Industry Leaders Announced for Country Radio Seminar (CRS 2020) Mentoring Breakfasts

(Nashville, Tenn. – Jan. 24, 2020) Country Radio Seminar has released details surrounding four mentoring breakfasts that will take place at CRS 2020. Held in the Cumberland Rooms at the Omni Nashville, the breakfasts are the Programming Mentoring Breakfast, Digital & Streaming Mentoring Breakfast, Label Mentoring Breakfast, and Women’s Mentoring Breakfast (sponsored by NuVoodoo Media Services). Availability will be limited for all mentoring breakfasts, and pre-registration will be required. Pre-registration is available here.

The Programming Mentoring Breakfast and Digital & Streaming Breakfast will run concurrently on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 8:00-8:50 a.m. The Label Mentoring Breakfast and Women’s Mentoring Breakfast are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 21 at 7:30-8:50 a.m. 

An overview of each breakfast and participating mentors are below:

Thursday, Feb. 20

8:00-8:50 a.m. Programming Mentoring Breakfast - This one-on-one session provides the opportunity for attendees to sit down with experienced PDs who can help them build their skill set and learn fresh new ideas.  Confirmed mentors for the session are Carletta Blake (WGAR/iHeartMedia), M. Fletcher Brown (Big River Broadcasting), Charlie Cook (Cumulus), Melissa Frost (KRRV/Cenla Broadcasting), Buzz Jackson (KIIM/Cumulus), Kenny Jay (WSUN/Entercom) Kurt Johnson (Townsquare Media), Mike McVay (McVay Media), Rod Phillips (iHeartMedia), Mark Razz (Beasley Broadcasting), and Tim Roberts (WYCD). 

8:00-8:50 a.m.  Digital & Streaming Mentoring Breakfast - Industry professionals and platform experts will be available to provide insights on trends, strategies, and best practices to optimize digital assets and streaming platforms. In the spirit of collaboration, this session also allows for a “conversation” between panelists, attendees and the hosts. Digital mentors that will lead the session include Emily Cohen (Amazon Music), James Crowley (FlyteVu), Tim Foisset (Warner Music Nashville) and Kelly Rich (Amazon Music) with more to be released soon.

Friday, Feb. 21

7:30-8:50 a.m.  Women’s Mentoring Breakfast, sponsored by NuVoodoo Media Services, will offer attendees the opportunity to approach and chat with some of music’s female “power players” in a comfortable setting.  In attendance will be Brooke Antonakos (Red Creative Group), Jenn Dalen (Stingray Canada), Trudie Daniell (EMI), Heather Davis (WQDR/Raleigh), Martha Earls (EFG Management), Missi Gallimore (Get It Done Entertainment/Truth Management), Nicolle Galyon (Songs & Daughters), Morgan Kenney (WME), Amanda Kingsland (Rogers Media Canada), Lois Lewis (KNIX/Phoenix), Ali Matkosky (Big Loud), Annie Ortmeier (UMG Nashville), Shari Roth (WEA), Brittany Schaffer (Spotify), Ashley Sidoti (Valory Music Co.), Elaina Smith (Nash Nights Live), Cindy Spicer (WFUS/Tampa), Ashley Stegbauer (WWKA/Orlando), Jackie Stevens (EMI), Meg Stevens (WUBL/Atlanta), Jensen Sussman (Sweet Talk Publicity), and Monta Vaden (Country Aircheck). 

7:30-8:50 a.m. Label Mentoring Breakfast – A unique opportunity to meet, greet, and eat with some of the industry’s most inspiring record label executives to create a network, gain knowledge, and connect on everything from mentorship to motivation. Breakfast will be served, and mentor connections will be set-up based on pre-registration; attendees will then have the chance to move from mentor to mentor throughout the session to ask questions and exchange contact information. In attendance will be Allyson Gelnett (Curb Records), Cindy Mabe (UMG Nashville), Tom Martens (Warner Music Nashville), Erik Powell (Big Machine Records), Lesly Simon (Pearl Records), and Tyler Waugh (Big Loud).

Additionally, Country Radio Seminar will host a Believer’s Breakfast on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6:30-7:50 a.m. where attendees will have the opportunity to connect on a personal level; sharing friendship, camaraderie, and fellowship, while shedding positive light on a sometimes-challenging industry. 

For more information, visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com. The official mobile app for Country Radio Seminar is also now available for download on iPhone and Android mobile devices. The CRS 2020 app provides attendees with an expanded CRS agenda, session descriptions, speaker bios, artists performing, integrated calendar upgrades, and other event news.

Darcie Van Etten