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GLOBALLY ACCLAIMED ARTIST LONDON RICHARDS SIGNS TO RED BULL RECORDS UNLEASHES NEW SINGLE “CHECK ON ME”

January 1, 1970

GLOBALLY ACCLAIMED ARTIST LONDON RICHARDS SIGNS TO RED BULL RECORDS UNLEASHES NEW SINGLE “CHECK ON ME”

Today, visionary artist, producer and songwriter London Richards announces his signing to Red Bull Records, along with the debut of his latest track “Check On Me.” Produced by Robbie Soukiasyan, the energetic track shines a light on the importance of the human experience, and the need to check on loved ones from time to time. The timely single marks London’s first release on Red Bull Records, with a highly-anticipated project due out later this year.“I see a great opportunity with Red Bull Records,” says London on his signing. “I look forward to radically disrupting culture with my vision and being the global catalyst in the evolution of people. I hope to help heal and unite all and will continue to lead my community, helping them realize that all power comes from within.”“With everything going on in the world, my purpose is to use my creativity to benefit humanity. I hope to spread an abundance of joy and ultimately help people generate compassion for self & others with this record.”Blending influences of pop, r&b, hip-hop, and alternative with lyricism that reflects on authenticity and becoming one’s true self, the British wunderkind has made an undeniable impact on the music scene since the age of 17. Releasing his debut full-length album, An Amazingly Beautiful Sad Story last year, London also toured with Halsey on her Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour and joined Juice Wrld for multiple performances at Red Rocks.“London Richards brings a unique talent and narrative to the Red Bull Records roster, and we are all incredibly excited to work with him and his team,”says Senior VP of A&R, Kenny Salcido. “I could not be more proud of our Director of A&R, Charles ‘CB’ Burks’ for bringing London into the fold.”“We’re thrilled to have a multi-faceted artist such as London Richards join our roster,”says Managing Director of Red Bull Records, Greg Hammer. “A singer, songwriter, and producer, London is a triple threat. His music immediately caught our attention, and we look forward to supporting his craft.”LISTEN TO “CHECK ON ME” HERE WATCH THE LYRIC VIDEO TO “CHECK ON ME” HERE

Geraldo Rivera Blames Hoodie for Trayvon Martin’s Confrontation, Is he Right (vid)?

Kevin Ross

January 1, 1970

Geraldo: “THE HOODIE IS AS MUCH RESPONSIBLE FOR TRAYVON MARTIN’S DEATH AS GEORGE ZIMMERMAN WAS.”

DeDe McGuire Syndicated Radio Host Compass Media Networks

Kev Ross

January 1, 1970

DeDe McGuire was featured in the 2018 issue of Celebrating Women of Color in Media

WOMEN OF COLOR MAGAZINE: Tell us about your start in the industry and how you got to where you are (you can give the short version I’m asking just in case we don’t have the previous interview readily avail)

DEDE MCGUIRE: Started in Killeen/Fort Hood Area at a country radio station….KOOV as a receptionist. Practiced being on-air on weekends and at lunchtime in the production room.

I hosted my own shows in middays, overnights, and afternoons in cities like San Antonio, Dallas, Chicago, and Philly.It was in Philadelphia that I got the call from Russ Parr that Doug Banks was looking for a co-host. He put Doug and me on a conference call. Doug flew me to Dallas to audition for his nationally syndicated show for ABC Radio and I got the job. Doug and I did morning then shifted to afternoons in syndication. It was around 2009 that I got a call from Gary Saunders from K104 to fill in for someone on their local morning show…and the rest is history.

I signed on as a contributor to Skip Cheatham & Co., then co-host with Buck Wild and eventually became the Host of K104 Morning Show after Geo Cook came to the station. He knew my radio background and heard me filling in for Doug and knew I had the ability to be the host…and here we are now!

So we all know you are still young but you have seen many changes in the industry over the years, did you ever think you would end up doing a show in a slot that is still in a male-dominated (mornings)?

and no! (LOL) A woman I worked with in Chicago told me I would host my own morning show one day and I laughed at her. I knew I could host after co-hosting Doug’s show and was waiting for the opportunity. It was actually on my vision board. When posed with the question ‘How does it feel to do a morning show as a woman’ do you try to not focus on that if so, why or why not?I wouldn’t know how else it would feel. I’m honored to host and I’m honored to know that since I took over as host years ago, more women have been given the chance to host.What are some of the benefits, selling points, of women doing mornings in radio as far as the listeners? (eg are you able to reach kids who are headed in the wrong direction via a maternal approach etc)Women are more sensitive about which topics are appropriate for the time of the morning. I think we are more intuitive about the mood of the country and city you’re in. When there is a serious subject, our approach changes and becomes more comforting for the caller and listeners.As women, we wear so many hats. We are chameleons, so there are very few situations we are not capable of handling. We know our listeners. We know where they are in life or know someone that has, or going through any scenario now. It’s that knowledge that women can offer to start everyone’s day with sympathy, empathy, education, entertainment, and some morning laughs!You’ve had an amazing career and you have worked with industry legends like the late Doug Banks, What are some of the most valuable things that you learned from Doug.I learned how to lead without a heavy hand. I’ve learned how to make every member shine. I’ve learned that keeping the room mood light, brings out the best in everyone. People are more prone to feel comfortable and creative. I also learned to let mistakes happen and embrace them. That is what humans do…we make mistakes.He used to tell me his #1 rule – “Super-serve” the audience and clients! He was the best radio teacher I ever had! He gave me advice on how to deal with and be a leader of my own show, how to work with management and etc.What did people like Doug learn from you?I think Doug learned how to be a brother/sibling from me. He was an only child and he and I were like brother & sister. He would come to my house when my mom was in town. He was also close with my brother Mychal and talk radio with him every chance he got.He also learned from me how to watch the length of our breaks! That man could go looong on a break and because I began to know PPM and our syndicated breaks would be too long, I would pull out my timer and self-edit. He started doing that as well. LOLThe Brand Manager/PD at the station Geo Cook is extremely supportive of you, have you always been supported during your journey in radio? If not, how did you keep motivated?Yes…I was always supported! From Terry Avery’s support to Derek Brown, Gary Saunders, Russ Parr, to my husband. Heck, even record rep David Linton was supportive! LOLToday I get overwhelming love and support from women all over radio. I have women coming up to me at radio panels, conventions and on the street saying “go girl”, “we’re so proud of you”!Compass Media has been very supportive as well. Their commitment and vision was the reason I wanted to work with them.With streaming making such an amazing impact on the music industry, how do you think it will affect commercial radio?People still want the personal touch of a good radio personality. People want company and that’s what we give them. Information, entertainment, and music…it’s a winning combination.

What are your thoughts on Podcasting as a radio pro? For whatever reason jocks are seemingly completely disconnected from this growing and hugely successful concept

Freedom! The freedom to do what you want (which tells a lot about a person). There is also a lot of branding opportunity if done right.I think podcasting is another vehicle to get your message out and hone your skills and expand your brand. I’m working on developing one now.When you watch or listen to podcasts what are some of the first things you notice (good or bad)The first thing I notice is whether the person is a trained broadcaster or not. It’s so evident and it can be painful to listen to when a host isn’t. I also notice conversation clutter…direction of break or lacking one. The good thing I notice the expansion of a break, the chance to be authentic with your thoughts or opinion.

Indie Labels Reflect on Touch and Go’s Downsizing

Kevin Ross

January 1, 1970

Last Monday, 21 employees of the Touch and Go record label came to work in their three-story Ravenswood office to find the company some of them had known for decades was coming to an end.

Corey Rusk, who founded Touch and Go 28 years ago and had become one of the most significant figures in independent music, told the staff that economic conditions were forcing him to drastically shrink the label, end its production and distribution services for 23 independent labels, and pull back ” at least temporarily — on releasing new music.

The employees were “dumbfounded, one staffer said. “Nobody said a word. Jobs would be cut, though specifics of how many and when were still being worked out.As recently as 2006, Rusk said Touch and Go was enjoying the most profitable years in its history. But “the current state of the economy has reached the point where we can no longer afford to continue operating a multi-faceted label, he said.

Though the label will release a new album by the band Crystal Antlers in a few weeks, it will focus in the near term on catalogue sales.The announcement was symptomatic of a broader picture of economic decline in the music industry, and focused attention on the fragile state of independent labels.

They operate with considerably smaller budgets than majors such as Universal Music Group even as they are a breeding ground for some of the most significant artists of recent decades, including Nirvana, Green Day and former Touch and Go bands TV on the Radio and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

As word filtered across the independent music community nationwide, the dramatic downsizing of Touch and Go was met with expressions of shock, sadness, and anxiety. As Mac McCaughan of North Carolina’s Merge Records said, “It makes you think, if Touch and Go can’t do it, who can?

If they can’t pull through this economy, what does the mean for the rest of us? Chicago has long been home to dozens of independent labels, none more respected than Touch and Go, which has released more than 400 albums since the early Ëœ80s. “Corey created the blueprint for labels like mine, created the system many of us use, said Bettina Richards, who founded the Chicago-based Thrill DJey Records 17 years ago.

Touch and Go and punk-era contemporaries such as Dischord Records in Washington, D.C., set up a community atmosphere for underground artists to create music in the early Ëœ80s, and share equally in the profits of their work. This stood in vivid contrast to most major-label deals, in which artists received only 10 percent of profit from record sales, and then only after recovering expenses for recording, manufacturing, marketing and publicity.

Fewer than 10 percent of major-label artists are paid royalties from record sales. In contrast, artists at well-establi

Subsequent sales of the music will be digital downloads, which require no manufacturing or production costs.File-sharing of illicit digital music files has been cited by some music executives as the reason that the industry has lost one-third of its business in the last decade, mostly in declining compact-disc sales. Paid digital sales account for 30 percent of the revenue at independent labels, but physical product (both compact discs and vinyl albums) remains the financial bedrock of most.

So the folding of Touch and Go’s production and distribution service is a major blow to the 23 independent labels who used it. Touch and Go served as a middle man between the small labels and record stores, ensuring their product would be manufactured and shipped to outlets in a timely manner.

“Distribution is a ton of grunt work, and getting your own CDs made is costly, said Jesse Woghin, co-owner of Chicago-based Flameshovel Records, one of Touch and Go’s distribution clients. “Touch and Go didn’t make us pay up-front for manufacturing our CDs, and then got them into stores.

Plus they were friends. We trusted them. It was a dream come true to be able to work with them. So to have it all come crashing down is really di

Do we become an entirely digital label? I don’t know. We got into this because we like to make collectible things, things that people would be excited to hold. But that’s becoming less practical. Even bigger independents such as Merge are living on a thin economic edge.”The reason Touch and Go was successful for so long is that it was a reality based business, Merge’s McCaughan said.

“As opposed to a lot of the industry, which seems like a gambling operation. For them to shut down, it’s a shock. But indies will survive and keep making great music, because it’s easier for us to be flexible. We can scale back if we have to. It’s never been about making the most money. It’s always been dictated by the music. Thrill DJey’s Richards concurs. “It’s back to the underground. Last summer, I had to lay off one employee.

I now have five in Chicago and two in London. I’ve always been a cheap bastard, but now I’m a really cheap bastard. We find ways to cut corners, and make a little bit at a time. We make music for a certain kind of connoisseur, and as long as we focus on that, we’ll be alright. Indie labels wary in wake of Touch and Go’s downsizing | Turn It Up – A guided tour through the worlds of pop, rock and rap.