From: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org (basia-digest) To: basia-digest@smoe.org Subject: basia-digest V9 #162 Reply-To: basia@smoe.org Sender: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "basia-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. basia-digest Sunday, August 15 2004 Volume 09 : Number 162 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: basia-digest V9 #161 [Time Voyagers ] Re: basia-digest V9 #161 ["Barry" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 19:49:03 -0700 (PDT) From: Time Voyagers Subject: Re: basia-digest V9 #161 A few hundred dollars? If that were true, anyone could cut a record and get it on the air. These days in the U.S. the cost is closer to $100,000 to pay independent promoters to get airplay on records! It's a sad state of the record business that smacks of payola, but it's an unfortunate reality. It's also a sick industry that looks at sales of one million records as a disappointment. Still fans can influence stations through demand and requests. The comment about no promo before the record is released is probably true. Fred Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 09:37:51 -0700 (PDT) From: "Leslie O." Subject: Re: Matt's Mood on the radio > Really, why doesn't MB spend a few hundred dollars > and send out promo > copies to a bunch of radio stations? It might make > a big difference in > their popularity. Are you writing from the US? If you are, you know why: it hasn't been released here yet! That is why no one has promos! The record company only sends those out ahead of an impending album. They would be the ones to send promo copies, that's kinda their job. The thing is, they are on a major record label. They are not independent. Universal probably has a whole plan in place that we know nothing about for Matt's Mood. One wonders if the band has a whole lot of say in that. Like I was saying the other day, this same thing happened with Time and Tide (which BTW took about a year and a half to get here!) . All we need is some intrepid DJ to go off-spec and play an imported album! :-) As for what is going on in the UK (or what ISN'T going on, rather), there is a strange situation. I don't get the lack of notice there at all. - - --Leslie __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail - ------------------------------ End of basia-digest V9 #161 *************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 22:58:26 -0500 From: "Barry" Subject: Re: basia-digest V9 #161 > It's also a sick industry that looks at sales of one million records as a disappointment. I know the point you're trying to make, and agree on some level. But looking at the overall picture, I can't say that I agree with that statement standing alone. We're talking about global companies, not even just national companies. The current US population is over 294 million (global population is over 6 billion). So one million records sold means that less than a half of one percent of the US population is buying it. Considering the money that goes into making and promoting an album, that's not a great return on your investment. Putting in other terms. Say a new movie that is released to theaters is viewed by only a million people. True, there's more money involved in making a movie, but just looking at the numbers it would be a disaster. Take it down to a smaller scale; take a beer vendor at a ballgame. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that in a stadium of 50,000 people there are 100 vendors. So each vendor "gets" 500 customers. If a vendor gets sales that equal a half of one percent, that's 2.5 customers. Not good at all in the grand scheme of things. My point is that you have to look at the overall picture. The size of the business plays a part as well. A mom and pop company would love to sell a million of anything. But a company that deals in the millions on a regular basis would look at it in a much different light. I agree that it's sad that so much good music is shot down because the records don't sell by the truckload. The world is missing out on some great stuff, I'm sure I've missed out on a lot too. But if I were on the other side of it, I'd be doing my best to promote the ones that will sell big before I go for the little guy who might sell a few here and there. I *would* try to give all good artists a shot, but if I (or my company) isn't making money, I can't help anyone. Just my thoughts, take them for what they're worth. Barry "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ------------------------------ End of basia-digest V9 #162 ***************************