Radio Edit | 9.11.23

This week, we’re joined by on-air host at KROQ Nicole Alvarez. Reflecting on her 20 year career at the radio station, Nicole touches on everything from radio’s influence to what fuels her passion for music two decades in.

You recently celebrated your 20-year anniversary at KROQ. How did that opportunity come about and what were you doing prior to?

I had just recently started in radio in Miami at my hometown station and sadly that was short lived. Someone who knew me sent Kevin Weatherly at KROQ my aircheck and a couple of days later he called me at home and asked to fly me out for an audition. I auditioned the weekend of July 4th 2003 and was hired on the spot. I packed what I could of my belongings and I made my way to the west coast. The rest is history and what a history it has been.

Interview w/ Nicole continued below

UMG & Deezer unveil new artist-centric payment model

After teasing their partnership earlier this year, Deezer and Universal Music Group have unveiled their new artist-centric streaming payment model. The new model aims to increase earnings for professional artists and de-emphasizes payments for ‘noise’ audio- like white noise and nature sounds. Notable components of the model include:

• Renewed focus on artists Deezer will ‘attribute a double boost’ for payments to professional artists- those with at least 1,000 monthly streams and 500 unique listeners. According to their research- only 2% of all uploaders would have met this threshold.

• Reward engaging content A double boost will also be applied to songs that fans actively engage with in an effort to minimize the economic influence of algorithmic programming.

• Demonetizing non-artist noise audio Deezer is planning to replace this category of audio with their own content from the functional music space, which will not be included in the royalty pool.

• Tackling fraud The streaming service plans on emphasizing its proprietary fraud detection system and removing incentives for bad actors as they look to protect streaming royalties for artists.

Deezer will initially roll out this new payment model in France sometime in Q4.

Setting the stage for Drake’s larger-than-life summer tour

DreamCrew’s Adel “Future” Nur sat down with Variety to talk about the conceptualization and challenges associated with creating Drake’s 54-date “It’s All A Blur” tour.

Creative director duo Amber Rimmel and Bronski of TAWBOX stated “Our goal was to deliver creative concepts that complemented Drake’s overarching vision to take everyone in the audience on their own personal journey – starting from where it all began for him. Using innovative techniques and designs that have never before been deployed by a tour of this stature, we were able to showcase vital moments throughout his career using bold lights, colors, contrast and darkness, delivering a one-of-a-kind visual masterpiece that we are incredibly proud to have been a part of.”

Designed for sensory overload, the live production includes robots, special effects, lasers, 30-foot tall inflatables, and three separate stages. Originally intended to be a stadium tour, Drake later opted for the intimacy of arenas but maintained the scale of the props, resulting in a stadium-sized show in an arena. This ambitious production did not come without its challenges- several shows along the tour had to be postponed after encountering difficulties with bringing the show into the building as designed.

A little over halfway through, the tour is currently grossing an average of $4.5M/night.

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SIGNINGS

Pitbull: Mr. Worldwide is now represented by WME worldwide

Wasserman has signed Kehlani to worldwide deal

STREAMING | RADIO

Spotify is testing a new paywalled lyric feature aimed at converting free users to paid subscribers

The copyright office has determined that streaming services must pay songwriters late fees for overdue royalty payments

A look at why Swedish officials think criminals are using streaming services to launder money

LIVE | TOURING

How h.wood group is elevating the suite experience for concerts and games through their partnership with Sofi Stadium

LABEL | PUBLISHING

Concord has acquired Round Hill Music Fund for $689M

Following some controversy in recent years, Sean Combs has reassigned publishing rights back to Bad Boy artists

As new joint venture, 10k Projects will become standalone label under WMG umbrella

Publishing home of Bad Bunny,Rimas has signed a strategic partnership with music metadata service Muso.AI

Apple has acquired classical label BIS Records

ELSEWHERE

Former Coldplay manager has sued the band for unpaid commission totaling $12M

Live Nation has partnered with Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew; partnership looks to expand opportunities for the management company’s dance/electronic roster (Kygo, Dean Lewis, Gryffin, Sam Feldt + more)

Ingram Entertainment, the country’s second-largest music wholesaler, will shut down by the end of the year

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. clarifies that the AI-generated Drake/Weeknd track is not eligible for Grammy consideration

Interview w/ KROQ’s Nicole Alvarez continued

The music and cultural landscape has changed a lot in that time- from CDs to streaming, etc., but radio has remained massively important. Why do you think that's the case?

Radio delivers live and local energy. It's the present moment. It's flawed and it's real and it is sewn into the fabric of most of our lives. It's equal parts nostalgia and what's happening now. Listen, I find and listen to music in a variety of ways too, but I find myself suffocated by that kind of limited interaction. I feel out of the loop. I turn on the radio to exhale and feel connected. Radio is fun. It doesn't pretend to know everything, but it tries its best.

As a host, you have to rely on a great team behind the scenes to pull together the show every day. While each member of that team is vital, how would you describe the dynamic/relationship with your musical director specifically?

Luckily everyone I work with is a massive and crucial part of the work. In specific, I am blessed to have a music director who genuinely feels and understands music on a deep level. He goes to shows as a fan. We talk about music and it's exhilarating. He also understands the importance of the legacy behind KROQ. It's nice to know there's a music nerd driving.

I always enjoy your artist interviews because it's so obvious how big of a music fan you are. As someone who does hundreds of interviews each year, how much prep are you able to do beforehand and how involved are you in producing those interviews?

I don't produce the interviews. My role is very raw. I focus on disarming the artist, connecting with them, while also coming from the perspective of a fan. I do the talking from the most honest place in my heart and If it were up to me, nothing would have to get edited out. I am happy to deliver a thoughtful conversation with another human being whose gift happens to be making music that moves the world. I have a very specific way of prepping. I make sure I know the basics, but I don't think the basics are what people care to hear, so my mission then becomes finding the places no one else goes with them, and making them go there. I watch a lot of old interviews they have done and I listen to all the albums in my headphones on the days leading up and the experience I am supposed to have just reveals itself. The questions show up naturally. I just take some notes.

I'm always surprised when I go to a show and I don't run into you there. But then usually I'll check Instagram and I'll see that it's because you were just at a different show that night. For a lot of us who have worked in the industry for a long time it's easy to become a bit jaded. What continues to fuel your passion for music 20 years in.

I focus on the show. The industry part tends to get in the way. Sure it gets old going to shows and rubbing elbows and engaging in small talk with countless people, that's the part where people become jaded, but if you focus on the music and what it can do for you, there is never a case where you don't leave a show better than when you first got there. Music is the ultimate source. It is what people look for in God and struggle to find. The music is the doorway to every answer we might ever need. And also, It's fun as hell.

Lastly, if you could add any three songs to the KROQ rotation right now, what would they be?

I don't know about 3 songs, but I would add more Turnstile, Gang Of Youths, Viagra Boys, Fontaines DC and I would have played the shit out of Fred Again's "Baby Again." For starters.

APPOINTMENTS

Universal Music Greater China has appointed Timothy Xu as their new chairman and CEO

DEPARTURES

NPR president and CEO John Lansing has announced his retirement at the end of the month

Doesn’t it seem like the best jobs are never posted online? That’s why each week we’re going to share an unlisted job opening from our network in an effort to connect people and opportunities.

This week’s unlisted job:

Day-To-Day Manager | Los Angeles

If you’re interested, send us your resume here and we’ll pass it on

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