Austin Powers Music Supervisor and KCRW DJ Chris Douridas

The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

04/01/20 • 78 min

You probably know Chris Douridas from Los Angeles' iconic, trend-setting radio station KCRW. He was the host of Morning Becomes Eclectic in the '90s. He has been at the station for about 30 years. Chris is someone who has hired most of the staff that we know at KCRW and is an extremely influential figure in the Los Angeles music scene. Chris also started the premiere music showcase, School Night. He is also a music supervisor and was nominated for a Grammy award for his work on American Beauty and has music supervised a number of films, including the Austin Powers trilogy and Shrek 2.

Chris and I discuss how he listens music and what it takes for what it takes for him to play a new song on his radio show. We also talk about how he puts together the music for films he's working on. Chris also shares a hilarious story about his first time on air as a radio DJ.

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Quick links:

2:59 - Chris Douridas's first experience with radio

6:00 - Switching from doing news to music

20:14 - How do you know how much time to talk before the lyrics start?

26:40 - What emails do you choose to open?

31:15 - How Chris searches through SoundCloud

32:30 - What percentage of music you play is from other means vs. being pitched?

34:40 - Have you received any packages that stood out to you?

35:20 - Every artist has the same tools as the labels.

37:42 - Do you still discover music live?

39:20 - What is School Night?