Month: April 1997

4/18/1997

What makes you so different?

It is’ a question I’ve had to answer a lot in my life, but sometimes the answer is more important than others.  It isn’t the question, but who’s asking that makes the difference.  For example, if Scott Shannon asks me, my answer will be full of bravado, backed up by appropriate stories and accompanied with a pirate’s grin.  If my daughter asks the same question, it stops me in my tracks.

What makes you different?  What do you believe in?  If you had to define yourself, how would you do it?

We work in a tough business.  In defining the radio and record industries, five words come to mind:  Anger, criticism, cynicism, negativity and egotism.  In this environment, it’s easy to know what we’re against.  We are quick to voice opinions on what we don’t like.  (Particularly in my case!)  Not so easy is defining what we like.

Why do we have the tendency to be so negative?  In a business founded on creativity, why are we so quick to accentuate the negative?  Why are so many voices raised with reasons why something won’t work rather than to sing the praises of the innovations that do work?

I got some great advice early on.  Hired to program WRKO in Boston, one of the most influential stations in the country, I was too young…too eager…and too hungry.  I wasn’t grounded in my programming beliefs and I certainly wasn’t sure of myself.  I had great promotional ideas, but before I put them into place, I discussed them with others in the company, seeking their input.  Needless to say, none made it on the air.  The others were quick to point out all the negative things that could result with a particular promotion.

Paul Drew, head of programming for the RKO Chain, told me, “If you have a great idea…put it on the air immediately.  Don’t talk with others about it.  They can’t see the positives…it isn’t in their interest.”

How much better could we be if we didn’t have to overcome so much negativity?  More importantly, how much better could our employees be if they didn’t have to overcome so much of our negativity?

With negativity comes criticism.  Don’t misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with being vocal when disagreeing.  It is important to define your position by discussing…as loudly as you wish…your opposition to those things with which you don’t agree.  Am I not the loudest protester?

I speak of the petty criticism we hear daily about almost everything and everybody.  I’ve said before that we should applaud every measure of success.  If anyone is doing really well anywhere…let’s stand up and cheer.

But we’re quick to criticize.  A PD has an up book?  No competition.  A record is getting a lot of adds?  Yeah, but it’s not selling.  A guy gets a promotion?  He’s just a brown-noser.

Stop it!

And let’s not forget the egos that run rampant in our business.  In the great business of life, what we do doesn’t give us the right to be disrespectful to others, to demand attention, to believe that our jobs actually make us more important than others.

Give me break.  The only reason our neighbors pretend to show interest in our jobs is for the free concert tickets or CDs that we occasionally hand out to impress.

Because of the nature of this Editorial, it’s not appropriate for me to point out the problems without offering solutions.

If you want to be different…you must act different.  It’s hard.  It’s easier to join the cynical crowd and criticize everything.  But if you really want to be different, let me offer five positive moves that you can make:

First, change your attitude.  You’ve got a great job…and the more positive your attitude, the better it…and you…will. Be.  In life and in business, “Attitude equals Altitude.”  How high do you wish to go?

Second, identify what you’re for…not just what you’re against.

Third, use words to make positive statements, not just negative judgments.  Take the time to compliment others on jobs well done.  Don’t you feel better when it’s done to you?

Fourth, use your works.  Kind words are nice…but what you do is important.  Go out of your way to show intentionality…do some thing intentionally to alter a potentially negative situation.

And fifth, be solution-minded.  It’s easy to find fault…how about providing an answer?  Anyone who works with me knows my motto is, “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.”

What makes us different?  What do we believe in?  Let me start you on the road to recovery with one simple answer:  Music.  Shouldn’t that be one of the big reasons we’re different?

We spend more time on things surrounding music than listening.  Scheduling meetings, budget meetings, department meetings, etc.  We have become an industry of meetings.  We don’t have a choice.  We don’t make those decisions.  But we can decide not to make those parts of our jobs the hot topics of our conversations.  It’s the music that matters.

We all have excuses.  There are a thousand reasons why we don’t accept excuses from others, why should we use them ourselves?

A song painter and current Callaway golfer once sang, “Music is the universal language and love is the key.  People who believe in music are the happiest people I’ve ever seen.”

The next time someone asks me, “What makes you different?  What do you believe in?”  I’ve got the answer.

I believe in music.

How about you?

4/11/1997

The Network 40 Summer Games are the hottest topic of conversation these days.  As record companies line up their teams, the wolf whistles will get even louder.

We’re hearing a lot of, “My team can beat your team” and “My daddy can whip your daddy” already.  There are also those who are asking, “Why?”

Why?

The Network 40 Summer Games were conceived over two years ago at a small gathering consisting of myself, Bruce Tenenbaum and Mark Gorlick.  We were criticizing (of course) a convention that had just concluded.  During our conversation, we gabbed about all conventions in general.  And it wasn’t just three lone voices, crying out in the wilderness.  We were vocalizing the criticisms we shared with every person in the business.

Radio and record conventions are boring.  The panels and discussions are a joke.  And they are boring.  The meetings go on too long.  And they’re boring.  There are 50 record people to every programmer.  Nothing is ever accomplished.  Conventions are a waste of time.  And they are boring.

These criticisms were coupled with the mood of the day…the mood that continues in our business.  It’s ugly out there.  Never before has there been such a chasm between those in the record business and those in radio.

“I hate that person,” is today’s phrase.

There is no doubt that both businesses have changed drastically in the past few years.  Promotion executive often spend more time in meetings inside the company than productive meetings with programmers.  Traveling, once a way of life for any good promotion person, has been curtailed.  More often that not, the only contact promotion people have with programmers is on the phone…and those conversations tend to be about the immediate possibility of an add.

In today’s world, a promotion person’s opinion of a programmer depends on what records were added in a given week.

It’s the same for a PD.  More time is spent in meetings than listening to music.  A PD’s  time is more valuable than anything.  When a PD picks up a phone to talk with someone in the record business, it’s usually, “What can you do for me right now?”

In a business that depends upon…actually, demands…relationships on both sides, we are becoming too busy to establish them.  And we need these relationships to survive.

No PD is going to add every record you work.  As startling as this sounds, not every record worked by a promotion staff is a hit.  A promotion person’s job is to get a PD to consider the record.  Occasionally, one must ask a programmer for a favor… “Would you please listen to my record and to what I have to say about my record?”

You cannot ask a favor without having a relationship.  And you cannot have a relationship without spending time…quality time.

The same is true from the programming side.  You can’t ask a favor of a promotion executive without having a relationship…that is, unless you want to barter and trade.  If you need tickets for a superstar concert and have no relationship with the company’s promotion person, the answer will be, “Yeah, if you’ll play this other record.”  A record that probably doesn’t fit your format.

But if you have a relationship, the promotion person will be more than happy to oblige because both know the other will be there in the future.

This is why we came up with the idea of the Network 40 Summer Games.  It is an opportunity to create relationships.  There will be nothing else like it.

Why aren’t we having speakers?  Because we don’t learn anything from speakers or panels.  Would you rather hear Scott Shannon speak about programming to a large group or would you rather have the opportunity to ask him specific programming questions in a relaxed atmosphere?  Would you rather hear Burt Baumgartner give a speech about promotion or would you rather personally ask him about promotion?

The Network 40 Summer Games gives you the opportunity to talk one-on-one with your peers and counterparts.  The games are small for a reason…so every person who attends will have the opportunity to spend quality time with everyone else there.

You will be able to establish relationships with those you only knew as distant voices.  You’ll be able to make friends.  Hey, you’ll also be able to make enemies.  You’re not going to click with everyone, but after the Network 40 Summer Games, you’ll have a reason to hate specific people!

The vast majority of record people and programmers know the Network 40 Summer Games will provide a unique opportunity to compete and get to know each competitor.  Virtually every record company has committed to being a part of the most unique event in the history of our business.  Most know it will be a very special gathering in a very special place that will be talked about for years to come.  A small minority continue to ask, “Why?”  Why is it so expensive?  (Because it’s small and special.)  Why aren’t there any panels?  (Because panels are stupid and boring.)  Why should I go?  (To spend quality time with others in your business…you might even learn something.)  Why are we playing games?  (Because competition builds relationships.)  Why can’t I wait until next year?  (To attend the 1998 Summer Games in the Bahamas, you have to be in Lake Tahoe this year.)

But if you decide not to attend, all of these questions will be irrelevant.  You’ll only have to answer one question:

Why weren’t you there?

4/4/1997

Several weeks ago, I wrote an Editorial that was highly critical of the Monitor.  Actually, the Editorial was critical of the policies of the Monitor… and the people of the Monitor who made the policies…specifically Howard Lander, Sean Ross, Kevin Carter and Theda Sandiford.  I said it would be harder to find anyone dumber than the Gang of Four.  I was speaking of their overall intelligence.  I assume each of these individuals are smart in their own way.  They’re just stupid when it comes to the radio or record business…despite the fact that they are in charge of a magazine that purports to support that very industry.

I owe the Gang an apology.  I know it’s not like me, but when I’m right (which is most of the time), I take the credit.  And when I’m wrong (which is almost never…ask anyone who works for me), I will take the blame.  I said it would be hard to find anyone dumber than the Gang of Four.  I was wrong.  After reading last week’s Monitor, I found someone.

Sean Ross.

The fact that he is a member of the Gang notwithstanding, Sean has separated himself from his peers with a column that begs to wonder if Mr. Ross is indeed on a spaceship circling the Hale-Bopp comet.  It proves he is totally out of touch with the realities of the radio and record industries.

Sean writes, under the the heading “Top 40 Topics” (golly gee, what a nifty name), about “Going For Adds Or Going For The Real Story.”  Mr. Ross wonders why companies still “go for adds” and schedule “add dates.”  If he has to wonder, Mr. Ross should wake up and smell the coffee.  However, I feel the mere smell of coffee certainly couldn’t pull him out of his evident coma.

Ah, what a warm-and-fuzzy world we would live in if there was no emphasis on stations “adding” a record.  There would be no more scheduling meetings because record companies could release everything on the same day.  Warner Bros. could gather up all their artists and ask, “Who wants to release an album next year?  Just deliver it by January 1, because that’s when we release everything.

“We’re not concerned with adds anymore, so let’s just throw all the product out there at the same time. Maybe some programmer will listen to it and play it.”

Wow, wouldn’t that be cool?

Actually, it might make it easier if every record company released all their records on the same day.  Then we could get it all over with in a hurry.  Oh, some artists would get lost and some hit records would never get heard, but that’s okay.  Shit happens.

How would we gauge a record’s early success?  We couldn’t.  But, who cares?  We aren’t in the business of promotion, we’re in the business of reality.  Unfortunately, what Sean doesn’t seem to understand is that reality is almost always a byproduct of promotion.

We have a Bill of Rights because a bunch of promotion people got it “added” to the Constitution.  We are able to break new acts because programmers commit to the music by “adding” the record.  Anyone who believes records “just organically happen” without a solid promotion and marketing plan should put a purple scarf over their head and become a part of Hale-Bopp.

Maybe a superstar act doesn’t need a group of early believers to ensure a hit—although most would even argue this point.  But certainly newer, unproven artists need early believers to shout the gospel by “adding” the record.

It is a fact of life that PDs look to others for guidance.  How many adds a record gets often decides a records’ fate.  Some may say it isn’t fair (usually those who didn’t get any adds), but the fact is that the system works.

Programmers depend on promotion people and information.  If a record gets added on 100 stations, it’s worth a listen.  And the reverse is certainly true. If a record gets only two adds…maybe it isn’t worth a listen.

Add dates are all-important in the internal set-up of a record.  Scheduling is king.  No one wants to release a superstar act the same time as another label’s superstar.  Nor does any company want to release a new artist if several superstars are coming with releases in a given month.  Companies want to schedule add dates with touring when possible, making tickets, artist meetings and other promotional activities possible.  Add dates are coordinated to make sure product is in stores.

All of these reasons would seem obvious to even the most ignorant in our business.  So what does this say about Sean and the publication for which writes?  Does Monitor not know…or simply not care?

Sean checked out the adds in his own magazine and found only a “few” that mention “add dates.”  Maybe it’s because adds aren’t important to Monitor’s readers.  Monitor prints information that has already happened.  Promotion  people and PDs are concerned with more than history…they must know what’s next… what records are coming…who’s going to “add” them…who has  passion for them.  You’ll find no passion in the Monitor.

You will find people with no experience or knowledge of our business trying to dictate formats and questioning record company practices designed to break new acts and records that make history.

The Monitor should hurry up and hire Tony Novia.  They need someone—even with his limited radio ability.  (Just kidding, Matty.)

In short, Sean Ross sucks, the Monitor blows, Network 40 rules.

I know I think I know everything.  But consider the other trade geeks and you have a better understanding of the saying, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king!”

Well, give me my eye patch and call me Snake.