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In This Issue (5/11) 

“Ready with a capital R.”

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Radio Vision

Luke-Combs51326.jpg Ain't No Love In Oklahoma: Columbia's Luke Combs (c) with the label's Christy Garbinski, iHeart/Oklahoma's JJ Ryan, American Country Countdown’s Ryan Fox and the label's Nicole Walden (l-r) in Norman, OK.
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Howdy, Radio Partners: Big Machine's Cole Goodwin (front) says "Howdy" to radio partners and their families in Florida. Pictured are WKRO/Daytona Beach's DJ Tremble, guests Emerson and Jordan, WWKA/Orlando's Melissa Quinones, guests Sherry Stanley and Paul Stringfield, WQYK/Tampa's Launa Stringfield, WPCV/Lakeland, FL's Julie Kay, WQIK/Jacksonville's Scot "Froggy" Langley, guests Lisa and Caden Langley, the label's Liz Gregg Santana and WIRK/West Palm Beach's Nick Rivers.

Meghan-Patrick51326.jpg The Golden State: Riser House's Meghan Patrick with the label’s Roger Fregoso and KSON/San Diego's Jessica Chenoweth (top) and Fregoso, KNCI/Sacramento's Sonia Jimenez and Chad Rufer (bottom, l-r) at Country In The Park.
Colton-Dawson51326.jpg Signage: Singer/songwriter Colton Dawson signs with Warner Records Nashville and TKO Artist Management. Pictured (front, l-r) are TKO's TK Kimbrell, Dawson and WRN's Cris Lacy; (back, l-r) TKO's Cassie Petty, WRN's Stephanie Davenport and TKO's Jordan Bernal.
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'Lion Eyes: Col. NY/Triple Tigers' Ella Langley kicks off her Dandelion Tour in Toledo, OH. Pictured (front, l-r) are Audacy/Detroit's Laurie Mamon and guest Kelcie Mifsud; (back, l-r) WYCD/Detroit's Tim Roberts, WGTY/York’s Scott Donato, Triple Tigers' Kevin Herring, WYCD's Holly Hutton, WQMX/Akron's Cherise Richards, Langley, WQMX's Sarah Kay and Triple Tigers' Diane Lockner.

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Man Made A Bar Tab: After years of "put it on the label's tab," the labels arrive at the wedding of WIL/St. Louis' Marty Brooks to collect. Pictured (back, l-r) are Nashville Harbor’s Bridget Herrmann, MCA's Katie Bright, Brooks, Big Loud's John D'Amico, Wheelhouse's Lisa Mastrianni, (front, l-r) MCA's Donna Passuntino, Brooks' wife, Michelle Joseph, and Red Street's Sally Allgeier.

blake51126.jpg Caesar Dressin': Wheelhouse's Blake Shelton (c) with KWNR's MoJoe Roberts (l) and the label's Steve Pleshe at his Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace.
Riley-Green51126.jpg Hell Of A Way To Bro: Nash. Harbor's Riley Green (c) with WKHX’s Lucas Phelan (l) and the label's Ryan Dokke at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre outside Atlanta.
Graham-Barham51126.jpg Insta-Graham: Disruptor/Sony Music Nashville's Graham Barham (c) with WKDF/Nashville's Erin Merimonti and Jesse James.

Top Stories

Riser House Adds Allen As EVP, Ups Three
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Industry veteran Shane Allen has joined Riser House as EVP/Promotion & Artist Brand Strategy. The company has also promoted nine-year company veteran Megan Stottlemyer from Label Manager to VP/Label Operations, VP/Streaming & Strategic Partnerships Alex Heimerman to Head/Marketing & Label Strategy and Dir./Business Affairs Jason VanAuken to VP of that department.

Most recently with Eric Church's SiriusXM channel, Outsiders Radio (CAT 11/28/22), Allen previously spent six years at Columbia, where he was SVP/Promotion, joining from the VP/Promotion role at Capitol/Nashville. Allen joined Capitol in 2007, left for a short stint with Red Light Management at the begining of 2009, then returned to Capitol in August of that year. When the label merged with UMG/Nashville in 2012, he held that title for all four of UMGN's imprints. Reach him here.

Stottlemyer joined Riser House full-time from an intern position in Jan. 2017, was named Product Mgr./Marketing Head that July and promoted to Label Manager in 2022 (CAT 11/18/22). Reach her here. Heimerman joined Riser House last year from The Trenches (CAT 6/3/25), with previous stops at MCA and Red Light; reach him here. VanAuken has been with the company since its launch in 2017; reach him here.

May 13, 2026 Share
CMA/Disney Extend Broadcast Relationship Through 2032
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The Mouse That Built Me: The CMA and Disney have extended their broadcast relationship through 2032 for The CMA Awards, and the CMA Fest and CMA Country Christmas annual specials. The six-year extension on the companies' existing 20-year relationship adds a live Disney+ stream to this year's 60th Annual CMA Awards (11/18), alongside the ABC telecast. The CMAs were previously available to stream on Hulu the day after the broadcast. "As I prepare to retire at the end of the year, ensuring CMA is strongly positioned for the future has remained one of my highest priorities, and I’m incredibly proud of what we've built together," says CMA CEO Sarah Trahern.

May 12, 2026 Share
March CDM Ratings
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Rocket City Rise: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for March 2026 (three-month rolling average, 1/8-4/1/26) compared with January and February. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Chattanooga, TN
(Market 93)

WUSY Audacy
13.0 (1) - 10.7 (1) - 8.6 (1)
WUUQ Bahakel Classic Country
3.8 (5) - 3.8 (4) - 3.3 (5t)
WOGT Cumulus 
Does not subscribe.

Huntsville, AL
(99)          

WDRM iHeartMedia
8.3 (1) - 11.0 (1) - 11.9 (1)
Largest share since Winter 2017.
WWFF Cumulus
Does not subscribe.

Jackson, MS
(125)
WMSI iHeartMedia
2.8 (9) - 3.7 (8) - 4.0 (6)
Largest share since Oct. 2024.
WUSJ New South
3.8 (7) - 3.4 (9) - 3.3 (8)
WHJT New South Classic Country
2.1 (11) - 2.0 (11) - 2.0 (10)
Madison, WI
(88)   
WMAD iHeartMedia
6.5 (3) - 5.9 (3) - 5.9 (2t)
WWQM Mid-West Family
1.7 (13) - 2.5 (11) - 3.1 (8)
WJVL
Big Radio
N/A - N/A - 1.4 (12t)
May 12, 2026 Share
Recent Stories
May 13, 2026 Early Riser: "I'm extremely grateful to [label founders] Matt Swanson, Jennifer Johnson and Mitchell Tenpenny for the opportunity to be a ... Read full story
May 13, 2026 Reve-News: Beasley reported Q1 2026 net revenue of $42.6 million, down 12.9% from $48.9m the same period last year. Accounting for the sale of its ... Read full story
May 13, 2026 Twaining On Sunday: Andrew Whitworth, Ashley McBryde, Carl Edwards, Corey LaJoie, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Ryan Fitzpatrick, ... Read full story
May 13, 2026 Mt. Rushmore State: Connoisseur Media is selling six Watertown, SD stations to Riverfront Broadcasting, including Country KSDR and Classic Country ... Read full story
May 13, 2026 Tour Support: Zach John King's Get To Drinkin’ Tour kicks off Oct. 1 in Indianapolis and includes stops in New York City (10/16), Nashville (11/5), ... Read full story
May 13, 2026 Sam Seaboard: Syndicator Seaboard Networks has launched the weekly Classic Country show Studio 39 With Steve Bauer, which is available to stations via... Read full story
May 13, 2026 Festive All: Russell Dickerson (6/4), Carly Pearce (6/5), Shaboozey (6/6) and Ashley McBryde (6/7) will be this year's Artists of the Day at... Read full story
May 13, 2026 Tales From The Crypto: The 2027 Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles Feb. 7 on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu, marking&... Read full story
May 12, 2026 Reve-News: iHeartMedia reported Q1 revenue of $884.2 million, up 9.3% from the prior year's $807.1m. Adjusted EBITDA was down 11.4 at $92.6m. ... Read full story
May 12, 2026 Iconography: Cumulus is selling Classic Country WWFF/Huntsville, AL to religious broadcaster Radio Training Network as part of a reported $2.45m deal ... Read full story
May 12, 2026 Bits & Pieces: Riley Green has signed on to occupy one of the big, red chairs on the next season of NBC's "The Voice," sharing on social media, "I... Read full story
May 12, 2026 ICYMI: During last night's (5/11) American Idol finale, hosts Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie performed "Deep Dive Woman," Bryan ... Read full story
May 11, 2026 Jack Of All Trades: Max Media/Cape Girardeau, MO GSM/DOS Jack Swart has been promoted to GM for the cluster, which includes Country KEZS. He ... Read full story
May 11, 2026 Mountain Air: Former Queen B KXLY/Spokane, WA MD/morning producer Sean "Slim" Widmer has joined Stephens crosstown KDRK to ... Read full story
May 11, 2026 Reve-News: Townsquare reported Q1 2026 net revenue of $96.8 million, off 1.9% from $98.7m in the same period in 2025. Broadcast advertising net ... Read full story
May 11, 2026 Contact Update: K-Love/Air1 Chief Media Officer Gator Harrison – formerly of iHeartMedia (Breaking News 4/21) – is on the job and can be reached here.... Read full story
May 11, 2026 Bits & Pieces: Nashville's Belmont University awarded honorary doctorates to Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley during its May 8 ... Read full story

 

 

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2026 ACM Voter's Guide
A quick reference guide to the 2026 ACM Nominees



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The CRS 2026 Print Special featuring: Hey-Hi, AI: Emerging Uses
Best CRS Takeaways Ever
Label Contacts
New Faces
Travis Daily: The Interview



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Inside This Issue: 

MC-Yay At Ryman Lunch
Disruption Junction
You Look Like You Love Me
The Day Ahead

 

 

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