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'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.
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.
kevin the contrarian