VOLK, DON'T RUN:
TED GETS HIS iGEN ON
The life of a Modern Rock Promotion Executive. I’ve been saying for some time now that Alternative is the toughest format to navigate for a promotion exec. My esteemed mentor Mr. Lenny Beer always tells me there are always 10 records in the Top 10. Oh, so true, but getting there is the challenge. I took a look at all the formats just to examine the actual average life span of songs in the Top 10. I thought about this because the legendary Promo man Warren Christensen and his team went #1 this week with Cage the Elephant. The impressive journey took Warren, Michelle and Bill 28 weeks to arrive at the top spot. I wondered, why 28 weeks?
So check this out. This data reflects weeks on the chart from songs in the Top 10:
Urban 12.8
Top 40 13.8
Top 40 Rhythm 15.0
Active Rock 16.1
Top 40 Adult 18.2
Adult Alternative 18.9
Country 20.8
Alternative 23.2.
I’m not quite sure what to make of this stat. All I do know is getting to the Top 10 in Alternative is rather difficult. I don’t think it should be this challenging. Clearly one could say Alternative Programmers believe there are only a few true hits right now. The monster hit, “Uprising,” has been on the chart for 28 weeks and shows no signs of slowing down. The same can be said for Rise Against’s “Savior.” That big hit is 35 weeks and running. The baby of the bunch is the other Muse hit, “Resistance,” which entered the Top 10 in a relatively quick 10 weeks.
Songs that deserve attention: Please check out Dan Black’s “Symphonies.” Early airplay and now big retail commitment show this is for real… The return of Cypress Hill was huge today!… The Temper Trap looks real legit. An impressive #7 in iGEN says a lot right now about the validity of “Sweet Disposition.”… The Crash Kings get ready to make that Top 10 move and the early action on Violent Soho is just impressive… The Flobots are getting big, big phones with “White Flag Warrior.”… The Biffy Clyro is worth checking out!… Give a test spin to the Get Busy Committee’s “I Don’t Care” and get ready for a big round two with “This Is War” from Thirty Seconds to Mars…. And, don’t forget to check out new music from Smashing Pumpkins!!
