Radio, Music Programming & Curation
I’ve spent almost half of my career in radio as a programmer, on-air talent, and music curator. I’ve worked for major-market terrestrial stations as well as satellite and internet outlets. Here’s the history…
In August of 2021 I joined the team at Feed Media Group, the premier B2B music licensing service, as Music Curator. FMG is for businesses that need licensed popular music to create the most engaging customer experiences in their digital apps and physical spaces. They’re currently the leading supplier of music to fitness companies – in 2021 they distributed more than 550 Million tracks to more than 6 Million unique listeners.
As Music Curator, I’m responsible for selecting/programming music for some of the biggest fitness apps/devices on the market. Being able to use the skills I developed in my years of programming major market radio, while staying on top of music across all genres, has been an incredible experience so far!
In September of 2022 I was promoted and given additional responsibilities. As Manager, Catalog Development of the company’s Feed Originals product, I’m able to use my Rolodex of world-class musicians and producers to build a catalog of original songs and custom compositions for FMG customers.
In August of 2023 I was promoted once again to Artist Relations Lead / Senior Music Curator.
From February through July of 2021, I consulted the team at Amazing Media as Director of Talent & Programming for their newly-launched Amazing Radio USA online radio property. Tasked with finding, onboarding, and developing a roster of on-air presenters, voicing the station imaging, scheduling music, interaction with artists and industry executives, and hosting the station’s “Amazing Chart” show, it was a pleasure to be involved in the day-to-day at a groundbreaking new radio outlet.
In May of 2022, I re-joined the team as host of the “Amazing Chart” show. Tune in on Fridays and Sundays at 3P ET/Noon PT to hear me count down the hits! ;)
In the summer of 2020 I became the imaging ‘voice’ for SiriusXM’s “The Spectrum” (Channel 28) as well as their “Spectrum Discovery” channel. Exciting to be beamed down to earth from a satellite!
From 2016-2018 I was the host of the internationally-syndicated, two-hour Top 20 countdown program, the World Chart Show. Developed and distributed by Radio Express, the World Chart Show aired on over 29 Top 40/CHR radio stations in 22 countries around the world. The program was a global launching pad for artists including Lorde, Major Lazer, Meghan Trainor, One Direction, Leona Lewis, Sam Smith, Tove Lo, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Lana Del Rey and more.
In 2016 and 2017, I was the co-host of The Session, a groundbreaking one-hour radio program on legendary Los Angeles rock station KLOS. Each week, Christian James Hand and I would deconstruct a legendary rock song, sharing the isolated tracks, and telling the stories behind the recording sessions.
From its inception in 2007 until its redesign/relaunch in 2014, I curated and programmed the UK Hits and UK Indie channels for the Slacker music streaming service. As a longtime Anglophile, this was an exciting time for me to share and help break new music from across the pond!
On and off from 2006 until about 2011, I was hired onto special projects by Pasadena, CA-based music branding firm DMI Music & Media Networks. I curated in-store music for their clients including JC Penny, Steve Madden, Quicksilver, and Delta Airlines. I also voiced special ‘in-flight radio programs’ for Delta Airlines and US Airways.
From 2007 until the station changed formats in 2009, I was a weekend and fill-in host on L.A. tastemaker Alternative station Indie 103-1.
In 2007 and 2008 I was tasked with curating and programming Clear Channel Radio’s “Undiscovered” HD Radio channel. HD radio was still in its infancy then, but Clear Channel Radio brought me on due to my “ear to the streets” and relationships with unsigned and up-and-coming artists of all genres.
From 2004 into 2006, I co-hosted the syndicated import music show Passport Approved. It aired at the time on Indie 103-1 Los Angeles, KNRK Portland, OR, and KEDJ Phoenix. We were the first to give U.S. airplay to artists including Lily Allen, Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Wolfmother, Kasabian, Kate Nash, Duffy, and Sam Sparro (among many others).
In 2001 I was hired as a consultant to help launch a new Alternative station, KFSD (‘Premium Radio 92/1’), in North County, San Diego. They brought me on to advise senior management on programming strategy, production, positioning, and marketing. I helped build airplay clocks and trained an entirely new air staff on the music scheduling system, while also handling full-time on-air duties. In less than a year, the station (580 watts) received higher ratings than stations with significantly larger signals (30,000-50,000 watts)!
Management would eventually hire me at sister Hot AC station KMXN (Cool 94.3) Anaheim, CA, where I handled weekend and fill-in on-air duties until 2002.
In early 1997, Big City Radio moved me from New York to Los Angeles, where I’d take the reigns as Music Director and weekend/fill-in on-air host at KLYY (Y-107) Los Angeles. I played a key role in conceptualizing and implementing the overall station programming/market positioning. I’d built, edited and maintained music clocks and logs; and created cutting-edge specialty music programming. Some of my additional duties included organizing/conducting research projects (in-house focus groups, auditorium music tests), and weekly call-out research. I conducted weekly meetings with record label executives, consultants and all station personnel, and even contributed to the planning/developing of brand new on-air/production studios.
During my time at Y-107 (the company flipped the format to Spanish in late 1999), we grew the station’s weekly cume from 50,000 to 700,000+, securing our ranking as the 4th most listened-to Alternative station in the U.S.
In 1994, while still in college, I was hired by Alternative WRGX (X-107) New York to do the overnight on-air shift. After three months, I was promoted to Music Coordinator and Nighttime air talent. I created and hosted innovative specialty programs and features designed to increase the station’s TSL, and I edited and maintained the daily music logs using Selector and Linker programs. In 1997 when the station flipped to a Country music format, I stayed on for three months as the nighttime talent, eventually being promoted and relocated to Los Angeles.