When Rock Legends Die, Is Your Station Ready to Respond?

I don’t want to write this column.

It’s not fun.

But it is important.

A lot has already been written about the unexpected passing of Ozzy Osbourne. Keith Cunningham wrote a great column about how to handle losing a legend on the air, where he stressed the need to make it personal. Add that to everything else that’s been written about Ozzy, and I’m not sure there’s a lot more to say.

What we do need to discuss is the reality that this is going to continue happening. Classic Rock is built on a foundation of artists who are all aging. Beyond the people we’ve already lost, there are, unfortunately, many more to come. Which leads me to ask the important question: are you ready?

I don’t know how much or how little your station had to scramble when the news about Ozzy hit. But I’m betting in a lot of cases it was a massive disruption. And I have no doubt we could do a better job of planning for these terrible moments. It’s not fun, but we need to prepare for the worst. So here are a few thoughts to get you started.

You Need a Plan

I want to be sensitive here, but much like your station has core, secondary and tertiary artists, there are bigger names whose loss will be as gut-wrenching as what we felt last week when Ozzy died. Others that aren’t as beloved but still deserve an on-air tribute. And some who only require a small mention because, while sad, they will not be as relatable or important to your audience.

Even if you think you know who is at each level, take some time and make lists. Considering how many different approaches there are to the format, these lists will vary quite a bit. One good gut check is to involve other staff members in this part of the planning. See if they agree with your opinions on how much or little to disrupt your regular programming in each case.

Then develop a plan for what each level of celebrity tribute will look and sound like. Is it all music from that artist for a few hours? A day? More?

Or is it a couple of songs an hour to hit listeners with the news as they cycle in and out? Whatever you think is appropriate, deciding ahead of time helps take doubt or guesswork out of the equation and allows you to act quickly.

Get the Music Right

Create a list of songs broken into primary, secondary and tertiary levels that relate to each artist so you can easily turn your music log into an appropriate tribute without having to dig around or make decisions.

Ideally, do this for all your main artists, but at the very least, focus on the biggest names so you are ready.

It’s also a good time to make sure all the songs you need are in your library and your scheduling system. Having songs organized will save you from potential mistakes like I almost made, suggesting a Dio-era Black Sabbath song for airplay when Ozzy passed.

Solid preparation will also stop you from choosing songs that heavily feature the wrong band member. Making sure you have the songs that best represent the person we lost will make your station sound more credible.

Prepare the Production

You can’t produce individual tributes for everyone who could die. It’s an impossible amount of work. What you can do is create a couple of shells that you can easily customize each time we lose someone. That way, if your station voice is on vacation or in the wrong time zone, you already have what you need to start producing a stellar audio tribute.

Gather Your Digital Assets

Digital is an important part of reacting quickly to an artist’s passing. There was a long period after the news about Ozzy broke that I still didn’t see anything on radio station websites or social channels. Take the time to gather up assets that you can use and keep them in a place where everyone who might need them has easy access to help get posts out.

Next Man (or Woman) Up

Once you have a disaster plan, make sure it’s clear who is going to execute it, including what happens if you, the Program Director, are unavailable. Know who is responsible for making things happen, and if that person is unavailable, who’s next on the list.

Further, depending on your level of staffing, decide what is getting delegated and to whom and who their backups are. Finally, if you use out-of-market voice trackers, make sure they understand your plans and expectations in these sorts of situations.

I realize that level of detail might feel excessive, but trust me, these things always happen at the worst possible times, and it’s when our audience needs us the most.

I realize what I’m asking you to do. I warned you at the beginning that it’s not fun. And it’s a bunch of extra work, which is something no one needs.

That is, until you need it like we did last week. The more prepared you are for moments like this, the more you’ll be able to focus on doing what Keith suggested, interacting with your audience.

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Mike Stern

Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.