Author: gerry

Over The Line

7/5/1996 

Welcome to the wonderful, wacky world of radio programming and record promotion in the 1990s.  Are we having fun yet?

Unfortunately, that question is answered more often in the negative of late.

The evolution of both the radio and record industries have changed the way we do promotion.

Over the past few months, several Editorials have dealt with the ever-changing relationship between programmers and record promoters. New theories have been expounded about those relationships and all agree that promotion in the 1990’s is a different animal.  However, when push comes to shove, it too often boils down to, “…how many did we get?” at the end of add day.

Promotion people are caught between a rock and a hard place.  The marketing concept calls for a well-conceived game plan involving point-of-purchase displays, television appearances, tour support, promotions, advertising and, oh yeah, radio airplay.  It’s all about marketing…until add day.

The days of “200 out-of-the-box” are long gone.  Don’t get me wrong.  There are still those artists with the right songs who can boom the big numbers in one week.  But more often, we’re looking at building an artist and song over the course of several weeks…or even months.

And it’s not easy.

Programmers are quick to say that they aren’t interested in what other stations are doing; they’re only interested in what’s happening in their own market and what’s right for their audience.  One week later, the same programmers are just as quick to point out the lack of total adds for a record.

What’s a mother to do?

It is imperative, in today’s climate, for record promotion people to understand the programming philosophy of every radio station in their territory.  Mainstream Top 40, Country, Adult Top 40, A/C, Hot A/C, Alternative, Rock, AAA, Urban, Crossover, Dance…all of these are broad strokes.  As we all know, it’s the short strokes that count.

Every radio station is different, as is each programmer.  The philosophy behind the programming stance is often the key.

When a record comes down the pipeline in a record company, it is often “tagged” with a particular label.  Promotion people must look past this label to find what particulars about the record will “talk” to the programmers in their region.

How do you find out this information?  By talking with the programmers.  I don’t mean a casual conversation about life and programming in general.  Take the time to get specific.  Ask them to explain their programming philosophy in depth.  Ask questions.  Gain the knowledge you will need for the time when you’re working them on a particular record.

I don’t know of any programmer who won’t take the time to explain his or her philosophy.  There are two reasons:  First, as programmers, we are an egotistical group who believe we’ve found the cure for cancer.  We like to talk about ourselves and about our stations…what else is there to talk about?  Programming is an abstract art.  We like to postulate on our unique qualifications and beliefs.  Besides, we have great voices and we like to hear ourselves talk.  And who knows?  We might hear ourselves say something important.

Second, by explaining our programming philosophy, it should make future meetings about promotion much simpler.

The one main gripe from programmers about record promotion people is, “They don’t understand.”  If you understand, you’ve gotten past the first big hurdle.

Much was made in the Top 40/Rhythm/Dance/Latin/Whatever circles last week when KPWR Los Angeles APD Bruce St. James announced that he would no longer take record calls on Thursdays.  Bruce didn’t want to take time out of another day to tell record promotion people “no.”  Many felt Bruce was over the line, yet I don’t know of any programmer who is more accessable to the record community.  The simple fact is that Power 106 is virtually unpromotable.  It is a street radio station that is truly unique in the country.  Promotion people who know that (and who know when they have a record that is reacting on the street level) always have an open door with Power 106.  Those who try and fit a round peg in a square hole are the ones who don’t get calls returned…Thursday or any other day.

Harry Nelson now programs two Country radio stations in Boston.  Although they share some of the same audience, each is programmed for a different demographic.  Promotion people need to understand the difference between the two to intelligently promote Harry on what records will fit where.  Trying to get the same record added on both stations just because Harry programs both is a simplistic, and inaccurate, assumption.

What’s the point of this Editorial?  It’s a suggestion that all of us should spend more time doing our homework.  Record promotion people should take the time to get deep information about the programming philosophies of each of their stations.  Programmers should make the time to spend with those promoters who truly want to know the nuts and bolts operations.

In today’s promotion circle, it’s not all about adds.  It’s about increasing spins.  Familiarity with a station’s programming philosophy and the audience can help in talking to a programmer about increasing spins.  Just saying, “Play it more,” isn’t enough.

The magic number that is being bandied about in the record community is 2,000…as in 2,000 spins is the figure when sales really begin to react to airplay.  At 2,000 spins, a record should begin to kick.  To reach that number, a promotion person needs to be loaded with ammunition to convince programmers to continue increasing spins without substantial sales information to serve as a back-up.

Of course, all of this is information is in the Promotion 101 handbook.  As is the promotional trip to Hawaii if all else fails.

As I’ve said before, every record sounds better in Maui!

Take A Message

8/30/1996

I called Trent Lott last Tuesday.  Trent is the newly elected Majority Leader of the Senate.  He returned my call on Wednesday.  I called Thad Cochran last week.  He’s the senior Senator from the state of Mississippi and Bob Dole’s closet advisor.  He called back an hour later.  I called Bob Dole last Wednesday.  His campaign coordinator returned the call three hours later asking what I wanted to speak with the Presidential candidate about.  When I told him it was nothing important, just a follow-up to an earlier conversation, he said Bob would be getting in touch with me.  Three days later I got a message from Bob Dole on my answering machine at home.

Take a message.

Pushing my luck, I tried President Clinton.  I was shuffled to one of his advisors.  When I said I wanted to talk about the upcoming campaign, I was told someone would get back with me.  It wasn’t long before I heard from someone in the Democratic Committee asking for a donation.

Tell him I’m in a meeting.

Close…but no cigar.  For him, too.  There was no donation either.

Tell her I’ll call her right back.

I was able to talk with three former, current and future leaders of the free world.  But try to get someone in our business on the phone and, as often as not, you’re out of luck.

Tell him you can’t find me.

When someone says, “You’re as hard to get on the phone as the President,” don’t buy it.  The President is easier…especially in an election year.

Tell her I’m in production.

I also tried to reach out and touch a bunch of people in our industry last week.  Anticipating a story, I kept a log of my calls.  I spoke with 41 PDs, 25 heads of promotion, 23 MDs, 21 assorted promotion types, 14 radio people looking for jobs, 11 managers, nine record people looking for jobs, seven GMs, six record company presidents, four publishers, three station owners, two dancers and an independent who swore he could deliver if I could hook him up directly.

Tell him I’m on a conference call.

As a matter of course, I speak with an assortment of gypsies, tramps and thieves on a daily basis.  It is my job, so I probably network more than the normal person.  And in my position, it is probably easier to get most of my calls returned.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to talk with me?  Sometimes the calls are specific.  Sometimes it’s just to keep in touch.  Those might be the most important calls of all.  Lose touch in this business and you aren’t far from losing everything.

Tell her I’ve gone for the day.

It is, however, amazing how many of our calls go unreturned.  The biggest complaint I hear is, “That asshole won’t call me back.”

Tell him I’m on a call and have two holding.

In our business of communication, communication is increasingly impossible.  Why is that?

I’m sorry, he’s not answering the intercom.

The simple insanity of our business makes me crazy at times.  We are so quick to coronate the newest king and write off the latest loser that we lose our concentration on the big picture.  The king is only one bad deal away from being a loser.  And the loser is only one good job away from being a king again.

He’s on with Kingston.  Can he call you back?

Are we stupid enough to believe that those who lose their jobs won’t return in a position of authority?  What’s a fired program director going to do…latch on with Union Carbide?

He’s behind closed doors.

Too often, not only are calls hard to connect when someone doesn’t have a job, it’s just as difficult when you do have one.  We’ve become so impressed with our own persona that if we tired to phone ourselves, we wouldn’t take the call!

She’ll call you back in five minutes.

Many times, those in power surround themselves with only people who agree with their agenda.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with having a staff around you that is on the same page.  But having only “yes” men and women giving token approval to all of your ideas is a recipe for disaster.

She’ll call you back in five hours.

Locking yourself in a closet may keep the boogie man away, but if the boogie man just produced a hit record…you lose.  What’s so freaking difficult about picking up the phone?

What’s this call regarding?

Former jocks always answer the phone.  We know the next call might be a date or a job offer.  We can’t take the chance on missing out.

He’s out to lunch.

I’m not writing to say that everyone should take every call.  It’s impossible.  And pests who continue to call with nothing to say must be told not to call again.  But to refuse to speak with someone just because you don’t have time to trifle with trash could make you lose out.  I’m not asking for a pint of blood…just a call back.

She’s talking with London.

The most important call I made last week was one that wasn’t returned.  A record company executive had signed and released a song by his pet project.  It wasn’t successful.  I happened to be playing golf with a programmer who runs a rather important station and who consults a few more.  In the course of the day, we discussed this particular record.  He said he wouldn’t consider the song because of his feelings about this particular record executive.  I took umbrage and promised to try and bridge the gap.  Later I had to eat crow.  The guy didn’t return my calls.  But, everything equals out…the record didn’t get added either.

He’s in a marketing meeting.

It is a constant contradiction in our industry.  We struggle to network and work our way to the top of our profession.  Then, as soon as we get there, we stop communicating.

Tell him you don’t know where I am.

Can we do a little more of that?  I know as mad as I got, I had to do a little work before I could write this Editorial.  There were more than a few messages I had been ignoring.  So I returned some calls.  One was from an out-of-work PD who had secretly just landed a major gig.  He laughed because I was the only one who returned his call.

Take a message.

Next week, he won’t be talking to anybody.

All She Wants To Do Is Dance

8/23/1996

I don’t’ know what’s up with all of this Dance craze business.  Everywhere I go…every person I talk to seems to be hung up on the resurregence of Dance music.  It’s Dance this…Dance that…Dance…Dance…Dance.

Excuse me?  I certainly don’t get it.  There is absolutely, positively nothing in my life or vocabulary that can convince me that the Dance lifestyle…which includes music, clubs and clothing…is making a comeback.

I mean, just because WKTU in New York makes a tiny move, I’m supposed to do the Hustle? I think not.

Hey, I like The Night Life as much as anyone else.  And Heaven Knows, I’m constantly surrounded by people who have, on occasion, visited the Disco Saturday Night at the Viper Room, but me…I’m completely satisfied at the Y.M.C.A.

I’m the kind of person who isn’t effected by fads and changes in musical taste. Let’s face it: I broke all those records.  And even if Dance did make a huge comeback, I Will Survive.  I remember dancing the Last dance in 1985.  Of course, the Last Contest on KCBQ San Diego about December ’63 and it wasn’t really the last radio contest, so, Heaven Knows, if Disco didn’t really die, there is a precedent.

In our industry, there is not shortage of people who are quick to say, “Express Yourself.”  The fact that most of these same people live on or over the Borderline isn’t really important…expect to their immediate family.  Then there are those who say, “We Are Family,” referring to the entire industry.  However, we know this is bullshit, because it’s all about cash.  My girlfriend is in the record business and I can vouch for the fact that She Works Hard For Her Money.

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.  I’m the first person to swear I want to party ‘til it’s 1999.  All my friends will tell you that I love to Get Up And Boogie.  I swear I Love The Nightlife.  It’s just that all of this talk about Dance music and Disco is way too much, too soon.  Mama Used To Say that you must take things slowly and consider all sources before you make any decisions.  Of course, when Mama made her famous tuna casserole, she would say, “That’s The Way (Uh-huh, Uh-huh) I Like It.” Mama was a Dancing Queen.

It might comes as a surprise to many of you to know that I once ruled the Disco.  Yes, Columbia, Mississippi had never seen the likes of the moves I made on that slick, hardwood floor.  Long before John Travolta struck that famous pose, I was definitely in Vogue.  I’ll never forget the one moment that my world turned Upside Down.  It was the Night A DJ Saved My Life.

It was a normal evening at the Knights of Columbus Hall.  All the old vets were sitting in the parking lot, grumbling about the young people who were taking over their meeting spot.  The place was jumping…the music was pumping.  The Bad Girls were purring and my words were slurring. (Beep Beep.)

Someone said, “You Should Be Dancing,” and I was.  I was working on the great new step the Second Time Around, when I got Into The  Groove.  All My Passion began to flow.  I swear, in the depths of Mississippi, I suddenly felt like a Native New Yorker.  Suddenly, something Set It Off.  There was gun fire.  Then, there was One More Shot.

It was the one that would Ring My Bell.

My friends threw me in the back of a pickup truck to take me to the hospital.  Instead, they took me to Funky Town, where I was treated Like A Virgin.  In other words, I was touched for the very first time. Although I was a little afraid, I heard a voice shouting, “More More More.” I was Fascinated until I realized the voice was mine.

Throwing caution to the wind, I ignored my pain and decided to Get Up And Boogie.  I was Too Turned On to think about the Lucky Star that had invaded my galaxy.  I don’t know what it was, but I noticed someone shouted to Dim All The Lights.  Everybody…everybody began to Dance The Night Away.  It was Like A Prayer was answered.  Heaven Must Have Sent You From Above to Turn The Beat Around.  Billie Jean and Gloria put some Hot Stuff on my wound.  I said, “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” but they said, “Shame, Shame, Shame all you have is the Night Fever.  You better get rid of it because it’s twice as bed the Second Time Around.”

The next I knew, I was Dreamin’ Of Love.  Some Nasty Girl told me it was Ladies Night and she was going to Spank me.  We wound up at MacArthur Park.  She said, “It Takes Two.”  I didn’t want to disappoint her and let her know that it only took one, so, Knock On wood, I just Let The Music Play.  I had no idea she had Sexual Healing on her mind.

I was seconds away from being In The Bush.  I was ready to Get Into The Groove with Le Freak when I realized I was Born To Be Alive.  I felt The Power.  I was sweating like crazy.  It was, after all, Summertime, Summertime.  I heard my song On The Radio and demanded that my friends take me Right Back Where We Started From.

When I got back to the club, all I could thing of was Thank God It’s Friday.

So there you have the tale of my Bad Luck days as King of the Disco.  Hey, even if it was in a small town in Mississippi, I had happy feet and for one brief moment in time, all the girls wanted to dance with me.

There was even on big fat hillbilly that wanted to Let It Whip, but that’s another story all together.

It’s a Shame when I think back on it.  Those were the days.  It was the time of 100% Pure Love.  There was the constant Temptation to Let Me Take You Dancing.  Every night was Another Night, if you know what I mean.  There certainly weren’t any I.O.U.’s being written.  I always felt like a Macho Man.

My only regret was that I had to leave Maria, the love of my life.

But that was yesterday and yesterday’s gone.  I could go on Dreamin’ Of Love for the rest of this column, but it would be a waste of time.  Dance isn’t happening.  How could anyone think so.  Even my girlfriend would agree.  I tried to get her to help me with this column, but she was busy down at the Car Wash.

Cluster’s Last Stand

8/16/1996

The art of counter programming seems to be a lost one.  And it’s a shame.  Not just because counter programming was successful…not just because counter programming really showed off programming skills…not just because counter programming forced a radio station to be on the cutting edge and make instantaneous decisions…not just because counter programming make you pay attention…but because counter programming worked.  And it still does.

Unfortunately, we have programmers spending too much time on research, call-out, out house and eventually wind up in the dog house.

So what’s a programmer to do?

You should figure it out…and figure it out quickly.  If you don’t, it’s going to be figured out for you.  Someone else may be calling the shots and there aren’t any bullets for you.

Spot clustering…spawning 10-in-a-row and the like…is soon to be a thing of the past.  And I’m not talking about a weekend promotion where you play nothing but Oldies (however, that is a good one).

I was never a proponent of that 10-in-a-row thing from the beginning.  Hanging your hat on a positioning statement that is so easy for your competition to trump (11-, 12-in-a-row. etc.) has always seemed like an invitation to disaster.

However, because counter programming isn’t practiced as much as it should be, some stations have been successful (from a strict programming stance) in promoting the 10-in-a-row position and in garnering seemingly strong ratings.

The problem is that in our “lemming” programming mentality, it’s no longer necessary to give the time on a radio station.  If you hear commercials, you can almost guarantee it’s somewhere between 15 and five minutes before the hour. Either that or 20 minutes past.

Radio, no matter the format, has become boring in its predictability.  Programmers have forgotten that their primary goal is to sell.

Whoa! What did you say, bud? Sell? You must be confused.  That’s the sales manager’s job.

Get real.  Show me a great programmer and I’ll show you a great sales person.  A programmer has to sell.  We have two sets of clients on any given station…those who buy commercials and those who listen.  It’s a programmer’s job to protect the listeners from too many tune outs and sell them on what a great station they’ve chosen.

It takes innovation, promotion, marketing and programming to sell your audience on the fact that your radio station is the best.  And programming is much more than 10-in-a-row.

Not that any of you who are locked into the 10-in-a-row concept are paying attention. You’re so used to sleeping through “another 10-in-a-row,” that it’s certainly too much to ask that you stay awake through this Editorial.  Besides, why should you care?  If it ain’t broke, why worry about fixing it?

If you’re too bored, lazy or ignorant to try something new, then crawl up on the porch and let the big dogs runs in the street.  You’re too far behind the curve to know that change is coming, and it has nothing to do with innovation before you’re forced to capitulate and wind up following a directive that has nothing to do with programming.

Since the beginning of time…as in spot buys…agencies have sought out radio stations that consistently deliver the numbers requested by specific clients. If a station has good numbers in the primary demo, that station will generally get the buy.  Seldom, if ever, does an agency know (or care) what a station does to deliver these numbers.  The agency just wants the numbers.  Numbers don’t lie.

Maybe.  But often numbers don’t tell the whole truth.

I’ve got a news flash for you:  One of the largest radio advertisers has done some research into the reach, frequency and results of the advertising placed on radio in the top markets across the country and the results are astounding.  This research is showing that time buys in spot clusters simply don’t work.  Period.

The audience doesn’t hear the second spot in any cluster.  We’ve trained our audience to understand that when they hear one commercial, in all likelihood, four more minutes of commercials (sometimes more) will follow.  Fingers are on the radio buttons before a ten second live promo is half-way through.

When the research is complete, this advertiser plans to change its way of doing business with radio.  It will no longer buy anything except the first spot in a commercial break.  That’s when things will start to change.  If every agency follows the lead of this client, radio will be in trouble.

Spot clusters may go away.  Programmers will have to find a new way of doing things.  When I was programming KFRC San Francisco, we were required, by the FCC and our parent company, to run two newscast every hour in morning and afternoon drive, a 60-second public affairs spot every hour and 12 units of commercials every hour.  RKO hired a consultant to give us advice.  After listening for a couple of days, he came in with his recommendations:  Cut out all newscasts outside of morning drive, then do only one an hour, end all public affairs spots and cut the commercial load to 8 units an hour.

“Right,” I said.  “Now a reality check.  What I need from you are ideas to increase our quarter-hour and cume numbers with the current news, public affairs and commercial load, because they aren’t going to change.”

Needless to say, the consultant left.  If we couldn’t quit talking and run 10-in-a-row, he just couldn’t help us.

A lot of stations could wind up in a similar situation soon.  Change may be forced.  Spot clusters will give way to, “No more than 60 seconds away from music,” or something like that.

A bigger challenge could be to recognize the research before it’s presented and make formatic adjustments now.  Tell the clients the changes are in their best interests.  Make the changes a positive.

Then try and find a programmer who can win without 10-in-a-row!

Becoming Adult

8/9/1996 

Over the past several months, Network 40 has been asking a lot of questions to a lot of different people.  In a continuing effort to expand our audience and increase our TSR (Time Spent Reading), we’ve sought your input in ways to make Network 40 even more valuable.

It wasn’t long ago when Network 40 was the new kid on the block, struggling to show our personality and make new friends.  It’s funny…early on, we were one of the last picked for the basketball team; new kids always are.  Others made jokes about us and said we looked weird…until they got to know us.  Then they found out we could hit that outside jumper and rebound pretty well, and the next thing you know, we’ve been voted “Most Popular” and “Most Likely To Succeed.”

I love this business.

Anyhow, the absolute staple of Network 40 has been…and will continue to be…our desire to be a reflection of the industry we serve. We try and find out what you want…then give it to you…It’s not brain surgery.  How could it be?  We don’t have brains.

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

We can do that.

What’s not so simple is finding a way to please all of our listeners all of the time.  Which is why Network 40 continues to add new wrinkles…that and the fact that we’re all radio people here (with the possible exception of John Kilgo).  We like to hear different promotions, fresh liners and new jingles.  That’s why we’re constantly tinkering with our sound.

Plus, our industry is constantly changing.  Lewis and Clark would have a bitch charting the course of Mainstream Top 40 and the tributaries it has spawned in the past two decades.  To continue to be successful, we at Network 40 have to keep up with the social shifts and cultural changes to stay anywhere close to the cutting edge of our industry…beside, you all know we’re a shifty bunch to begin with.

After studying the Report Cards your parents signed and returned, we’ve begun to implement the changes you requested.  Two weeks ago, we debuted the Network 40 Market Profile and the Network 40 Music Research.  You wanted more information on different stations in different markets.  You also wanted music research.  So, we got together with Media Base and created the most extensive market profiles in the business.  Network 40 and Media Base did the same with music research and we now provide the industry’s only recurrent music research broken down by format as well as the top testing new songs across the country.

This week, we’re giving you more of what you’ve requested.  On page 22, you’ll find the industry’s most definitive panel of Adult Top 40 stations.

After seeking input from our readers, we came up with a list of stations that appeal to the upper demos of Mainstream Top 40…stations that are aggressive when it comes to programming, promotions and music.  Those stations make up the initial panel for this format.  As the format and stations change, additions and deletions will be made to keep the panel reflective of today’s Adult Top 40 sound.

You’ll find individual playlists of selected Adult Top 40 stations so you can see what your favorite stations are programming.

Accompanying the chart and music information will be weekly promotions and programming information on the reporting stations compiles by Adult Top 40 Editor Tiffany Eason.

What more could a mother ask?

This is only the beginning of the changes you’ll see on the pages of Network 40.  One of the biggest requests from our listeners was to expand the amount of information we accumulate to cover other formats.  In the coming weeks, you’ll see our reaction as Network 40 begins an expansion to keep you abreast of everything that’s happening in radio.

Not to worry, our award winning (hey, we gave ourselves a Chrome Lizard Award last year) coverage of Mainstreams Top 40 and its derivatives will continue unabated.  However, many of you made valid points about needing at least a thumbnail sketch of other formats.  With the major radio companies buying more and more radio stations, many Top 40 programmers are finding themselves across the hall from their “new” sister stations.  Often, the additional stations housed in the same building share sales, promotion and other support personnel.  It’s important to have, at minimum, a working knowledge of the format that might be playing on speakers at the other end of the hall.

To this end, Network 40 will be charting the music that might very well be on the newest addition to your chain by the time you finish reading this sentence.  The radio landscape is evolving faster than a new virus.  I’m amazed that the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta hasn’t put out a bulletin about it.  Maybe next week.

With the coming Presidential elections and the promises of politicians to further ease the lax restrictions that now exist, the only thing we can count on for sure is that there will be more changes in the future.

So, how do you like our changes so far?

There are other features coming that you’ll be reading about in future issues, but we don’t want to blow the entire promotion in the summer book.  Suffice it to say that Network 40 has taken all of your suggestions and we’re working to implement them as quickly and efficiently as possible.  If we’re reflecting your wants and needs, then we’re going to keep getting our picture in the yearbook under those “Most Popular” and “Most Likely To Succeed” categories.

If we haven’t connected on issues you would like covered or changes you would like to see on the pages of Network 40, we’re only a free long-distance call away at (800) 443-4001.  Our request lines are open 24-hours, seven days a week.  However, if you’re calling to request more naked pictures on Page 6, don’t bother.

We’ve gotten that message.

Beside, that’s a 900 number.

Hold your calls, please, we have a winner!

School’s Out

8/2/1996

Welcome to record promotion in the ‘90s.  You heard about the guy who went around the village riding a horse and singing Christmas carols?  The police found a horse running free and gave him a call.  The guy looks outside and sees his horse still in the corral.  He tells the police, “You’ve made a mistake.  That’s a horse of a different caroler.”

Okay, it’s a long way to go to let you know things have changed…but things have changed.

It wasn’t long ago that record companies laid out a lot of cash to get a lot of ads (real and paper) and son-of-a-gun, their records were Breakers in R&R.  The next week they played on that Breaker status to get more adds (real and paper) and their records began moving up the charts.  Another couple of weeks, more money, more adds (real and paper) and they were in the top 20.  The end result:  A label suddenly has the #15 record in the country, nobody’s heard it (oops…more paper than real) and, surprise, a record that shipped Gold returns Platinum.

Few worked harder for less than promotion people in these “good old days.”  It wasn’t easy to get an add…paper or real.  Come on, Bud, it was tough.  A radio station could only list so many paper adds.  Programmers had to play some records.  Their audience expected it.

Promotion people did anything they could to get their record noticed.  They dressed up in chicken suits, hired Little Egypt and the Dancing Pyramids, rented all sorts of farm animals, brought sleeping bags in the lobbies of stations, made complete fools of themselves and in the process, got their names…and the titles of the records…remembered by programmers.

With actual spins and actual sales now a reality few can ignore, they way record companies do business has changed.  And record promotion has changed with it.  Unfortunately, not all the changes are positive.

For the past few years, record companies have trumpeted the fact that most records break out of major markets.  Less time has been devoted to smaller markets because (a) smaller markets are often slower than the majors to make playlist additions and (b) even if a smaller market adds a record, it doesn’t affect the important SoundScan charts, so many believe it doesn’t matter.

Until they have a “work” record.  Then those Field & Stream reporters start getting a lot of calls and promotions.

The importance of smaller markets is something I’ve written about before and will be the subject of another Editorial.  This week’s ranting is about promotion in general.

In the eyes and minds of many company presidents, promotion in the ‘90s must be done differently than promotion during the “Dark Ages” of the ‘80s.  Part of this is due to the changes in the way we do business.  Reality is the key.  Today, we know how many times a radio station is playing a record.  We also know how many records are selling, as opposed to how many are shipping.

Another reason is because many companies have leaned more toward A&R than promotion.  With the rise of Alternative music and programming in the past few years, we’ve all bought into they hype that “…it’s all about the music.”

Of course, it’s all about the music.  It’s always been about the music.  But you can have the greatest record ever produced and if it isn’t heard by the right programmers, it doesn’t matter.  Here’s another news flash for you:  there’s a lot of great music out there.  You have to distinguish your great record from the other company’s great record.  How do you do that?

Promotion.

As hard as it is for some A&R people to believe, promotion is still the engine that pulls the train.  A lot of great records have died in the studios…or on the desks of programmers who never heard them.

More now than ever before, programmers need to be promoted.  With the advent of more record companies come more releases.  It’s all well and good for the head of A&R to say, “The record speaks for itself,” but in today’s market place, a record can’t just speak…it has to scream.

We hear so much today about “Old School” and “New School.”  Many promotion people today are afraid of embarrassing themselves by being abrasive or too outrageous.  Many feel that it isn’t “in” to be too pushy about their records.  The only thing that makes you “in” is whether or not your record is “on!”

It’s sometimes tougher for promotion people to be outrageous in today’s corporate atmosphere.  Many of those who got where they are today by being outrageous at chosen times are too quick to make “cookie-cutters” out of those who now work for them.  We need to remember that, especially in radio, it’s still fun.  I’m not suggesting that promotion people show up in WPLJ’s lobby next week naked with dancing girls, but waddling around in a chicken outfit or something else outrageous from time to time never hurt anybody…or any record.  You may not get your record added, but if you draw attention to yourself and your product, you’ll certainly get it heard.  Then, and only then, if the A&R genius is correct, the record will speak for itself.

When I was programming KWOD in Sacramento, Michael Silva put on spandex glitter pants and wore a long blonde wig into the station to promote a record by the Nelsons.  We had just turned KWOD Alternative at the time and even for me, adding the Nelsons was a stretch.  I refused to see him. He refused to leave.  I finally went into the lobby and threw him out.  He was embarrassed.  I was embarrassed.  Yet from that time on, every time he entered the station, I saw him and listened to his music.  I figured anyone who was crazy enough to make a fool of himself to get my attention, deserved it.

It’s a lesson a lot of promotion people need to learn.  PDs and MDs have a lot more on their agendas than taking the time to listen carefully to each record they receive. It is up to you, as a promotion person, to do anything and everything to make yourself stick out from the herd.

Whether you’re “New School” or “Old School” isn’t what’s important.  It’s what you learned while attending.

In record promotion (as in golf), it’s not how, but how many that puts you on the leader board!

Another Playlist, Another Chart

7/19/1996 

In last week’s issue of Monitor, Sean Ross asked the question, “What would a Modern/Adult Top 40 chart look like?”

The first answer off the top of my head would be, “Who the hell cares?” But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Monitor has decided to answer a question nobody has asked and solve a problem that doesn’t exist.  Our industry needs another chart like it needs me to dress up like a woman again and appear on the cover of Network 40.  (Okay, that’s a bad analogy.  From time to time, I do feel the need to dress up in lingerie and hang out with my “sisters” at the Queen Mary Club in West Hollywood, but that’s another story…and there’s definitely no chart attached.)

This Editorial is not meant to vilify Misters Ross and/or Michael Ellis.  It has always been Network 40’s position that trade magazines should reflect the needs of the industry…both records and radio.  In most instances, Monitor has strived to do that.  However, by proposing a “Brand New Chart” and calling it “Modern Adult,” it seems that Monitor may be creating a problem.

Tina Turner sang, “We don’t need another hero.”  Does the industry really need another chart?

Instead of creating a “Brand New Chart,” perhaps we should redefine our old ones.  In the coming weeks, Network 40 will redefine A/C and Hot A/C with a chart devoted to Adult Top 40.  This chart will be a reflection of aggressively programmed Adult Top 40 stations across the country.  The Network 40 Adult Top 40 chart will be a reflection of those stations that are aggressive in programming, promotion and music.  It will include those stations that focus on adult demographics.  What it won’t include is an attempt to “niche” stations within the broad category.  It won’t try to define stations by particular records added to playlists.

The beauty of the Top 40 format and what makes it unique, be it Mainstream or Adult, is its total lack of uniqueness.  Top 40 is now, and has always been, a format that plays the hits garnered from all the other formats.  If the Top 40 format makes no formal distinction between Pearl Jam, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton and The Fugees, other than the fact that the current records by these artists are selling, requesting and researching, why should we?

There are always variations on a theme.  No two radio stations are alike.  If most fit into a broad category, who are we to decide that a certain, chosen few need to be separated into a group of their own?

Or course, when an obvious trend occurs, as in the case of Adult Top 40, Crossover or Alternative, it is evident that format charts for these stations need to be created.  When stations within the format “niche” themselves out of the broad Top 40 boundaries, and when enough of these stations fall into the same niche, a chart devoted exclusively to a particular style of music and radio stations that play it is necessary.  Stations need to be niched based on what they “don’t” play instead of what songs appear on their playlists.

In the late 70s and early 80s, the RKO Radio chain dominated music radio like no other company before or since.  The chain had the leading Top 40 stations in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Memphis and programming control over the leading Top 40 stations in Detroit, Chicago and San Diego.  It was the strictest form of radio in history.  Every station was programmed almost exactly the same.  Every station ran the same promotions at the same time. Every radio station added the same records every week.  Records were added to the chain.  Yet even in this restricted environment, some stations added records that were unique to their market.  The James Montgomery Band (just one example of many) was added in Boston, but never made it on another RKO station because the record was unique to Boston.  The other programmers knew this. The music industry knew this.

Here’s a news flash:  The programmers and record promotion people know this today.  We don’t need another chart to figure it out.

In the first place, the number of stations Monitor is including in this “Brand New Chart” is too small.  Fourteen stations do not make a “niche.”  For the record industry (and those programmers who pay close attention to national charts), movement is all-important.  With only 14 stations, a drop by just one station could reflect a downward move on the chart.  With such a finite sample, a record’s success on this “Brand New Chart” could be jeopardized if just one or two programmers didn’t believe it fit their particular sound.  A record doing well on 90% of the stations could be stymied on this “Brand New Chart” simply because it isn’t deep enough.

Second, what is Modern record?  Is it defined by what these particular stations play?  Then Seal, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Melissa Etheridge and Los Del Rio (just name just a few) are Modern artists. These were listed on the latest playlists of some of the stations “chosen” by Monitor to represent this “new” format.

We all understand that individual stations are unique.  What works on one does not necessarily work on another.  Aren’t we smart enough to figure it out without a chart to guide us?

In the article penned by Mr. Ross, he asks (in the first paragraph) the rhetorical question: “Modern/Adult…is it a format?”

If we aren’t even sure it’s a format, should we be creating a chart?

I have much respect for Sean Ross and Michael Ellis.  Michael and I worked together at WAPP in New York.  I can say with authority that Michael is definitely passionate about music.  But even at WAPP, he took too much time working on the chart.  The boy has a thing with numbers.  I had to pull him off the computer just to teach him how to drive a car.

In the fax describing this “Brand New Chart,” Sean and Michael asked for input.  I hope this Editorial will suffice.  You may “input” it wherever you like.

We don’t need another “Brand New Chart” based on a format that doesn’t yet exist.

You guys have way too much time on your hands.

Fireworks

7/12/1996

It was hot in Los Angeles over the 4th of July weekend.  Hot enough to spread suntan lotion over my body like warm, guava jelly (forgive me…I’ve started another novel and have the tendency to stretch those analogies waaayyy too much).  I was so far from politically correct this weekend that I would have needed the Concorde to get me back in time for work.  There were steaks on the grill…yes, Virginia, it was real meat…and beer, not white wine, in the cooler. I was wearing a baggy bathing suit for a while, but it came off so I could get “tan all over.”  I’m so fucking cool.  I know tanning isn’t the thing to do right now.  Sunlight be bad.  According to the latest scientific data, it may cause skin cancer and even kill you.  But I’ve got news for you…so will life.  If you live it…you will die.  I like to go to the tanning salon for a couple of hours early in the day to get a good base.  Then mix that zero protection lotion with some pure baby oil to really get the home fires burning.

Beside, I’ve never met a scientist I wanted to date.  Their skin is too white and they eat nothing.  They do, however, tend to have great drugs.

The weekend was perfect.  There were steaks, beer and plenty of people by the pool.  Then someone said, “Turn on the radio,” and shortly afterward, it took a turn for the worse.

This is not the first Editorial I’ve written on the shortcomings of disc jockeys.  Would that it be the last, but we know better.

I am amazed that we, as programmers, will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on music testing, music scheduling software, computer hardware, processing and equipment to make our stations sound as good as possible.  We spend thousands of hours making clocks, writing and producing promos.  We sweat blood over music scheduling…making sure each song is perfect, the mix is the best…the blend as smooth as butter.

Then we put an idiot behind the mic and blow the whole package.

It’s like putting a monkey behind the wheel of a formula race car and entering the Indy 500.

What’s wrong with us?  Are good jocks that hard to find?  Or are we finding time to do everything else except instruct the very people in whose hands we place our future?

It’s probably a little bit of both…plus some other reasons.

It is a fact that except in a few instances (Rick Dees, Scott Shannon, Gerry House, Mason Dixon and, of course, Howard Stern, to mention just a few), disc jockeys (should we call them CD riders now?) don’t add audience to your station.  Outside of morning drive, our listeners generally tune in to hear music.  Morning, midday and evening jocks come and go without a hiccup in the trends.

However, if a good jock can’t necessarily increase your audience outside of morning drive, a bad jock can certainly drive them away.

The proof was evident this past weekend.

It is a known fact a audience loyalty is tested on weekends.  During the week, we’re creatures of habit.  We get up at the same time, go to work or school at the same time, drive home about the same time and go to bed about the same time.  Our habits seldom change.  We’re comfortable with the radio stations we’ve chosen and seldom deviate from that path.

Weekends are a different ballgame.  Weekend plans vary.  The friends we spend time with are different from those we associate with during the week.  Our lifestyles are different.  We’re apt to be exposed to different stations on weekends.

Why, then, if weekends are important in exposing our product to different listeners, do we, as programmers, often put our weakest performers in such a valuable position?  Why do we allow these weak performers liberties we wouldn’t tolerate from full-time personalities during the week?

It’s one of those great mysteries of life.

Judging by four days of listening over this past holiday weekend, programmers spend too little time explaining the basics to part-time air personalities.  And evidently, programmers let even fulltime personalities get away with sloppy formatics during weekend shifts.

Can I point out a couple of tings that are particularly irritating?

First of all, shut the fuck up!  Weekends should be about the music on the station.  I’m not interested in opinions about politics, world peace or the meaning of life.  All comments from jocks on the weekend should focus around the music (there’s a novel concept) and any promotions the station is running or sponsoring.  Nothing else.

Why do I have to hear a weak jock doing a phoner with a 12-year-old listener?  Especially with the lame question, “Hey, what are you doing today?”  Hey, asshole with the puke voice, I’m changing the station! Don’t get me wrong…occasional phoners are great, but they should be short, sweet and to the point…not conversations between a lame jock and a phone pig.  “I’m Kim from Malibu, loving the Top 500 countdown on KIIS FM,” works fine.

Can we get rid of the weather “forecast?”  There’s not a jock out there who can “forecast” the weather.  Just tell me how it’s going to be, all right?  If tomorrow is going to be like today, just say it.  A couple of degrees difference in the temps doesn’t warrant a stop-set.  And puhleeze, don’t tell me the high temperature “expected” for today when the sun’s setting.

Can we throw way the crutches? “On a great day,” “On a Saturday,” “On a Sunday,” or anything else you’re “on” is irrelevant.  I’m out there in it…and by the way, I know it’s Saturday.

Any jock in today’s time with today’s technology who steps on the vocal of a record should be caned, then canned.  Or vice-versa.

When cutting to a jock at remote, can we lose the “live from the beach” and “thank you very much.”  We assume you’re alive, even if the break would probably sound better if you were dead.  And there’s no need to thank the jock who’s doing the intro…we don’t care.

All is not lost.  Some programmers do prepare weekend talent and listen to make sure the station is tight.  Some part-time talent can make the weekend an opportunity to shine.  Lightning on KROQ Los Angeles and Tony Banks on WPLJ New Your are two that come to mind.

Can’t we work harder on our weak ends?

Take Over

6/21/1996

It wasn’t long ago that  I wrote an Editorial about the changing face of radio in today’s climate of deregulation and  corporate take-overs.  Whether or not we agree with the political and legal ramifications that these relatively “new” policies cause, the plain fact is that the reality can and probably will directly or indirectly affect you.  And, unfortunately, there is little you can do about it.  You will, however, have to face the consequences.

Welcome to the unfair world of radio in the ‘90s. 

How did all of this happen?  How did the landscape change so drastically and so quickly?

There was a time, in the not so distant past, when the Federal Communications Commission ruled the radio and television industries with an iron fist.  Radio stations weren’t really owned by any person or corporation.  Entities were granted licenses by the FCC to operate.  These licenses were for three years or less in some cases.

If you “owned” a radio station, not only were you under obligation to the FCC for the license to operate, but you also had to follow stringent guidelines set forth by this agency that virtually dictated your operations.  The FCC had specific requirements on almost every area of your operation, from how much news was broadcast, how many public service announcements were required, how much “special” programming would be granted airtime…even to the particular format you chose to broadcast.

Every three years, the licensee had to prove to the FCC that for the past three years, the station had been in total compliance with the requirements set forth at the beginning of the licensing term.  This burden of proof was so great that many companies hired people to do nothing except ensure that the stations in their group were in compliance with FCC requirements.

General Managers, Sales Managers, Public Affairs Directors and Program Directors were required (as executives of the station) to sit through meetings and sift through questionnaires about the station’s requirements and promises.  It was extremely important because every three years, any person or corporation could file against your license.

That meant that not only did you have to prove to the FCC that you were in compliance with the requirements of the license, but that you promised to do even more news and public affairs broadcasting in the future to stave off those who would file against your license.

The FCC was quite particular about who could own and operate a radio station.  Potential ownership groups were scrutinized and it was at the FCC’s sole determination as to whether qualification was merited.  The FCC took into consideration many factors, including broadcasting experience, ability and the monetary backing.  Prospective ownership groups had to prove the ability to operate a station at a loss before ownership was even considered.  Further, once a station was purchased, a group had to own the property at least three years before it could be sold.

Can you imagine?  Three years of required ownership?

Deregulation has opened the floodgates.  Ownership requirements have gone right out the window.  You basically have to prove you’re alive, although some recent acquisitions have seemed to have circumvented that requirement.

Radio stations are now bought and sold pending FCC approval and that is more of a formality than anything really official.  Wait three years? Some companies haven’t waited three hours.  What about that limit on the total number of stations any one entity can own?  That border keeps moving more than a line drawn in the sand in the middle of the Desert Storm operation.

So, what does this hold for all of us?  Will deregulation mean better things for all or is it the first warning of the coming of the Anti-Christ?

Most feel that the operation will eventually be a success, but many will die in the process.

The short-term fallout is bleak. We’re in a virtual nuclear ground zero zone and may remain there for a while.  Radio stations are being bought and sold by companies who have no interest in operating the stations for any length of time.  It’s all about profitability, cash flow and interest.

Programming integrity?

For many companies, it’s irrelevant.

The venture capitalists who purchase radio stations are interested in cutting costs and increasing sales to inflate the overall value to another venture capitalist.

So, how can this current climate possibly benefit those who work in programming and consider their efforts a labor of love?  It ain’t gonna be easy, that’s for sure.  The short-term forecast is gloomy at best and, too often, the light you believe you see at the end of the tunnel is, instead, an oncoming train.

Those PDs who are chosen by the various groups to head their efforts will benefit greatly.  The larger majority of those who are victims of “downsizing” are in serious jeopardy.  The plain truth is that in the coming months, there will be fewer programming jobs.

However, the overall effect of an open market is to reward those with long-term planning and broadcasting expertise.  The true broadcasting entities will grow and profit in the long run.  The companies funded and operated by venture capitalists who see broadcasting properties only as quick turn-arounds are in for a series of surprises.

It’s no secret that many radio stations are being purchased for prices that make the possibility of actually turning a profit after paying the interest on the loans a virtual impossibility.  The debt service these “broadcasting” companies are taking on will turn out to be insurmountable in the future.  Then the true broadcasters, who have purchased wisely and programmed accurately, will once again be in the cat-bird seat.

But, until that time, programming will be squeezed to add more spots to generate more cash.  The result is, of course, lower ratings which means a smaller cash flow.

The reality will be a shock to many and the price of radio stations drop as quickly as they rose.  In time, you and I will be able to pick up a station in the bargain basement or on QVC.

Bogalusa

5/31/1996 

For the past six years, Network 40 has attempted to be a different voice in the babble of trade magazines.  We are proud of the fact that we are a “radio-friendly” trade…the only publication that offers pertinent programming information on a weekly basis.  We constantly strive to remain on and beyond the cutting edge.

We believe our radio and record information is second to none.  And, thanks in no small part to you, our readers, Network 40 has grown into the most exciting trade publication in our industry.

A quick look through the pages of Network 40 shows the changes you have wrought.  The magazine today looks almost nothing like he magazine of six years ago. As the industry has changed, so have the pages of Network40.  And we hope that in six more years, the changes will be just as innovative.

Our covers have become the talk of the industry.  Leaders in radio and records have made the covers their own special canvases in creating new and unique looks.

Inside the front cover, Network 40’s Crunch Page gives you the only thumbnail sketch available.  On one page, you can find the top-performing records in all formats. You get an overview of the most added, most accelerated and most requested records of the week, as well as pertinent video information.  We also throw in pictures of the promotion executives who are responsible for the top records…just in case you don’t know what they look like.  Besides, with all the grief they get, weekly recognition in this “what have you done for me lately” business is something we all need to acknowledge.

Our News section puts you in touch with everything that is going on in the business.  Whether it’s the latest radio station sale, a signing or promotion, you’ll get it first in Network 40.  We weed out the news and keep you informed as no other trade magazine does.

After the news comes Page 6…the most famous page in our industry.  Is there anyone working in radio or in a record company who doesn’t turn to this page immediately?  No other publication can come close to our handle on the “rumors, half-truths and outright lies” that drives our industry.  Who’s going where…who’s thinking about going where…who’s thinking and who’s not…if it’s even possible, you’ll read about it on Page 6.  Because you asked us to tone it down, we have.  For now.

Do I really need to comment on the Editorial?  Is there anything like it in our industry?  Absolutely not.  Week after week, we tackle the tough questions facing our industry.  In a business where opinions are always made, but seldom made known, Network 40 puts it on the line every week.  Whether or not you agree or disagree with what is written, you have to agree that you get an opinion every week.  This page is influenced more by our readers than any other.  I would love to take credit for the ideas that have been expounded here, but the simple truth is, these ideas are yours.  This forum is yours.  I just happen to have the keypad.

Every week, Network 40 provides you with an in-depth interview with one of the brightest lights in our business.  From the leaders of the world’s largest record companies, to the major-market programmers, to the innovative minds that toil under lesser lights, the Network 40 interview shines on them all.

Network 40’s Hotline provides a perfect forum for programmers and record executives to discuss their ideas on the topics that dominate the particular week’s conversations.  If it’s happening in our business, you’ll read what people think about it in Hotline.

The Programmer’s Textbook is just what it says.  A text on the art of specific programming shared with the brightest programmers in the business.  Different programming aspects are dissected in-depth on these pages by the programmers who know them best.

The Station Spotlight gives our readers a quick glance at stations across the country.  From large to small, Top 40 to A/C to Crossover to Alternative, each week you’ll find a comparison.

Two new features, Speedbumps and the Penguin Page, feature MDs and local promotion people, respectively.  It gives you a look at today’s heroes and tomorrow’s stars.

On the following pages, you’ll find articles written about the music successes in all formats Network 40 is proud to point to the fact that every one of our radio editors have radio experience.  This allows them to talk about music in a way programmers understand.  If it’s on the radio, you’ll know about it when you read these columns.  You’ll also find our exclusive PPW charts in all formats.

Next is the part programmers most often like to steal.  Network 40’s exclusive Promotions page and Promo Planners are the most ripped-off in the business.  And we love it.  These pages are written specifically for programmers, MDs and jocks to make their jobs easier.  Promotions, Show Prep and Play It! Say It! are unique.  There’s nothing like them in our industry.

Next you’ll find Network 40’s exclusive Most Requested section, detailing the most requested records on radio stations across the country.  We compile this information daily, fax it to radio and records daily and print the weekly tabulations in each issue of Network 40.

Noww Playing shows you specific playlists of the most important stations in the country.

Are our Picture Pages the greatest or what?

The Spin Cycle in the back of the book gives you and in-depth analysis of record activity on radio and sales.  If you want to find out how a record is doing, check the Spin Cycle.

Of course, this is our opinion.  We could be wrong.  One of the biggest keys in our growth has been the input we’ve received from those of you in records and radio.  Network 40 has always attempted to mirror the opinions of our readers rather than dictate our beliefs.  And although we seek your input on a weekly basis in our conversations, next week we want to up the wattage.

We’re going to give you the opportunity to fill out our report card.  How do you feel about Network 40.  Do you want to make it better?

Next week, you’ll get the chance.

Bogalusa!