After A Surprising Layoff, Becky Brenner Now Controls Her Own Destiny

Armed with 35 years of experience in radio, Becky Brenner embarked on a new adventure earlier this month as VP/consulting partner at Albright & O’Malley Consulting. The move follows a painful layoff last summer—the first job loss of her remarkable career. In our Stark Country interview, Brenner shares her thoughts on the state of the industry, and extols the joys of now having control over her own destiny, her new role as a teacher, and being part of a “hot new trio” in country music.

Few people are as well liked and respected in the country radio industry as Becky Brenner, who serves on the board of both the Country Music Assn. and Country Radio Seminar. So when she was laid off from her longtime role as PD and digital web manager at KMPS Seattle last July, the industry was stunned, as evidenced by her Facebook wall, which swelled with messages of sympathy, support and encouragement. After taking a little time to figure out her next steps, she emerged this month as part of the Albright & O’Malley team, a rare expansion at a time when many consulting firms are struggling due to the industry’s continuing consolidation.

It was a second go-round as a consultant for Brenner, who began her radio career in Oshkosh, Wis., in 1977. After five years in that market, she joined KMPS in 1982 and stayed for 10 years before joining BP Consulting Group and sister radio network Broadcast Programming as VP of programming, her first stint working with current partner Jaye Albright. In 1995, she returned to KMPS, where she held various roles including general program manager. She remained at KMPS until her departure last summer.

SC: Being laid off in the radio business is a rite of passage. Do you think having now gone through it yourself makes you more relatable or sympathetic to current and potential clients?

BB: I guess it is something that, until you go through it, you really can’t totally relate to. It’s like any other experience in life, once you’ve truly been through it, you’re changed a little bit, you’re more empathetic and you understand more all of the emotions that are involved. I do think it makes you more well rounded, but I wouldn’t recommend it for anybody. [laughs] I think it’s one of those things that it’s not bad to experience it. You just wish you would never have to.

SC: It had never happened to you before?

BB: No. I’d never, ever been laid off or let go or anything from a job, ever. I do feel fortunate to have gotten that far, especially in the radio business, and never experienced it. It had to happen. It’s one of those things where the industry has changed so much, and there are so many different ways, philosophically, to accomplish the goal. Sometimes it doesn’t always work out when new management comes in. That’s what happens.

SC: In your new role at A&O, are you expected to build your own list, work with existing clients, or both?

BB: It’ll be a combination of all of the above. [When] I was in the process of kind of thinking of which direction I wanted to go in, I had a couple of people who had said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this project and I’d really like you to work on this.’ As those projects came along, I thought, ‘Well, I could make a business out of this.’ [In joining forces with A&O]… It really worked out well for [all] of us. I will have my own clients as well as helping service Jaye’s clients. And the way we look at it, too, is we’re all kind of available as a resource to each other’s clients.

Mike O’Malley, of course, has his own client base as well, so for us to share resources… it’s kind of like the perfect trio.

SC: And trios are the hottest current trend in country music.

BB: We fit right in as a hot new trio.

SC: How do you sell the benefits of having a consultant to stations?

BB: We’re at a time where people are so busy in their day-to-day jobs that it can be a tremendous benefit to have outside consultants who are able to look at the bigger picture, take some time to just sit and think about something, and then offer you some solutions that might potentially work.

And for so many years, there has been less of a farm club for people to come up through the ranks and actually get experience on a smaller level to come to these larger markets. So many times, when someone arrives at a larger market or when you’re looking to bring someone new into the fold, they need some assistance. They need some training, some guidance. Everyone’s trying to do the job of five people, so having an outside resource to help you really is a value.

SC: What are the biggest differences between day-to-day programming and being a consultant.

BB: Travel will be a big one. For me, the tremendous benefit is far less stress. I think that day-to-day programming is so tremendously stressful these days because of the volume of what you’re being asked to do, and because of the pressure that comes from the structures in corporate radio and the stress of the economy.

The one thing I’m starting to sense—as anyone who’s either started their own business, or enters into this consulting type of operation [knows]—you really have so much more control over your own destiny than you did before. That part I love.

SC: What else about this job specifically appealed to you?

BB: I always wanted to be a teacher, and I always enjoy learning. The one thing that’s so amazing about what I get to do now is I can learn so much from these markets I travel to, and the different people I work with. And then you’re able to take those ideas, share them with others, and do teaching on the flip side of that. So not only are you constantly learning, you’re constantly teaching, and being able to collaborate and brainstorm with people is so much fun. And then to be able to—down the road—see the result of all of that work is really great, too.

I’m a people person. I just enjoy conversations and brainstorming and looking at things in a different way and coming up with new ideas. I think sometimes you get so bogged down in the business world or the day-to-day of doing your job you forget to do that kind of thing. It really helps you be more creative, and it’s a lot more stimulating.

SC: What are some things about day-to-day programming that you do not miss at all?

BB: Let’s see… failing automation systems, budget reports, reading contracts.

I miss all the people aspects of it; the reporting, and I miss the day-to-day programming of the music and promotions, because all of that was fun. But when you look at the technical aspects of things, and the budgeting, and trying to make things work with no money, and all of that, it wears on you after a while.

SC: As a consultant, what skill sets do you bring to the table from all your years in radio?

BB: Hopefully I will have some good ideas for people in being able to see and hear what they need to do to go to the next level, and being able to take some of the successes that I’ve had and have those translate into helping someone else who is trying to achieve that same kind of success. And just really listening to what’s going on and the goals that the clients have, and helping them achieve their goals.

I tend to be a glass half full person, and sometimes I’m able to walk into situations and say, “Wait, what about this?” Rather than seeing the negative side of it, I attempt to just see the positive side of things. Hopefully that would give a lot of perspective that takes them down a more successful path as well.

SC: What are your thoughts on the state of the country music industry?

BB: I’m excited about the state of country music because I think that we have become the pop format. When I use “pop,” I’m talking about popular in terms of the music that people are gravitating toward at the moment. I think that in the last few years we have become so mainstream in terms of some of the stigma being gone. So many people that you talk to will admit they hear a lot of country, because they’re hearing it on AC stations and hot AC stations. So country is finding a place in the mainstream music formats.

Even though it’s always been one of the most programmed formats in radio, there still was a little bit of a stigma in terms of who listened to it. Now you look at all the accomplishments of people like Blake Shelton on ‘The Voice.’ That has been huge. And then [there is] far more exposure on all the national media, on “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” David Letterman, “The Tonight Show,” and “Ellen.” All those shows are booking more country acts because their audiences are interested in the country stars. I think that’s really exciting.

SC: What about tour thoughts on the state of the radio industry?

BB: It might be my rose colored glasses, but I am generally very optimistic about radio. I think it is still a great “one to many” medium that is free, that has the ability to really create local communities quickly, and is still seen as a more personal medium even than, like, a Facebook or Twitter. It’s still a medium that speaks to you in voice as compared to a lot of things that are electronic or technology-driven.

And radio has figured out how to take its content and translate that to so many different platforms. You’re no longer a radio program director, you’re a brand manager, and you take your brand and find all the different avenues that you can distribute your content on. I think as long as radio continues to evolve like that, and focus on local communities, I think it can and will survive.

I do think there’s room for national platforms as well, like iHeartRadio or Radio.com or the ones that are consolidating places to find the radio stations. Some of those can have success as well, but you really do have to stay focused on producing local content, because everything else is available in so many other ways nationally.

SC: Anything particular trends you see coming up in radio that you’re excited about?

BB: I am excited about the trend toward live and local radio. People are starting to realize that is one differentiation you can have compared to all of these other platforms. It’s nice to see people coming back to valuing having local people on the air and talking about local things and trying to develop a community and serve their community. I think it’s coming back around again and, hopefully, if the economy continues to improve, that will help improve that more.

SC: Is live and local really a trend, or more like wishful thinking?

BB: Someone’s got to figure it out. I just hope that they will. I think there are a few groups that are really trying to hire some good local talent to do live where they can. I hope it happens [more], but that could be my rose colored glasses again.