SiriusXM Satellite Radio host Madison on the Alt Nation channel, believes in new music. The fresher, the better.
New music isn’t just a first love, Madison says she believes it’s Alt Nation’s kink.
Even if Madison didn’t directly say it was her personal kink too, new alternative rock is clearly her passion.
“New music is really my thing,” said Madison. “For an old lady like myself, I skew very young in terms of what I like.”
Madison is as busy as ever at the satellite radio giant. In addition to her six weekly Alt Nation shows, Madison also hosts five shows a week on SiriusXM’s ‘90s-alternative-focused channel Lithium. The one aspect of her job that she enjoys most is the opportunity to introduce listeners to new artists.
“The people who listen to these decade-focused channels and don’t branch out get me frustrated,” notes Madison. “There’s so much good new music right now. You just have to open your mind to it.”
She does try to convert her Lithium listeners into new music fans. Madison’s pitch usually revolves around the specialty show she is synonymous with, the Alt18 Countdown. A program built around an eighteen song countdown of all new tracks for the genre.
“I’ll say just give us an hour on Saturday. Listen to the Alt18,” says Madison. “You might hear a new Green Day, or new Nine Inch Nails song. Also, you could hear something that sounds like the music you grew up with.”
Madison says that with time, she doesn’t attend as many concerts as she once did. However, when a new band she cares about comes to town—like Inhaler, which is fronted by Bono’s son—she will still go above and beyond. Braving the elements and the costs associated with seeing a musical act today.
“I don’t go out a lot, but I live in New Jersey, and the show was in Brooklyn,” explained Madison about her recent trip in support of Inhaler. “I spent like $180 getting home in an Uber, but it was worth it because they’re so good.”
New music is only part of the equation with Madison. She has a unique on-air persona unlike anyone you’ll hear on the air. Satellite or terrestrial.
She’s high-energy, and often speaks in non-sequiturs. Frequently talking about things unrelated to the music. There’s also moments where she’s singing on the air, which can be entertaining but sometimes rubs listeners the wrong way.
“It turns a lot of people off, but there’s a ton of people who love it,” explained Madison. “They’ll send in voice memos saying, ‘Madison sing to me.’ When I meet people at festivals, they tell me ‘I love it when you sing.’ People do enjoy it.”
Her outlandish persona began when she joined SiriusXM nearly twenty-four years ago, when the audience was still small for the satellite radio brand. She says her approach on the air has rarely been questioned. Even as the subscriber base has grown significantly, management still supports her one-of-a-kind delivery.
“Thankfully I’ve been given the freedom to just be freaky and be insane,” says Madison.
Like many hosts, though, the person you hear on the air isn’t the same person off the air. For example, while she sounds supremely confident behind the mic, that’s not necessarily true in real life. Madison admittingly has dealt with confidence in performance for much of her career. Never been one to give herself credit, he says that the energy listeners hear during her show isn’t there all day long.
“It is a character to a degree. When I’m on the air, I’m so upbeat. I’m not that chipper in my real life,” said Madison. “On the air, I turn it up. Nobody wants to listen to my misery. In fact, I should be more like this in real life. Just walking around singing a tune.”
Like all talent, there are days when she finds the energy but can’t quite make herself sound happy. She says there are some days where the mood just isn’t right, and thus she takes it out on the listeners. Her audience however takes the jabs in jest as part of the entertainment, with Madison always apologizing in the end.
Pushing creative boundaries endears her to many listeners, but not all. In today’s instant-feedback world, critics are quick to respond and sometimes even quicker to be mean. Listening to her show, you might think that type of criticism would roll off her back. Behind the character, Madison isn’t quite that tough.
“It 100% gets under my skin. It hurts my feelings. Some of it’s nasty,” said Madison. “About a month ago some guy wrote some nasty stuff, but the grammar was so bad that it was fun to goof on. So, I made an example of him online, and my fans came to my defense.”
Not all the feedback is negative, however. Madison says she and the other Alt Nation hosts actively encourage audience interaction. Often times more a request, and she jokes sometimes through begging. The reason goes back to the same passion that fuels the channel: new music.
Alt Nation’s roster of talent want to know what listeners think about the songs hitting the airwaves.
“Do you like it? Is it a piece of s**t? We even give them incentives to participate,” explained Madison. “Send a voice memo and you’ll probably end up on the air. They love that.”
In addition to a polarizing personality, Madison also holds strong political views. Occasionally this angers some listeners, but she says she only expresses those opinions on social media and never on the air.
“There are people unfollowing me because they don’t want to hear it. They don’t have to, but I’m not saying it,” said Madison. “If I’m doom scrolling and I see something about the ‘Monster in Chief,’ I’m going to post it.”
She suspects some executives at SiriusXM might wish she were less outspoken. Albeit, she has plenty of people encouraging her to keep sharing her views despite the reaction it’s receiving. Which often times surprises her that so many care about her thoughts on issues unrelated to music.
Madison has also occasionally rubbed musicians the wrong way. One example involves actor and 30 Seconds to Mars front man Jared Leto. One time while mentioning the band, she quipped about Leto saying “at least he’s good looking.” Then an opportunity came when Leto and his brother Shannon later visited the SiriusXM studios.
Madison was eager to meet him. The meeting did not go well.
“I walk in and he looks at me and says, ‘Oh you’re Madison. You’re not very nice. We listen to you and we don’t like some of the things you say about us,’” explained Madison. “I turned like a shade of a plum. I’ll never forget it.”
On the other hand, it makes for a great story—and a badge of honor for the longtime personality.
“I’ll talk about that on the air from time to time,” explained Madison. “There is an Oscar winner who hates my guts. How many people outside of Hollywood can say that?”
Madison knows her style isn’t for everyone. But if even a few listeners stick around long enough to hear a new band they end up loving, then the singing, the chaos, and the occasional yelling are all worth it. After all, as she sees it, the next great song is always out there—you just have to be willing to press play.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
