Alt 98.7 PD and iHeartMedia SVP of Alternative Programming Lisa Worden Says ‘It’s On Alternative To Be Unique’

Lisa Worden is the Program Director of Alt 98.7 Los Angeles and the SVP Alternative and Rock for iHeartMedia. Programming and industry executives recently voted her second in Barrett Media’s Top 20 Alternative Program Directors of 2024 list.

Something that Worden said was a nice start to her day. “I was honored to even be in the top 10. Anytime something like that happens, I’m always very grateful. It was a nice start to my day that morning.”

I wanted to jump in and pick Worden’s brain about Alternative music and how things have changed with the distribution of new artists and the shrinking profile of record label promo staff. How does an Alternative PD go about finding new music?

“I find myself discovering new music on Spotify. I find myself discovering new music on social media. And then honestly, word of mouth. A lot of my friends circle, and even my family, they’re all big music fans. And we talk about music all the time.”

“When somebody turns me on to something I wasn’t aware of, usually they’re spot on because they know me and we know each other. I’m on Instagram, and I do find things that way. I also host a show on Alt 98.7 on Friday nights, called ‘She is the Voice.’ It’s where I play an hour of female artists and Alternative music.

“I’ve been doing this now for four years, and artists send me their music all the time. So that’s been really cool. The show has developed a nice following and a lot of young female artists listen. They send me their music. It’s great. There are a lot of ways to find new music.”

In a format predominantly composed of male artists and groups, Worden is known as an advocate for female artists.

“I have always loved female musicians, artists, and singers my whole life. And going back to my earlier days, Deborah Harry and Blondie is one of my favorite artists.

“But then you get into artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Florence and the Machine. St. Vincent, I could go on and on about all the female artists I love. And you are not wrong in that a lot of male bands or singers make up a lot of our playlists.

“And by the way, I want to go on record. That is fine, because many of my favorite bands either have male singers or are all dudes. And that’s totally cool. The Cure is my favorite band of all time. But I think there’s a lot of great music by women, and I want an avenue to expose it.”

So once you discover something that you like, is there a vetting process before it gets on the air in a major market like Los Angeles?

“There are ways to expose it. We do a new music discovery feature every week where we highlight a song. Then, I have a music meeting with my staff every week. We listen to probably 30 songs every week, grade them, and rate them. That’s another way where we kind of narrow it down. So, even though it’s Los Angeles, I do find ways to expose new music. Music Discovery is a big initiative for Alt 98.7.”

Alt 98.7 is the flagship station for “The Woody Show,” which is heard nationally across Alternative and Rock formats. So, what’s it like managing them?

“Woody is one of the most talented, smart and driven personalities I have ever had the pleasure of working with. No one works harder than him. And then his cast, Menace, Gina Grad and Greg Gory, all of them are so passionate about that show.” 

“I actually had to tell them, please quit coming in at two in the morning. So, they now come in, I think, at four. Because all of us were so concerned about their health and the hours that we were like, guys, please we know how committed you are.”

This and more makes Worden proud to have them in Los Angeles.

“I honestly feel so lucky to have that show as my morning show in L.A. I take tremendous pride in the fact that Alt 98.7 is the home station for the Woody show. And I love them. They’re amazing.”

I asked about a video they posted where they read and responded on air to listener complaints.

“I actually find it one of the funniest features that they do. That was hilarious. And then Greg Gory does his immature replies to text messages. And again, it’s hilarious. I like the edge unless they’re going to get us in trouble legally. I’m OK with them pushing the boundaries and the listeners are too. That’s the thing. It’s like all of this is done in jest and the listeners are along for the ride. They love it.”

Has there been a time where she had to tell them they crossed the line?

“When they, quote unquote, deported people to Mexico a few weeks ago. I kind of looked at them and said are we doing this? But again, this is where the intelligence of the show really shines through.” 

“If you read past the headline and look at the fine print, they’re sending people to an all-inclusive resort in Cabo, a five-star resort. If you can get past them saying we’re deporting you to Mexico, what you’re getting is being sent on a trip or two. That’s probably a five thousand dollar trip to this amazing resort in Mexico. So, yeah, that was one where he’s like, we’re doing it. I’m like, all right.”

As an SVP in Rock and Alternative, I asked if Worden had any early thoughts on the Nielsen 3-minute qualifier.

“I think it’s too soon for L.A. I’m seeing it in some of my other markets with our stations. But for L.A., we all met, and the cluster in general said this isn’t what we thought. I think in three months we’re going to see what we see. But in January, we didn’t see a lot of movement.”

So what is unique about programming Alternative?

“I think that it’s on us to be unique because we’re supposed to be an alternative to a pop station. It’s something you’re not going to get elsewhere. For iHeart, we’ve got a diverse portfolio of Alternative stations. The Buzz in Houston is nothing like Alt 98.7 in L.A. And then you have a station like KTCL in Denver. It does incredibly well. They are truly their own unique brand.” 

“I love that about Alternative because I do weekly calls with all my PDs. And it’s so fun to be able to bounce station to station and adjust your mindset accordingly to whatever station I’m talking to. So, programming Alternative, it’s your job to be unique and be an alternative and then play the hits.”

Anything to add in closing?

“Just shout out to my team locally here and nationally. I love my Alternative programmers and this format. It feels really good to me.” 

“I think that sometimes people have the tendency of like, oh, music’s not what it was or whatever. And I look at it and there’s so much music I love right now. So, yeah, I think it’s in a good place.”

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