7/22/1994
An uneasy alliance has been formed between the record and radio communities. It’s an alliance most won’t speak about out loud and some don’t even know exists. But it is a situation that grow more interesting with each passing week.
We’re talking plays…spins…spikes. Versus adds.
Interesting.
It wasn’t so very long ago that adds were all that mattered. Adds were phat, parallel status was where it was at and a chart could be rigged at the drop of a hat. At the very least, several dozen CD players. Or maybe a late Tuesday afternoon promise of a trip to Hawaii (which one Sr. VP of Promotion still owes me!)
There was a time when promotion people pushed hard for the add. Not that they don’t still push hard today, but airplay is the key.
I’ve heard statements recently that were never thought about six months ago. “I don’t care whether or not he adds it as long as he plays it. “ “I don’t want to push to hard for the add. He’s already playing it and I don’t want to scare him off.†Those are a couple that are in power rotation.
Maybe the entire process needs to be analyzed more thoughtfully. So often, the needs of both records and radio are served by the same purpose. And yet, many times, both industries seem to go out of the way to work against the process, rather than work together to accomplish that goal.
By and large, record companies have the ability to establish the ground rules of competition. Let’s face it, it wasn’t radio that created the parallel system. And if the system wasn’t exactly created by record companies, most welcomed it as a way to best serve their needs. With promotions and attention, record companies determine who and what is important.
It was the record industry that fostered adds. It was the way they kept score. It was how we found out who were the winners and losers. Under the parallel system, how many stations were on a record was all-important. How many times the record was played wasn’t a big consideration. Few in the record companies made it a priority, so at first, few ver asked. But soon, unfortunately, another practice became common. Because record companies needed a way to keep score and because adds were applauded like touchdowns, getting that add became all-important. So important, in some cases, that airplay wasn’t even mentioned. Many times, airplay wasn’t requested. Occasionally, it was suggested to programmers that airplay wasn’t even wanted. Just the add.
The system became more and more perverse.
A funny thing began to happen on this yellow brick road to terminal bliss. Many records that were most added weren’t hits. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I mean, who really knows what records are hits until they are exposed to the public? So, having a record that was most added not become a hit wasn’t catastrophic. In some instances, it was advantageous. At least you found out whether or not you had a hit relatively quickly.
That’s when funnier things began happening. Records that were getting a lot of adds weren’t getting a lot of play. The records weren’t becoming hits because the audience didn’t hear them. That wasn’t right.
Records that shipped Gold returned Platinum.
The practice eventually led to the downfall of the parallel system and, in a parallel move, to the downfall of those who promoted it. Record companies went “Back To The Future†to determine what made a hit. The bottom line is the bottom line: If it sells, it’s a hit. If it doesn’t, it isn’t.
We always knew that, but over time the words got in the way and our priorities were a little out of whack.
Suddenly, almost without warning, faster than you could say, “Plays Per Week and BDS,†the rules changed. The parallel system and the coveted award of “Most Added†began gathering dust. Neither was important any longer. Today, airplay rules. Whether or not a radio station officially adds a record is becoming a moot point. It is the airplay that matters.
Some programmers want to hold on to the power of official adds. It gives them the opportunity to test records without getting pressure from the record companies to add a specific record into a weekly rotation.
That power is a wisp of smoke.
Programmers have to place to hide. With the advent of Plays Per Week, BDS and honest reporting, record companies know what records are getting airplay…even by daypart. Who are we trying to fool by testing records during the week and not adding them?
Of course, there is a flip side. (Isn’t there always?) If record companies don’t care about official adds, then pressure for additional plays should be carefully guarded. If programmers are going to let what they play be their official list (and those in monitored markets don’t have a choice), then record companies must allow the programmers to experiment with records in various degrees. Playing certain records only in morning drive, adding others in a night rotation and spiking some sporadically throughout the week are ways for radio to research a specific record’s strength. Record companies must understand that a test is just that: a test. If a station is testing a record, record companies must have patience to work with the station. Screaming for increased rotations before the testing is complete can only hurt the record company’s relationships in the future. And it won’t do the tested record a lot of good either.
Record companies must understand that this type of honesty opens up other cans of worms. Sometimes a radio station will play a record only five or six times, then drop it from airplay the following week. Record companies must be ready to argue unemotionally for re-testing or increased rotations. It will sometimes make the job more difficult, but it is the way we will all be doing business in the future.
Both industries are after the same end. Both want to find out what records are hits. How we get to that end is what makes us different. Most record companies are concentrating on plays and spins, not adds. Radio stations should do the same.