'd like to keep up with changing trends in the radio industry and stay ahead of the curve, Steve has some interesting insights.
(10:41) Steve shows some Top 10 Market strategies for building and maintaining an audience in today's competitive radio landscape, and how they can be done in ANY market.
One-Minute Martinizing (tap here)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Steve (00:00):
I tell talent if you don't like change, then you will really hate
irrelevance because the world aroundus all day long is changing and you
have to change and modernize and updateyour show all the time because it's
art, it's living and it's breathingand the biggest mistake I hear are
shows that are frightened of change.
(00:21):
Welcome to Brand With On Demand,your guide to rebooting radio.
Talent today need to be multimediastars and their companies.
have to support and give them theresources to elevate them there.
It's no longer good enoughjust to be great on the radio.
You have to be great on the radio, butyou have to have a television presence, a
(00:42):
community presence, uh, you have to havea social media presence, and they all have
to Interact with one another in a, in away that is generated by content bandwidth
VO (00:53):
on demand.
Rebooting radio with a differenttake on all radio can be.
Now your guides throughthe media morph ssis.
David Martin and author ofthe book, bandwidth Media
Branding, coach Kipper McGee.
Dave (01:09):
If you Google the term radio top 10 talent coach, you're likely
to see the name Steve Reynolds.
Yeah, Steve Reynolds.
He's the guy that began his on aircareer in the 90s, worked his way
up to programming and managementpositions at stations, including the
legendary WRAL, among many others.
(01:30):
In 2001, he started the Reynolds Group,helping radio stations across the country.
He's known for his innovative andeffective strategies that improve
radio programming and get goodratings in all kinds of formats.
And he's helped launch and relaunchmany successful radio stations.
He's written for the bigmedia publications, a frequent
speaker at industry events.
(01:50):
And this time around brand with ondemand is proud to welcome back the
top 10 talent coach, Steve Reynolds.
Kipper (01:56):
Hey,
Steve (01:57):
Steve.
Goodness.
Cue the cue, the golf applause.
I couldn't know David.
I could never live up to that intro.
That's insane.
It's insane.
Oh, we have no doubt.
It's great to be back with you guys.
I adore this podcast and I'mjust so happy to be conversing
with you on all things radio.
Really important.
(02:17):
So
Kipper (02:18):
the last time that you joined us was right before
the pandemic, as I recall.
So now that we had kind of a chance tofigure out what is yet another new normal.
We get the challenges, but thequestion really is, what do you see
as some of the bigger opportunitiesfor the shows, especially those
that are doing local radio
Steve (02:39):
today?
Yeah.
For me, one of the, one of mytakeaways from COVID was how desperate
listeners are for connection.
You know, radio has some Superpowersand its intimacy to me has always been
probably at the very top of the list.
Our superpowers just, I mean, it'swhat the three of us learned when
(03:03):
we were young and in the businessand growing one to one, it's just
you and it's me and that's it.
And what we learned in covid wasThough the numbers were down, listening
was less, people were at home,most of our listening is in cars.
People are desperate to connectwith other human beings.
(03:24):
I don't know if you guys, youguys both have the internet
where you live now, don't you?
The interweb
Kipper (03:29):
has reached, yes, it has reached us.
Steve (03:33):
You know, the world is, if you spend five minutes a day on the internet,
the world is a difficult I'll say it,ugly place sometimes and our intimacy
brings people safety and takes fear away.
And we can remind people how nicethe world can be if we're nice
to them and connect with them.
And there's a very interestingarticle in the New York Times.
(03:57):
The Surgeon General.
As we tape this, in the last week wrotean op ed in the New York Times about
something I talk to shows on all the time,the epidemic of loneliness in the world.
We're all on social media, we all aretexting all day long, and you know, I
check Facebook 45, 000 times a day, andmost people feel lonely, they feel alone.
(04:25):
And I would say the opportunity that haspresented itself in this, this new normal
that you reference, Kipper, is for us.
To be that companionship withthe listeners without ever
sacrificing our relevancy, oursense of humor, our honesty.
We do it through our authenticity.
If we don't take advantage of thatin all the ways in which we can have
(04:46):
a relationship with this listener,we'll never build that, that loyalty
through connection that will makeus relevant and powerful again.
In this fractured media landscape, Steve,
Kipper (05:00):
that's a
Dave (05:01):
good point, but what are some of the common mistakes
that radio personalities make?
And how can they
Steve (05:06):
be avoided?
Well, let's play off that theme of fear.
I mean, David, there's a lot ofthere's talent that are scared.
They're scared about their jobs.
They're scared with the world around them.
They're scared of change.
Before I moved to where I live inRaleigh, North Carolina, to do mornings
(05:26):
at WRDU, I was, you know, I was,I remember like it was yesterday.
It was the 80s.
I was with my mother in her brown Delta 88Oldsmobile on the freeways of Los Angeles.
We had gone back to her workplacewhere my contract was faxed.
(05:47):
And I had never seenanything like this before.
And I'm an insecure 25 yearold and I'm reading this
contract in the car and I get.
More and more worried aboutwhat am I signing here?
This seems serious and my mother saidwell, what's the worst that could happen?
And I said I could fail and shesaid so what so what if you fail
(06:10):
in Raleigh you pick yourself up?
You dust yourself off you move onto the next thing She said Stephen
because she's one of very few peoplewho called me Stephen So if either
of you call me Stephen before theend of our Time today, I'll, I'll
think you're channeling my mother.
She said, she said, Stephen, theonly thing that can't be undone
is jumping off of a building.
(06:30):
You jump, you're obligated.
Gravity takes over.
You can't undo that.
So why don't you embrace thechange in your life and go and
see about this job in Raleigh?
Well, here we are guys.
I don't even want to giveyou how many years later.
It's measured in decades.
I love where I live.
I see great opportunity here.
I tell talent, if you don't like change,then you will really hate Irrelevance
(06:54):
because the world around us all daylong is changing and you have to
change and modernize and update yourshow all the time because it's art.
It's living and it's breathing andthe biggest, the biggest mistake I
hear are shows that are frightenedof change and we as managers of those
people have got to do the work totake that fear away so that our shows.
(07:17):
Stay in constant connectionwith wherever the audience is
in that moment, emotionally.
Kipper (07:23):
So, moving forward, how can smarter radio people, and we've always
got the A students and then some others.
So taking that in a slightly differentdirection, how can the smart radio people
Really keep up with all of the changingthings and trends and all of that,
which you're kind of talking about tofind that opportunity that we all have.
(07:48):
And, and part of my question is aprocess of elimination because we're
all over flooded with information.
So what would you recommend forthem to distill, not so much for
their show prep, but for their life
Steve (08:03):
prep?
So your question is, how can smartpeople keep up with the changing trends?
That's easy, that's easy, Kipper.
That's, that's easy for me.
Find smarter people.
I mean, when I was, when I was a youngair personality, and I was kind of finding
my way, I, I was that guy, again, backto when all of us were young in the
(08:27):
business, we'd send off five inch reels.
Right.
And resumes and package.
Remember those days?
Sure.
Oh, sure.
I remember getting a letter from aprogram director who turned me down, and
he said, you sound like you're trying tofind your ways as a, as a morning person.
And they were right.
And then this line thatI've never forgotten.
(08:48):
To copy one is plagiarism, to copysix is research, go do your research.
I've never forgotten that line.
The benefit of what I do as a talentcoach now is that every hour I'm
in the face of a different show.
And I see how different they all areand how they make decisions and how
they use strategy and what their take ison the world and their sense of humor.
(09:11):
I think you have to findpeople smarter than you.
It's kind of trite to say that.
I think you have to do the work to becomfortable, to be open, to be influenced
by a handful of people you trust.
Who will challenge how you view allof this, so your thinking is evolving.
And how you view it changesback to that change.
(09:32):
Again.
I think that's what you do.
I'm, I'm super lucky that over the span ofmy career, I mean, I always say that Steve
Reynolds as a person doesn't really exist.
I'm, I'm a Frankenstein.
That's I'm a Frankenstein.
All I am is an amalgamation ofall the smart people that I've
been lucky enough to run into.
And then I, Suck them dry of everything,you know, that I find to be great.
(09:57):
And that becomes part of my ethosas a, as a radio professional.
I mean, there are days that JohnColeman can't get out of bed.
I've taken so much from John.
I mean.
John might be, you know, my, my,one of my, I call him my rabbi when
I'm in trouble, I call him my rabbi.
But there are, there are many thatI've surrounded myself with, and
(10:18):
then I try to remember that whenI'm talking, I ain't learning.
So just ask a lot of questions,take in the input, sift through
what's important and not, and thatbecomes part of your philosophy.
And that's what I try to do withshows as well, is just find smarter
people and ask lots of questionsand be influenced by them so that
my thinking doesn't fall into a rut.
(10:40):
That's a good
Dave (10:40):
point, Steve.
What would you say some of theeffective strategies are for building
and maintaining an audience intoday's ultra competitive world?
Steve (10:50):
Well, okay, so here we are, and uh, you know, it's not 1985 any longer,
just you and a couple of other good showsin your market, and TV is nowhere on
the map and the internet doesn't exist.
And so Spotify is in the future andFacebook's in the future and Twitter's in
the future and Instagram's in the future.
Talent today need to be multimedia stars.
(11:12):
And their companies have tosupport and give them the
resources to elevate them there.
It's no longer good enoughjust to be great on the radio.
You have to be great on the radio,but you have to have a television
presence, a community presence.
Uh, you have to have a socialmedia presence and they all have
to interact with one another ina, in a way that is generated by
(11:36):
content, wherever that audience is.
Why do they choose to interact withyou on that platform in that way?
It's because of thecontent that you offer.
So you can't do great content on theair and then say, Hey, on Facebook,
we're going to tell everyonewhat's coming up on the show today.
That's blah, blah, blah toFacebook users, and they're going
(11:57):
to do what they do to a break.
They're just going to scroll past you.
So there needs to be a content strategythat is married under what your brand
represents, what your show is about.
And it needs to permeate all ofthese platforms, and you have
to have a presence everywhere.
I look at, I'm fascinated, I wouldlove to have an inside seat in iHeart.
(12:17):
I have a zillion questionsabout what was done.
I'm going to use this word.
I think it's crass.
I don't mean it in a crass way.
So I apologize.
I can't think of a more delicate word.
What was done to create RyanSeacrest and Bobby Bones?
Because both of them aremore than just radio stars.
(12:38):
No matter, if I turn left andright, that's where they are.
I mean, I've always believedthat there's a Ryan Seacrest.
Factory somewhere that just churnsout Ryan Seacrest to go do all of the
things that Ryan does but each feedson the other And they're each of them
are bigger Perceived as bigger starsand more valuable to their companies
because they have a presence everywhereand I want to know how did that happen?
(13:02):
That talent need to have a businessmanager who will help them put
that together and our our forwardthinking companies need to find their
talent who can have that personaand help them develop that business
plan, a model by which they ascendto that for as God rest your soul.
(13:23):
Day Medina used to say a gigastarso that they can be gigastar.
Kipper (13:28):
Right.
You know, that raises kind of aninteresting question in that we've
got the Ryan Seacrest, we've got theBobby Bones, we've got a few more on
kind of smaller levels, a little bitmore smaller galaxies, if you will,
but they're still kind of superstars.
But yet, when you think back, Imean, In the early days of rock and
(13:50):
roll, of course, Alan Freed was onewho was all over the place until
he wasn't, for obvious reasons, butDick Clark, too, was one of them.
He's a TV producer.
He was host of a number of shows.
We still have New Year's Rockin Evenamed after him, years after his passing.
I guess one question I would ask youis, why do you think there aren't
(14:14):
A few more Bobby Bones and RyanSeacrest or have been over the years.
And is that an opportunity for peopleto really strive to have more of
a global 360 plan for their careerrather than just a radio show?
Steve (14:32):
Yeah, excellent question.
I don't know why we don't have more.
I mean, the easy, the easy answer, and Idon't think it's the valid answer, is that
we've not been committed to creating them.
Um, you know, as, as the industry hasbecome smaller and money is a critical
element of the thought process of thestations, you need those resources.
(14:55):
We can't hope our talent there.
We have to have, um, we have to commitresources to do it, and I think because
of In, in some respects how the industryhas changed, we've not had that resource
necessary to create them and we've becomemaybe shorter term thinking than we should
in, in, in some instances, um, and notevery talent has the money to employ
(15:17):
these people to help them become them.
And then we all, we become abouttomorrow's show or next week's show
and not what I want my career to be.
And so.
In no way is this an indictmenton any company or any talent.
We just have not thought about this.
And I think if we're going to continueto stay relevant into the future, and I
think our industry is immensely relevant.
(15:39):
I think if we are going to stayrelevant, and we're going to do it
through talent, and we're going to doit with long term game plans to create.
These, these giga stars, if I might,for the benefit of the radio station
and the cluster and the company,
Dave (15:52):
the always amazing Steve Reynolds from the Reynolds group.
He's a great coach.
Hey, somebody you'd love to hear from.
We'd love to hear your suggestions,email us show at brand with on demand.
com.
Kipper (16:07):
And we'd also love to hear from you online.
Just get in touch.
We're at brand with plus on Insta,Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,
brand with P L U S brand withplus, and we'll see you there.
Dave (16:23):
Coming up, Steve shares some of the best advice he's ever gotten,
both personal and professional
Steve (16:30):
music master, less stress.
Yes.
Spot (16:33):
Hi, this is Jerry Butler from the team at Music Master.
One of my favorite tips forclassic format programmers is to
use the breakable one day one houroffset rule for artist keywords.
It's not just for songs.
That way your listeners won'thave the same sampling of artists.
Each time they tune in and weturn the variety knob up to 11.
If you want to know more easyways to keep your station
(16:54):
sounding fresh, contact us today,
Steve (16:57):
music, master music, scheduling, the way it should be.
Listen today, lead tomorrow on demand.
Dave (17:06):
We are with Steve Reynolds, probably one of the greatest
coaches that you could ever even
Steve (17:11):
want to be around.
And he's got the best adviceand we'd like to ask him now,
Dave (17:16):
Steve, what's the best media advice that you've ever gotten?
Steve (17:21):
Wow.
What a question, David.
Can I give two pieces of advicethat I've received in my life?
that I want to share.
I'm going to tell youabout two pieces of advice.
One personal piece of advicethat impacted me professionally.
And I want to give you a piece ofprofessional advice I was given
that impacted me personally.
(17:42):
First, the personal piece of advice.
Years ago, when I was young, trying tofind my way as a talent, someone said
to me, why don't you go have counseling?
Why don't you go to Therapist?
Figure yourself out.
And I'm always game for many newadventures, although kind of safe, but
that's, you know, it's kind of dangerous.
(18:03):
Let's go and learn about Steve.
And so every Wednesday at noon, Ihopped in my car when I programmed
WRAL in Raleigh, and I'd stop at asubconscious sub shop on Hillsborough
Street by NC State's campus.
And I picked up a sub and I'd driveto Durham where I visited with Dr.
Katherine Fulkerson.
Every Wednesday at noon for seven years.
(18:26):
Probably four years longerthan I needed to go.
Every great thing in mylife came from that work.
And I think if I were on the airtoday, I would be much more genuine and
authentic and real with the audience.
What I learned about me brought meso many good things professionally
that I share with talent.
Um, there are talent 20 years ofcoaching, where I've very softly said,
(18:51):
maybe, maybe you should see someone.
About that, all that they're upsetwith their partner consistently or they
can't break through or they're veryscared about their work environment.
I was that typical.
I was that guy that when I was onthe air that I would walk by the
boss's door was closed and I hadabsolutely convinced myself that I
(19:15):
was the topic of conversation on theother side and they were discussing
how I was going to be fired.
It's delusional.
I look back on, I'm embarrassed thatI thought that, but I was that guy.
I mean, it's therapy, I think,that brought me to the ability
to share that with you.
I'm a big fan of Brene Brown and herconversation about vulnerability, all
(19:35):
of this, for me to understand me betterso I can be a better professional for
the shows I work with, and if I wereon the air to be a better talent.
So to the person who gave me that personaladvice, I don't think they realized what
impact it would have on me professionally.
I received a lot of professionaladvice when I started the company.
That I can share with you, but the onethat I wish to in this conversation
(19:57):
came from Pierre Bavard, who right nowworks for Westwood One, great guy at
the time he worked for Coleman Researchat the time and that Coleman Insights.
And I said to Pierre, okay,gonna start the company.
Give me a piece of advice.
And Pierre said to me, this, I'veheld on to this for 20 plus years.
Pierre said to me, whateveryou have, give it away.
(20:18):
And I'm like, hmm, what does that mean?
He said, not going to tell you,and you'll know it when you see it.
And what he was telling me was,to create value from a business
perspective, but more so, justbecause it's the right thing.
If you have a skill set, and someoneknocks on your door, Give it to them.
(20:41):
Just give it to them.
And I've had that, um, as part of myphilosophy as a person, that I, in my
time in doing this work, I've nevertaken money but twice from talent.
And, and I won't share who they are.
You know, both of them, they are.
Multimillionaires, both of them, andthey had the resources to pay me.
(21:05):
And so I made exceptions generally.
It's like, I want the company topay me because the company has the
larger upside of the ad revenueif we make the ratings go up.
So if a talent calls and says,Hey, I want to employ you.
I say, nope, you don't make much andI'm not going to take your money.
I'll work for free.
So if talent comes knocking on my doorand asks me to review a break, listen to
a show, um, give them a piece of advice.
(21:27):
My answer 100 percent of the time is yes.
Because it means they're not gettingit in their building, uh, they're
not getting it because probably theirprogram director or managers are just
too busy managing a zillion other things.
And so they've come to mebecause I might've said
something that intrigued them.
So I'm going to give it to them for freebecause that's the right thing to do.
(21:50):
And that piece of professional advice.
Has impacted me personally because I feellike when I wrap all this up, I've done
my share of making the industry better.
And I feel better aboutSteve because of that.
Good stuff.
(22:10):
So Steve, since
Kipper (22:12):
we got
Steve (22:13):
you here,
Kipper (22:13):
I'm going to ask one more question.
Steve (22:17):
If you had
Kipper (22:18):
one piece of advice, just one that you were going to be giving somebody
that's just starting out the business.
What
Steve (22:25):
would it be?
Can I, I can't negotiate theone piece of advice, Kipper.
I never have just one piece of advice.
Kipper (22:33):
Okay.
You're a tough bargain.
Steve (22:36):
Go for it.
Well, first, be a good person.
I listened to your interviewwith Phil Becker from Alpha.
I don't know Phil, but youasked him a question about
what he looks for in talent.
And I was captured when I heard that.
For those listening to this, goback and listen to the Phil Becker
conversation if you haven't.
It's brilliant.
And he said he's looking fortalented people, be a good person,
(22:58):
make this about everyone elsebefore you make it about you.
I think from a practical standpoint,the one piece of advice I would
give Kipper is get to know people.
We are an incredibly small industryand the people who are in this industry
still are great human beings at thehighest level of all of these companies.
Some of them get bad raps becausethey're the big bad suit, but we.
(23:21):
I know them because my company is sortof designed to know them and they're
all smart and great human beings.
They may not be able to return an email orcall you back because they got a billion
things going on, but if you go to aconvention, pull one of these people over.
They'll give you all the time in theworld because they're good people.
(23:42):
Go network.
And if you get to know those folks atthe highest level, you'll learn something
and opportunities will open for you.
Dave (23:50):
The talent coach, Steve Reynolds.
Great to have him on the pod today.
We have links to his websitesand great articles and more in
our regular show notes, email.
We'll send it out before every episode.
You can easily get it.
Just scroll down, enter yourinformation for your free
Steve (24:06):
subscription.
Kipper (24:07):
As always, our thanks to exec producer, Cindy Huber
and associate producer, Hannah
Steve (24:12):
B and coming up
Kipper (24:14):
next.
Hi,
Steve (24:15):
it's
Eryn (24:15):
Erin Cooper on the next brand with on demand, find out how any and
all broadcast and digital skills can betransferable to radio, how to embrace.
Um, and how I was a news reporterthat became a professional fangirl.
Dave (24:29):
That's a wrap Kipper.
Nothing's going to changearound you until you change.
We'll talk about change inthe One Minute Martinizing.
Find it in show notesat BrandwithOnDemand.
com.
Steve (24:41):
I'm Dave Martin.
And I'm Kipper McGee.
Kipper (24:43):
May all your brand with
Steve (24:45):
be wide.
I tell talent if you don't like change, then you will really hate
irrelevance because the world aroundus all day long is changing and you
have to change and modernize and updateyour show all the time because it's
art, it's living and it's breathingand the biggest mistake I hear are
shows that are frightened of change.
(00:21):
Welcome to Brand With On Demand,your guide to rebooting radio.
Talent today need to be multimediastars and their companies.
have to support and give them theresources to elevate them there.
It's no longer good enoughjust to be great on the radio.
You have to be great on the radio, butyou have to have a television presence, a
(00:42):
community presence, uh, you have to havea social media presence, and they all have
to Interact with one another in a, in away that is generated by content bandwidth
VO (00:53):
on demand.
Rebooting radio with a differenttake on all radio can be.
Now your guides throughthe media morph ssis.
David Martin and author ofthe book, bandwidth Media
Branding, coach Kipper McGee.
Dave (01:09):
If you Google the term radio top 10 talent coach, you're likely
to see the name Steve Reynolds.
Yeah, Steve Reynolds.
He's the guy that began his on aircareer in the 90s, worked his way
up to programming and managementpositions at stations, including the
legendary WRAL, among many others.
(01:30):
In 2001, he started the Reynolds Group,helping radio stations across the country.
He's known for his innovative andeffective strategies that improve
radio programming and get goodratings in all kinds of formats.
And he's helped launch and relaunchmany successful radio stations.
He's written for the bigmedia publications, a frequent
speaker at industry events.
(01:50):
And this time around brand with ondemand is proud to welcome back the
top 10 talent coach, Steve Reynolds.
Kipper (01:56):
Hey,
Steve (01:57):
Steve.
Goodness.
Cue the cue, the golf applause.
I couldn't know David.
I could never live up to that intro.
That's insane.
It's insane.
Oh, we have no doubt.
It's great to be back with you guys.
I adore this podcast and I'mjust so happy to be conversing
with you on all things radio.
Really important.
(02:17):
So
Kipper (02:18):
the last time that you joined us was right before
the pandemic, as I recall.
So now that we had kind of a chance tofigure out what is yet another new normal.
We get the challenges, but thequestion really is, what do you see
as some of the bigger opportunitiesfor the shows, especially those
that are doing local radio
Steve (02:39):
today?
Yeah.
For me, one of the, one of mytakeaways from COVID was how desperate
listeners are for connection.
You know, radio has some Superpowersand its intimacy to me has always been
probably at the very top of the list.
Our superpowers just, I mean, it'swhat the three of us learned when
(03:03):
we were young and in the businessand growing one to one, it's just
you and it's me and that's it.
And what we learned in covid wasThough the numbers were down, listening
was less, people were at home,most of our listening is in cars.
People are desperate to connectwith other human beings.
(03:24):
I don't know if you guys, youguys both have the internet
where you live now, don't you?
The interweb
Kipper (03:29):
has reached, yes, it has reached us.
Steve (03:33):
You know, the world is, if you spend five minutes a day on the internet,
the world is a difficult I'll say it,ugly place sometimes and our intimacy
brings people safety and takes fear away.
And we can remind people how nicethe world can be if we're nice
to them and connect with them.
And there's a very interestingarticle in the New York Times.
(03:57):
The Surgeon General.
As we tape this, in the last week wrotean op ed in the New York Times about
something I talk to shows on all the time,the epidemic of loneliness in the world.
We're all on social media, we all aretexting all day long, and you know, I
check Facebook 45, 000 times a day, andmost people feel lonely, they feel alone.
(04:25):
And I would say the opportunity that haspresented itself in this, this new normal
that you reference, Kipper, is for us.
To be that companionship withthe listeners without ever
sacrificing our relevancy, oursense of humor, our honesty.
We do it through our authenticity.
If we don't take advantage of thatin all the ways in which we can have
(04:46):
a relationship with this listener,we'll never build that, that loyalty
through connection that will makeus relevant and powerful again.
In this fractured media landscape, Steve,
Kipper (05:00):
that's a
Dave (05:01):
good point, but what are some of the common mistakes
that radio personalities make?
And how can they
Steve (05:06):
be avoided?
Well, let's play off that theme of fear.
I mean, David, there's a lot ofthere's talent that are scared.
They're scared about their jobs.
They're scared with the world around them.
They're scared of change.
Before I moved to where I live inRaleigh, North Carolina, to do mornings
(05:26):
at WRDU, I was, you know, I was,I remember like it was yesterday.
It was the 80s.
I was with my mother in her brown Delta 88Oldsmobile on the freeways of Los Angeles.
We had gone back to her workplacewhere my contract was faxed.
(05:47):
And I had never seenanything like this before.
And I'm an insecure 25 yearold and I'm reading this
contract in the car and I get.
More and more worried aboutwhat am I signing here?
This seems serious and my mother saidwell, what's the worst that could happen?
And I said I could fail and shesaid so what so what if you fail
(06:10):
in Raleigh you pick yourself up?
You dust yourself off you move onto the next thing She said Stephen
because she's one of very few peoplewho called me Stephen So if either
of you call me Stephen before theend of our Time today, I'll, I'll
think you're channeling my mother.
She said, she said, Stephen, theonly thing that can't be undone
is jumping off of a building.
(06:30):
You jump, you're obligated.
Gravity takes over.
You can't undo that.
So why don't you embrace thechange in your life and go and
see about this job in Raleigh?
Well, here we are guys.
I don't even want to giveyou how many years later.
It's measured in decades.
I love where I live.
I see great opportunity here.
I tell talent, if you don't like change,then you will really hate Irrelevance
(06:54):
because the world around us all daylong is changing and you have to
change and modernize and update yourshow all the time because it's art.
It's living and it's breathing andthe biggest, the biggest mistake I
hear are shows that are frightenedof change and we as managers of those
people have got to do the work totake that fear away so that our shows.
(07:17):
Stay in constant connectionwith wherever the audience is
in that moment, emotionally.
Kipper (07:23):
So, moving forward, how can smarter radio people, and we've always
got the A students and then some others.
So taking that in a slightly differentdirection, how can the smart radio people
Really keep up with all of the changingthings and trends and all of that,
which you're kind of talking about tofind that opportunity that we all have.
(07:48):
And, and part of my question is aprocess of elimination because we're
all over flooded with information.
So what would you recommend forthem to distill, not so much for
their show prep, but for their life
Steve (08:03):
prep?
So your question is, how can smartpeople keep up with the changing trends?
That's easy, that's easy, Kipper.
That's, that's easy for me.
Find smarter people.
I mean, when I was, when I was a youngair personality, and I was kind of finding
my way, I, I was that guy, again, backto when all of us were young in the
(08:27):
business, we'd send off five inch reels.
Right.
And resumes and package.
Remember those days?
Sure.
Oh, sure.
I remember getting a letter from aprogram director who turned me down, and
he said, you sound like you're trying tofind your ways as a, as a morning person.
And they were right.
And then this line thatI've never forgotten.
(08:48):
To copy one is plagiarism, to copysix is research, go do your research.
I've never forgotten that line.
The benefit of what I do as a talentcoach now is that every hour I'm
in the face of a different show.
And I see how different they all areand how they make decisions and how
they use strategy and what their take ison the world and their sense of humor.
(09:11):
I think you have to findpeople smarter than you.
It's kind of trite to say that.
I think you have to do the work to becomfortable, to be open, to be influenced
by a handful of people you trust.
Who will challenge how you view allof this, so your thinking is evolving.
And how you view it changesback to that change.
(09:32):
Again.
I think that's what you do.
I'm, I'm super lucky that over the span ofmy career, I mean, I always say that Steve
Reynolds as a person doesn't really exist.
I'm, I'm a Frankenstein.
That's I'm a Frankenstein.
All I am is an amalgamation ofall the smart people that I've
been lucky enough to run into.
And then I, Suck them dry of everything,you know, that I find to be great.
(09:57):
And that becomes part of my ethosas a, as a radio professional.
I mean, there are days that JohnColeman can't get out of bed.
I've taken so much from John.
I mean.
John might be, you know, my, my,one of my, I call him my rabbi when
I'm in trouble, I call him my rabbi.
But there are, there are many thatI've surrounded myself with, and
(10:18):
then I try to remember that whenI'm talking, I ain't learning.
So just ask a lot of questions,take in the input, sift through
what's important and not, and thatbecomes part of your philosophy.
And that's what I try to do withshows as well, is just find smarter
people and ask lots of questionsand be influenced by them so that
my thinking doesn't fall into a rut.
(10:40):
That's a good
Dave (10:40):
point, Steve.
What would you say some of theeffective strategies are for building
and maintaining an audience intoday's ultra competitive world?
Steve (10:50):
Well, okay, so here we are, and uh, you know, it's not 1985 any longer,
just you and a couple of other good showsin your market, and TV is nowhere on
the map and the internet doesn't exist.
And so Spotify is in the future andFacebook's in the future and Twitter's in
the future and Instagram's in the future.
Talent today need to be multimedia stars.
(11:12):
And their companies have tosupport and give them the
resources to elevate them there.
It's no longer good enoughjust to be great on the radio.
You have to be great on the radio,but you have to have a television
presence, a community presence.
Uh, you have to have a socialmedia presence and they all have
to interact with one another ina, in a way that is generated by
(11:36):
content, wherever that audience is.
Why do they choose to interact withyou on that platform in that way?
It's because of thecontent that you offer.
So you can't do great content on theair and then say, Hey, on Facebook,
we're going to tell everyonewhat's coming up on the show today.
That's blah, blah, blah toFacebook users, and they're going
(11:57):
to do what they do to a break.
They're just going to scroll past you.
So there needs to be a content strategythat is married under what your brand
represents, what your show is about.
And it needs to permeate all ofthese platforms, and you have
to have a presence everywhere.
I look at, I'm fascinated, I wouldlove to have an inside seat in iHeart.
(12:17):
I have a zillion questionsabout what was done.
I'm going to use this word.
I think it's crass.
I don't mean it in a crass way.
So I apologize.
I can't think of a more delicate word.
What was done to create RyanSeacrest and Bobby Bones?
Because both of them aremore than just radio stars.
(12:38):
No matter, if I turn left andright, that's where they are.
I mean, I've always believedthat there's a Ryan Seacrest.
Factory somewhere that just churnsout Ryan Seacrest to go do all of the
things that Ryan does but each feedson the other And they're each of them
are bigger Perceived as bigger starsand more valuable to their companies
because they have a presence everywhereand I want to know how did that happen?
(13:02):
That talent need to have a businessmanager who will help them put
that together and our our forwardthinking companies need to find their
talent who can have that personaand help them develop that business
plan, a model by which they ascendto that for as God rest your soul.
(13:23):
Day Medina used to say a gigastarso that they can be gigastar.
Kipper (13:28):
Right.
You know, that raises kind of aninteresting question in that we've
got the Ryan Seacrest, we've got theBobby Bones, we've got a few more on
kind of smaller levels, a little bitmore smaller galaxies, if you will,
but they're still kind of superstars.
But yet, when you think back, Imean, In the early days of rock and
(13:50):
roll, of course, Alan Freed was onewho was all over the place until
he wasn't, for obvious reasons, butDick Clark, too, was one of them.
He's a TV producer.
He was host of a number of shows.
We still have New Year's Rockin Evenamed after him, years after his passing.
I guess one question I would ask youis, why do you think there aren't
(14:14):
A few more Bobby Bones and RyanSeacrest or have been over the years.
And is that an opportunity for peopleto really strive to have more of
a global 360 plan for their careerrather than just a radio show?
Steve (14:32):
Yeah, excellent question.
I don't know why we don't have more.
I mean, the easy, the easy answer, and Idon't think it's the valid answer, is that
we've not been committed to creating them.
Um, you know, as, as the industry hasbecome smaller and money is a critical
element of the thought process of thestations, you need those resources.
(14:55):
We can't hope our talent there.
We have to have, um, we have to commitresources to do it, and I think because
of In, in some respects how the industryhas changed, we've not had that resource
necessary to create them and we've becomemaybe shorter term thinking than we should
in, in, in some instances, um, and notevery talent has the money to employ
(15:17):
these people to help them become them.
And then we all, we become abouttomorrow's show or next week's show
and not what I want my career to be.
And so.
In no way is this an indictmenton any company or any talent.
We just have not thought about this.
And I think if we're going to continueto stay relevant into the future, and I
think our industry is immensely relevant.
(15:39):
I think if we are going to stayrelevant, and we're going to do it
through talent, and we're going to doit with long term game plans to create.
These, these giga stars, if I might,for the benefit of the radio station
and the cluster and the company,
Dave (15:52):
the always amazing Steve Reynolds from the Reynolds group.
He's a great coach.
Hey, somebody you'd love to hear from.
We'd love to hear your suggestions,email us show at brand with on demand.
com.
Kipper (16:07):
And we'd also love to hear from you online.
Just get in touch.
We're at brand with plus on Insta,Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,
brand with P L U S brand withplus, and we'll see you there.
Dave (16:23):
Coming up, Steve shares some of the best advice he's ever gotten,
both personal and professional
Steve (16:30):
music master, less stress.
Yes.
Spot (16:33):
Hi, this is Jerry Butler from the team at Music Master.
One of my favorite tips forclassic format programmers is to
use the breakable one day one houroffset rule for artist keywords.
It's not just for songs.
That way your listeners won'thave the same sampling of artists.
Each time they tune in and weturn the variety knob up to 11.
If you want to know more easyways to keep your station
(16:54):
sounding fresh, contact us today,
Steve (16:57):
music, master music, scheduling, the way it should be.
Listen today, lead tomorrow on demand.
Dave (17:06):
We are with Steve Reynolds, probably one of the greatest
coaches that you could ever even
Steve (17:11):
want to be around.
And he's got the best adviceand we'd like to ask him now,
Dave (17:16):
Steve, what's the best media advice that you've ever gotten?
Steve (17:21):
Wow.
What a question, David.
Can I give two pieces of advicethat I've received in my life?
that I want to share.
I'm going to tell youabout two pieces of advice.
One personal piece of advicethat impacted me professionally.
And I want to give you a piece ofprofessional advice I was given
that impacted me personally.
(17:42):
First, the personal piece of advice.
Years ago, when I was young, trying tofind my way as a talent, someone said
to me, why don't you go have counseling?
Why don't you go to Therapist?
Figure yourself out.
And I'm always game for many newadventures, although kind of safe, but
that's, you know, it's kind of dangerous.
(18:03):
Let's go and learn about Steve.
And so every Wednesday at noon, Ihopped in my car when I programmed
WRAL in Raleigh, and I'd stop at asubconscious sub shop on Hillsborough
Street by NC State's campus.
And I picked up a sub and I'd driveto Durham where I visited with Dr.
Katherine Fulkerson.
Every Wednesday at noon for seven years.
(18:26):
Probably four years longerthan I needed to go.
Every great thing in mylife came from that work.
And I think if I were on the airtoday, I would be much more genuine and
authentic and real with the audience.
What I learned about me brought meso many good things professionally
that I share with talent.
Um, there are talent 20 years ofcoaching, where I've very softly said,
(18:51):
maybe, maybe you should see someone.
About that, all that they're upsetwith their partner consistently or they
can't break through or they're veryscared about their work environment.
I was that typical.
I was that guy that when I was onthe air that I would walk by the
boss's door was closed and I hadabsolutely convinced myself that I
(19:15):
was the topic of conversation on theother side and they were discussing
how I was going to be fired.
It's delusional.
I look back on, I'm embarrassed thatI thought that, but I was that guy.
I mean, it's therapy, I think,that brought me to the ability
to share that with you.
I'm a big fan of Brene Brown and herconversation about vulnerability, all
(19:35):
of this, for me to understand me betterso I can be a better professional for
the shows I work with, and if I wereon the air to be a better talent.
So to the person who gave me that personaladvice, I don't think they realized what
impact it would have on me professionally.
I received a lot of professionaladvice when I started the company.
That I can share with you, but the onethat I wish to in this conversation
(19:57):
came from Pierre Bavard, who right nowworks for Westwood One, great guy at
the time he worked for Coleman Researchat the time and that Coleman Insights.
And I said to Pierre, okay,gonna start the company.
Give me a piece of advice.
And Pierre said to me, this, I'veheld on to this for 20 plus years.
Pierre said to me, whateveryou have, give it away.
(20:18):
And I'm like, hmm, what does that mean?
He said, not going to tell you,and you'll know it when you see it.
And what he was telling me was,to create value from a business
perspective, but more so, justbecause it's the right thing.
If you have a skill set, and someoneknocks on your door, Give it to them.
(20:41):
Just give it to them.
And I've had that, um, as part of myphilosophy as a person, that I, in my
time in doing this work, I've nevertaken money but twice from talent.
And, and I won't share who they are.
You know, both of them, they are.
Multimillionaires, both of them, andthey had the resources to pay me.
(21:05):
And so I made exceptions generally.
It's like, I want the company topay me because the company has the
larger upside of the ad revenueif we make the ratings go up.
So if a talent calls and says,Hey, I want to employ you.
I say, nope, you don't make much andI'm not going to take your money.
I'll work for free.
So if talent comes knocking on my doorand asks me to review a break, listen to
a show, um, give them a piece of advice.
(21:27):
My answer 100 percent of the time is yes.
Because it means they're not gettingit in their building, uh, they're
not getting it because probably theirprogram director or managers are just
too busy managing a zillion other things.
And so they've come to mebecause I might've said
something that intrigued them.
So I'm going to give it to them for freebecause that's the right thing to do.
(21:50):
And that piece of professional advice.
Has impacted me personally because I feellike when I wrap all this up, I've done
my share of making the industry better.
And I feel better aboutSteve because of that.
Good stuff.
(22:10):
So Steve, since
Kipper (22:12):
we got
Steve (22:13):
you here,
Kipper (22:13):
I'm going to ask one more question.
Steve (22:17):
If you had
Kipper (22:18):
one piece of advice, just one that you were going to be giving somebody
that's just starting out the business.
What
Steve (22:25):
would it be?
Can I, I can't negotiate theone piece of advice, Kipper.
I never have just one piece of advice.
Kipper (22:33):
Okay.
You're a tough bargain.
Steve (22:36):
Go for it.
Well, first, be a good person.
I listened to your interviewwith Phil Becker from Alpha.
I don't know Phil, but youasked him a question about
what he looks for in talent.
And I was captured when I heard that.
For those listening to this, goback and listen to the Phil Becker
conversation if you haven't.
It's brilliant.
And he said he's looking fortalented people, be a good person,
(22:58):
make this about everyone elsebefore you make it about you.
I think from a practical standpoint,the one piece of advice I would
give Kipper is get to know people.
We are an incredibly small industryand the people who are in this industry
still are great human beings at thehighest level of all of these companies.
Some of them get bad raps becausethey're the big bad suit, but we.
(23:21):
I know them because my company is sortof designed to know them and they're
all smart and great human beings.
They may not be able to return an email orcall you back because they got a billion
things going on, but if you go to aconvention, pull one of these people over.
They'll give you all the time in theworld because they're good people.
(23:42):
Go network.
And if you get to know those folks atthe highest level, you'll learn something
and opportunities will open for you.
Dave (23:50):
The talent coach, Steve Reynolds.
Great to have him on the pod today.
We have links to his websitesand great articles and more in
our regular show notes, email.
We'll send it out before every episode.
You can easily get it.
Just scroll down, enter yourinformation for your free
Steve (24:06):
subscription.
Kipper (24:07):
As always, our thanks to exec producer, Cindy Huber
and associate producer, Hannah
Steve (24:12):
B and coming up
Kipper (24:14):
next.
Hi,
Steve (24:15):
it's
Eryn (24:15):
Erin Cooper on the next brand with on demand, find out how any and
all broadcast and digital skills can betransferable to radio, how to embrace.
Um, and how I was a news reporterthat became a professional fangirl.
Dave (24:29):
That's a wrap Kipper.
Nothing's going to changearound you until you change.
We'll talk about change inthe One Minute Martinizing.
Find it in show notesat BrandwithOnDemand.
com.
Steve (24:41):
I'm Dave Martin.
And I'm Kipper McGee.
Kipper (24:43):
May all your brand with
Steve (24:45):
be wide.
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