RADIO ESPIONAGE

With Mark Elliott

After more than 45 years in radio and recently in new media, I've decided the time has come to walk away from consulting and focus on personal projects I'm involved with. Therefore, I am shutting down Mark Elliott Media and the Oz Podcast Group. This includes Radio Espionage and Podhead.

I wish you all the very best in the future. - Mark Elliott

As a parting gift to my fellow Rock programmers, I am going to provide you with the playbook for Axe Radio. The concept behind Axe Radio has always been a ratings and revenue winner wherever I implemented it. I am also leaving the Power Point presentation on the Mark Elliott Media site posted to give you a quick explanation of why the Axe Radio concept is how every Rock station that has been branded as Classic Rock needs to navigate towards as soon as possible.

markelliottmedia.com

Thanks to my background of programming multiple formats, I've seen what works and what doesn't across the board. My overall programming philosophy built on my years of experience boils down to simply finding out what the audience wants and give it to them. Then market and promote the hell out of it. Musically, it's to offer the listener a snap shot of what the format stands for every 20 minutes.

The challenge with every Rock station is the format has been around for decades, so listeners already have preconceived perceptions that either have to programmed to or in some cases recreated depending on the status of the station in a market.

What follows accomplishes these variables and will allow for increasing Cume while maximizing Time Spent Listening (TSL).

Clocks

Outside of morning drive, the Axe Radio concept uses 3 clocks. The Main, Secondary 1 and Secondary 2. The idea is to maintain music flow and balance from hour to hour without sounding predictable. Remember, listeners don't listen to the radio the way we think from a programming standpoint but they can pick up on patterns if they spend a lot of time listening. The 3 clock concept reduces listeners picking up on patterns.

The way I build clocks is to create a particular flow using imaging and talk positions to buffer and cut down on trainwrecks that can cause listeners to change the station. Never underestimate the importance of vibe from hour to hour. Vibe is what helps deliver hours of TSL (time spent listening). These clocks are designed for PPM markets but work equally as well in non-rated markets.

An analogy I like to use is I look at an hour of music like a pizza. If someone orders a pepperoni pizza, I want to make sure they don't get a slice with anchovies and black olives. I want each slice to meet the customers expectations. The number one rule of programming is finding out what your listeners want and give it to them. Rule number two is always meeting listener expectations that we create and then living up to them from every aspect of the station. The difference between a great Rock station and a good Rock station is a great Rock station becomes a member of the community and the listeners family.

Music Categories
A- Power Current
B Recurrent/2K's
C- Power 90's
D- Power 80's
E- Regular 80's
F- Power 70's
G- Regular 70's
H- Tertiary
I- Deep Cuts

(M1) Main Clock
:00 Station ID>
Power 80
Power 90
Music Image Sweeper>
Regular 70
Jock Talk>
Break 1: In: A Promo Out: Attribute A Rejoin

Power 70
Regular 80
:30 Sweeper>
Power 90
Jock Talk> (allows for back sell of 90's and new and recurrent music)
Power 70
Quick Calls>
Regular 80
Jock Talk>

Break 2: In: B Promo Out: Attribute B Rejoin
Power 80
Regular 70
AM Show Sweeper>
Power 90
Tertiary

(S1) Secondary 1 Clock

:00 Station ID>
Power 70
Regular 80
Music Image Sweeper>
Power 90
Jock Talk>
Break 1: In: A Promo Out: Attribute A Rejoin

Power 80
Regular 70
:30 Sweeper>
Power Current
Jock Talk> (allows for back sell of 90's and new and recurrent music)
Power 80
Quick Calls>
Regular 70
Jock Talk>

Break 2: In: B Promo Out: Attribute B Rejoin
Power 70
Power 90
Major Promotion Sweeper>
Regular 80
Deep Cut

(S2) Secondary 2 Clock

:00 Station ID>
Power 90
Power 70
Music Image Sweeper>
Regular 80
Jock Talk>
Break 1: In: A Promo Out: Attribute A Rejoin

Power 80
Regular 70
:30 Sweeper>
Recurrent/2K
Jock Talk> (allows for back sell of 90's and new and recurrent music)
Power 80
Quick Calls>
Regular 70
Jock Talk>

Break 2: In: B Promo Out: Attribute B Rejoin
Power 90
Regular 80
Major Promotion Sweeper>
Power 70
Tertiary

Clock Rotation: M1-S1-M1-S2 > repeat throughout the day (See Clock Grid)
* Tertiary and Deep Cuts generally get dropped during the day and play mostly at night and overnight when spot loads decrease.

Explanation
A Promo: Promotes the stations major promotion
B Promo: Promotes special features, up coming station events, talent cross plugs.

Attribute A: Promotes digital footprint (app, web, social media)

Attribute B: Sets up the next hour (contests, features, music quantity)

Music Rules

Sound coding is extremely important. It applies to all the rules setting up how you'll schedule music. It allows you to follow "the rule of two" which implies you never play more than two in a row of any sound code unless specified otherwise.

Each sound code should be represented in every hour to offer a balanced mix but not mandatory. If an hour lacks an M, N, A, S, or P, make sure they're in the next hour.

M- Metal (no more than one per hour and not in the same hour as nu metal)
N- Nu Metal (no more than one per hour and not in the same hour as metal)

H- Hard Rock (no more than two in a row and not next to metal)

A- Alternative (no more than one per hour)
R- Mainstream Rock (no more than two in a row)
S- Southern Rock & Blues (no more than one per hour)

P- Pop Rock (no more than one per hour)

* No more than one female vocal per hour due to the lack of representation.

The Axe Radio concept is built around hard and mainstream rock. The other sound codes provide the variety aspect. If a clock calls for 11 songs per hour, a minimum of 4 core artists but no more than 6 should be present so at least one plays approximately every 15 minutes with the rest filling out the hour. Clocks are set up to have either a 90 minute artist separation or a 15 song separation.

The way the clocks are built, the imaging and talk positions provide era separation and flow while reducing the number of trainwrecks. You won't be able to avoid them all the time but they should be an exception and not the rule. The listener has no idea what a trainwreck is but as a programmer, it comes down to creating a vibe. I don't care what anyone else tells you, listeners feel vibe. When the vibe changes significantly and their mood is interrupted, they could change the station or music sources.

When sound coding, you have to be ware of the tempo and texture of each song. Just because Aerosmith is considered to be a hard rock band, doesn't mean every Aerosmith song is coded as Hard Rock. "Back In The Saddle" is Hard Rock but "Dream On" is coded as Rock. Van Halen "Runnin' With The Devil" is Hard Rock but a softer title like "Beautiful Girls" or "Finish What You Started" would be coded as Rock.

Another fundamental to pay attention to. Be aware of what country of origin a band comes from. Try not to clump more than two in a row from a band outside of the United States and from the same city. I know this sounds nit picky, and you're right it is, but it should be a consideration throughout every hour.

Core Artists

AC/DC
Aerosmith
Alice In Chains
Bad Company
Black Crowes
Black Sabbath
Def Leppard
Foo Fighters
Godsmack
Green Day
Guns N' Roses

Led Zeppelin
Linkin Park
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Metallica
Motley Crue
Nirvana
Ozzy Osbourne
Pearl Jam
Pink Floyd
Queen
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rush
Shinedown
Soundgarden
Stone Temple Pilots
Tom Petty/Heartbreakers
U2
Van Halen
ZZ Top

All other known artists are considered to be Tier 2 but they don't count as being one of the 4 core artists that should play every 15 minutes.

Sample Music Hour
R U2- Where The Streets Have No Name

H Queensryche- Jet City Woman

R Blue Oyster Cult- Don't Fear The Reaper
<>

H Led Zeppelin- Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid

P John Mellencamp- Small Town

H Soundgarden- Outshined
R Heart- Barracuda
A The Clash- Rock The Casbah
<>
M Judas Priest- You've Got Another Thing Comin'
R Van Halen- Beautiful Girls
S Stevie Ray Vaughan- The Sky Is Crying

Clock Grid

Monday 12am - Friday 7pm M1/S1/M1/S2 (excludes morning drive M/F)
* Make sure the next day starts with the next clock (Monday 12a M1 Tuesday 12a S1 Wednesday 12a M1 Thursday 12a S2 Friday 12a M1 Saturday 12a W1 Sunday 12a W2)
Morning Drive is A1 A2. Rotate as (Monday 6a A1 7a A2 8a A1 9a A2 Tuesday 6a A2 7a A1 8a A2 9a A1 and continue through Friday.
Weekend Clocks start at 7pm Friday Night and run through Midnight on Sunday.
* Weekend Clocks are the same rotations as the weekday clocks but weekend imaging is inserted. (W1 is M1 W2 is S1 W3 is M1 W4 is S2)
Feature Clocks are optional depending options used.

more to come...

Coming Soon

Morning Show
Imaging Checklist
Features
Seven Stages of Brand Building

Marketing and Promotion
Ratings Checklist

Radio Espionage is a division of Mark Elliott Media LLC
Los Angeles, CA
W: markelliottmedia.com

RADIO ESPIONAGE

Radio Espionage

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Mark Elliott Media, LLC