The Rock Radio Promotion Department at Warner Bros Records has long been a catalog of successes and superstars. For the last decade plus, the team of Rob Goldklang and Heather Luke have been on point in the radio strategy command center in Burbank, leading such megastars as Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Avenged Sevenfold and most recently the Black Keys on to radio dominance.
Rob Goldklang & Heather Luke
By Mike Bacon
The Rock Radio Promotion Department at Warner Bros Records has long been a catalog of successes and superstars – both on the label and artist sides. For the last decade plus, the team of Rob Goldklang and Heather Luke have been on point in the radio strategy command center in Burbank, leading such megastars as Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Avenged Sevenfold and most recently the Black Keys on to radio dominance. After some changes within the company, the duo are now closing out the year working with new faces and sounds, and look to hit the ground running in 2012.
What first sparked your interest in becoming involved in the music business?
Heather: In college I worked in a CD store in Santa Barbara, and the experience was very much like Empire Records. I loved the fun energy and being surrounded by passionate music lovers and collectors. I was excited to introduce new music to my friends and family, and here I am 20 years later making a career out what I still love to do most.
Rob: When I was growing up as a kid I was always obsessed with music. I was the guy that went to the midnight store openings to buy whatever the latest record was. I used to go to concerts almost every week. It was something I was into, and similar to what Heather mentioned, right out of high school I got a job at Music Plus in Studio City. I’ll never forget. There was a girl that used to come in from one of the labels and put up all the posters. Every so often she would give out free CDs, and the whole entire concept of getting a free CD – I couldn’t believe that actually could happen. Meeting someone whose job was to promote and play fans new music was an experience that helped put me on my path. From there I got an internship at KROQ/Los Angeles and then got a job with Warner Bros., and the rest is history.
Heather: My first big break was really coming across Jim Evans who owns KJEE/Montecito-Santa Barbara. For years he was trying to get the 92.9 frequency. He finally got it, and he came to me looking for music and asking for opinions. The next thing you know, I was helping him actually build the station from the ground up. I didn’t go to school to get into radio broadcasting or be a communication major so this was all new to me. I worked the front desk for several professionals just before a planned getaway to Europe and headed to medical school. During that time I met Jim, and my plans changed. It was definitely not something I originally started out to do, but it was meant to be.
But basically I did those two at the same time. The thing that was great about the KROQ experience, and I have Kevin Weatherlyto thank for this, is that it gave me the opportunity to do all sort of different things and learn. I was an intern who ended up being a van driver, on-the-air, production asst, promotions, and I even ended up crashing the KROQ van!
Rob: We both work really well together. We have worked together so long that we often complete each other’s sentences. We know each other’s strength and weaknesses, and we work together as a team. It’s a great collaboration.
Heather: We have a great support system in one another. We share in the responsibilities and we help each other along, and that’s very rare. We want to help each other succeed.
Rob: We put pressure on each other sometimes. It’s good to keep one another in line. It ensures that we get the job done.
Heather: We like to challenge one another, and we definitely both rise to the occasion. It’s helped us grow over the course of the last ten years.
Rob: We have a management team above us that really has a lot of faith in us, and really gives us the tools and the power to succeed. People like Livia Tortella, Todd Moscowitz, Rob Cavallo and Peter Gray have been really supportive with what we’ve been doing and helping us get to the next level with all of our artists. We couldn’t be more excited. I feel like there is great energy in this building and we all have the same goal, which is to succeed and continue that winning tradition at Warner Bros.
Heather: Artists first has always been the Warner Bros way. Warner has always been known for its culture and it’s still thriving in our building.
Rob: It’s true artist development when you work with a band from the start and build a career. For example Muse, The Black Keys, and Avenged Sevenfold were all bands we helped build together and are now core artists in the Rock formats. We’re very proud and honored to be part of that success.
Heather: We all know there are a lot of choices in today’s world and that’s going to continue to grow. Things are constantly evolving, but the one thing that remains constant is people’s passion for music. Radio is still one of the biggest outlets for exposing new music. Despite less radio stations and shrinking playlists, it’s radio’s role to continue to introduce new artists to the masses and create new stars.
Rob: We know the power of radio. Our job is more important than ever right now. I really feel that when you get a record on the radio and it connects, there are several examples of bands this year whose sales have just exploded. I feel radio is the top medium where people hear a song and they react to it. They go out and buy it. They immediately do something. They may buy a concert ticket, whatever it may be. That’s why our jobs continue to be such an integral part of the record business.
Rob: We don’t take everything to radio right away. Things take a really long time. We’ve all been in a situation where we live and breathe our bands and really believe in them. And perhaps when we discuss the record with someone they will say “Oh, we played it 75 times now (half of which is in the overnight) and it’s not working.” We all know given the amount of choices people have, that things take time, and what we need more than anything now is patience because the payoff could be enormous for radio, the band and the label.
Rob: People that are really smart are getting to know how to utilize everything. Judging an artist by one piece of information isn’t really fair. We’re in a world now where there are six, seven, eight different things that people can be looking at to get a read on a record and make a big picture decision.
Heather: Also, the artists really want to work hard to break through and build relationships with radio. They’ll come to us and ask “What can we do to help?” We work very closely with our artists and they want to participate.
Rob: There’s a big trust in what we do.
Heather: Some do follow the stats and charts, but they leave that detail to us. Most of the time they are asking how they can assist us and how they can be involved.
Rob: Take a band like Mutemath. This is a band that is fascinated with radio and have always wanted to be on radio. Now with that starting to happen, they want to do anything they can to help support that and have been right on the ball. At the end of the day, we all – the record company, artist and radio station – want the same thing: to be successful. The great thing about Warner Bros Records is the history and the amount of great artists that are here. We are very excited to be involved with the new artists, like Mastodon, that have migrated over from Reprise. It’s all about moving forward effectively and continuing to build toward a big picture and letting nothing fall through the cracks.
Heather: In college I worked in a CD store in Santa Barbara, and the experience was very much like Empire Records. I loved the fun energy and being surrounded by passionate music lovers and collectors. I was excited to introduce new music to my friends and family, and here I am 20 years later making a career out what I still love to do most.
Rob: When I was growing up as a kid I was always obsessed with music. I was the guy that went to the midnight store openings to buy whatever the latest record was. I used to go to concerts almost every week. It was something I was into, and similar to what Heather mentioned, right out of high school I got a job at Music Plus in Studio City. I’ll never forget. There was a girl that used to come in from one of the labels and put up all the posters. Every so often she would give out free CDs, and the whole entire concept of getting a free CD – I couldn’t believe that actually could happen. Meeting someone whose job was to promote and play fans new music was an experience that helped put me on my path. From there I got an internship at KROQ/Los Angeles and then got a job with Warner Bros., and the rest is history.
Heather: My first big break was really coming across Jim Evans who owns KJEE/Montecito-Santa Barbara. For years he was trying to get the 92.9 frequency. He finally got it, and he came to me looking for music and asking for opinions. The next thing you know, I was helping him actually build the station from the ground up. I didn’t go to school to get into radio broadcasting or be a communication major so this was all new to me. I worked the front desk for several professionals just before a planned getaway to Europe and headed to medical school. During that time I met Jim, and my plans changed. It was definitely not something I originally started out to do, but it was meant to be.
Now Rob, you connected the dots from KROQ to WB and you were on your way…
Rob
But basically I did those two at the same time. The thing that was great about the KROQ experience, and I have Kevin Weatherlyto thank for this, is that it gave me the opportunity to do all sort of different things and learn. I was an intern who ended up being a van driver, on-the-air, production asst, promotions, and I even ended up crashing the KROQ van!
How long have you two been working together at Warner Bros?
Heather:
Rob: We both work really well together. We have worked together so long that we often complete each other’s sentences. We know each other’s strength and weaknesses, and we work together as a team. It’s a great collaboration.
Heather: We have a great support system in one another. We share in the responsibilities and we help each other along, and that’s very rare. We want to help each other succeed.
Rob: We put pressure on each other sometimes. It’s good to keep one another in line. It ensures that we get the job done.
Heather: We like to challenge one another, and we definitely both rise to the occasion. It’s helped us grow over the course of the last ten years.
That dynamic is certainly something that has been recognized over the years, certainly by the new regime in place at Warner Bros Records.
Heather:
Rob: We have a management team above us that really has a lot of faith in us, and really gives us the tools and the power to succeed. People like Livia Tortella, Todd Moscowitz, Rob Cavallo and Peter Gray have been really supportive with what we’ve been doing and helping us get to the next level with all of our artists. We couldn’t be more excited. I feel like there is great energy in this building and we all have the same goal, which is to succeed and continue that winning tradition at Warner Bros.
Heather: Artists first has always been the Warner Bros way. Warner has always been known for its culture and it’s still thriving in our building.
Rob: It’s true artist development when you work with a band from the start and build a career. For example Muse, The Black Keys, and Avenged Sevenfold were all bands we helped build together and are now core artists in the Rock formats. We’re very proud and honored to be part of that success.
What are your thoughts about radio’s current role in breaking and developing new artists?
Heather: We all know there are a lot of choices in today’s world and that’s going to continue to grow. Things are constantly evolving, but the one thing that remains constant is people’s passion for music. Radio is still one of the biggest outlets for exposing new music. Despite less radio stations and shrinking playlists, it’s radio’s role to continue to introduce new artists to the masses and create new stars.
Rob: We know the power of radio. Our job is more important than ever right now. I really feel that when you get a record on the radio and it connects, there are several examples of bands this year whose sales have just exploded. I feel radio is the top medium where people hear a song and they react to it. They go out and buy it. They immediately do something. They may buy a concert ticket, whatever it may be. That’s why our jobs continue to be such an integral part of the record business.
What are the biggest obstacles in your job that you have to overcome now?
Heather:
Rob: We don’t take everything to radio right away. Things take a really long time. We’ve all been in a situation where we live and breathe our bands and really believe in them. And perhaps when we discuss the record with someone they will say “Oh, we played it 75 times now (half of which is in the overnight) and it’s not working.” We all know given the amount of choices people have, that things take time, and what we need more than anything now is patience because the payoff could be enormous for radio, the band and the label.
What are some of the most important informational tools in your arsenal when working an artist?
Heather:
Rob: People that are really smart are getting to know how to utilize everything. Judging an artist by one piece of information isn’t really fair. We’re in a world now where there are six, seven, eight different things that people can be looking at to get a read on a record and make a big picture decision.
Heather: Also, the artists really want to work hard to break through and build relationships with radio. They’ll come to us and ask “What can we do to help?” We work very closely with our artists and they want to participate.
Rob: There’s a big trust in what we do.
Heather: Some do follow the stats and charts, but they leave that detail to us. Most of the time they are asking how they can assist us and how they can be involved.
Rob: Take a band like Mutemath. This is a band that is fascinated with radio and have always wanted to be on radio. Now with that starting to happen, they want to do anything they can to help support that and have been right on the ball. At the end of the day, we all – the record company, artist and radio station – want the same thing: to be successful. The great thing about Warner Bros Records is the history and the amount of great artists that are here. We are very excited to be involved with the new artists, like Mastodon, that have migrated over from Reprise. It’s all about moving forward effectively and continuing to build toward a big picture and letting nothing fall through the cracks.
What new releases can we look forward to in 2012?
We will have new releases from Linkin Park and Green Day, among others.
[eQB Content by Mike Bacon]
