Tag: radio programming

Making Friends

7/18/1997

The past few Editorials and last week’s Hotline have dealt with the importance of relationships in our business.  How are relationships formed?  Through life experiences.

While programming KFRC San Francisco, one of my jocks was on vacation, one was laid up drunk, another was in rehab and the one scheduled to work called in sick.  I was not happy to go on the air.  My top-of-the-hour ID went something like this:

“KFRC San Francisco, it’s eight o’clock, I’m Gerry Cagle and if there are any local promotion people listening, you should call me immediately.”

Burt Baumgartmer, then working as a local for Columbia Records, called from a hot tub.  He dried off, picked up a bottle of Tequila and came to the station to “help” me make it through the shift.  He didn’t have to call.  It would have been easier…and a lot more enjoyable for him and his girlfriend…to pretend he never heard me.  But to show my appreciation…and probably because the Tequila had begun to have its effect, I allowed him not only to play the current stiff he was working, but to introduce it on the air.  We taped the whole thing and sent it to his boss.  We’re still calling each other from the tubs.

While in San Diego, a baby deejay visited in hopes of getting a job.  I listened to his tape and said he wasn’t ready for a large market.  I advised him to try something smaller and let me know how he was progressing.  (He will tell you I told him the tape was terrible and to get out of the business.  How the story is remembered isn’t important…that the story is remembered is.)  He kept in touch.  Some will even say he got better.  Ric Lippincott wound up programming WLS Chicago and now heads up promotion at Curb.

When I was programming KHJ Los Angeles, a PD from a smaller market came by for a tour of the station.  Afterwards, we sat in my office and talked for a long time.  Scott Shannon and I still do.

While heading to a Bobby Poe convention some time ago, I missed a flight and got in too late for the golf tournament.  The local Columbia rep went out of her way to pick me up at the airport (we had never met) and get me to the hotel.  She even carried my golf bag! I still talk with Lisa Wolfe every week.

In Kansas City several years back, I found myself in a bar with Jefferson Starship and RCA’s new regional promotion person.  At two o’clock, we were singing Country songs.  At three, we were in a suite holding hands, trying to communicate through mental telepathy.  (It was a Grace Slick thing…you had to be there.)  Anyhow, Brenda Romano and I are still holding hands.

A promotion person was working me on the Go-Gos’ “Our Lips Are Sealed” at KFRC.  I wouldn’t add it.  He was relentless…he wouldn’t give up.  The record went #1 nationally and as it was coming down the charts, I added it and the new one, “We Got The Beat,” giving him the first (and possibly only) real double in history.  Michael Plen is still relentless in his pursuit of songs he believes are hits and he never fails to remind me of the one I missed.

When I was OM of WAPP New York, I inherited a music coordinator from the Midwest.  He was famous for pizzas with “evvvverything” on them.  He became PD after a few months (turnover being commonplace at my stations).  Steve Ellis and I kept in touch through his radio jobs and move into records.

When I became PD at WRKO Boston, Jim Elliot was a great deejay there.  We had only one problem: I wanted him to work Sundays and he wanted to watch football.  So we compromised.  I let him off Saturday and Sunday…and the rest of the week as well.  We parted company, but not ways. Our paths crossed often…and they still do.

I forced John Fagot to attend a Willie Nelson concert with me in New York.  John was not happy…neither, come to think of it, was Willie.  Too much booze was consumed and John couldn’t drive home.  I let him use my limo.  It was the start of a long, strange trip that continues today.

I used to visit Lake Tahoe almost weekly.  The head of promotions took care of me, always comping everything…including the best suites.  One day, Jim Parsons asked if I could help him get into the record business.  I set up an interview and he got a job, first for Zoo, and now at WORK.

I used to have Wednesday breakfasts with a manager/record executive on La Cienega Boulevard.  I still remember an insurance story he shared.  We haven’t had breakfast in while, but David Geffen has come to my rescue on more than one occasion since.

And maybe the best story is about someone you’ve never heard of.  I worked as a baby deejay with a guy named Michael Jay in Daytona Beach.  I left to program many stations in major markets. Michael never got out of Daytona Beach.  But at every stop, I got a letter or a phone call from him.  More than anything, Michael wanted a shot in a major market, but he wasn’t good enough…and he never asked. When I went to New York…I hired him.  He still wasn’t good enough, but since Ellis was the PD, how good could the station be? Michael’s selling phone books now, but because he kept up a relationship, his dream came true.

What’s the moral of all these stories?  The relationships you make…the relationships you maintain…will live with you and help shape your life and your livelihood.  Everyone one is important.

Work on them.

Nice Try

6/6/1997

I had the occasion to speak with a programmer in a small market this week.  This market is so small that it has no airport…it’s so small, it has a two-digit area code…it’s so small that when the PD calls a staff meeting, he talks to himself…it’s so small that the only promotion he’s ever been offered was a trip to Las Vegas not to play a record…the station is so small that only Atlantic Records calls on them…it’s so small that for the Christmas promotion, the station gave away presents to the 100th caller—and they’re still waiting on a winner…it’s so small, the consultant is Billy Barty…it’s so small that the top nine at nine consists of only six songs, and the EBS test is number three…the station is so small, they pay an independent…it is so small that the station’s call letter is W…it is so small that it’s consulted by John Kilgo…the station is so small, the only trade they report to is Network 40…the station is so small, they do remotes with a bullhorn…so small, the tower double as a speed bump…it’s so small, the highest paid member of the staff is the intern…the station is so small, the request line is a pay phone…it’s so small, the PD thinks BDS is a new brand of underwear…

You get my drift?

Anyhow, the PD copped an attitude and cried on my shoulder because more record companies were not paying attention to his station.  He whined because he couldn’t get service.  He wailed because I was the only one who would listen.

I did what any sensitive, caring member of the record and radio family would do.

I hung up on him.

Our business has evolved into something less than the carnival ride it once was.  That’s why they call it the Music Business and not the Music Fun.  In many cases, it’s more business than fun.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  I don’t think anyone ever started a record company or a radio station because they just wanted to lose a lot of money.  The object of whatever game we’re in is to win and the way a winner is determined in business is to count up the cash.

But in all businesses, the ends must eventually justify the means. I, for one, believe that many in our business are making huge mistakes for short-term gains that will come back to bite them in the long run.

This works on both sides of the fence.

Record companies complain that records break out of major markets…smaller markets don’t mean as much as they did in the past because smaller markets don’t break artists.

Record companies are right.  Smaller market radio stations are as tight as larger stations.  And if this is the case, why should a record company care whether or not a smaller radio station plays the record since fewer and fewer people care?  It’s cost-effective to ignore stations that do not directly impact sales or airplay in other markets.

Programmers whine.

There is a way to change this.  Smaller-market programmers should be more open to giving records a shot.  More than that, PDs in smaller markets must be more open to record people.  I understand that PDs in smaller markets are under just as much pressure as their peers in larger markets, but the truth about your job is that if you want to get ahead, you have to be accessible.

Record people have to get this also.  It is understood that most records now break out of major markets.  It is understood that smaller-market PDs are sometimes hard to reach.  It is also a fact of life that PDs in smaller markets grow up to be PDs in larger markets. 

Hello?

Record companies should look at major league baseball teams.  There is absolutely, positively no way a general manager can justify the money major league teams spend on their minor league farm systems.  It isn’t close to being cost-effective.  But the talent that is nurtured and developed will wind up making the difference between profit and loss on the major league level.

Here’s a news flash:  Servicing small-market radio stations isn’t cost-effective.  It can’t be justified to an accountant.  But the relationships made in smaller markets will come back in spades when the PD moves to a market that matters.

Record company promotion people who ignore PDs because of market size are making a mistake that can never be rectified…never.  Once a PD moves up to a major market, he doesn’t need any new friends. He’s got enough from those promotion people who did call when he was in East Jesus, Nebraska.

Let’s not forget those who are programming other formats.  I mentioned a PD to a record person this week and the promotion person said, “I don’t care about him; he’s at an A/C station.  I haven’t talked with him in over a year.”  I told the promotion person the station was changing formats to Top 40.  He hung up quickly to try and get the PD on the phone.  What chance do you think he had?

The difference between a hit record and a stiff are sometimes hard pinpoint.  In many cases, it’s airplay.  It’s a fact that we can’t make a hit.  But if the audience can’t hear it, they can’t like it.  And how do we get airplay? Hmmm.  A relationship sure can’t hurt.

Shouldn’t we work to cover all the bases?  Can we all look at the long haul rather than being so quick to make decisions on short-term gains?  Can’t we understand that we must invest time and money today so there will be a tomorrow?

Nice try.

Keeping In Touch

5/30/1997

The late Marshall McCluhan said, “Communication is the key to understanding.”

If that statement is accurate…and I believe it is as accurate as most…then a lot of us are locked out.  Living in the ’90s is a bitch.  Communicating in the ’90s is confusing at best.  Seeking the means by which one must communicate is often chaotic.

When Marshall McCluhan made the statement, communication was pretty straightforward.  One could speak in person, pick up a phone, write a letter or send a telegram.

Today, those are only your basic options.  Although face-to-face meetings are still the most advantageous, the variations on the rest are enough to drive a normally sane person right over the edge.

Shall I call?  Where?  At home?  At the office?  Which line should I call?  In his car?  What about his mobile?  Maybe I should page him?  Or should I leave a message on voice mail?

What about a letter?  Regular mail?  Overnight?  Morning or afternoon delivery?  Telegram?  Get serious.

Why don’t I just send e-mail?  Do I have his e-mail address?  Home or office?  There’s also video conferencing on the Internet.

By the time you decide the means of communications to use, you’ve forgotten what you wanted to say.

In the past few years, our business has gotten more than a little bit crazy…and it’s driving many of us right around the bend.  Time constraints have made one-on-one communication harder to come by.

This is the very reason Network 40 came up with the Summer Games concept.  Face-to-face communication between people in our business has become so rare that we want to put everyone in a place where relationships…and really getting to know each other…takes its rightful place at the head of the line.  Given our schedules, few of us have time to do this.  That’s why we’ve made time.

Once upon a fairy tale, a promotion person’s job was to live on the road each week meeting with programmers.  Now, a promotion person’s additional responsibilities make road trips more the exception than the rule.

Add to this the increased responsibilities of most program directors.  Taking time to meet with promotion people must be carefully scheduled.  “Drop by anytime and we’ll have dinner,” is now an inoperable phrase.

So, we communicate more and more by phone…and in this decade…by e-mail.  Not so many years ago, you could cruise the Internet with little regard to oncoming traffic.  Today, the Internet is busier than the Hollywood Freeway at rush hour.

There are many advantages to e-mail.  When communication becomes impossible or time constraints make it difficult to share all of your information, e-mail can help.

There are certain rules to keep in mind when using e-mail.  These rules aren’t written on the great website in the sky; I made them up.  But I believe they’re valid.  What say you?

Rule #1: Never let e-mail take the place of person-to-person or telephone conversation.  No matter the nature of your relationship with a person, e-mail is an impersonal medium.  You must be relentless in your pursuit of personal relationships with those in our business.

Why would you expect someone who won’t return your phone calls to read or return your e-mail?  It doesn’t make sense.

“She didn’t return my e-mail,” isn’t an excuse…it’s an admission of defeat.  Don’t use it unless you want to prove you have no juice.

Rule #2: Use e-mail as a backup, not as your primary contact.  Because your time with a programmer is usually limited, e-mail is a perfect way to augment your conversation.  Rather than running down the latest PPWs or sales figures, mention them briefly and say you’ll put the rest on the PD’s e-mail.

Rule #3:  Make your emails brief.  Don’t try to impress the recipient with your eloquent use of the keypad.  Don’t be boring.  E-mail only important information.  Leaving reams of figures on someone’s e-mail is an invitation to be trashed.  The recipient probably won’t read it and certainly won’t be happy the next time an email is left by you.

Short, cryptic notes are most acceptable.  Leave only basic information with a note that if more is needed, you’ll be happy to send it.

Rule #4: Be careful of forwarded e-mail.  Junk e-mail is received with as much fervor as junk mail.  Do not think you’re making points by forwarding jokes or stories.  If you think they’re so good, cut and paste, then send them.  That way they are short, easy to read and personal.

Never, under penalty of Karpel Tunnel Syndrome, forward chain e-mail.  Anyone who sends you chain e-mail should be permanently deleted from your database.

Communication through the Internet will continue to expand.  Tomorrow’s e-mail will make what we have today seem downright archaic.  Be careful what you type.  Big Brother is reading.  CDs are being downloaded and scanners make it possible to see a picture.  Next year, you’ll be able to hook up directly with real-time video.  Then you’ll have to dress up before getting on the Net.

Many are already saying that the Internet is taking the place of bars as a meeting place.  Are we as a society becoming so numb to personal communication that we find it easier to type what we feel?

Hey, I’m a man of the ’90s.  I’ve tried the other ways.  Besides, cruising the Net saves me the cost of drinks.  I’m game to go looking for love in all the wrong places.  It won’t be the first time.  I already have my personal ad.

Desperately Seeking Someone.

I’ll get back to you.

Keeping In Touch

5/30/1997

The late Marshall McCluhan said, “Communication is the key to understanding.”

If that statement is accurate…and I believe it is as accurate as most…then a lot of us are locked out.  Living in the ’90s is a bitch.  Communicating in the ’90s is confusing at best.  Seeking the means by which one must communicate is often chaotic.

When Marshall McCluhan made the statement, communication was pretty straightforward.  One could speak in person, pick up a phone, write a letter or send a telegram.

Today, those are only your basic options.  Although face-to-face meetings are still the most advantageous, the variations on the rest are enough to drive a normally sane person right over the edge.

Shall I call?  Where?  At home?  At the office?  Which line should I call?  In his car?  What about his mobile?  Maybe I should page him?  Or should I leave a message on voice mail?

What about a letter?  Regular mail?  Overnight?  Morning or afternoon delivery?  Telegram?  Get serious.

Why don’t I just send e-mail?  Do I have his e-mail address?  Home or office?  There’s also video conferencing on the Internet.

By the time you decide the means of communications to use, you’ve forgotten what you wanted to say.

In the past few years, our business has gotten more than a little bit crazy…and it’s driving many of us right around the bend.  Time constraints have made one-on-one communication harder to come by.

This is the very reason Network 40 came up with the Summer Games concept.  Face-to-face communication between people in our business has become so rare that we want to put everyone in a place where relationships…and really getting to know each other…takes its rightful place at the head of the line.  Given our schedules, few of us have time to do this.  That’s why we’ve made time.

Once upon a fairy tale, a promotion person’s job was to live on the road each week meeting with programmers.  Now, a promotion person’s additional responsibilities make road trips more the exception than the rule.

Add to this the increased responsibilities of most program directors.  Taking time to meet with promotion people must be carefully scheduled.  “Drop by anytime and we’ll have dinner,” is now an inoperable phrase.

So, we communicate more and more by phone…and in this decade…by e-mail.  Not so many years ago, you could cruise the Internet with little regard to oncoming traffic.  Today, the Internet is busier than the Hollywood Freeway at rush hour.

There are many advantages to e-mail.  When communication becomes impossible or time constraints make it difficult to share all of your information, e-mail can help.

There are certain rules to keep in mind when using e-mail.  These rules aren’t written on the great website in the sky; I made them up.  But I believe they’re valid.  What say you?

Rule #1: Never let e-mail take the place of person-to-person or telephone conversation.  No matter the nature of your relationship with a person, e-mail is an impersonal medium.  You must be relentless in your pursuit of personal relationships with those in our business.

Why would you expect someone who won’t return your phone calls to read or return your e-mail?  It doesn’t make sense.

“She didn’t return my e-mail,” isn’t an excuse…it’s an admission of defeat.  Don’t use it unless you want to prove you have no juice.

Rule #2: Use e-mail as a backup, not as your primary contact.  Because your time with a programmer is usually limited, e-mail is a perfect way to augment your conversation.  Rather than running down the latest PPWs or sales figures, mention them briefly and say you’ll put the rest on the PD’s e-mail.

Rule #3:  Make your emails brief.  Don’t try to impress the recipient with your eloquent use of the keypad.  Don’t be boring.  E-mail only important information.  Leaving reams of figures on someone’s e-mail is an invitation to be trashed.  The recipient probably won’t read it and certainly wont’ be happy the next time emails is left by you.

Short, cryptic notes are most acceptable.  Leave only basic information with a note that if more is needed, you’ll be happy to send it.

Rule #4: Be careful of forwarded e-mail.  Junk e-mail is received with as much fervor as junk mail.  Do not think you’re making points by forwarding jokes or stories.  If you think they’re so good, cut and paste, then send them.  That way they are short, easy to read and personal.

Never, under penalty of Karpel Tunnel Syndrome, forward chain e-mail.  Anyone who sends you chain e-mail should be permanently deleted from your database.

Communication through the Internet will continue to expand.  Tomorrow’s e-mail will make what we have today seem downright archaic.  Be careful what you type.  Big Brother is reading.  CDs are being downloaded and scanners make it possible to see a picture.  Next year, you’ll be able to hook up directly with real-time video.  Then you’ll have to dress up before getting on the Net.

Many are already saying that the Internet is taking the place of bars as a meeting place.  Are we as a society becoming so numb to personal communication that we find it easier to type what we feel?

Hey, I’m a man of the ’90s.  I’ve tried the other ways.  Besides, cruising the Net saves me the cost of drinks.  I’m game to go looking for love in all the wrong places.  It won’t be the first time.  I already have my personal ad.

Desperately Seeking Someone.

I’ll get back to you.

Back To The Future

5/23/1997

A funny thing happened in San Diego last week.  According to one programmer, a Jacor power play prevented an act from participating in his promotion.  The PD, who doesn’t work for Jacor, had contacted a record company and made a deal for an act to perform for the station.  The record company first agreed, then cancelled after Jacor threatened to drop the artist…and other artists on the label…from not only the Jacor station in a competitive format…but from any or all of the six Jacor stations in the market.

All of this information was given by the PD at the competing station.  I didn’t contact anyone with Jacor to see if the story was true.  It isn’t important for this Editorial.  The point is, the general scenario will be.

Welcome to promotion and programming in the ’90s.  Promotion executives are going to have to get used to dealing with radio chains.  PDs are going to have to get used to programming within the framework of a chain…or against the strength of a chain.

You will see more chains flexing their collective muscles.  Whether or not the story about Jacor in San Diego actually happened doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that this will happen in the future…by any or all of the major chains.

I had the opportunity to work for the greatest radio chain in history…RKO.  (I know what you’re saying: “Oh, no… here he goes again, down memory lane…I don’t know if I can stand another story about the good old days.”)  This isn’t a story about how it used to be so much as it is an example of how it will be in the future.

RKO owned and/or consulted top-rated stations in 12 large markets.  Because the company chose to operate the stations as a chain, a record couldn’t break into the top 10 without airplay on the RKO chain.

This gave RKO unbelievable power.

Many of the stations were programmed identically.  The Top 40s in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Detroit, San Francisco, San Diego and Memphis ran basically the same clocks, jingles and stopsets.  The same IDs and voicers were used on all.  Chain promotions were done at least once each quarter with identical elements on all stations.

Because the programming was similar, if not identical, every station shared research.  On Mondays, sales, request, call-out and other research were reviewed and a music conference call took place between all PDs.  This was after each PD met with the individual music directors to prepare their music suggestions.  And you needed to be prepared!  After the national picture was given, each PD “suggested” records to add to their stations.  Then the music call ended.

Tuesday morning, the RKO music coordinator would tell each PD what records would be added to the chain.  PDs could pitch for specific records for their stations…and often you could win, but chain adds were played by every station…no exception.

The RKO chain got every exclusive…every promotion…every concert…and anything else record companies could come up with.  If you were a PD in the RKO chain, you had your pick of everything record companies had to offer.

If, however, you were on the other side, the opposite was true.  Everything was brought to the RKO chain first.

Bill Drake, and later Paul Drew, the VPs of Programming for the chain, were both honorable.  If a record company offered a promotion and RKO passed, the company was free to offer the promotion to competing stations. What happened when this protocol wasn’t followed?

Now, it’s storytime.

After I left KHJ Los Angeles and the comfort of the RKO chain, I consulted KYA San Francisco…the direct competitor of RKO’s KFRC.  I came up with a fantastic promotion based around a new release by Chicago, “Another Rainy Day In New York City.”  You’ve never heard of it?  I wonder why.

Bob Sherwood, then VP promotion for Columbia, respected the idea, gave me the promotion and I jammed it up KFRC’S call letters.  Paul Drew was not amused.  He gave Sherwood the opportunity to pull the promotion and give it to RKO, or the record would never be added to the chain.

Sherwood held strong.  He said the promotion was my idea, not Columbia’s…RKO had no right to ask for it.

Drew accepted Sherwood’s answer.  The RKO chain didn’t add the record.  It peaked at #64 on the charts.

Did the power of the RKO chain keep the record from being successful?  Who knows?  Maybe it wasn’t a hit.  It certainly didn’t get a lot of airplay…none in most major markets.

The singles released before and directly after “Another Rainy Day In New York City.”  (with promotions gladly given by Columbia) and played by the RKO chain peaked at #5 and #1 respectively.  Coincidence?  Right…

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Bob Sherwood…or any other Sr. VP Promotion…never gave RKO’s competition a promotion again. Who wants to find out the hard way your record won’t be a hit?

This power is too much for radio companies to ignore.  Companies are now buying multiple stations in the same market to dominate local sales.  It’s only a matter of time before a chain makes the decision to program many of its stations (in multiple markets) in identical formats to dominate sales and promotions nationally.  With the ownership limits greatly relaxed, a chain today can be even more dominant than RKO.

Strap yourself in.  It’s going to be a wild ride as we go back to the future.

Hard For The Money

5/16/1997

Last week, I had a meeting with someone in our business who is currently out of work and looking for a job.  In today’s climate, these meetings happen all too often.  I asked the same question I always lead with in these situations.

“What do you want to do?”

The answer?  “I have to like what I do.  I want to have fun.”

What a crock of bullshit.

Where does it say that our jobs have to be fun?  Why is it imperative that we like what we do?  Since when does a job owe these characteristics?

It doesn’t.  Somewhere along the way, we’ve gotten a little confused.

I’ve heard all the horror stories about our business.  “This executive is a jerk…that PD is unworthy…all are classic underachievers who want something for nothing.”  The radio and music industries are filled with egomaniacs who treat people like dirt and go on about their business.

I hear the laments:  “I want to get out of this business so I won’t have to deal with the dregs who are in it.  I want to work in a normal atmosphere.”

Grow up.

Our business is just that…a business…no more, no less.  If you buy into anything other than that, it’s your fault.

We should all strive to like what we do.  (After all, whatever you do in radio or records certainly beats working.)  But we don’t have to like it.  It’s not a prerogative.  It is a job.  It is something you do to make money so you can buy the things you like…the things that make you happy.  It isn’t the other way around.

The Army is proud to say, “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.”  Don’t believe it.  It’s a job.  And a bad one, at that.  How else would they convince people that getting up at dawn to wade through a swamp is “fun?’  That’s not a job, that’s the adventure.

Bullshit.

So why do people join the Army?  The same reason we all do what we do: we love it…we’re good at it…we don’t have any other choice.

Our business may be little top-heavy with egomania and paranoia. There is a reason for that.  None of us knows exactly what we’re doing.  There is no school that prepares us for what we’re doing today.  We learn some and make the rest of it up as we go along.  Consequently, many of us live in fear of the day someone will tap us on the shoulder and say, “Okay, we’re on to you.  We know you don’t know what you’re doing and you’ll have to leave.”

It’s easy to act like an asshole and let your ego run wild when you have no real foundation for your success.  False bravado keeps a lot of questions unanswered…questions that might expose us as fools.

Most of us got where we are today because of luck.  I don’t mean we aren’t deserving, but few of us planned to take this twisted path.  In the first grade when we were asked what we wanted to be, how many of us said, “VP Promotion at a big label,” or “Program Director of a major-market Top 40 radio station?”  Unless our parents were in the business, we didn’t know these jobs even existed.

And now that we know what they are, are we all satisfied?

Radio is the worst.  You’re only as good as your last book.  In today’s climate, many times you’re only as good as the last company that purchased your station.

Once upon a time, I had the opportunity to program a great radio station.  I was lucky and managed to be the PD chair when the ratings were the highest in the station’s history.  For this, (and because I lobbied hard behind the scenes) I was named major-market PD of the year by Billboard.  My GM presented the award to me on a Friday night.  In front of hundreds of my peers, he proclaimed me the greatest PD in history.

Monday, the new ratings came in.  The numbers fell drastically.  The GM wanted to bring in a consultant.

What?  I got stupid and incompetent in two days?

The record business is almost as bad.  Who knows what makes a hit record?

Several years ago at a party, someone was praising one of the icons in the music business about what  a genius he was for signing the many successful acts to his label.  This man, who is responsible for signing more hit acts than anyone in our business, said,  “If you took all the acts I signed, and say I didn’t sign them, and all the ones I turned down, and say I did sign them…the end result would be about the same.”

Nobody knows.

Most of us got into this business because we loved music. But what do we do “…after the love has gone?”  We “…work hard for the money.”

Don’t misunderstand what I’m mis-stating.  We are the luckiest people in the work place.  Ask anybody you know.  Try another line of work before putting “show biz” down.

Bitch about your working conditions to the people who pick up your garbage.  Do you believe your car mechanic really thinks you have it rough?  How about the people paving the road?  Or the one working the all-night shift at the 7-11?

So, boys and girls, the next time we say we aren’t having “fun” at our jobs anymore, could we look back on the application and find where that was a prerequisite?  It’s a job: your life is an adventure.  Work hard because it’s what you do.  Have fun and like what you do when you’re not working because that’s who you are.

There is a difference.

Affecting Change

5/2/1997

Maybe it’s because it’s my birthday.  (Ah, now don’t you feel bad that you didn’t get me a present?  And you wonder why I write bad things about you?)  There are two times a year that automatically bring on reflective contemplation: birthdays and the New Year.  What ever the reason, I feel compelled to take a step back and take a good look at myself and my situation.  Although this “reflective contemplation” happens to coincide with my birthday (where’s my present?), this is something I try to do more than twice a year.

I believe it to be absolutely, positively important to study ourselves if we are to continue to grow.  Otherwise, we might get the false impression that where we are is where we would like to end up.  The instant you are content with all you have is the moment you begin to lose those things you’ve struggled to attain.  We have to keep moving forward.  The absence of any forward momentum is the beginning of sliding backwards.

In our business, it’s so easy to be satisfied with where we are.  We are in the business of hype and too often we buy into what we’re selling.  With so many people paid to tell us how great we are, many times we believe what others are saying is the truth.

I admit I’m not like the average bear.  I fight complacency daily.  I try to do the simplest things differently so I won’t all into any habit of doing even the smallest things the same way.  I take a different route to the office each day, sleep on different sides of the bed, sleep in the guest bedroom, eat lunch at breakfast and vice versa.

You may think I’m crazy…you aren’t the first.  (I have been accused, but never institutionalized for any consecutive period longer than 15 days.)  I believe in the philosophy, “All change is for the better.”  Although I welcome and accept the changes that occur naturally in my life, I go one step further and try to stimulate change to make myself and my situation better…or if not better…different.

I heard someone give a recipe for changing habits and beliefs for the better and many of the ingredients have stuck with me.  I share them with you so that on your birthday…or the New Year…or when you have time, you can “taste test” them for your appetite.

As I recall the lesson…and from my life experiences with others…I find that most of us are resistant to change.  We get used to doing things one way…why change?  The old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” might not be in our best interest.

Losing a job can be a devastating experience.  One only has to read our continuing “Hell On The Beach” or this week’s Hotline to understand what havoc the loss of a job can wreak.  It’s my philosophy (sharpened on the blade of many “termination axes”) that if we are constantly searching for changes in our lives, changes dictated by outside sources will do less damage.

Why are we so resistant to change?  Pride plays a big part.  “I don’t have to change.  I’m perfect the way I am.  I can’t get any better.”  Bullshit.

Fear is another reason.  Too many of us fear the unknown.  But don’t you have faith in yourself?  If you don’t, you need much more help than this Editorial will bring.  Faith is spelled R-I-S-K.  You build self-confidence by taking chances…by taking risks.  You can talk and pretend all you want, but until you step out and challenge your beliefs, they mean nothing.

Laziness I another reason we reject change.  It’s easy to put off actions until tomorrow.  Making changes in your life takes a commitment.  It isn’t a slam dunk.  Most people would change if they could take a pill or a quick home study course.  Those same people are too lazy to affect any change.  They’re waiting for the perfect time.  Well, there is never a perfect time.

Apathy is another reason.  Many people just don’t care enough to change.

What about you?  Are there things in your life you would like to change?  I’m not talking about smoking or drinking (although those habits should be broken), but about making positive changes in your life that will directly affect your future.  If so, let me offer the same advice that was offered to me this past week by someone who jogged my memory.

First, you must determine what you need to change. You just can’t make a broad, sweeping statement about changing your life.  You must have a vision of what you want to be, but identify the small changes you must make to begin the journey.

You also must have good information.  It’s fine to determine what changes you should make, but ask others.  By others, I mean close friends, family or mentors…not those paid to tell you how great you are.

You must accept that there are risks involved. There is an old saying, “The truth will set you free.”  Accurate, but there is a second verse, “…but first it will make you miserable.”  Don’t expect everyone to rejoice and be happy because you’ve decided to make changes.  Some will not understand and many might be hurt by your undertaking.

Once you have decided to make positive changes in your life, you must be patient.  Remember, you’re taking baby steps.  Just because you’ve decided to “be a better person” doesn’t mean all the improvements will happen overnight.  On the contrary.  Old habits are difficult to break.  It will sometimes be hard to judge your progress.  Remember it took you a long time to get where you are.

And as difficult as it is, it is just that simple. If you want to change, you can.

Remember, it isn’t where you’ve been that is important.  It’s where you’re going.

Believe Me

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?

Are You Game?

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?

Adding It Up

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.