The Stats:
Name: Rob Salmon – Director of Music Programing / El Media Group / NYC
Programs: Tao Group, Delta Airlines, Zuma, Thompson Hotels

Q: How do you find music for your programs?
I spend alot of time shopping and researching music online. I really believe in finding my own music not blindly following what is trending. For music curation you need to have your own sense of style and vibe, I will use blogs as a meter of what is happening to get an idea of a genre/scene, but rely on my own experience and ears to make the final decision if a song will make it to a playlist. I shop at Itunes, Juno Download, Traxsource, Beatport and more recently Bandcamp, I really like the idea of buying straight from the source and the artist getting a more direct cut of the revenue. Records Pools/ Promo services I work with include Shoplifter, Fatdrop,Tailor Communication, Dispersion PR or direct promos from producers/labels.

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The Stats:
Name: John Bradley / Custom Channels / Boulder, Colorado
Programs: Which Wich, Mooyah, Whole Foods Market, Lucky’s Market, Mash’d, Boloco

Q: How do you find music for your programs?
1) I’m always Shazaming songs. Half the time it’s because I know the song and want to remember later to schedule it on a channel. The other half are songs I don’t know and I want to get it to use.
2) I stay current with the charts of multiple radio formats via Mediabase and Billboard and the like because most businesses still want a good dose of familiarity in the music mix.
3) There’s always a lot of radio promoted songs but they aren’t always right for in-store play. Shoplifter has a better success ratio for what works for in-store.  Shoplifter isn’t out to make #1 hits; it’s in it for exposure…the right exposure.
4) My 24-year old daughter is a good source for uncharted music that’s way off my radar.

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