Anchor Promotions, launched in 2013, is a label service and promotions company helmed by industry executive Lionel Ridenour. The company creates an even playing field for smaller labels and independent artists to get their records played on urban radio. Anchor also works seamlessly with major labels, to execute urban radio strategies.

The Anchor promotions team’s record speaks for itself: the team has catapulted records by developing and established talent to the #1 position on urban radio airplay charts. Anchor consistently holds market share based on urban radio airplay according to Mediabase (the music industry’s top service that monitors radio airplay). The team comprised of industry veterans are not only able to work records at radio, but also help artists and labels to create marketing, digital, social and sales campaigns

Anchor Promotions has the distinction of being one of the only Black-owned fully staffed radio and marketing companies in the business. “This type of service and approach has been available in the pop and rhythmic formats for years, and I think it’s overdue for Hip-Hop and R&B artists to have access to ‘major label’ urban radio promotional services,” says Ridenour

Lionel Ridenour has spent over 30 years turning sparks into global stars. The Cincinnati, Ohio native’s passion for music led him to Los Angeles after college where he majored in Communications at San Francisco State University. He first entered the business as an entrepreneur in 1987, co-founding Mainframe Records and Promotions a street promotion and recording company. “My partners and I understood the value of direct to consumer, grassroots marketing, and we saw that labels were not doing these types of campaigns, so we created a company to fill the void.” Ridenour and his partners were so successful that Capitol Records brought them in-house and they became the first in-house street team to ever be hired by a major label, starting a new trend in music marketing. His major label promotion career found him working with one of the most popular rap artists of that time, MC Hammer.

Lionel’s keen foresight into how lifestyle and street marketing helped to create a culture around music and individual records influenced the way record labels structured their radio departments: in the late 80’s and early 90’s most major labels retained in-house street steams to super-service radio promotion efforts. In 1993, Ridenour was tapped to work in the senior ranks of urban radio promotion at Arista Records in New York during a time when the label was on the cusp of breaking into a decade long urban music domination. He worked closely with industry veteran and label president Clive Davis on projects from stellar top-selling artists like Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. He also headed promotional efforts for L.A. Reid and Babyface’s label, LaFace Records with a roster that included multi-platinum stars OutKast, Usher, Toni Braxton, Pink and others.

When Sean “Diddy” Combs brought his new Bad Boy Records label to Arista, Lionel sat down with him and Mr. Davis to map out a plan for their now classic first release, Ready to Die from Notorious B.I.G. Ridenour spearheaded all urban radio efforts for Craig Mack, Total, Faith Evans, 112 and the Bad Boy Records roster. From 1993 to 2003 Lionel had the hottest historic streak, perhaps one of the longest runs in the history of BDS/Mediabase with urban hits as he shepherded radio efforts for Arista, LaFace, Bad Boy and other independent labels with joint venture deals with Arista. His professional star was on the rise.

From there, Lionel went on to head the urban music departments for Virgin Records (Janet Jackson) and Malaco Records- where Lionel signed Bebe & Cece Winans and helped expand the label roster, then comprised of blues and gospel artists, with hip-hop and R&B talent.

As Lionel ascended to the top of the executive ranks and the music industry went through a transitional phase due to the onset of the digital era, his entrepreneurial instincts once again sensed opportunity. While it’s common for record labels to rely on regional radio consultants to fill the void, Ridenour recognized an opportunity. “I created a business plan based on offering labels and artists a ‘major label’ radio promotional structure.” In addition to being a valuable resource for major labels to enhance what they were doing; Lionel correctly predicted these services would also be in-demand for independent labels as well as unsigned new artists.

With that, Anchor Promotions was conceived in 2013. And Lionel and his team have established “proof of concept” with his very first clients, Trill Entertainment’s Webbie and Think It’s A Game Records’ artists Rich Home Quan and YFN Lucci. Next up for Anchor was Commission Records’ Lil Dicky and madeintokyo. Anchor not only gave independent artists and labels the opportunity to compete on a new level by consistently delivering #1 and Top 10 records on urban airplay charts, but Anchor was also- and continues to be- successful in solidifying partnerships with major label promotion divisions at Warner Records, Hitco, and Geffen Records to name a few to help drive their artists to the top of urban airplay charts. Additionally, Anchor Promotion has led radio efforts for Erica Banks, SAINt JHN, Wale, Chance The Rapper, Yella Beezy, Tyga, SpottemGottem, Wale, Lil Pump, Rod Wave, Grammy-nominated independent artist Daniel Caesar, and the list goes on.

Anchor Promotions’ efforts have not gone unnoticed within the industry: Todd Moscowitz, founder & CEO of Alamo Records offers, “Anchor has been a great partner to us since the start of Alamo and has helped us take Durk Rod and the rest of the roster from the artist development stage to platinum status.” 1501 Records CEO Carl Crawford adds, “we hired Anchor to promote my artist, Erica Banks’ single, ‘Buss It’ and reached our goal of getting a Top 10 and a Gold-certified single. Our great partnership with Lionel and his team will continue.”

Anchor Promotions is proudly one of the only Black-owned fully staffed urban radio and marketing company in the business. “Companies like Anchor have existed and thrived in the pop and rhythmic formats for years,” Ridenour states. “But these same services have never been an option for major and independent R&B/Hip-Hop artists or labels.”

Being connected to the community and culture are cornerstones of Lionel Ridenour’s business personal and philosophies. It is what led him to his first entrepreneurial endeavor in the music business in the first place: his instinct to connect music and culture on a grassroots level. Mr. Ridenour also believes in giving back to the community. He supports Youth Mentoring Connection (YMC) and their “Miles of Music” 5k event. YMC is an organization that fosters mentoring for at-risk youth.

When asked what continues to drive his success, Ridenour comments, “For me, it’s the love of music as well as the love of the competition to succeed in this very unique and challenging business.”