| This year Holland Group has its
first national hit in over two decades with the release of "Dream A Little" in
the smooth-jazz/adult contemporary music category. I interviewed Ron Dunbar, project
manager, about the marketing and promotion of this record. |
| The new artist can use some of the same
techniques used for this national hit, as I will explain after the interview. |
| Tom Gelardi: One of
the first things you need to do with promoting a record is to get some initial airplay -
hopefully on a substantial radio station that plays the format of the record. How
was this accomplished with the Ronnie Laws release |
| Ron Dunbar: Prior to
the street date of September 12th we sent a single and a "one sheet" to all of
the national radio stations in this idiom and then had a team of promotion persons
contacting the stations by phone. The single was not released to the stores but only
to radio for promotion. It contained the cut we were slating for airplay and
alternate mixes of this. |
| Note: A
"one-sheet" is a promotional "flyer" describing the release, giving
the release date and the bar code for the release. The sheet is used by record
stores to order the product and can be used for radio stations as Ron mentions. |
| Tom: How soon after
release did you get airplay? |
| Ron: Actually the
record was getting strong airplay on significant stations before the release date
because of the mailing, one sheets and phone calls. |
| Tom: So they heard the
record and liked it? |
| Ron: Yes - usually its
very hard to get a station to add records. The stations even hire consulting
firms for advice about which record to add because they want only successful records
programmed on the air. But with Ronnie they had an extreme like for the record right
away and decided to give it a shot. |
| Tom: Its dangerous to
get airplay before the product is available in the stores (because interest can wane if
they can't purchase it); how was this handled? |
| Ron: The one sheet has
the street date [the day it will be in the stores] on it so that radio stations can start
playing slightly ahead of it's availability and the stations know will know it will
be available as radio play starts "heating up." We actually missed
Navare's (the distributor's) cut-off date on the release, making the record 4
weeks late in the stores. We were very fortune that Ronnie is an established artist
and had previous releases getting some play on the stations and a loyal fan base.
These factors kept the record gaining airplay in this period. |
| Tom: Did the
Smooth-Jazz/Adult Contemporary idiom help you any? |
| Ron: Adult
Contemporary and Smooth Jazz has about double the ordinary "air-play" life that
a more "top 40" format release does. It is quite possible for a
record to have three full months of "top ten" airplay if it is in this medium.
This factor also helped with the initial delay getting it in the stores. This
format is also played in a lot more places like malls & stores. In this format,
there are not a lot of "superstars" that can displace a popular record. |
Relating
This To An Artist's First Release: |
| If you start to use some of the techniques
used to market and promote national records, you will present a more professional image
that will put your release a cut above other local releases. In previous articles, I
have talked about test marketing over a region that is as big as a medium-size state to
gain both primary and secondary stations to promote to. The first step you have is
to realize that producing and manufacturing the product is only part of the picture - now
you must promote and market it also. |
| Budget |
| Marketing and Promotion
takes money. Marketing money is needed to make and distribute the promotional
copies, the "one-sheets." and free give-a-ways. Money is also needed for
phone calls and personal trips to stations and key retailers. Last but not least,
money is needed for advertising. A general guideline is that you will have to spend
about twice the money that you spent on studio, recording and initial manufacturing of
your sales product. If you have less than about $4000 for this activity, you should
consider making a few copies for your friends and perhaps selling a few at your live
appearances. I also will talk about this and alternatives in the
"distribution" heading below. |
| Promotional Single |
| Releasing a single to radio
is how the national companies do it, and by doing this you look very serious. The
single gets radio focused on the strongest cut but is full of pitfalls for new artist. |
| Choosing The cut: |
| The cut that should be
"pushed" needs to be chosen by professionals. Many times the artist or
producer feels that they "know" the cut that will do well and are wrong most of
the time. The absolute best way is to get the product played to program directors at
good radio stations. In essence, get outside professional opinions as much as
possible. "Friends" and "family," by the way, usually will also
have poor judgement. |
| Content: |
| Don't include additional mixes on the single
unless these mixes will also be in the stores. Having airplay on a cut that the
public can't purchase is a sure way of killing a record. I recommend two to three
songs on the promo single and letting radio choose between them. Usually a new
artist can't get enough professional advice before release to be sure of the cut that
needs to be pushed. |
| Distribution |
| Holland Group was very lucky
that they had the right release and the right artist to sustain momentum when the product
hit the stores four weeks late. Usually to get air play you need to have a firm
date when it will be in the stores and have to instill confidence that the
product will be there when you give them a date. This is so critical that the new
artist may have to work on the stores that will stock it before going to
radio. |
| If you are in Michigan I
can, with your help, get the release in major chains and key outlets - about 35 outlets to
begin with. The problem is that very few promoters in the business today can do this
for you. Holland Group has a major independent national company, Navare, making sure
that the product can get into stores on time - again something you will have difficulty
with doing. |
| An alternative is a
professionally run local label being used for distribution. Check them out
carefully! Make sure, for instance, that they are well liked and respected by key
retailers and can make a commitment date on the product being available. A
local label can also be a source of funding for marketing and promotion, but count on then
only taking care of part of the costs. Get legal advice on
any contracts you will have to sign. |
| Most likely you will be
placing records in stores on consignment, as I have described in previous articles.
Make sure that the unsold stock is picked up after the consignment period (usually
6 months) as this is a key point to many retailers. Leaving the product without
checking back or picking up unsold stock is a way to get them never to accept consignment
stock from you again. |
| After Result Care |
| Radio stations going on
national records expect the companies to spend money with them on advertising the product
once it shows signs of moving at the retail level. This is one of the big reasons
that stations pay so much attention to national acts. You have a disadvantage
in this area that has to somehow be made up for. |
| Things You can Possibly
Do: |
| Maybe you can't afford prime-time
radio advertising, but there are those late-night slots that are a lot cheaper.
Perhaps you can convince a club-owner to go in with you on advertising an
appearance date and add a "tag" about the record being available at...
Give-a-way T-Shirts and give-a-way CD product can help. Offer to
do an appearance for a station promoted concert. |
| Letting Them Know You Are Professional |
| It would be a good Idea for you,
after you meet with the music or program director regarding airplay, to have him/her
introduce you to the sales department to "check on" radio ad prices. It
doesn't hurt to "window-shop" and this communicates that you are planning these
kinds of activities with the station. |
