The Top 22 Players in AAA and Adult Rock 2011: #17-#13

Our year-end recap of people and companies that broke records, innovated, moved AAA forward, or otherwise had a stellar 2011 continues as we count down from #17 to #13…

Share This

#17 Dan Connelly – Capitol Music Group

Going for it with the slight-angle headshot. Projects power, yet still cool. This year's headshot winner.

With the Capitol Music Group, Dan Connelly started off 2011 strong, keeping The Decemberists at the top of the charts and widening Eli “Paperboy” Reed’s audience.

But nothing like finishing up strong, with crossover act Graffiti6, Ryan Adams, and Coldplay all charting.

2012 could prove interesting as the purchase of EMI assets by Universal and Sony make for one less major — something no one can be really all that happy about. Unless you’re Sony, which bought the publishing.

We can always hope that a little consolidation will make for stronger companies that are able to invest in more product, right? That’s possible, right?

#16 Kyle Meredith – WFPK

He's either emcee at some granola concert, or fronting an industrial electronica band.

Being Music Director at the most listened to AAA radio station in the country (based on percentage of population) was simply not enough for Kyle Meredith.

Apparently with World Domination on his mind, his hour-long syndicated show, The Weekly Feed, now airs on 16 additional stations.

The next Jason Bentley or Nic Harcourt? Can Louisville contain him? Neither of those questions will likely be answered in 2012.

Special nod to WFPK PD Stacey Owen for her part in all this.

#15 Bob Boilen – NPR Music

Bob uses the under-chin lighting scheme in an attempt to appear evil. It fails.

As the NPR Music guy, Bob Boilen is a shoo-in to make The Top 22 Players list. He’s one of only a few to repeat.

But here’s why he makes it this year: He won an Emmy with a little help from Moby.

Boilen’s Project Song — a video piece that documents the creation of a song from scratch — won an Emmy in the New Approaches To News & Documentary Programming: Arts, Lifestyle & Culture category.

Sure, that’s a pretty narrow category. But if you think it sounds easy, read the name of the category again – and think about how you’d win it.

We need more people thinking the way Bob thinks.

#14 The Alternate Side

In what might be one of the best-kept secrets in Adult Rock, WFUV launched another station in New York this year.

Kind of.

The kid sister specialty show/HD channel of WFUV, The Alternate Side, brokered a deal to put six hours of its super-hip indie rock mix on WNYE — the big signal (but als0-ran) station owned by the City of New York.

That’s 6am to noon on 91.5 FM. Congrats to all involved.

#13 RED Distribution

Danny, Elle, & Dawn. Sounds like a Lite-Rock lounge act appearing at a Holiday Inn near you.

It’s possible that this might be the most fun place to work on the record side.

Lots of strong acts from lots of different sources, with plenty of risks in the product pipeline.

Combine that with a veteran promo staff with Danny Buch up top, Elle Osis handling AAA, and Dawn Hood heading Alternative, and you have the ingredients to not only take records to the next level, but offer a home for mid-size acts to continue to practice their art.

Radiohead, Mumford and Sons, My Morning Jacket, Rachael Yamagata, Steve Earle, Matisyahu, and 33 Grammy nominations.

There’s a reason that RED positions itself as an artist development company. It does exactly that.