October 17, 2024 News@CountryAircheck.com

Schadt's Off: iHeartMedia WKKT/Charlotte morning co-host Paul Schadt will retire in February 2025 after 44 years on the air in the market. He will remain with the station as an ambassador. "This has been the toughest decision of my life by far, because I love what I do,” says Schadt. “I’m a very lucky guy, I’ve had the most remarkable ‘job’ anyone could ever ask for." Region Pres. Dave Carwile adds, "Paul’s journey from the daily broadcast to a cherished ambassador role is a testament to his unmatched contributions and passion for the industry." No word on plans for his position. Schadt started at crosstown WSOC in 1981 and moved to mornings there in 1994. Three years later he joined WKKT, and has been paired with Sarah Lee Owensby since 2018 (CAT 10/5/18). He was the 2014 ACM Major Market Personality of the Year and was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame later that year (HOF Profile). Reach him here.

Kick Town: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for September 2024 (three-month rolling average, 6/20-9/11) compared with July and August. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Akron, OH (Market 97)	WQMX Rubber City 8.3 (1) - 6.5 (1t) - 6.9 (1t)
Charleston, SC (77)	WCKN Saga 4.4 (6t) - 5.4 (3) - 5.7 (3) Largest share since Sep. 2022. WEZL iHeartMedia 4.7 (4t) - 4.9 (4) - 3.8 (7)
Monterey, CA (98)	KTOM iHeartMedia 3.1 (9) - 3.6 (7) - 4.6 (3) Largest share since last October.
Syracuse, NY (101)	WBBS iHeartMedia 7.6 (2) - 7.8 (2) - 9.1 (1) Largest share since July 2023. WOLF FoxFur 3.8 (8) - 4.0 (7t) - 4.2 (6)

Good On UMG: As reported via Breaking News, Mercury/Nashville SVPP Damon Moberly has been elevated to the same title for UMG/Nashville. In his new role, Moberly will oversee promotion of the label group's four imprints. Those duties were previously handled by Royce Risser (CAT 4/4/23), and, after his exit, Mike Harris (CAT 9/5). Moberly joined Mercury in 1998 and was promoted to SVP in 2020 (CAT 10/30/20); reach him here.

Albany In The Family: iHeartMedia/Poughkeepsie & Sussex, NY Market Pres. Rob VanDerbeck has added the same duties for Albany, which includes WRVE-HD2. He reports to Area Pres. Bob Morgan, who had been overseeing the market since the expansion of his duties in August (CAT 8/20). VanDerbeck has been with the company 12 years and moved into his current role two years ago. His previous stops include Albany Broadcasting and Cumulus/Poughkeepsie.

Spin City: Big Loud Sr. Dir./Media Jess Anderson is leaving for a TBA opportunity. Today (10/17) was her last day. Anderson came in-house with the label in 2021, helped create its internal publicity department in 2022 and was elevated to her most recent role in July (CAT 7/30). Prior stops include Sweet Talk Publicity, The Press House and Big Machine Label Group; reach her here. The position will be filled at a later date.

Gig Alert: In a separate but adjacent move, Big Loud has posted a newly created VP/Media position. The role involves oversight of the company's media department and requires eight-plus years of experience and strong media relationships. See the full posting here.

Festive All: Morgan Wallen's Sand In My Boots festival will debut May 16-18 on the Hangout Festival site in Gulf Shores, AL. Lineup and ticket info are forthcoming.

Three Honorees: The application window is open through Nov. 1 for Country Radio Broadcasters' Rusty Walker Scholarship, available to full-time radio station employees who will be attending CRS for the first time. Three scholarship recipients will get complimentary registration, hotel and airfare to attend CRS 2025 Feb. 19-21 at the Omni Nashville Hotel. Apply here with an essay of 500 words or less. Register for CRS here.

Tour Support: Cody Johnson has expanded his Leather Deluxe Tour with shows in New Zealand and Australia around headlining C2C Festival and CMC Rocks 2025. Joining him are Cole Swindell, Ashley Cooke and Wade Forster; tickets here Oct. 23.

Stories Of The Week: Search for news and people in the archives at countryaircheck.com.

Brad Austin, J.R. Schumann and Kris Rochester talk their transition to management, and the Grand Ole Opry plans its centennial in Country Aircheck Weekly.
iHeartMedia Midwest/Southeast Div. Pres. Tom McConnell is retiring, and Eddie Martiny and John Karpinski were named Div. Presidents.
Delta Media/Lafayette, LA OM Clint Domingue is leaving.
Chronicle: Dwayne "Doc" Alexander.

Bits & Pieces: Cumulus Fresno/Stockton/Modesto Regional VP Patty Hixson was honored during the Marjaree Mason Center’s 41st annual Top 10 Professional Women and Leading Business Awards Oct. 16 in Fresno. She was one of 10 Central Valley women recognized for having "excelled professionally, served as role models and given back to their communities."

Riley Green is the subject of Audacy's next Off The Record album release feature airing on the company's Country stations Oct. 20 at 7pm local and focused on his new Don't Mind If I Do set. Green will also appear on two of Audacy’s Rob + Holly-hosted nationally syndicated shows: Friday Night Takeover on Oct. 18 at 7pm local and Top 20 Countdown on Oct. 19 at 8am local.

To mark his 66th birthday today (10/17), Alan Jackson has expanded his Silverbelly spirits line with the addition of Silverbelly Birthday Whiskey, a 6.6-year-old, 101.7-proof straight bourbon whiskey (the proof matching his birthdate). Just 1958 bottles of the limited release will be sold, with that number matching his birth year.

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for October 16, according to Mediabase 24/7.

JUSTIN MOORE/This Is My Dirt (Valory) 4684 points
JELLY ROLL/I Am Not Okay (BMG/Republic/Stoney Creek) 4674 points
KANE BROWN & MARSHMELLO/Miles On It (RCA) 4364 points
POST MALONE f/BLAKE SHELTON/Pour Me A Drink (Mercury/Republic/Big Loud) 4167 points
MORGAN WALLEN/Lies Lies Lies (Big Loud) 3841 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for October 13-16 compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase 24/7.

JUSTIN MOORE/This Is My Dirt (Valory) +3706 points
MORGAN WALLEN/Lies Lies Lies (Big Loud) +1438 points
JELLY ROLL/I Am Not Okay (BMG/Republic/Stoney Creek) +1014 points
DAN + SHAY/Bigger Houses (Warner/WAR) +1014 points
KOE WETZEL & JESSIE MURPH/High Road (Columbia/Records Nashville) +942 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (10/18): Riley Green, Josh Gracin, Tayla Lynn, Maggie Abrams, Darlene Evans, Verne Schmidt, Gwen Foster.

Tube Check Tonight (10/17): Wyatt Flores, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS).

Nite On The Town: After Midnite's Granger Smith (r) joins WKSF/Asheville, NC's Eddie Foxx in-studio while delivering supplies to areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

Talk Dirt To Me: Warner/CoJo/WMN’s Cody Johnson with iHeartCountry's “Wayne D” Danielson and Tay Hamilton (top) and the label's James Marsh, SiriusXM's Cody Alan, the label's Marie Chailosky and Andy Flick and SiriusXM's Lauryn Snapp (bottom).

I Love This Celebration Of Life: Galaxy's LoCash attend the Celebration of Life for the late KRST/Albuquerque afternoon host Juan Velasco (Chronicle 7/29), which was also a St. Jude benefit. Pictured (l-r) are the label's Skip Bishop, the duo's Chris Lucas, the station's Bev Rainey and Cody Clark, the label's Cheryl Broz, the duo's Preston Brust and the station's Mandi Vaquera.

Waitin' On 5 Winds: Nashville Harbor's Chris Janson with KFRG/Riverside's Heather Froglear (l) and the label's Stella Prado at the Five Winds Country Music Festival.

Signage: Singer/songwriter Sadie Bass signs with Sony Music Publishing and One4 Entertainment. Pictured (l-r) are manager Emma Kyes, SMPN's Tom Luteran, Bass, One4's Brian Wright and SMPN's Rusty Gaston.