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Charese Fruge’ (@MCMediaonline) Talks To Edie Lundeen
October 11, 2022
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Edie Lundeen is currently the Head of Radio at Epitaph Records. She’s responsible for radio airplay for Epitaph artists primarily at Active Rock and Alternative radio. In addition, just before the pandemic hit, Edie began managing an indie band out of northern Colorado, Lady Denim. Basically, Radio and Record Promotion have been in her blood since college.
“When I was in college at University of Arizona, I was the college rep for Atlantic Records while at the college radio station. That’s what kicked it all off for me,” says Lundeen. “My first job out of school was college radio promo at Metal Blade Records. Then I did LA regional promotion at Atlantic, Virgin, Lava, Capitol and Roadrunner. I then went on to do national promotion at Sony Red as VP/Alternative, Head of Promotion at Cult Records and then started my own promo company, Black Dog Music Marketing. I then partnered with CO5 which then evolved into Amplify where I was the head of Alt and Rock. Just over two years ago, I took over the role of Head of Radio for Epitaph Records.”
I could answer this question for Edie, because I have so many stories and memories of us between LA and Las Vegas (with photos to back them up). We go waaaaaayyyyyyyy back. But you know the drill, “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” But she has achieved many accomplishments and unforgettable moments in her career over the years. A few specific ones stand out for Edie. “As an LA regional, watching bands grow in my markets was amazing, one in particular, Matchbox Twenty,” she says. “The first show I ever saw of theirs was at The Casbah in San Diego playing to eight people. A few months later, they returned to the market and sold out a 900-cap venue, and at the end of the first album cycle, they played the San Diego Sports Arena.”
“In a national role, working as one of the quarterbacks on Phoenix’s “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” album. We had a #1 with “1901” and a Top 5 with “Lisztomania,” explains Lundeen.
“And in my current position, I’m so proud of the work we have done with Falling In Reverse. The band has now had two #1s and has a third single heading up the Active Rock chart. And for the first time ever, Falling In Reverse has crossed over to Alternative radio and is heading up that chart. Architects from the UK, broke huge in the US on their ninth (!!!) album with the song “Animals,” that went top five at Active Rock and went on to be nominated for an iHeartRadio Music award. The band was virtually unknown at radio when we first started working it a couple of years ago and the band is now becoming a format staple.”
Edie’s career success comes with some incredibly “Interesting” stories. “There have been plenty!” she says. “Some of the craziest things seemed to happen to me when I was doing LA regional. I remember once being on a flight with Beth Hart when she started doing yoga in the center aisle as the flight was still ascending. Needless to say, the flight attendants were not happy! Another was when I was at Atlantic, and we had just released Page & Plant’s “No Quarter.” Those guys did no promotion – I mean, Led
Zeppelin doesn’t need to! However, the promoter at the Hollywood Bowl was able to convince their manager that to sell out the fifth night at the Bowl, they needed to do a winner and guest meet & greet for KLOS and asked me to facilitate it. I almost fainted when Robert Plant turned to me and said, ‘Edie from Atlantic, you have such a beautiful smile.’ Not much could top that one!” says Lundeen. “But I do have to add that currently, it’s an OMG moment every day that I get to work at Epitaph working for Brett Gurewitz from Bad Religion whose records I played on my college radio station.”
Edie has always been a trailblazer when it comes to breaking the glass ceiling for women, especially on the Rock and Alternative side. She’s got great advice for other women who want to continue to do the same. “I feel that young women these days are already growing up way more confident and tough than when I was getting out of college. But I really think confidence is so important – confidence in yourself, in your work and the confidence that you CAN do it. The Music Industry is a tough industry that was run by males for so long. I’m so glad it has evolved so women have more and more opportunities. Find a role model that you can look up to and learn from, and yes, that can be a woman or man.”
The industry is changing every minute of every day. That was initiated by the pandemic when everyone was forced to figure out new ways to do their old jobs or evolve immediately in order to survive. I asked Edie what her takeaway from the pandemic was. “Because of technology, we can now do our jobs from anywhere! Just because we aren’t sitting at a desk under our bosses’ noses, doesn’t mean we aren’t getting the job done,” she says. “I know that so many people are tired of Zooms but thank God we did have it in the pandemic. I learned that I actually probably get even more work done when I can be at home, with no makeup on, hair in a ponytail, in my pajama bottoms when I don’t have to spend time driving in rush hour traffic to and from work.”
One of the biggest challenges in the industry right now is capturing and keeping the attention of a younger audience. We need to grow the audience for the business to survive. How can we capture loyalty and engagement among Millennials and Gen Z? “I love that social media has become a tool for radio stations,” says Lundeen. “TikTok has really been breaking songs and even bringing old songs back around. However, I think that it should be just that – a tool. I’m constantly asking my nieces and nephews between the ages of 17 - 29 how the find new music. For them, a lot of music discovery is on Spotify/Apple playlists or having a friend intro something to them. It’s scary to me that very few of them listen to the radio much. I wish I had the million-dollar answer on that, but I think we are all figuring it out still.”
Edie’s thoughts on diversity, equity, and inclusion: “I think we have moved the needle some, but there is WAY more that can be done. I do feel that the record label side has more diversity than when I started in the 90s. However, on the radio side, since I deal mainly with the Rock and Alternative formats, it’s still male dominated. I do love that going to radio conferences, we have started to put together Ladies Dinners where we can all bond together.”
As far as what Edie thinks people would to be surprised to know about her… “I think many people out there know my alter ego, Vodka Toxic. I played competitive roller derby for over 11 years but after retiring, Vodka is now the Head Ref for San Fernando Valley Roller Derby. I love life on skates!” she says. I’m not sure ANYONE finds this surprising at all Edie.
What keeps her up at night? “My dogs and my husband’s snoring. JUST KIDDING!” But she does manage to find balance. “I am fortunate to have a great husband who is also from the music biz – touring side. So, I don’t feel stress or pressure when I do have to travel for work. He gets it,” says Lundeen. “We also don’t have any children, other than four dogs, so I don’t have the pressure of meetings at school, etc. I don’t know how you mommies out there do it!”
As for what’s next for Edie, “WORLD DOMINATION!” she says. “But seriously, we have some great records currently and on the horizon. When I first started at Epitaph, my boss made a comment that ‘we have never been a big radio label.’ I responded, ‘Well, I’m here to change that.’ I am working to break more bands to the point of crossing over to other formats and ideally would like to change the perception at radio that Epitaph is just a punk rock label. We are so much more!”
Follow Edie Lundeen on Instagram @ @recordchick
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