“Behind the Desk” Feature: Todd Mayo and John Walker, Executive Producers, Music City Roots - By Clif Doyal in the Direct Buzz, October 2010 Edition.

Todd Mayo and John Walker preside as Executive Producers of Nashville’s newest live music attraction: Music City Roots: Live from the Loveless Café. From their enviable position on the outskirts of Nashville, they had at least two very big advantages going for themselves right out of the gate. 1: The name. Next to the Grand Ole Opry and the Opryland Hotel, the Loveless brand is world famous. 2. Proximity to great talent. Enough said. However, it is what they have built on those strengths that is truly extraordinary. While some live music ventures are struggling to survive and music revenues are down across the board, Music City Roots is flourishing.

The Direct Buzz had the opportunity to sit for an interview with Mayo and Walker recently. We learned that beyond their passion for Music City Roots, they are also powerful advocates and supporters for artists, the music they create, and the future direction of the music business at large.

The Direct Buzz (TDB): How did the concept for Music City Roots come about?

Todd Mayo: John and I both have backgrounds in broadcast media, specifically radio. We also had both left the corporate world and had started our own advertising agencies, and we kicked around ideas to get into content producing. We are both fans of Bluegrass, Roots music, Americana – music of authenticity. We talked about putting together a live musical variety show that featured the full measure of eclectic musical talent that abounds here in Tennessee, and of course, all around the country and all over the world. We both have a strong belief that our number one cultural export is our musical culture, and we didn’t feel that “Music City” was being branded to the full extent that actually exists [here]. There is a tradition going back for many, many years of musical variety shows. Of course, the Grand Ole Opry is chief among them. But there were shows that preceded the Opry, and other shows that competed with the Opry, and even before that into vaudeville. There is a lineage and a history of these kinds of shows because there is such great talent here. We are “Music City” and we felt like we wanted to export that musical culture in a way that encompassed traditional media, but also took advantage of new media. “Music City Roots” as a name, as a brand, grew out of that. It just fit. When we settled on that, it was like, “Of course, it’s Music City Roots.” We want to go back in the past with not only the way that we present Music City Roots, but also into the past when music was not as pigeon-holed [as it is now]. So that is why we set out to do [it this way] - to present it in a variety-type show. It’s all what we consider to be music of integrity, and quality. Of course, that is a subjective matter. We feel like we know it when we see it, or when we hear it. Somebody asked me: “What is Americana?” Well, maybe it’s the street sign at the intersection of “Quality” and “Music.” Is it Blues? Is it Rock ‘n’ Roll? It it Jazz? We don’t get into genres and labels as much. 

John Walker: Bottom line is, we want to eradicate, to the best of our ability, those boundaries of genre and categories - and more draw the line at integrity and quality and excellence. And by our definition, roots-Americana music is any music that grew out of the cultural mix and the cultural “soup” that was birthed as part of our country. And out of that came Bluegrass, American Folk music, Jazz, Gospel and Rock ‘n’ Roll. It’s all based on the interesting mix of European and African and various influences that merged here in our country and became - like Todd says - one of our primary cultural exports of our country. We are always looking for ways to color outside the lines, and not be pigeon-holed into being Country or Bluegrass, or what some people consider to be Americana, or not Americana. If it’s good, we want it. 

Todd: We looked at live variety showslike Austin City Limits, E-Town in Colorado, or Woodsongs in Kentucky, and Prairie Home Companion in Minnesota and we felt like there was a real niche to present this. The scene was happening [here]. So many artists choose to live here that are classified as Americana or Bluegrass or Roots for a variety of reasons, but it has not been presented the way that we are presenting it. We don’t just play Nashville artists. We have had artists from over 10 countries and almost every state play at Music City Roots. We want them to walk away from it and feel like they were treated well at every single level, and to provide them with a great experience. It’s not just a “butts-in-seats” deal. This a content play. It reaches a lot of folks and we really are principally concerned with forging strategic partnerships to grow the community and to make it an even better promotional vehicle for the artists. What we do is a niche, but when aggregated over the entire world, it’s a giant niche; People appreciate musical authenticity. 

tDB: How are you approaching the marketing of your show?

Todd: We have traditional media; we have a local radio station as a flagship station. We are filming and streaming every show live in hi-definition on the Internet, and there are plans underway to develop it as a linear television show, potentially on public television. We are going to be syndicating the show thru AirPlay Direct and other outlets to make it available to terrestrial radio, and there are plans to create our own branded 24/7 Music City Roots Internet radio station. We are looking at every single possible way to reach the worldwide community of lovers of good music. It’s a shotgun type approach to do the right thing and benefit the brands that we are associated with. 

tDB: How are the artists compensated - and how does the show support itself?

Todd: We give the gate to the artists. It’s a good promotional opportunity and that’s why people do it. Plus, the chicken is hot, and the beer is cold! We are trying to provide a stage, a worldwide stage for these artists. But in order to compensate the people on the team, we are a sponsorship driven business model. We have associated ourselves with several wonderful brands that have deep roots in Middle Tennessee, including Vietti Chili, Honest Abe Log Homes, French’s Shoes and Boots, Ascend Federal Credit Union, and Anchor Trailways and Tours. The Nature Conservancy is our non-profit partner. They are worldwide. Our brands are embedded. On Madison Avenue they call it “branded entertainment,” but in Nashville, what they have been calling it for many years is just “the way you do business.” There is not a stark differentiation between the actual programming content and the commercial - it is part of the show. We look to find ways to incorporate the brands that allow us to do what we do with the artists and the fans and grow an entire community together at one time. When you come to Music City Roots you will see; it is a wide cross-section of humanity. It’s urban and rural. It’s white collar and blue collar. It’s old and it’s young, and everything in between. We feel like we are entering into a post-demographic age, as far as branding and advertising goes. Where you don’t look so much at “What this does for the 18-34 [demo]” - this is about the music business in general. It’s about quality, and people appreciate quality at every stage of life. A grandfather might turn a grandson on to a certain type of music, or a granddaughter might turn the grandfather on to a certain type of music, whatever it is, that’s the way that it’s going. For a couple of marketing guys, we have basically taken everything that we have ever learned in marketing and try to do the exact opposite of that. We feel like that’s what will work for us.

John: What we endeavor to do is provide a global platform for music of integrity, whether or not they are household names. And, then provide a point of discovery and a point of purchase for the artist. We put no blockades between that discovery and going directly to the artist at the show or going to the artist’s website site. We go out of our way to provide bio on the artists and links to their websites so people can become part of their community; grow their fan base and buy their music and their merchandise. We know it’s tough for artists to make a living these days. It’s doesn’t work like it used to. People aren’t marching out to the brick and mortar stores because they heard 30 or 40 songs on the Top-40 that they’ve decided are cool and they are going out to buy it. Now, you discover music that is unique to your own tastes and you have to support the artists buying their stuff and buying their merch. We don’t get in the way of that, because we want them to make a living. We want to grow the entire community. As one feeds the other, a rising tide raises all ships. The sponsors benefit, the bands benefit, and we benefit because we love what we are doing. It’s a new way.

tDB: Tell us about your individual roles in the show.

John: There are a lot of similarities in our skill sets.Todd and I both met in the corporate radio world and we both have that in our background. But where we differ is what makes for the perfect partnership. Todd is a music fan. And he’s passionate about music as a fan and as a non-musician, and that’s why he’s been so brilliant in booking the shows. Each show is this eclectic, diverse mix of talent. And people may come to see a particular artist, but they walk away as a fan of another artist that they have discovered by coming to this musical buffet that we present every week. I on the other hand, come at it from a production and musician’s background. And so, I’m “looking under the hood” and thinking about from the production standpoint how we can achieve a higher level of excellence from the audio and video and the live production. Putting those two things together [Todd’s talents and mine] work well. Our skill sets divide in the perfect places where I’ve got this covered, and he’s got that covered, and we are nearly always, miraculously, on the same page.

Todd: I book the show, John does the production end of it, and we both do everything else.

John: Everything else! 

Todd: I book the shows, and he totally trusts my judgment and he does the production, because that is his forte - and every other decision is talked about together. 

tDB: So there is a real synergy?

Todd: Absolutely. 

tDB: Tell us about the rest of your team.

Todd: There’s Laurie Dashper (Associate Producer-Artist Relations), and her job is to love on the artist, and she does a great job at it. We have so many artists who ask, “Can we come back and play here again next week?” That is the way that we want them to feel. 

John: We have a group of associates that are part of our inner circle. Craig Havighurst is our journalistic partner and very much the “moral” barometer of the show in so many ways – and we look forward to reading his previews and his post blogs about the show. We look to connect the dots between the history and the legacy with the “new school.” That’s where we are looking to bridge the gap. Niko Papasideris (Associate Producer-New Media) is in charge of all-things-virtual. It is so much of a key to what we do. While we want to hold on those “old school” traditions and values, and the pioneering attitude that built this city in the first place - and made everyone want to come to “Music City” to pursue their music - now, there’s the Internet, which we can use to interconnect the fans, the artist, and the sponsors. That’s how you win. Niko’s key to that. He’s brilliant.  

tDB: What is your definition of an artist?

Todd: It reminds me of a quote that Eddie Stubbs attributes to Hank Snow from his early days at the Grand Ole Opry: One night at the Opry, Eddie had announced a group as “artists” and Hank said to him: “Eddie, those weren’t artists - they were an act.” And Eddie said “Forgive me, but what is the difference?” Hank told him: “Everybody who plays this show is an ‘act’ – but not everybody is an artist. Being an artist doesn’t mean that you can’t make money, there are artists who make millions of dollars, but that is not why they are in it. They are in it for all the right reasons.” By that definition, in our minds, anybody who plays Bluegrass music, Americana music, Roots music, whatever you want to call it, they are all artists, and they deserve to be promoted in the best possible light, because they are in it for the right reasons.  

John: If you took away the money – they would still do it, regardless. Here’s the bottom line: We all know that the music business model of the last millennium is in shambles. It’s over – it’s already dead. Many have not really accepted that, but we have. Traditionally this town has been polarized between the “That Ain’t Country Crowd” who were very much in the Traditional sense, and then you had the “New Country Crowd.” But somewhere in the middle was all of this good stuff that had nowhere to live in the old media model. But now, thank God, there’s a new way and there’s the long-tail [of the music business] and everybody has a place and you [the artist] can find your fan base, because people don’t discover new music the way that they used to. And, we are just trying to be a part of that solution.

tDB:What are your feelings about the current state of the music business and how can this model positively impact it moving forward?

Todd: To sayit’s all about the music is cliché. But clichés are clichés for a very good reason. It goes back to a single point. There is a point with all artists [regardless of genre], where everything they do is for the right reasons, but you can’t say that about everybody. So many artists start out for the right reasons, but because of marketing and demographics and the way they need to be packaged to reach a certain audience, everything is washed with a filter - it’s homogenized - for the sake of sales. Everybody loves money in their pocket, but we really see an emerging middle class in all music genres and whether you are lower-middle class, middle-middle class, or upper-middle class, it is less dependent upon luck and marketing that it has ever been and I mean traditional marketing. It has more dependent on the talent that you have and your ability to work hard and reach and grow your fan base. As folks are able to monetize that more directly thru places like AirPlay Direct and what we are working on. These are wonderful times. Like a Phoenix, things rise from the ashes – and with the economy and the way that everything is going – it has spurred so much creativity from people in this town. There is an undercurrent of change. Most agree that the old system is going down. There’s a whole bunch of folks who are trying to figure it out. No, they are figuring it out, not with all the answers, but just by doing things. That was the impetus for what we have done. We decided to do something to put some positive inertia out there to present this great music and we couldn’t be happier with how things are going. 

John: It’s like the “Wild West.” We all know that the solution is out there, generally speaking. We don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like, but we know that it’s there. And to the ones that have the strength and the fortitude to survive and the integrity to try to do it the right way without screwing anyone over along the way, [we will find] what it’s going to look like in the future. We are lucky enough to be alive in a generation where we are the architects of the new way. Thank God! It’s about time! 

~ ~ ~

Clif Doyal is a Nashville-based artist manager, publicist, and independent record label manager.