MAYBE, JUST MAYBE: AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3

Last week, Monday didn’t feel like Monday. It was Columbus Day, and for much of the industry that’s a holiday. I grew up in New York, where they have parades, so I get it. But having lived in California for a really long time, not so much. I didn’t even see an Indigenous People’s Day parade, but maybe that’s just Laguna.

This could be why last Monday confused me, which will serve as an excuse for my not writing a column last week. It could also have been because I was uninspired or perhaps lazy. That, too, happens in the time of COVID. But this week there’s actually something exciting to talk about.

In fact, this one kinda writes itself. Columbia has scored the top three positions on this week’s Mediabase Classic Top 40 chart with Jawsh 685, Harry Styles and 24kGoldn.

Peter Gray and the Big Red promotion team achieved what only Republic’s Gary Spangler-led “Spangmania” squad and Brenda Romano’s experienced, accomplished Team Interscope had previously achieved. What’s more, I believe they’ll hold these positions for a while. 24kGoldn is positioned to be the next #1, and the label even has a long-shot chance of having four in the Top 5 in the coming weeks as Big Hit’s K-Pop kazillionaires BTS have exploded to #11 with “Dynamite,” which is on its way to a battle for the top spot.

Significant credit goes to Mr. Gray for unifying a promo team that went through a period of change with new department heads before he arrived. He’s upped the discipline while injecting a note of calm. It hasn’t hurt to have great songs put into their lane by uberboss Ron Perry, with plenty more in the pipeline.

Also, as we have stressed many times, maximizing the potential of songs is what promotion is really about. It is not about making chicken salad out of chicken shit.

And because of our New Normal, Peter has been able to do all of this while remaining in L.A. with his family, instead of dashing back and forth to NYC for extended periods of time. Peter has hits. Peter and his family are doing well. Give him a call sometime if you want to feel better. He’s a very happy and focused guy. His hair looks funny, but it kinda always did.

I’m not as focused as Peter, but at least Monday feels like a Monday this week. Where’s my parade?