There is a tendency for broadcasters involved with Classic Rock/Hits stations to experience a continual, low-level, fear about the future of the formats.
The concern, how long this music will continue to resonate with listeners, is valid but there are times I wonder if the issue doesn’t have more to do with the radio industry’s inferiority complex than with reality.
That’s because there continue to be instances all around us that illustrate how this body of music continues to drive fan engagement.
Take, for example, the record industry. They don’t seem concerned about the future of this music. In fact, according to a recent article in The Times, music nostalgia still accounts for a great deal of revenue for record labels, even in the era of streaming. According to writer Jessica Sharkey and Data Journalist George Willoughby, all the remasters and deluxe packages being released remain a steady source of income.
Some of the artists they reference in the article are outside the Classic Rock/Hits universe. Elvis Presley, for example, officially released twenty-four studio albums, but his full discography of releases is over 2,000 titles, including 16 reissues of live performances in Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Johnny Cash, and The Beach Boys are the next five most repackaged artists but then it starts to get into Classic Rock territory.
The Beatles and the Rolling Stones each have over 350 different releases, and Bob Dylan has over three hundred. Elton John and David Bowie are over two hundred, and The Who and Queen are both over 150. Fleetwood Mac recorded 17 studio albums and has 26 Greatest Hits compilations on the market, with the one from 1988 titled “Greatest Hits” sitting at eight times platinum.
Pink Floyd, which currently has 94 different official releases, has a box set coming out on December 12th to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Wish You Were Here that includes six previously unreleased alternate versions and demos as well as a poem about the album written by England’s poet laureate, Simon Armitage, who happens to be a fan of the band.
I realize greatest hits packages and box sets aren’t exactly new concepts, but running across this article about how these efforts continue to generate big revenue got me thinking about several things:
Format Longevity: It surely appears that interest in these artists continues to be strong. People in top roles at record labels and marketing firms continue to use Classic Rock/Hits to drive revenue, so there must be an audience we can continue to draw listeners from.
Vinyl: This flurry of rereleases and box sets is being accelerated by the current nostalgia surrounding vinyl. The trend is still extremely hot and it’s not too late to build a feature on your station that capitalizes on radio’s longstanding relationship with actual, physical records.
Repackaging: Too often we fail to learn from these rereleases and fail to find ways to repackage core artists on our airwaves. It could be special features, weekend programs, online efforts, whatever it takes, we must follow the lead of the record industry and give our listeners unique insights and listening experiences around the artists they care about.
Giveaways: I know the labels are stingy when it comes to catalog artists, and many Classic Rock programmers don’t have the connections our Active Rock and Alternative counterparts do. But it’s still worth pursuing these rereleases and box sets as prizing that will appeal to your audience, especially at a time when interest remains high but disposable income for many remains low.
The continued interest in artists who make up the core of our formats is something we should not take for granted. We should work harder to fan the flames by giving our audience the benefit of our insights, resources, and connections. Remember, The Beatles Anthology 4 is coming out next week. It’ll be the 370th release based on their 13-album catalog.
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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.
