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New songs comprise less than 30% (optimistically speaking) of a radio station’s playlist, so the programmer’s time and energy devoted to discussing new music has dwindled sharply.

“I’M ONLY HAPPY WHEN IT RAINS,”
SAYS IVANA

There’s More Than One Way for a Record to Become a Hit, According to Our PoMo Goddess
Had I won the Mega Millions Lottery on Friday, as was my plan, before I drove off into the sunset forever, my son in his car seat in a new Cadillac XTS, I would take one last radio tour. For those programmers who consistently engaged in an ongoing dialogue and reciprocal consideration enabling me to do my job, I would grant them every on-air promotion they’ve ever dreamed of, as a reward for good business practices and for making radio promotion more meaningful than the sound of one hand clapping. I thought about visiting those who had either been unworkable or behaved reprehensibly, but then decided that once I cashed the check, I’d be too rich to care. I have often thought that radio promotion is a counterintuitive job because the agendas are vastly different. The radio programmer’s goal is to have ratings, which then means revenue. If new music is part of the equation that brings in ratings, then hooray, score one for the promotion person’s side, whose goal is to get new songs played on the radio. These new songs comprise less than 30% (optimistically speaking) of a radio station’s playlist, so the programmer’s time and energy devoted to discussing new music has dwindled sharply. One of the best ways to pique the attention of the programmer is to have your new song already familiar from a prominent ad campaign, or to have the song be from a familiar ’90s band whose catalog is part of the fabric of the 70% of the music on that radio station. As Ted always tells me, “once a name, always a threat,” and we’ve worked very hard on behalf of Bush and now Garbage to return them to prominence, since both bands have released new music that ranks among their career best. And if you tell me you’re not excited about the upcoming singles from Soundgarden, Linkin Park and the Offspring, I know that a) you’re lying, or b) you program WEQX or Alt Nation…. Nothing thaws my cold, cynical heart quicker than (prada) an email from Bill Carroll congratulating “the team” for M83’s Top 5 success. I reminded him and Howard P. that they’d jumped over the same hurdles before they broke Gorillaz, convincing the format that this kind of song could work for every station, not just the ones that leaned more “alternative.” Beyond massive single and CD sales, M83 has the call-out scores I dream of every Thursday when I click the Rate the Music button in Mediabase. Now Bill, Dave Barbis and the rest of the gang have launched Morning Parade (whose singer and I waxed rhapsodic about the genius of Jimmy Webb), and I expect another record will be broken before year’s end…. All of us in the HITS compound were doing the happy dance for Christy Taylor, as the bigwigs at 91X gave her the official PD nod. We’ve been rooting for her ascension, and believe she is the perfect person for the job. Promoting from within is always the best course of action, or, as in the case of HITS (the career cul-de-sac), we just hide in our offices and hope the bosses don’t notice they’re still paying us…. One of my favorite pastimes is giving unsolicited advice, and one of my beloved “Graces,” Susan Busch, having handed over the promotion reins at Sub Pop to the talented and debonair Scott Perlowitz to focus on A&R, will be moving to the East Coast to work with Kris Gillespie at Domino Records, beginning in July. After May, Sue can be reached at [email protected]. The new Beach House record is out May 15. Tell Scott to send you a CD!… Every song, if it’s got a shot at being a hit, has its moment, as long as all of the parties involved are able to remain passionate, focused and committed. Some are fueled by the aforementioned TV ad, like Alex Clare’s “Too Close,” which is being spearheaded by Dennis Blair, or the oft-mentioned songs by Fun., Neon Trees, Grouplove, M83, et al. Other hits are dictated by market sales and awareness independent of radio, like Walk the Moon’s “Anna Sun” or Real Estate’s “It’s Real.” Still others are the result of hard work and the glimmers of progress along the way, like Of Monsters and Men (all hail John Allers). Silversun Pickups has earned its “core” status, as have Florence + the Machine, Jack White and Coldplay. Playing their music on the radio should be considered a privilege…. [email protected].
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