This week, Ira spoke with Andy Schuon, co-Founder and CEO of Spkr (an audio platform that is modernizing the way we interact with, share, and listen to audio content), who was the keynote speaker at the recent Governor’s Global Tourism Summit in Las Vegas. In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Schuon talks about his unique career, from postcard to intern to morning guy to CBS Radio to MTV; how music affects culture and drives tourism; his adventures in Las Vegas, moving background music to the foreground; and his new app project, Spkr, an app that curates and pushes content out, uses hosts, and solves the time and discovery issues of typical podcasts.
Getting an early start in Reno, Nevada, Schuon began his career in high school as the youngest radio DJ in America, and later in Denver, Colorado, he became the nation’s youngest station program director at KAZY-FM.
Success as program director of world-famous KROQ-FM in Los Angeles caught the attention of MTV which led to a role as head of programming and production for the network. Based in New York City, he oversaw MTV’s evolution from video jukebox to global pop culture phenomenon by pushing alternative rock and hip hop to the mainstream mixed with non-music programs that reflected youth culture. Later he was given additional responsibility for VH1, and he led the team that created and launched MTV2.
Schuon returned to radio as president of programming and marketing for 185 station group CBS Radio, served on the board of the largest radio syndicator Premiere Radio Networks, and acted as exclusive advisor to XM radio until its merger with Sirius.
As Co-Founder & President of Revolt TV, Schuon reunited with Sean “Diddy” Combs, one of the superstars from his time at MTV, to form a network that has become one of the fastest-growing music and television brands in the USA.
In the record business, Schuon was Executive Vice President and General Manager of Warner Bros., and the founder and CEO of Pressplay/Napster…before Spotify or iTunes there was Pressplay, a joint venture of Universal Music Group and Sony Music, the pioneering music subscription service.
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