For the last 3 years, Steven Brill was the General Operations Manager for Citadel in Des Moines Iowa where he says he loved working for Judy Ellis and Market Manager, Terry Peters. "I was allowed to truly program for our market. This was the best gig to go out on." Three decades after starting his radio career Brill called it quits last week. his last day will be July 8th. We caught up with him to get his take on 30 years in the business, why he left and what his next gig is all about.
In his long career, Brill has programmed KSD in St. Louis and the Rams Radio network, WKLH in Milwaukee for SAGA, KFRX in Denver for Clear Channel, KEZO in Omaha for Journal and WAQX in Syracuse. He was also the OM for Cumulus in Rockford, a jock for NBC in Chicago at Q101 and a Morning Personality at Lite 95 in Cincinatti.
Why did you decide to retire?
I decided to leave day to day radio now, because I came up with an idea that I think can actually be a win for everyone involved. Back in college, I worked part-time for a concert promoter in the Chicago area. I enjoyed the job, but didn't give thought to it much after I launched my radio career. The past several years though, I have been producing multiple outdoor concerts for Citadel ie, Big Country Bash & Summer Jam. These are shows that have drawn 20,000 plus listeners each year. Taking on these productions from the ground up taught me a lot about concerts.
What is your opinion on how radio has evolved since consolidation?
When we, as an industry ask what will it take to keep terrestrial radio a vibrant business well into the future, fending out satellite and Internet radio, Pandora and their competitors, MP3 players, games on our cell phones, time spent texting, social media and all the other technological distractions vying for our listeners' time, the answer is always the same, LOCAL CONTEN. They are right, I just hope we start to slowly turn the ship and invest in people again to deliver that needed local content.
Generally, is radio in a good place?
My grandfather always to told me to not to be penny-wise and pound foolish. The same goes for radio at this stage of the game. We have consolidated away much of the fat and found many cost saving synergies, but now I believe it is time to spend wisely on our important assets: creativity, keeping and developing local stars, nurturing programming strategists and giving top priority to stay ahead of the technology curve #radio on cell phone, utilizing social media, interactive radio, etc. I think the future can look bright if we invest in the important things and realize that no one ever saved themselves to prosperity.
Tell us about the new company?
After finishing last year's KGGO Summer Jam & KJJY/KHKI Big Country Bash and generating several hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for our stations, the idea came to me. I will bring a full blown concert to other stations, generating six figures in revenue at NO COST to the station. All while giving them a show that they can brand as their own (KJJY Big Country Bash, the KXXX Kicks Country Jam or WXXX Big Birthday Bash) and touch their audience. So now I'm talking to intersted stations that want to make money and set up shows for next year. Anyone interested can call me at 815-621-1515 or e-mail me at steve@concerttoursforradio.com.
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