A veteran of the dotcom wars, I first met Jay Frank when he was at Yahoo, running Music Programming and Music Industry Relations. As his competitor of sorts at AOL, it was impossible not to like Jay. Jay is enthusiastic, whip-smart, and extremely nice. If you spend five minutes with him, it is apparent that Jay loves both music and technology, and posseses a unique ability to contextualize what is happening in the space.
Today, Jay is the always busy Senior Vice President of Music Strategy for Viacom’s CMT, leading the company’s digital strategy from Nashville. Jay is a published author, and his book, Futurehit.DNA, has evolved into a compelling blog and discussion home for the digerati.
I caught up with Jay as he was crunching data, tweeting, cutting deals and putting his shoes back on in yet another airport security line.
Frank: Hey
Isquith: impressive…IM’ing from a conveyor belt while putting your shoes back on?
Frank: Pretty much
Frank: It was the music police…looking for stolen files
Isquith: So, you know the drill…..we are dropping science on an old school platform…AIM.
Isquith: For those who dont know you…
Isquith: Tell us what your role at CMT is…
Frank: My role is SVP Music Strategy. This means I oversee music across all platforms…videos on air, digital, mobile, etc.
Isquith: Dream job…at least dream title.
Frank: I came there after 7 years as vp of music programming at Yahoo! Music
Isquith: Full disclosure, we were competitors.
Frank: Yeah, it is a dream job…also because there really are very few jobs that can truly program cross platform.
Frank: Yes, we competed, but it was fun to go up against you.
Isquith: I feel likewise. Hopefully, we both raised the game in general. I know you did.
Frank: That was the goal. At least we got people to realize there is viable legal alternatives to digital music.
Isquith: So, jumping to the present….what has the struggles of the Recording Industry meant to CMT?
Frank: Lower budgets and less risk
Frank: Both on new artists and the videos they make
Frank: For videos that’s not necessarily bad news because costs have come down so much
Isquith: does that create a vicious cycle?
Frank: But investment in stars is rarer and we need them to thrive
Frank: Yes, it is a vicious cycle because risk is inherent in the business…but country labels are stuck because country radio rarely takes risks so who do they turn to?
Isquith: I always thought the idea that it was “OK” for labels to crash was BS……if you are in the ecosystem, you need stars and thriving businesses
Isquith: And on the audience side…the fan side…do you see changes across your platforms?
Frank: It is ok for labels to crash, but it’s not ok for the music business to abdicate the star making investments
Isquith: Tackle the audience ? …really want to hear yr take….
Frank: Yes, the country fan is now fully digital and engaged. They do just about everything but Foursquare-type stuff…they don’t need to let their friends know they’re at the Tractor Supply Co.
Isquith: I did LOL. really.
Frank: This also means country acts can break outside of radio, but the industry is still afraid to really give it a try
Isquith: Jay, when you were at Yahoo you were a total full genre person. Do you miss not getting to play as much in other genres?
Frank: I do, but with my book Futurehit.DNA, I get to interact with other genres so it’s ok.
Frank: Plus CMT has shows like crossroads and our awards show that have other genre artists visiting us.
Isquith: Yup, that booked rocked..literally & figuratively. OK, speaking of Rock…I have to ask you about a fire you ignited a couple of months back…The “Rock Is Dead” meme.
Isquith: Tell us what happened….
Frank: Yeah, that was fun to write…
Isquith: And what you think in retrospect?
Frank: We both know people ignore stats at their own peril
Frank: And the stats against rock’s vibrancy are clearly there, but there is still a ton of time and investment in that direction.
Frank: Many people tried to dispute me, but none of the arguments held up.
Frank: Now, rock is truly not dead…it’s just in the underground, which is probably good for the format
Frank: But to think tons of money can be made from rock moving forward is probably too risky for most.
Isquith: The data is convincing, I agree. Also….the economics of making albums not songs, being reliant on touring etc are challenging around Rock.
Frank: And having to pay 4-5 people in the band…it doesn’t add up
Frank: Royalties come I. The same way whether there’s 1 or 10 people in the group. Much easier to pay a musician out and take the whole pie.
Isquith: let’s play a game….cool? (jeez I sound like Hannibal Lecter)
Frank: I thought you were the Wargames computer
Isquith: Free association…I say a phrase…you finish/respond
Frank: Sure
Isquith: Statement #1 :” If I had FU start-up money, the company i would do would be…….”
Frank: A new model content company. Everyone has jumped into the new distro models, but nobody is investing in content anymore. That smells like opportunity to me.
Isquith: ooh, thats good
Isquith: what do you mean “new content”
Isquith: in this case?
Frank: Well, labels are struggling because they can’t change the foundation of the house. The contracts are the contracts and they are all over the place from artists in the 60s thru today.
Isquith: keep going
Frank: A new content company would need to think of a whole new foundation to structure profits on. Most likely the model is not outsize profits like the past, but stable modest profits that any company can be proud of.
Frank: One of the great books in the last few years is Curse of the Mogul.
Isquith: the book?… think the title gives a clue?
Frank: In the book, the author argues that entertainment companies underperform the s&p 500 routinely because they chase charts and not a sound business model.
Isquith: Yes! Market Share NOT profits.
Frank: If a new content company cared more about solid business sense with decent profits, they’d get by a lot farther. Many indie bands do this on a small scale every day.
Frank: Ok…#2…
Isquith: Statement #2: “What Brands REALLY want from Music is….”
Frank: Good feelings to sell product.
Isquith: Not hard metrics?
Isquith: Conversion rates etc?
Frank: As much as there’s more money now from brands, always remember they really don’t care about the music.
Frank: Exactly. They want to see sales.
Frank: If your music helps them sell, they’re happy.
Frank: If not, they dispose of you fast.
Isquith: Cool. What do you think of this idea of ‘Coke or Kraft will be the next “Label”?
Frank: I like it to a degree, especially Converse creating a walk-in studio.
Frank: But that’s a fad and not sustainable.
Frank: Traditionally, music content companies offspring from device guys.
Frank: Still somewhat shocked that apple hasn’t formed a proper label.
Isquith: Good stuff. Statement #3: ” The smartest , most interesting person Ive encountered in last few months is…”
Frank: Jack Isquith!
Isquith: its been a dry few months!
Frank: Oh you want the real answer.
Frank: Shelly Palmer. He’s just a realist on where new technology takes us and how it affects our lives.
Isquith: I’m not hip to him…give some context
Frank: He’s a blogger and tv personality in NY. Has a great email list at www.shellypalmer.com
Isquith: Thanks for the tip.
Frank: He just talks about technology as it relates to our lives.
Frank: Not as it’s supposed to be. His outlook is so simple and if people think like the consumer, they just might grow.
Frank: Darn, I got about 5 min. Boarding now.
Isquith: Statement #4: There is a terrible fire, and you can only save 1 tech device…..it is?
Frank: The smartphone.
Frank: It’s the best computer/communication device we have
Frank: Plus it’s easy to grab in a panic.
Isquith: Statement #5: ….What album or Dig File do you save?
Frank: Ooo…last year I really dug Bear In Heaven and Efterklang
Frank: But I’m also liking a lot of Euro dance music like Martin Solveig
Frank: In country, I love this new guy Ty Stone that Kid Rock is grooming.
Isquith: Jay…Thanks so much!
Frank: Anytime! Did I beat that Crush interview?
Isquith: I know you are boarding..we really aprreciate your impressive multi-tasking and mind & heart.
Isquith: re beating Crush…JD has a thing or 2 to worry about.
Isquith: after all, He sat at his desk!
Frank: Yeah, you don’t kill it until you do an Isquith interview on the go.
Isquith: travel safe, and thanks for dishing.
Frank: Any time!
Frank: See ya later
Isquith: go get em. Thanks again. bye bye
Frank: Any time
