Mason’s Observations On 5 Years of Liveline

From a young age in Rhinelander, Wis, I loved music, technology, and entertaining people. I had no special love for radio.  But one night in 2011 I discovered John Garabedian’s Open House Party and immediately fell in love with the show. Every Saturday night, it connected me with a world of fun, music, people, and excitement. I never missed a Saturday night show until John sold the show in 2017. I became a regular caller and persisted in getting John’s attention.

In 2015, I started doing production work for OHP like mixes, social media and posting show clips and highlights from years earlier. At 16 while still in high school, I was hired by the largest DJ service in Wisconsin, first as an assistant, then DJing weddings and events every weekend and learning how to work a room. Simultaneously I voice–tracked on B104 in Appleton, Wis., (alongside future iHeart programmers Trevor Morini and Mike McCabe). I also launched and operated “Vibes Online”, a fully produced 24-hour Top 40 internet station from my bedroom for nearly two years. 

After high school graduation, I connected with WHYA (Y101) Cape Cod, Mass., manager Steve McVie. By then, it was clear to John and Steve that just music and voicetracks would not be enough for radio to effectively compete. Technology meant that listeners could customize music, access podcasts, and share TikToks with their 18-34 peers. Radio had long commercial breaks and relentless self-serving promos to download apps and visit their websites. They had come to the decision that Y101 needed its own night show.

John initially felt I was too young. But he was persuaded by Steve’s enthusiasm. I moved to Boston in January 2020, two months before the official start of the Covid pandemic. Cape Cod is a huge market covering 100 miles. Three 4-station groups operate, including iHeart, and all are 50 KW except Y101, which is a 6 KW license. Yet, one year after the show’s debut, Nielsen reported Liveline was delivering a 25.0 share of audience among 26 local stations!  

In July 2020, KQKY Grand Island, Neb., became the second station to add Liveline and has consistently been #1 at night in every demo, every book. Five years later, we have 40 affiliates, with two more launching this week, KHTT/Tulsa and WDOD/Chattanooga. In May, we signed our first Canadian affiliate, CFLY (98.3 Fly FM) Kingston, Ontario.

It’s About the Callers

Over the past 5 years, we’ve taken over 100,000 calls and probably received just as many texts. We’ve talked to every type of person, in every corner of the country, doing every activity you can imagine. Most are just driving home from work, dinner, hanging out with friends or driving cabs or delivery vehicles. Others are having a house party, going through a breakup, celebrating a milestone, mourning a loved one, listening at their place of employment, using their last 3 minutes of jail-phone time, wanting to share a story or joke, and even getting between the sheets. 

The whole point of Liveline is to plug you into this larger-than-life experience where literally anything and anyone is accepted, no matter your age, background, confidence level or lifestyle. It’s the TikTok of radio and every night is meant to be a summary of all the craziness happening in the world, bringing peace, love, hope and a sense of community with people who feel like your friends.

This is radio’s superpower and I’m beyond blessed to be a part of so many people’s lives on a nightly basis. The show is not about me, the station, or anything but the listener. It’s called Liveline because we are truly the 100% live connection from my home studio every night, and people are on the line, as nearly every break is a fresh, interesting and unique phone call where you hear the person saying their name, location, song request, what they’re doing and any other craziness. 

We try to draw a mini-story out of every caller in less than 60 seconds. This allows other listeners to visualize the caller, creating theater of the mind and drawing attention to the lyrics or meaning of the requested song. It’s like hearing a song on the radio you’re tired of, but then months later, you hear it in a movie and suddenly it sounds great. 

Music needs context, emotion and a bond. Sad breakup songs suddenly resonate more once you’re actually going through one. We generally air six calls every hour. There has to be a payoff and listeners need to feel like they actually have a chance of getting on air and hearing their song. Most callers don’t even care about the request – it’s just the idea of being on the radio which still excites everyone, and the song just provides an excuse to call.

We’ve gone to great lengths to make our affiliates sound local. Listen to today’s radio and you’ll hear voice-tracks with no connection to the music—often over dead air and rarely synced to the intro. You’ll hear a jock screaming over “Someone Like You” by Adele, or low energy out of “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga. No other live show offers this except Liveline.

Liveline is also the only national live show to provide RDS metadata with the title and artist info for each song. Nothing is more of a giveaway thar a show is syndicated than seeing just the station name being displayed for five hours.

The most obvious and important element of making the show local is each caller who talks about where they are, what’s going on in the community and how much they love (or hate) living there. But as so many people say about their own city, “there’s nothing to do”. It’s funny that Key West and Cape Cod are massive tourist and vacation hotspots, yet their residents complain about being bored and having nothing fun. How popular would TikTok be if it only showed you Local stuff?  That’s what the news is for! Our decades of research show that people want big, new and exciting things, and they’re rarely happening where they are. Do you want Home Movies or Hollywood?

Each affiliate grants us access to their social media pages which allows for seamless sharing of Liveline content, saving them time and confusion. We have quick turnaround for local liners and constant ideas for ways to promote the show on air and online. We are always working with each market to advertise local events going on, which gives us something to talk to callers about. Luckily, every night is a geography test, and I’ve probably remembered the states of over 500 cities. 

Most Memorable Moments

Looking back at the last five years, it’s impossible to nail down even a few of our favorite moments. Perhaps the most fun we’ve had came from being the only live show on holidays like 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas and doing extended broadcasts on New Years Eve. There’s a special connection when you’re there for people on days they are making memories and celebrating something. Another exciting part is debuting on new stations and getting calls within the first night, sometimes in the first hour. It’s an instant hit almost everywhere.

We’ve gotten calls from school buses full of screaming girls, entire jail cellblocks fighting over the phone to be on air, loyal callers who always have something interesting to say and become part of the cast, making mistakes on the air or flubbing a joke and finding a way to make it even funnier and of course, having dozens of people in the studio hanging out and screaming in the background while we broadcast. We are the party that everyone is invited to.

It’s About The Music

There will always be high and low moments for Top 40 music, but based on listener requests, some of the best songs of these past five years have been from either 2021 or 2024. 2020 was absolutely miserable, with the COVID-inspired TikTok surge, a lack of in-car radio listenership and label agendas gaining even more influence at radio. So much has changed since then; they’ve shrunk their promotion staff, shifted focus to streaming and influencers, and stopped giving out golden record plaques to influence program directors. Even now, music from 2014-2020 rarely gets requested today, while the majority of our throwback requests range from 2008-2013. 

There are weeks when we simply don’t add anything, and requests continue to pour in for the same recurrents and golds. The biggest current hits last for months! We never add a new song just for the sake of needing something new in rotation. It has to mean something to the audience and be backed up by lots of major, credible stations or big streaming numbers. 

In the weekly version of Mason’s Observations, we try to identify not just the current active hits generating streams and requests, we also share the throwbacks that listeners are responding to. Below you’ll find our surprising list of the top songs on Liveline.

Top Throwback Requests of All Time

1. Justin Bieber, Ludacris – Baby (2010)
2. Eminem – Lose Yourself (2002)
3. Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA (2009)
4. The Killers – Mr. Brightside (2005)
5. TLC – No Scrubs (1999)
6. Eminem – The Real Slim Shady (2000)
7. Britney Spears – Toxic (2004)
8. Flo Rida, T-Pain – Low (2007)
9. Kesha – TiK ToK (2009)
10. Rihanna, Jay-Z – Umbrella (2007)
11. 50 Cent – In Da Club (2003)
12. Eminem – Without Me (2002)
13. Nicki Minaj – Super Bass (2011)
14. Eminem – Mockingbird (2004)
15. Fergie – Fergalicious (2006)
16. Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg – California Gurls (2010)
17. Usher – Yeah (2004)
18. Bruno Mars – 24k Magic (2016)
19. Rihanna – We Found Love (2011)
20. Nelly – Ride Wit Me (2001)
21. Taylor Swift – Love Story (2008)
22. Katy Perry – Last Friday Night (2011)
23. Sir Mix A Lot – Baby Got Back (1992)
24. Shakira – Hips Don’t Lie (2006)
25. Backstreet Boys – I Want It That Way (1999)
26. Outkast – Ms. Jackson (2001)
27. Pitbull, Ne-Yo – Give Me Everything (2011)
28. Taylor Swift – You Belong with Me (2009)
29. Rihanna – S&M (2010)
30. Britney Spears – Baby One More Time (1999)

Top Songs of the Past 5 Years

1. The Weeknd – Blinding Lights (2019)
2. Harry Styles – As It Was (2022)
3. The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber – Stay (2021)
4. Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars – Die with a Smile (2024)
5. Glass Animals – Heat Waves (2021)
6. Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer (2019/2023)
7. Morgan Wallen – Last Night (2023)
8. Dua Lipa, DaBaby – Levitating (2021)
9. Miley Cyrus – Flowers (2023)
10. Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather (2024)
11. Olivia Rodrigo – Driver’s license (2021)
12. The Weeknd – Save Your Tears (2021)
13. Olivia Rodrigo – Good 4 u (2021)
14. Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy) (2024)
15. Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – Industry Baby (2021)
16. Lizzo – About Damn Time (2022)
17. Tate McRae – Greedy (2023)
18. Doja Cat, SZA – Kiss Me More (2021)
19. SZA – Kill Bill (2023)
20. Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire (2023)

So What’s Next?

Top 40 radio’s biggest competition is Spotify, not the other stations in the market. We must continue to evolve as a companion and offer the best, most compelling and interactive entertainment show every night. Our goal is to get into more major markets and reach 75 affiliates by the end of 2025. 

Our purpose is to provide companionship and build fans from listeners. We are always finding new ways to expand and make the show riveting, whether it be remote broadcasts from national events or places of broad interest, giving away big prizes and hiring more staff to grow the show with fresh ideas and making the overall listening experience top-shelf. 

More than anything, it’s been a gift and honor to do this show, working for and with so many great people, but especially John Garabedian who taught me everything I know and love about radio. Without him, I can’t imagine my life and where I’d be. He has invested an astronomical amount of time, money and effort into making this work because he truly believes in the product and has over 65 years of experience in broadcasting. This year he was nominated for the Radio Hall of Fame–fingers crossed! Thanks to every affiliate and listener for being a part of this journey. As we say at the end of every show, “Be Your Dream!”

 

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