Brad Paul - Industry Insider - from DJ to Record Exec to Radio Promoter

As a music business professional, Brad Paul has actively promoted a wide variety of music genres through his work as a radio promoter, radio host and producer, concert promoter, video producer and director. I first met Brad nearly 10 years ago at my first Americana Music Association conference in Nashville after I had just gotten on the air on KKFI with the Tasty Brew Music Radio Show. He has been at every AMA and Folk Alliance International conference I have attended since that time…advocating on behalf of his clients and very often serving on multiple radio-centric panels.

Brad graduated from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts with a BS degree in communication. While at Emerson he co-created the popular morning show The Coffeehouse on Emerson’s student run radio station WERS, where he also served as Program Director. He was responsible for bringing Live At Passim to WERS and produced and hosted the program for three years from the venerable music venue in Harvard Square.

Brad hosted and produced “The Folk Show” on WEVO (New Hampshire Public Radio) from 1988 to 1991 and Folk On WGBH (Boston's NPR affiliate) from 2004 to 2009. He is a founding member of the Americana Music Association and has served on its Board of Directors for thirteen years, with three years served as President of the Board

As VP of Promotion for Concord Music Group/New Rounder/Village Roadshow and SVP of National Promotion for Rounder Records he promoted artists as diverse as Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, Steve Martin, Paul Simon, Gregg Allman, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, The Chieftains, Alejandro Escovedo, Raul Malo and many more to a variety of radio formats including AAA, Americana, country, folk, and syndicated programs from National Public Radio and Public Radio International.

Since its inception in 2013, Brad Paul Media, a full service radio promotion and artist development consulting company whose goal is to help artists increase their brand awareness through radio exposure and develop their career by tapping into his network of music industry professionals, has scheduled over 1000 radio in-studio appearances and garnered tens of thousands of radio spins for over one hundred clients.He has sent me some amazing talent over the years that I have had the privilege of introducing rather exclusively to a Kansas City radio and KKFI streaming audience.

When he reached out to gauge my interest in interviewing his 2020 talent slate in New Orleans at Folk Alliance, I responded sure I would love to but only if he agreed to sit down with me for a chat also. Many thanks to Brad for arranging my subsequent interview with Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore aka The Mastersons and anchor of Steve Earle’s touring band, The Dukes. Enjoy my conversation with a bonafide music industry insider, Brad Paul.