Corkie's Informative Radio Report

Below is a wonderful, informative report by another concerned fan, Corkie.  It contains a message that I have heard from other stations, during the times of my contact with the stations.  It is so sad and unfair that this talented, well-loved, marvelous singing star, Susan Boyle, does not get radio air time. She has sold millions of CDs and has millions of fans all over the world.  Her beautiful music is not being played by the DJs.  Her record company is not pushing the issue.  Her manager may not even know that this over-site is happening.  I hope this changes soon.

Below is Corkie's report:

I decided this was probably the most appropriate thread to make this post. Bear with me, because it will most likely get long, but I want to include everything I can remember. While on vacation, I met a Program Manager and a husband and wife who were radio station owners. We discussed Susan's radio play problem, and this is how it basically went:

I met the Program Manager while waiting in line for dinner reservations. He mentioned he had to get up at 5:30AM and I thought that was odd since we were on vacation. I asked him about it, and he said he was working. Then he went on to say he was a Program Manager for three radio stations in Winnipeg, Canada and they were broadcasting out of a huge tent on the resort property. I asked him what kind of stations and he said lite rock, rock, and adult contemporary. (BINGO!) I asked him if he would play something for me, and he said he would if he could. I said anything by Susan Boyle.

He said he could not play her music. I asked why. He said he would lose listeners. I said "you mean she can sell millions of albums, but you can't play her music?" He said he had nothing against Susan and that they played her when she first started, but they havd to play music that "charts". Susan's music does not chart, so he cannot play it. So I said, "so she's required to have a hit single before you can play her music?" He said basically "yes". 

He went on to say that radio stations are very competitive. They are rated every week just like many other things. They live and die by their ratings. Early morning radio is something many people listen to and is rigidly monitored. If he played Susan and his ratings went down, he would have to answer to sponsors, owners, etc. He said it all gets very tricky and isn't as simple as it looks because he has to answer to many people and his job can be on the chopping block if he strays off the path. So, I said, "a hit single would solve the problem then?" and he agreed. "So, Susan needs to have Adele write her a song?" He said, "exactly -- you understand". Our reservation was called and I thanked him for talking to me and went to dinner.

The next morning, I headed for the broadcasting tent, and my husband went with me (I think to keep me out of trouble). It was filled with tables and tables of men and women broadcasting and it was about 8:00AM. Outside the tent I met a very nice lady who was sitting there with her husband. They were station owners who had come along "to keep an eye on their managers". She explained that they were all from Canada and were doing something called "Winter Sizzle". They were all broadcasting their respective Canadian stations, but doing it from Jamaica for the week. Maybe some of our Canadian forum members heard of it. I told her about my conversation with the gentleman the night before and she said everything he told me was completely accurate.

We discussed the fact that Susan sells well, but I went on to say I thought she could sell even better if people heard her music on the radio like they do other artists. She said most usually people who listen to the radio just download the songs they like, not the entire album.

I mentioned the fact that Susan has a Grammy nominated Christmas album out, but in Ohio, Program Managers still had playlists with Gene Autry and The Chipmunks on them and it was difficult to even get them to play her singing a Christmas carol. Her husband said they do play Susan singing Christmas carols on their stations, and I believe him. (This is an area they don't have to worry about "charting"). He went on to say that Susan isn't alone with her lack of play problem. He cited Bruce Springsteen as another example. He says he sells very well, and his concerts always sell out, and he's very popular, but they can't play his music because he's not charting.
She said we have a right to complain in regard to the lack of play of Susan's Christmas music because Program Managers are being lazy by not keeping their Christmas playlists up to date. We need to keep on them to include Susan. My husband piped up with "maybe some people still like to hear Gene Autry". She answered that was no reason they couldn't start working Susan into the playlist -- they didn't need to play Gene Autry 40 times a day.

She saw nothing the matter with contacting radio stations, but went on to say that we will always run into the same problem in this regard. We're going to have a tough time getting Susan played until she charts.

She suggested trying several different angles, not just contacting radio stations. She said the person responsible for Susan's radio play is her Music Rep through her record label. She said there may be more than one because sometimes they are broken down into territories, so we need to start contacting all of them. It is the Music Rep's job to contact radio stations before Susan comes out with an album and push songs that may fit their format. The Program Manager may say "yes", "no", or "we'll check with the sponsors". But, the Music Rep needs to work very hard and keep going back to push the songs just like a good salesman. It can only benefit everyone involved with Sony to have Susan's music sell well. Why there wasn't more promotional push, she felt was difficult to understand. But, if we were going to apply pressure for more radio play, she felt it should be centered in the Music Rep area and with any channels at Sony we can find.

I asked if she had ever heard of Indies and explained, to the best of my knowledge, what I understood them to be. She said it was illegal for record companies to pay to have music played by radio stations but said she had never heard the term Indie before. She didn't hedge around, so I had no reason not to believe her.

She said each station has to follow a pre-designed format for their music. This was called something, but I can't remember the term she used (and my husband had wandered away at this point). If they play any music that does not fit their format, they have to answer to a lot of higher end people, and it's very unpleasant. So, when a Program Manager says something doesn't fit their format, this is what he's referring to. She said things have moved a long way from the old time stations where you could just call up and request a song. Everything is very rigid and planned and deviations isn't allowed.

So there you have it. I know this is wordy, but I didn't want to forget anything. I did not ask for names, cities, or their station names. Maybe anonymity might have made them more free to discuss things with me. I never felt like they were making excuses for the radio stations but rather were trying to explain to me how the whole system worked to make our job easier. Some of this information I already knew, some of it I suspected, and now some of it is validated.