Irving Waugh on WSM

Many people were saddened this week by the news that Irving Waugh, a major force in the shaping of Nashville's music industry, had died at the age of 94. (Here's a news release with a basic bio.) Mr. Waugh is one of the most important characters in my forthcoming book about WSM and the making of Music City, and meeting and interviewing him was one of my favorite parts of the research process.

Most of the coverage has dwelled on Mr. Waugh's instrumental role in landing a telvision deal for the CMA Awards, the opening of Opryland USA and the launch of Fan Fair. But those were mere manifestations of the ethic and energy he brought to his many jobs at WSM over five decades. Like Jack Stapp, Owen Bradley and others before him, Waugh was an ambitious concept man, a business executive with a creative streak and a gift for letting creative people under him work up to their potential. There aren't many like him left in media companies.

I searched my archives for a good quote from Mr. Waugh and found one that addresses a question that will be front and center when the book is published, and that is what is being done with WSM-AM today? In March of 2004, Waugh told me this:

The AM station today is a sleeping giant. It is a unique property. There are ways to do something with it because of where they’re located. And I can’t believe that they ignore it, because the average time buyer will not buy AM. But that station, if you had that station, you could call it the nation’s station, the star maker station, the hit maker. You could play every new release. You could make a deal with all the labels. You could create your own list of hits. You could be the hit maker. There are all sorts of things you could do with that probably, and it’s a shame it just sits there.

I share Waugh's sense that WSM is run these days with a sense of resignation about being a middle-ranked radio station in its local market and not much more. It recently lost its nation-wide exposure over Sirius satellite radio. Its format is conservative and its commercial load is extreme. Where there might a 24-hour Prairie Home Companion-meets-Merlefest sort of format with tons of live acts and interviews, there is a fairly standard-issue country gold-format station. I mean no disrespect to GM Chris Kulick or certainly to the station's greatest DJ Eddie Stubbs, both of whom are doing a great job. But I do often wish Gaylord would think as dynamically about WSM as it does about the Opry and the Ryman. I think Mr. Waugh would agree.

Comments

[George]

I agree that Irving Waugh was a brillaint man. A true visionary in his field. Underappreciated during his lifetime.

The problem with WSM can't simply be solved by management or Gaylord. What differs WSM from the other Gaylord properties is that the station depends on advertising agencies to make buys. In the old days, the station had a built-in customer: National Life & Accident Insurance Company. That company was the lifeline, and didn't care how WSM did in the ratings, or what the age of its audience was, as long as it represented the Insurance Company to the public. That was the deal.

Today, radio stations don't have built-in customers. They share advertisers with dozens of other media. Advertisers don't care about the programming of a station, but the size and make-up of its audience. The Opry has struggled in selling its image to sponsors, but they have an exclusive. There is only one Grand Ole Opry. There are 12,000 radio stations. Even if you distinguish WSM as a specific and unique brand, you will find a very limited market for advertisers interested in it. Not enough to continue to operate the station at its current level.

I understand Mr. Waugh's idea about making a deal with the labels, but their focus has changed too. They aren't interested in the broad view of music, but getting the next #1 on the chart. Having a hit on one station, no matter how big or unique, isn't enough in this world of multiple platforms and short attention spans.

Irving Waugh was the right person in the right place at the right time. All of those things are why we admire him. You change any of those three things, and he might not have been able to accomplish all that he did.

[string theory]

George,

I have to correct a common misperception that you share about WSM and National Life. The insurance company didn't subsidize the broadcating stations. WSM made a lot of money for NL from the mid thirties on. NL was a significant sponsor on WSM for only a brief period. For decades, WSM sold its time in big blocks to long-time sponsors who produced shows. WSM became a big production company that existed virtually independent from the insurance company. As long as they invested in talent they grew. When they, and every other big media company of the twentieth century, started trying to make money by cutting talent or by hyper-paying for celebrity talent, they all started dying. When you and others dismiss out of hand any way forward but the status quo for radio stations or any other segment of the entertainment business, I just see a failure of imagination. If WSM's people had thought like that in the 1940s, they'd never have built an empire.

[George]

My point is that advertising today is not done the way it was in the 40s. The bigger issue here is how advertiser-supported media works. As long as this station is supported by advertisers, it has to dance to their tune, not the other way around. This isn't an issue of "status quo," but simply how to get financial backing for an idea when there is low demand for the product. If you have a better way to get money, we'd all love to hear it.