It sure feels like everyone is leaving radio. There are seemingly endless waves of reductions in force and other consolidation of positions. Additionally, many people look at how the industry is struggling. Or just simply at how small their paychecks are, and depart on their own for greener pastures.
But there are always exceptions to the rule. When the right person is offered the right opportunity, sometimes people do come back. One of those is Rick Savage.
After a long and successful period working in other industries, Savage has returned. Currently, he hosts morning drive and serves as music director at Local Media LLC’s alternative station, XTRA-FM (a.k.a. 91X).
The early radio portion of Savage’s resume includes work at KSFD/San Diego and KROQ/Los Angeles, as well as a short stint at 91X. He then moved out of the industry to grow the non-radio portion of his career. Which is equally, if not more impressive.
Savage has worked at Warner Bros. Records and Vevo. He also served as head of social media for Apple Services (part of Apple), and was director of content for the NFL. Most recently, Savage was vice president of content for Fanatics Betting and Gaming.
All of which begs the question: why come back to radio?
“The most fun I’ve ever had in my career is in a studio at a radio station. Nothing compares to it,” says Savage. “I’ve had a great career working at the NFL, Apple Music, and these big corporations. I learned so much and worked with brilliant, amazing people. But for day-to-day satisfaction and enjoyment, nothing compares to radio.”
Another factor in his return to the airwaves is that San Diego is home. His parents still live in Poway, about twenty minutes from the station. Savage grew up listening to 91X on his bus rides to school with a trusty Walkman to provide the content.
“We even have a liner that says, ‘from morning announcements at Poway High School to mornings on 91X.’ I did that in high school and now I’m here,” says Savage.
He also sees a special opportunity at 91X. The station is independently owned, which allows for more experimentation from any number of digital elements to video concepts.
“It’s an exciting time to try new things,” said Savage. “I have a lot of the experience working in social media, digital content, video production, and podcasting. We can take those skills and use them to broaden 91X outside of just the terrestrial space.”
Looking around the industry, Savage sees many radio stations, especially in the alternative format, that are behind the curve when it comes to their social media efforts. Part of the problem he feels is that many executives, across industries—not just radio—still don’t see the value.
“It’s [social media] looked at like something the kid in the building should run. People still ask, ‘who’s the intern running the Wendy’s Twitter account?’ That’s a team or an agency; it’s not just an intern tweeting anymore,” explained Savage.
However, he understands that getting started by experimenting can be difficult. There are many opportunities in the social and digital world, and it can be hard to know what direction to take. Based on his experience outside of radio, Savage shared several suggestions, starting with the need for commitment.
“Air talent need to live on social. They need to be engaging. That means being part of the community and not just posting about what’s coming up on the station. It’s interacting with listeners, and responding to comments,” explains Savage.
He explained another opportunity for stations and hosts trying to thrive on social media is making use of new tools on each platform. For instance, Instagram’s recent launch of a captioning feature that can replace third-party apps.
“If you’re leaning into their new features, or you get that pop-up for this new challenge on TikTok. They’re going to reward you if you do that stuff,” said Savage.
He also suggests interacting with a wide range of other pages. The attempt to engage with so many different creators also will see rewards coming your way.
“Comment on a hundred different Instagram pages so people see your station popping up everywhere. When Rolling Stone posts something about the new Sublime record, 91X is in there saying how we love the record,” notes Savage.
Savage also doubles his work with 91X serving as the station’s music director. While it’s only been a few weeks in his return to the station, he explained how the station is taking a different approach than many other alternative stations.
“I think (former Program Director Garrett Michaels) and (current Program Director Hilary Doneux) wanted to lean into the history and heritage of 91X. It’s such a differentiator,” said Savage. “They brought back some of the classic alternative that not a lot of alternative stations are playing.”
As that part of the station’s strategy has taken root, Savage says Doneux has started bringing more new music into the mix. However, that is paired with a different approach to rotations. The concept includes many new songs receiving only seven or eight spins per week.
Savage explained that it’s enough for a song to fit the vibe of the station without thirty or forty spins a week.
“If it sounds good on the station between two records everyone knows, that’s enough,” says Savage, adding that the next steps after airplay begins should involve the artist. “In a way, they need to do their job. They have to be on social, play here in San Diego, call in and do a phoner with me or whatever to promote their project.”
That approach also gives Savage and Doneux the opportunity to stick with records they are passionate about.
“Because we’re not playing songs eight times a day, we can leave them in rotation for a long time to really support a band or song we like,” explains Savage. “That gives us a little more credibility with the audience when we do add something.”
For his morning show specifically, Savage has a couple of priorities at the outset. Starting with giving local music a presence in prime time by creating a feature tied to the station’s long-running local music show, Loudspeaker.
“I’m friends with so many local bands. It’s just such a huge, important part of my life,” said Savage.
He and Doneux also recently launched The Morning Mixtape, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon. The program features live versions, cover songs, and a few tracks that haven’t been on the air in a long time mixed with hits.
However, Savage wants to go one step further. He knows he’s throwing a lot of ideas at Doneux and is fine if she pushes back or tells him he’s off base. However, there’s one he’s especially eager to bring to life.
“I want to do a feature called Feel Good Friday where I play a song that’s not from the format but just feels good. We’re an independent station, let’s play a James Brown record. Who cares,” explained Savage.
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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.
