Most New Year’s Resolutions are broken and forgotten before the hangover is gone, but they’re always hatched from a positive place. Even in Rock Radio.
Before the industry began its multi-week holiday nap in December, I reached out to some people across the Rock-O-Sphere and asked for their New Year’s Resolutions for RockTernative.
Some politely asked to remain anonymous, so they don’t get whacked — so you’ll see a few that had to remain stealth.
The hope is that some of these are thought-provoking or maybe so ridiculous you have to read them twice.
Rock Resolutions For 2026
… always remember. Quality over Quantity. Stop fretting over spins and keep the focus on “Breaking A Band.” — Ray Gmeiner, Owner, Ray Gmeiner Rocks Promotion (RGR)
… 2026 strikes me as “the year of serious shit for radio,” Rock or otherwise. Think about how the most successful stations today are still configured — they feature great local personalities and embrace their communities. There are no shortcuts. — Fred Jacobs, President, Jacobs Media
… I’d like to see Rock radio have as much excitement about the new music as listeners do. Whether it’s Sleep Token or Wet Leg, the formats will be at their healthiest when those artists are better than another spin of the Bravery. — Sean Ross, Advantage Research
… I get that research is important, but we need to stop using it as the be all end all. My PD recently me told we were going to stop playing “What I’ve Done” because it didn’t test quite as good “In the End.” OK… — Asked to remain anonymous
… for Rock radio overall to accept that the format is bifurcated. Classic Rock stations should be all that – all the time. Rock stations should play mostly new music… remembering that Music Discovery is important to the audience, and if it’s not new it’s not more than 10 years old. — Mike McVay, President, McVay Media
… for more Rock stations to pop up across the country. It is the greatest radio format in the world and needs to be in every city. Also, this will be the year I dunk a basketball. — Abe Kanan, Afternoons, 98 Rock/Sacramento
… to keep proving that Rock radio is still the last honest soundtrack standing — loud, cathartic, and far more alive than most of the paper-thin, gluten-free music floating around right now. I fully plan on blasting music that shakes the dishes, and I’ll scream along to every lyric like it’s my lung therapy. True story, since COVID, screaming and beating my chest counts toward my health insurance deductible. — Corlota, PD/Afternoons, KXTE/Las Vegas
… if elected officials can use profanity in public and at press conferences, without consequence, why the (expletive) can’t I say (expletive) on the air? DJs should be able to spontaneously speak without fear of being fired for using words our leaders do. It’s bullshit. — Air talent who asked to remain anonymous
… I’m romanticizing “Marci’s Playground” like it’s a music video. Damsel in distress, crying, loud music, rain, but rescued by a reincarnated Michael Hutchence who validates all my feelings in the end. — Marci Wiser, Host – “Marci’s Playground,” Live 105/San Francisco
… to push the boundaries of creativity, music and localized content for radio. Let’s make 2026 the year we turn this ship around and sail into Port Profitability. — Joel Denver, CEO, SonicTrek.ai
… stop firing people and cutting things we REALLY need. The Yankees would be a Triple-A club if they acted like radio. — Asked to remain anonymous
… for some of the suits at radio to take a test and prove they can do a good air shift or make a good promo before they tell me how to do five different jobs with only two soup cans and a string. — Asked to remain anonymous
… this year, I’m resolving to prioritize quality time with my family, self-care, and to bring back energy by listening to more radio and promoting the artists I love like they’re family!” — Gary Jay / LAND SHARK Promotion
… to spend more time listening to my vinyl collection. Keep exercising and improving my health and listening to more classic radio airchecks from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. — Matt Pinfield, Radio/TV Host
… to continue to elevate Rock and Classic Rock with the passion and enthusiasm that I have since the first day I strapped on headphones in the 80s. It still boils down to one important thing: our shared love of music and the magic of the moments and memories it brings us. — Ken Anthony, PMD/Asst Brand Manager, KSEG/Sacramento
… not a big resolution guy. Sets you up for failure every damn time. That’s said, this year I’m gonna try to laugh a little more. Not worry so much about the future. Drink an extra beer. See an extra ball game. Lift a little heavier. Enjoy what I got for a minute and stop chasing what I don’t. —Lazlo, Host – “The Church of Lazlo,” KQRC/KC
… for someone like Richard Branson to buy hundreds of stations and run them like they should be. Market them, be live and local, be about the music and the streets, not charts and stock-holders… maybe costs go up some, but I bet revenue would grow more than voicetracking every shift and playing the same 150 songs to death. — Asked to remain anonymous
… to just grind and make EITM better in 2026 than it was in 2025. — Elliot, Host – Elliot in the Morning, DC101
… aside from getting a job at the Paisley Park Museum and speaking “Prince” to everyone, listening to his music all day and modeling Prince’s wardrobe, I’m hoping to generate enough money from my “Carr Stereo Podcast” to buy a radio station locally and actually use my experience and good decision making skills to show that community and content still matter. — Terrie Carr, Host – Carr Stereo Podcast
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Rock has always been as much a lifestyle and attitude as it is a genre of music. It can be labeled a format at radio, so it fits into a box for sales or cluster alignment, but it’s much more than that.
And Rock wins by serving its Core, not by chasing potential P3s or pouncing on every crossover record. Ratings do matter, and without revenue nobody gets to play Nirvana on the radio. This isn’t a wish for recklessness or a call for “Slayer at 7.”
My 2026 wish is for brands to do the smartest thing they can, and that’s to smartly play it a bit less safe. Sound human; not canned — and program to their market and Core. Even Nielsen will admit Core erosion is the fastest way to sink a brand.
Good programming is like going to a concert. Joe Elliott from Def Leppard always says it well, to paraphrase. We know we have to play “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” but we always shake up the setlist so there’s something in it for the diehard fans, too.
The best brands across the country aren’t mapped on a genericized national chart. There may be similarities, but they first reflect the listeners in their city or region.
- KISW programs for Seattle; WRIF is unmistakably Detroit
- WMMR’s music strategy probably only works in Philly
- Brands copy KROQ or KYSR, but LA is weird, different, more chill
- The East Coast has always been less RAWK
- 91X plays more reggae than anyone, because it fits San Diego
- In some Midwest markets, you can still play Dokken and Warrant
- KUPD, KILO and WJJO are loud AF, because that’s what their markets want
- It’s even different in Canada, Grunge is far lower in importance than it is in the U.S.
Here’s to 2026. Make it a great year for the listeners, and they’ll make it a great year for you.
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Keith Cunningham is a music industry and Rock/Alternative columnist for Barrett Media and the founder of Black Box Group, a modern-modeled creative & strategic consultancy built for brands that need strategies with teeth. He’s the former Master of Mayhem at 95.5 KLOS-FM in Los Angeles for over a decade, a nationwide consultant, and has been repeatedly voted one of America’s top Program Directors and strategic thinkers. Keith has built his career by taking multi-million-dollar brands from worst to first and leading Marconi & Gracie award winners along the way. A data nerd with a rock-and-roll heart, he is an advisory council member for St. Jude fundraising, a fantasy football champion, and lover of his daughters & dogs. Reach him at keithblackboxgroup@gmail.com or on LinkedIn or X.
