>for some perspective, i work for an indy label (not aj). i'm organizing
>our first promo mailing for our first act, and i'm going to cover as
>much of college radio as i can (meaning limited only by the number of
>names & addresses i can come up with). my college radio people advise
>me what stations to avoid, BECAUSE THEY SELL THEIR PROMOS, but i'll
>probably service them anyway because i really want to break this band,
>and this is how i choose to spend my marketing budget.
I doubt whether there is any journalist, promo manager, mucis programmer etc
who does not swap or sell unwanted poromos for stuff they do want and will
use. It's just the way the business is. If people aren't into it, don't send
it to them. Ultimately they're are only going to do the release harm.
Furthermore, if you REALLY need support for an album, talk to the media
decision makers and let them know how important their support is. Most of us
are approachable and realise that we need to help smaller labels because, if
not, music will never progress.
i'm not saying that promos are going to make or break anyone, i was just
>struck by the ironic story of an upstanding music director who couldn't
>get the promos he wanted so he did exactly what it takes not to get
>promos.
Point taken, but why support a Celine Dion, who doesn't need our support,
when we could swap it for a Dorado, On U or Mo Wax release that does need
support and can't afford to service us.our
>
>i personally think selling promos is wrong, but that's just me. i've
>never done it. in terms of crime, i rank it up there with using an
>uncleared sample on the a-j list compilation--who the hell cares? the
>only reason i commented originally was try to let this guy know why his
>station wasn't getting promos.
>i'm generally a lurker on this list, but every now and then i see
>something so outrageous, or so incorrect, that i feel compelled to
>inject a bit of music biz reality. disagree with me all you want, but
>at least it gets a dialogue, rather than a monologue going.
Me too. I don't think there's any right or wrong, just different opinions.
Personally, I think there's been enough on this topic.
Neil Richards
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