The Marlowsphere (#12)
Getting radio play for an independently produced album—whether pop, hip-hop, classical or jazz—is increasingly difficult. With particular respect to jazz, part of the problem is the number of radio stations carrying jazz is shrinking. There is also too much product (supply) chasing a disproportionately smaller demand. Another part of the problem is that programmers are fairly conservative. They want to know that what they decide to air will be acceptable to their audience. Just like their counterparts at the media conglomerates, they want to minimize their risk and ensure success at all times.
Actually, the word “difficult” is a polite way of saying “damn near impossible.” An independent artist needs to engage a radio promoter. In a way, the promoter serves as an editorial gate-keeper for the radio programmer. The programmer has a stack of several hundred CDs on his or her desk. Which one to choose? The “trusted” promoter calls and says “Play this one.” But even then there’s no guarantee of success, and as it turns out the guarantees that are required of the independent artist are all one-sided in favor of the promoter.
The central issue is return on investment (ROI) from the independent artist’s perspective.
My Three CD Experience
I’ve had three CDs handled by a jazz radio promoter. The first—“A Summer Afternoon With You”—also my very first self-produced album, landed at number 28 on the JazzWeek chart and stayed on the chart for almost two months. As my inaugural album, I was thrilled. A couple of years later I hired the same radio promoter for an all Latin album of original compositions—“Wonderful Discovery—with two-time Grammy-winner virtuoso pianist Arturo O’Farrill leading an ensemble of some of the best Latin jazz players in New York City. This time the album landed somewhere in the 40s for a few weeks, then was never heard of again.
In 2010 I went back to this same promoter to handle my sixth album—“Celebrations”—the first album with the latest iteration of my quintet, The Heritage Ensemble, with multi-Grammy nominee and colleague drummer Bobby Sanabria. It never made it to the JazzWeek chart at all.
The company electronically tracking the album’s “spins” decided unilaterally to re-define the CD as a holiday album. It delayed tracking the album for several weeks even though radio stations had already begun airing the album.
It took two weeks to correct the problem. However, to add insult to injury, a few more weeks into the promotion the radio promoter calls to inform me the album wasn’t doing well because of the CD’s “content.” I queried: “Well, if there was a problem with the ‘content’ and I’m investing in your expertise, why did you take on this project in the first place?”
I fired the jazz radio promoter. Luckily, we had agreed for payment on a 50% now, 50% later basis. He threatened to sue. Never did.
And what about the album? The monitoring company agreed to provide tracking information for an additional eight weeks gratis because of their error. And in terms of “content,” the album was ultimately reviewed glowingly in over two dozen print and online publications, including the LA Times. Barnes & Noble also picked up the album for sale. These reviews and the retail distribution had nothing to do with radio play. This success was realized because of the effort I put into identifying several dozen reviewers and journalists, sending them a copy of the album, and following up with each of them one-to-one. It took several months to get this done, but the sustained effort paid off.
So much for problems with “content.”
A Fresh Start?
I’m now working on a 9th album—“Obrigado Brasil”—a CD of original compositions inspired by the music and culture of Brazil for possible release in late 2012. I decided to seek out another jazz radio promoter in hopes that a new relationship would bring a fresh perspective and a more reasonable, equitable response. Unfortunately, it was more of the same.
The gist of the problem is this: radio promoters want the artist to guarantee payment in a timely fashion and usually want full payment upfront, but they won’t guarantee results of any sort. This is the oft-repeated caveat in the financial and legal worlds: past results are no guarantee of future performance.
What follows is the statement I presented to this jazz radio promoter:
“I don’t doubt you make your best effort for each of your clients, but here’s my issue. You want each client to guarantee that the check (or checks) won’t bounce and that the funds are in American currency. In other words, as a radio promoter you take no risk whatsoever. You get paid whether or not the album gets on the JazzWeek chart or not, or gets played elsewhere or not.
On the other hand, you cannot (or won’t) guarantee to each client that they’ll get significant play.
“Another angle on this is return on investment. An album costs in the thousands. How many thousands depends on the size of the group, the name players in the group, the number of tracks, and so on. A radio promoter is brought in ostensibly to promote the album so that either radio play leads to CD sales or gigs (or both) that in return cover costs. Hopefully, all costs are covered, plus some.
“So, here’s the issue. If I spend several thousand dollars with you and guarantee my money is good, what will the return on investment be? Will I see a return in terms of radio play that leads to CD sales or gigs? Will the promoter’s efforts guarantee at least a significant portion of return on the investment made in producing the album in the first place?
“I’ll guarantee my money is good and the product will be professional, accessible, and worthwhile. What are you prepared to guarantee in terms of radio play?”
I never received a reply.
Independent artists are in a difficult position. For them, the old model of “the recording artist” doesn’t work anymore. Artists attached to one of the major labels have much more of a chance. But even the major labels are seeing income from albums sales diminish. What has evolved is what author John Naisbitt pointed out in his 1982 book Megatrends: “high-tech/high-touch.” The more electronic media we have, the more direct people-to-people contact is engendered.
Naisbitt’s cryptic phrase was prophetic. In the last 30 years—with the evolution of cable television, satellite radio, and especially the Internet—CD sales collectively have fallen. In parallel, the demand for artists to perform “live” anywhere in the world has accelerated. This is just one example of the “high-tech/high-touch” principle.
We see this in the jazz world. Albums don’t create a lot of income if any at all. Albums have become a promotional tool. If there’s income to be made, it’s in the live performance and selling the CD at the live performance. People buy the album in order to later re-capture the live performance experience.
Today there is a major disconnect between local, regional, and national radio play and album sales. It might be prestigious for a jazz artist, for example, to say “I’ve been on the JazzWeek chart for several weeks,” but that status doesn’t guarantee album sales or even gigs. You need live performances for income and garnering those live performances requires a different kind of direct promotion and marketing.
If radio promoters are so secure in their role, then why do they need full payment upfront in the first place? Are they fearful the artist won’t pay up? The shoe should be on the other foot. More independent artists need to demand “performance” from the promoter. It should be a pay for performance contract. If more independent artists negotiated a more flexible “guarantee” arrangement, you might then see promoters being more selective which, in turn, might have the effect of reducing the out of control volume of albums in the radio marketplace. This, in turn, might encourage radio programmers to take more risk.
If you have any comments on this or any of my blogs, please write to me at meiienterprises@aol.com.
In next week’s blog, I’ll discuss another major obstacle to the independent artist, media consolidation.
Eugene Marlow
May 28, 2012
© Eugene Marlow 2012