There aren’t a lot of people outside of radio who understand the role of a Program Director. And there are even fewer who understand the specific role of a Classic Rock Program Director.
There is, however, one person who faces almost the exact same pressures and challenges as those running Classic Rock stations. Meet Matthew Wilkening, Editor in Chief of UltimateClassicRock.com.
I think it’s safe to say that every talent working on a Classic-based station has at one time or another gotten news, prep or inspiration from this site, so I wanted to talk with Wilkening about his vision for the content and how it’s similar or different from running a radio station in the format.
The Ever-Moving Target of Classic Rock
The first thing I learned in talking with him is that we are not alone in our endless debate about what artists fit under the banner of Classic Rock. “That’s a moving target, for sure,” says Wilkening. “It’s not so much a matter of us drawing the line as it is us trying to figure out where the line is, and what new territory we can expand into or what connections we can make to what’s going on in modern culture.” Sound familiar?
News, Content, and Staying Ahead
He explains that the site’s original task was to be a news source for Townsquare’s Classic Rock stations, so the bulk of their content is focused on the artists and songs those stations play. And since those acts are still highly active, there is a great deal of content to cover.
For example, just on the day we spoke, Joe Perry played the first show of a tour, a John Lennon boxed set was announced, and Robert Plant dropped a new song. All that hit the site before nine a.m.
Finding Fresh Angles on Familiar Stories
Beyond reporting the news, Wilkening says the team at Ultimate Classic Rock faces the same challenge as an airstaff at a Classic Rock station: finding new ways to tell the same stories, again.
“You used to be able to just have a headline such as ‘30 Years Ago: This Band Puts Out This Album’ and it would do great,” says Wilkening. “But now if you don’t have some kind of an angle in the story, you’re dead in the water.” An excellent reminder for every radio host in any format, but especially for Classic Rock. Finding a new approach to the story matters.
Finding those unique new angles, he says, is an important skill because it not only keeps longtime fans engaged but also helps cement a new generation of younger fans who continue to discover this body of music.
Longevity and Covering a Finite Group
That goes a long way to mitigating concerns that the site, or the format, will eventually run out of material. “Of course I worry! We’ve already spent about 15 years largely covering a finite group of artists,” says Wilkening.
“But so far it has proven to be an unfounded fear.” As someone who has already covered the 50th and 55th anniversaries of the Beatles releasing ‘Revolver’, Wilkening is fully planning to be around next year to cover the 60th.
Adapting to Pop Culture and Trends
I asked him for the inside scoop on what works the best for his team, hoping there might be a few tricks that Classic Rock stations can borrow. He started with the importance of being able to shift focus quickly based on pop culture.
“When the Queen movie came out a few years ago, that was pretty much all our readers wanted to read about.”
Engaging Content Beyond News
When it comes to how they cover the material, he says the site has a lot of success with interviews and that any ranking of albums, songs, or artists always stirs up discussion. But his favorite is something that most stations never do but should consider, “when we get a few writers together for a roundtable discussion on a topic. Those do very well.”
Handling Major Losses Like Ozzy Osbourne
We also took a few minutes to talk about the recent loss of Ozzy Osbourne and how his team manages an event like that. “Sadly, you have to report first and mourn later,” says Wilkening.
Talking about their process, he says they have close to sixty obituaries pre-written because in a situation like that, speed matters, and “it’s very important to us to share a detailed, in-depth tribute for somebody as important as Ozzy.”
After the initial story goes live, the focus turns to gathering reactions from the artist’s peers and looking back across their life and career. But that requires focus.
“What happens is you have 100 different things you want to say, and you have to decide what’s most important.” And then, he says, when the work is done, the mourning can begin: “Eventually, I blasted the ’Tribute’ album as loud as possible and cried a bit.”
Advice for Classic Rock Stations
Finally, I asked if Wilkening had any advice for someone operating a Classic Rock station. Overall, he thinks the Townsquare Stations, with whom he works closely, are doing a great job. Instead, his wish is that the listeners would loosen up.
“I wish classic rock radio listeners would be more receptive to new music from the bands that are already getting played on their favorite stations,” he says. “But I’ve seen the data, and the simple fact is the same person who loves “Back in Black” will change the channel if you play even an awesome AC/DC song such as “Realize” from their new album. So, like the Kinks say, you’ve gotta give the people what they want.”
A great reminder from outside our radio world: play the hits.
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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.
Good content here Matt – I happened to be the guy who dropped the first needle on Black Sabbath when it aired on Houston radio. It was up to me, and me alone to pick the track to play that day on KLOL. Would it be the album title track, or would it be The Wizard? There’s some uncommon radio fun right there. Sounds like you are on the right track. Having said that, PDs might look for a way to have jocks spotlight a deep track on some regular basis. “Playing the Hits” does not have to mean blanking out the other 80% of it. Not as crazy as it sounds – depends on how you set it up.