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iHEARTMEDIA MUSIC SUMMIT DAY THREE: RISE OF THE INDEPENDENTS

Our undercover weasel—pressed into action because our mole had passed out in the wings of Burbank’s iHeart Theater following numerous Bullet and Gingers—was able to weasel his way into the well-attended reception at Hyde on Sunset. Pulling himself together the next morning, our hungover mole wolfed down the breakfast burritos before observing the final offerings the closing day of the Summit had to offer. These are his stories.

Poleman, Weiss, Pincus, Nelly and Chia. Photos by Katherine Tyler

Despite looming flights, days of being mostly off the grid from their day jobs and nearly 1,000 songs to digest, the iHeart programming crew arrived early and ready for Day Three.

The independents brought their game as the session, led off by Glassnote’s Nick Petropoulos, proved. He celebrated Mumford & Sons being the most played act at Alternative this year, as well as the breakout of Robert DeLong (pictured, left). Setting up new releases from HOLYCHILD, BIAO (from Vampire Weekend) and Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, he teased new projects from Phoenix and Childish Gambino. The wake-up call, literally, was DeLong’s performance—dude is a modern-day one man band. The live cams showed up-close how he utilized loops, syncs and God-given talent to play “Don’t Wait Up” and “Long Way Down,” prompting a standing ovation from the room. Not an easy feat after three days and a late-night reception.

INgrooves Attack Hamster Michael Plen followed with a presentation about parent company Isolation Network and the many labels and artists it distributes. Next up, Harvest’s Jacqueline Saturn focused on Glass Animals, whose TV spot for Apple’s iPhone 6 has the act poised for upstreaming.

Celebrating 15+ years, S-Curve’s Steve Greenberg then took the stage. It’s been a long time since “Who Let the Dogs Out,” but the hits keep coming. He intro’d a video message from Andy Grammar, who’s obviously made many friends at radio these past years. Steve thanked iHeart, Hollywood and Scot Finck for teaming up to achieve the 2m+ in sales on “Honey I’m Good,” then played rough mix of Grammar’s new single, “Hallelujah”.

iHeart’s Tom Poleman hailed A2IM’s Molly Neuman as a major factor in facilitating the independents’ voice in these meetings. BMG’s Tim Reid (Janet Jackson), Eleven Seven’s Steve Kline (Dirty Heads), HopelessIan Harrison (All Time Low), Razor & Tie’s Kurt Steffeck (Pretty Reckless), Secretly Group’s Hannah Carlen (The War on Drugs) and Epitaph’s Brett Greenberg (Sleeping With Sirens) are among those iHeart has supported and provided with a platform, during the last year, and continues to do so.

Representing RED Associated Labels, Bob Weil, Marni Halpern and Richard Nash presented new offerings from the Chainsmokers, who passed out roses to the ladies in attendance in honor of their new single. Also prominent in RED’s list of priorities are DJ Khaled and Jordin Sparks.

RED’s Danny Buch introduced Daya, who wooed the programmers with “Hide Away.” Her perf was followed by a sizzle reel that started with top-selling Broken Bow artist Jason Aldean and ended with Black River Entertainment’s Kelsea Ballerini. Downtown’s Cold War Kids (above right) were a hit, as was Red Bull Records’ well-liked Joe Guzik, who celebrated the achievements of AWOLNATION.

The Summit, the day, and the hangover our mole had worked so hard to achieve came to an end, but not before Primary Wave’s Justin Shukat and team showed that PW was not simply a pubco but a branding, marketing and artist-services company. Out came Cee Lo Green, who played snippets from his upcoming album, Heart Blanche. But in his post-inebriated state, our insurgent couldn’t forget the opening segment about Mr. Mestel and the origins of Primary Wave:

Pass the Henny; this Summit is a wrap.

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THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
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