Radio Promotion - THE SCAM

RADIO PROMOTION THE SCAM

Allen Johnston – The Music Specialist

www.asha.com

Recent events have shown a reoccurring factor that is making a huge dent within independent record label budgets. Hiring a radio promotion person because they ran a major label division is now one of the easiest ways to throw your money
away.

The accepted belief is that once your music gets radio play it will (by itself) become prevalent creating massive sales and huge requests for personal appearances. The only thing
popular about this type of thinking is the multitude of individuals that
believe it, and will pay thousands of dollars to companies and individuals to
have their dreams shattered.

The Inherent Problems are simple and easily corrected

1.Lack of Organizational Structure

2.Lack of Definitive Leadership

3.No Business Plans or Goals

4.Total Promotional Based Structure

5.No Live Performance

Revenue is now generated from merchandise, online products, movie sales, licensing and endorsements. Today’s industry includes clubs, television, cable networks, radio, satellite, street promoters, online record services
and a plethora of Internet outlets. The
sales of recorded music now are wide spread having been expanded by Internet
downloads. You can NO LONGER depend on a
promotion person to get your music heard by radio programmers; in fact radio
programmers NO LONGER listen to music but rely on research and consultants to
choose the music heard on their respective stations.

Executives that ran major label divisions had backup systems, regional and local employees that interacted daily with radio personnel. These people ate lunch,
dinner, went to the mall, appeared at the remotes and became intimate friends
with the radio DJ’s, programmers, sales and promotional people. The divisional head never had the
accessibility or the personal knowledge of the regional or local people. When the National or Division head called
into the market it was normally to fix a particular problem that had
occurred. Now the wide spread belief is
that the Division head can deliver radio just because he or she was so well
known. This is a SCAM.

Please do not think that this SCAM is intended for Urban companies only, I have seen Americana, Country, Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Pop and numerous Rock labels pay over $60,000 per record to ex – divisional heads just
to be told that their record wasn’t good enough to garner additional stations
or airplay.

If you believe that you can become famous and popular by paying someone to place your song on radio without you making the appropriate business moves, then you deserve the ridicule, beat down and subsequent
monetary loss you will receive.

Certain readers of this article will fell that I’m “picking” on them specifically. Well I AM, you guys and girls should stop stealing people’s money and dreams.