Tag: record industry

Ass Backwards

Admittedly, I was a little late getting to the music movie of the year, but I saw “Ray” last night. If you, like me, have been putting it off…don’t.  It’s better than your average music movie and manages to tell the story pretty straight.

 

And the soundtrack is a bitch.

 

I was struck by a strange notion as I watched the life and times of Ray Charles. Here was a Black, blind man from the South who managed to make history with his music. Here was the story of a man who wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer…a man who played in the shadows for years before breaking out with his own sound.

 

The strange notion? Ray would have never made it today.

 

The record industry has become a corporate, tepid pool of middle managers who try harder to make no mistakes rather than to make history. With very few exceptions, the gene pool has shrunk the DNA to a level none would be proud to claim. The record business once encompassed the best and the brightest. Today, too many are survivors. Unfortunately, survival often means compromising.

 

The music industry is a perfect example.

 

With a few notable exceptions, is there a record executive today who would take a chance on a blind, Black man whose music couldn’t be identified by format?

 

Once a thriving place for the exception…exceptions now are the exception. The record business built itself on artist development. Funny, many labels are still existing on what they no longer practice. Repackaging aging artists to pay the bills seems to be the norm.

 

What will the next group of record executives do to survive?

 

And what would this commentary be without a little irony? Independent record labels are the only companies practicing artist development. Small labels are investing in the little things, including tour and personal appearance support, that build an audience for an artist for years to come. So, those that can least afford it are doing it.

 

Is that the irony? No. That would be much too simple for the record industry. The irony is that larger labels are gobbling up independent labels like an Atkins flipper at a bread factory. The independent labels are successful because they practice artist development and are being purchased by major labels that don’t practice artist development.

 

Ironic. And ignorant.

 

It’s nice that one thing hasn’t changed. It doesn’t have to make sense to make music.

 

For that, we can all be thankful.

Welcome To The Regionals

With the European approval of the BMG/Sony merger all but making American consent a slam dunk, the wonderful world of music becomes smaller by a major. And that ain’t all, folks. The Warner Music/EMI marriage is being arranged and when that takes place, the wedding party gets smaller still.

 

Record companies should worry when headlines about mergers and downsizing get more ink than the artists and the music they make.

 

The reality is that our world is changing…faster than American Idol records run up the charts. And with these changes comes a ripple effect that makes the radio and record industries rock with uncertainty.

 

What does the future hold? Let me hazard a guess…or two.

 

Radio programmers have long held onto the notion that they don’t need record companies to survive. It’s another naïve notion that has no basis in fact. Programmers say they don’t need the promotion provided by record companies…they can purchase their music in record stores if need be. Of course, the dwindling number of record stores should give them a clue that the idea may be mired in the rules of the past.

 

Recent changes in the way radio companies allow access to their programmers has made a hit even more difficult to determine. Radio companies, in an attempt to keep programamers from being illegally influenced by unscrupulous independent promoters have decreased their influence, and in many instances, banned them altogether. It’s an altruistic attempt similar to dropping Agent Orange on forests because an enemy “might” lurk there.

 

Record companies welcomed these changes with open arms because they were able to gain a degree of control over independent costs that had spiraled out of control. The fact that record executives were responsible for these costs didn’t seem to matter.

 

Now, programmers are faced with record promoters only intent on promoting their own records. Believable? Hardly. Record companies have needed independent sources to act as cheerleaders since the beginning of promotion. One lone voice calling out in the wilderness (and being paid to do so) is hard to hear. But record companies didn’t care. The costs were down. What else mattered?

 

Record companies stopped focusing on breaking records in smaller markets. There was no immediate return. Instead, it was easier to break records out of the major markets and then let them “trickle down” to the sticks. Regional hits were a thing of the distant past. If a record didn’t make it nationally, it didn’t matter.

 

Radio fell for the same lure. Why take a chance on a new artist? Wait until Z100 said it was a hit. And while we’re at it, let’s kill the local research. If we aren’t playing regional records, why would our research be any different than that done on a national basis. There really isn’t any difference in New York City and New Orleans is there?

 

Programmers hide behind the fact that they rely on research. Yet, to research a record, it must first gain significant airplay. How are new records going to be exposed in the future if everyone is playing it safe and waiting on the majors to discover new music? And that new music is increasingly the product of record companies offering bigger acts for station concerts in return for airplay on “new” artists.

 

With access being denied, research becoming meaningless on a local level and playlists shrinking with record companies, what’s next?

 

 

With the number of majors shrinking, more independent record companies will be raising their heads. Most independent record companies aren’t able to promote their records on a national basis. These record companies will begin focusing on the radio stations in their immediate vicinity. The future of the music business rests in the ability of the independent record companies to break records out of regions. Not because they should, but because it’s their only choice.

 

Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

Now if the executives running the “majors” recognize a fact of life and once again begin focusing on regional breakouts and smaller markets to expose new product, the result could be a miracle.

 

I’ll light a candle.

Son

1/2/1999

Sometimes, I like our business better than others.  This isn’t one of those times.  I lost a friend this week.  We all did, even though most of you reading this Editorial didn’t know Michael Atkinson.  Too bad.  You should have.

Michael was a promotion manager at Columbia Records in the 1970s.  He was one of the best.  He also was executive producer on a few albums for artists you’ve never heard of.  Like Michael Jackson.

I first met Atkinson when I was PD of KHJ Los Angels.  Columbia was trying to resurrect Sly Stone’s career and talked me into doing an interview with the “new and improved” version.  Michael brought Sly to the station.  Despite Columbia’s promises, the interview was a disaster.  I was angry and embarrassed.  Mike was 6’1” when he arrived at KHJ that day… much smaller when he left.

Out of this strained beginning, a wonderful friendship was born.  One of the great things about Michael was his ability to laugh in the face of disaster.  He always managed to find something funny about everything that happened around him professionally.  That was his life.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t so quick to find humor in his personal affairs.  That was his death.

Bob Sherwood, who headed up Columbia’s promotion team at the time, joined with Michael and I on some odd journeys,  Being a true son of the South, I was colorful.  These two California boys weren’t.  So they borrowed shamelessly from my life and vocabulary.  The three of us used the same greeting toward each other for over 20 years.

“Son!”

You had to be there.

“Son” took me to Las Vegas to see Charlie Rich.  We had to sit through his performance, so Michael and I began drinking heavily.  A very mediocre comedian from New Orleans opened the performance and we began to heckle him unmercifully.  When he started a bit about the great football team in Louisiana,  I screamed, “Go Tigers!”  The LSU Tigers are revered in the state.

The poor guy stared weakly into the audience and moaned, “I was talking about the Saints.”

This was extremely funny to Dr. A.  It must have been the booze.  For years, he sent me memorabilia from LSU…everything from pillowcases to stuffed animals inscribed, “Go Tigers.”

Michael left Columbia and joined a start-up trade publication that became his life.  For 17 years, Michael was the conscience of Radio & Records.  The publishers came and went, but Michael was a fixture.

When I was appointed captain of the ship of fools known as Network 40 six years ago, I tried to hire Michael.

“I love R&R, he said.  “It’s my life.”

Later, when I started beating R&R unmercifully, Mike would call when I went too far.  “Son,” he would begin, “although most of what you’re saying is true, accusing Joel of murder is a bit over the line.”

About a year ago, Michael was fired from R&R.  It was a tragedy.  Dr. A lost his job.  R&R lost its conscience.

Michael never recovered.

I immediately offered him a gig.  So did many others.  We talked to him of a new beginning.  He talked of betrayal.  We spoke of the future.  He couldn’t forget the past.

Inevitably, Michael became a statistic.  In our business, we are quick to apply labels.  If you have a job, you’re a winner.  If you’re out of work, you’re a loser.  The truth is, anyone who labels others is loser.

Michael was a good friend…always willing to go the extra mile to help out.  However, as good a friend as Michael was to others, he couldn’t accept our friendship in his time of need.  Ultimately, Michael cared more about what the creeps in our business said about him than what his friends thought.

It’s a sad commentary.

Sadder still is the fact that all of his friends did all we could.  We offered help.  He refused.  We called.  He never picked up the phone.  We knocked.  He didn’t open his door.  We sent letters that remained unopened.

In this instance, those of us who believe we can change the world were unable to save one life.

We are the losers.

The moral of this Editorial?  There are several.  We should all struggle to find the good in others as quickly as we point out their shortcomings.  There is more to our lives than our jobs…we need to judge our worth by who we are, not what we do. We need to learn how to accept help as well as we give it.  Labels are too easy to apply and we’re all better than that.

Michael Atkinson’s life and times are proof positive of all the above…and more.

Go Tigers?

Nah.

Go Michael.

A Family Affair

8/28/1998

The changing landscape of our business has generated a ripple effect that washes over all employees…from the president’s office right down to the sanitation engineers.  Being “well-read” in our industry once was quantified by a familiarity with trade publications.  Now, our majority pours over the Wall Street Journal.  Not long ago, a radio company could only own 12 stations total.  Soon, many will own that number in one market.  Record companies were owned by independent raconteurs who built their labels on a love of music and an astute business sense.  Today, most are owned by large conglomerates.  The music of choice is that generated by bells ringing on the cash register.

It’s big business, baby, and like it or not, we’re a part of it.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  Big business brings an entire package.  Pockets are deeper for promotion, marketing, research and development.  In the short term, even the salaries are higher. But there is no free lunch.

Creativity can suffer.  Individualism is harder to maintain.  A Family Affair is no longer the company song.

In a relatively short time, we’ve gone from, “Your loyalty is being rewarded,” to “What have you done for me lately?”

Today, the catch-phrase is “What are you going to do for me tomorrow?”

Remember when we had those “five-year plans?”  With companies changing hands so quickly while stocks rise and fall like a Love Rollercoaster, those “five-year plans” are mostly obsolete.  If you’re lucky, it’s more like five months, or in some cases, five weeks.  And depending on how you answer questions in the department head meeting, it could be five minutes.

Record companies were once looked upon with envy by those in radio.  Where programmers notched their belts and judged their worth on the number of times they were fired, record executives couldn’t relate.  Most had never been terminated.

It’s hard to believe that from a personnel standpoint, radio is more stable than the record business.  More record executives have lost their jobs in the past few years than in the history of the industry.  And it’s not going to get any better.

Conglomerates are buying more stations and record companies.  For this concept to work, operating expenses must be cut.  Don’t believe that this means getting rid of a few computers and phone lines.  We’re talking about people.

This had to change the way we feel about our jobs.  There was a time, in the not so distant past, that people worked for people.  I wrote many letters to new employees that began, “Welcome to the (KHJ, WRKO, KFRC, etc.) family.”  Those words can’t be used today.  It’s all about business.  Family has nothing to do with it.

All of us need mentors.  As baby deejays or fledgling record executives, we need older, wiser, smarter people to teach us the ways of our business.  Those of us who have attained some measure of success can look back on those who helped shape our future.  Then, we can use the knowledge that we gain to pass along to others.

I was lucky.  I had three people who helped shaped my world:  Buzz Bennett, who taught me that creativity was the root of all success; Paul Drew, who passed along his passion for careful planning and execution; and Gary Stevens, who instilled an understanding of the business part of the puzzle.  Without all three of these lessons, my accomplishments would have been much less.  Creativity without planning and execution is a play without words.  Creativity, planning and execution, without a knowledge of how the three combine within the structure of business, is as worthless as a sail on a power boat.

Today, it’s more difficult to find mentors.  Too often, those with the knowledge are too busy moving their company ahead to take time to share and teach.

As for those needing to be mentored, it’s tough in today’s workplace.  There is no sense of family.  The motivating atmosphere is more a fear of failure rather than an excitement to succeed.

We need to understand the business and our part in it.  We all got into this business because of love.  We love music and we love the excitement of the entertainment industry.  That’s what drew us into our jobs in the first place.  Now, we’re driven by a company that is more about profit and loss than a love of music.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s just reality.

We must be self-motivated.  We must continue to nurture the love we have within the framework of a business environment.  We should still work for and derive a great deal of pride from making our bosses satisfied, but the greater pride should come from within because of a job well-done.

If you work only to get accolades from the person in charge, you’re dooming yourself to disappointment.  The boss could be gone tomorrow.

Judge your worth and accomplishments on how you’re fulfilling your own goals.  Take pride in yourself.  But don’t confuse your job with your family.  It’s a job.  A good one, but nevertheless, just a job.

When you’re done for the day, then you can go home and sing all night long…that’s a family tradition.

Are You Game?

6/5/1998

The Network 40 Summer Games II June 25-27 in Lake Tahoe are sold out!  As record companies line up their teams, the wolf whistles are getting louder.

We’re hearing a lot of, “My team can beat your team” and “My daddy can whip your daddy” already.

The Network 40 Summer Games were conceived over three years ago at a small gathering consisting or myself, Bruce Tenenbaum and Mark Gorlick.  We were criticizing (of course) a convention that had just concluded.  During our conversation, we bagged 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 100 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.  Never before was there such a chasm between those in the record business and those in radio.

We like to believe last year’s inaugural Summer Games helped change that attitude.

There is no doubt that both businesses have changed drastically in the past few years.  Promotion executives spend more time in meetings inside the company than having productive meetings with programmers.  More often than 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.

What about long-term relationships?  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 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 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.  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, unless you want to barter and trade.  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’s is an opportunity to create relationships.  There is nothing else like it.

This year, everybody seems to be having a convention.  It’s particularly funny to me that after the success of last year’s Summer games,  R&R decided to have a convention in 1998 and scheduled it two weeks before the Network 40 Summer Games II.  Coincidence?  Hardly.  It doesn’t matter.  R&R doesn’t get it…never has…never will.

I hope every person who attends the Network 40 Summer Games II also goes to the R&R overkill.  The difference is obvious.

Why aren’t we having speakers?  Because we don’t learn anything from speakers of panels.  Would you rather hear Kevin Weatherly 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 ask him about promotion?

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

Because of the success of last year’s Summer Gamers, the vast majority of industry people know the Network 40 Summer Games II 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 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?  (Sure, wait another year to establish relationships.)

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

Why weren’t you there?

Landscaping

7/25/1997

Record sales, or more appropriately, how record sales are tabulated, have drastically changed the landscape of radio programming over the past decade.  But not in the way most record people understand.

In the not-so-distant past, PDs were extremely interested in the tabulation, research and outcome of local record sales.  In the `70s and `80s, singles were still selling dramatically and PDs followed those sales closely.  There were more individually-owned record stores and these store owners were happy to share their sales with local radio stations…it made the stores more important.

Local record promoters worked the stores heavily because record sales related directly to airplay.  Everyone (PDs, promotion people and store owners) was working toward a common goal: to accurately (or by inflation) reflect sales that would correspond to or increase airplay. Nationally, record companies reacted instantly to airplay.  Stores were stocked with free product until orders kicked in and PDs could usually get a good feel as to whether a record would sell within three weeks of initial airplay.

Three weeks!

By today’s standards, that sounds impossible.  But not long ago, three weeks of initial airplay was the over/under mark.  If a record was programmed in regular rotation, it would usually show sales within three weeks or something was wrong:  The record wasn’t a hit or the company was not behind the project enough to stock the stores.  Either way, lack of sales spelled trouble.

“It’s been on for three weeks and hasn’t shown sales” was once an unarguable excuse for dropping a record.

How times have changed!

What happened?  First, large record outlets began gobbling up many of the individual stores.  Soon, these big outlets wanted to control the information and it became harder for PDs to obtain sales stats from individual stores.  The outlets began supplying stations with total sales for the market, but this made it impossible for PDs to follow ethnic or delineated sales from a given area.  Stations are precise in their target demos.  As sales showed only the large melting pot, specific break-outs were impossible to identify.

Next came the diminished impact of single sales.  Since the large outlets (and record companies) made the most money off albums, singles became more difficult to chart.

Record companies made more money…and catered to…the large outlets.  In many cases, the surviving local record stores found it difficult to get immediate product.

The tail began wagging the dog.

Bring SoundScan, Best Buy, K-Mart and Wal-Mart and record sales have become less of a programming tool.  That is a travesty, because sales is the ultimate barometer of a hit record.

Record companies define a hit by sales.  That mentality is not shared by radio because PDs don’t have the means or time.  In the weeks it takes for a company to determine whether a record is going to sell, a PD’s career can be over.  Record companies must recognize this programming reality and adjust their promotion accordingly.

Now, record companies are asking PDs to play a record…and keep on playing it, sometimes for longer than six weeks until sales kick in.  Why?  It takes that long to get records in the pipeline today.  And depending on market size, it can take even longer.

Record companies are concentrating more on major markets because that’s where the majority of the sales are.  On the surface, that’s okay.  But as is often the case with surface beauty, it rubs off at night and sometimes doesn’t stand the test of time.

Record companies are critical of PDs because many put too much emphasis on call-out research.  PDs are left with little choice.  When you don’t have a fast ball, you must rely on your curve. Few PDs have the ability to accurately chart local sales.  They rely on what they can do…call-out research.

Record companies have helped create the monster, now they have to deal with it.  Record companies heavily tout national sales.  If, however, the national sales picture isn’t stellar, PDs react…because that’s how they’ve been programmed.

Sales, of course, have always been the lifeblood of record companies.  But as sales reports have become so immediately important to the success of a record, record companies must find a way to make those sales as immediately important to PDs…so both can share the common goal.

What’s an industry to do?

How about starting a “farm team” of stores in smaller market?  If a record company chose 10 small markets that were generally reflective of the nation as a whole, and babied 10 stores in each market with free product, discounted merchandise and a healthy marketing package, it could alter the landscape again.  Product by new acts could be showcased.  Records could be stocked immediately upon airplay and sales could be accurately charted.  Record companies could immediately feel if a record was real…without spending a marketing fortune. Then, they would have a true sales story to tell to the majors.  PDs would be able to see sales…on local levels.  These PDs the might not feel so paranoid about sticking with a record until national sales kick in.  Record companies could affect what happens tomorrow by going back…to the future.

It would be easy to implement…cost-effective…and make perfect sense.  So there’s absolutely no chance it will happen.

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.

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.