10/1/1993
And the survey says…
Game Show Host: Okay, contestants, hands on your buzzers. Here is the toss-up question: What industry trade magazine makes promises it doesn’t keep, is considered antiquated, out-of-touch, domineering, dictatorial, dilapidated, unsellable, unloved, unread and unwanted?
Buzzzz!
Contestant Number One: Uhhh…Radio And Records?
Game Show Host: (Looking at the board): One hundred radio and record people surveyed…the question, what industry trade rag makes promises it doesn’t keep, is considered antiquated, out-of-touch, domineering, dictatorial, dilapidated, unsellable, unloved, unread and unwanted? (Points to the board.) Show me…Radio And Records!
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Game Show Host: Correct! The number one answer, with 99 out of 100 votes was Radio and Records. Contestant Number One, do you want to play or pass?
Contestant Number One: I’ll pass.
Contestant Number Two: I’ll pass, too.
Game Show Host: It looks like everyone is passing on R&R. Just for the record, the number two answer, with only one vote, was Hitmakers, but we understand it’s a personal thing.
* * * * *
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, distinguished members of our industry, honored guests…and Joel. The result are in.
This past week, The Network Forty commissioned an unscientific survey. We asked all in the industry to take part in a poll that asked the following questions: Do you believe in the concept of forecasting Plays Per Week? Will you forecast your Plays Per Week to R&R?
Our telephone rang off the hook. (Unlike R&R, we have a toll-free number. Also unlike R&R, we ask our readers and reporters for their opinions.) From the largest market to some of the smallest, from PDs and MDs to record company presidents and promotion people of all stripes, the message was quite clear.
Over half of our reporters responded and the results were as follows: One hundred percent of those participating said no. That’s correct. Not a single person agreed with R&R’s dictate requiring all of t heir reporters to provide PPW forecasts. Not one of the programmers said they would provide R&R with this data.
Okay, even we were a little stunned with the results. One hundred percent? We thought about altering the figures. We even called some who didn’t participate in the original poll. But we couldn’t change the outcome. We were committed to publishing the results, no matter what. We didn’t expect a landslide. But that’s exactly what happened.
First, we would like to thank all of you who took the time to participate. Reflecting your opinions is the cornerstone of The Network Forty.
Second, what’s up with radio And Records? Are they still lost in the biosphere? Hey, guys, have you heard this one? The PPW forecast dog ain’t gonna hunt. So why be its fire hydrant?
Reality is a word that has stopped being printed on the R&R pages. Fortunately, for the rest of us, the industry is reading different papers today.
It’s really quite simple. Plays Per Week is what’s happening. Not forecasting. Plays Per Week is the reporting standard for the ’90s…and beyond. If you are a radio station and you’re not reporting Plays Per Week, you’re running the risk of being discounted by record companies who are looking for actual play…not guess work. There is no reason for not reporting your PPWs, unless you’re listing records on your playlist that you don’t play. Most record companies are looking at BDS and The Network Forty PPWs to determine particular radio stations’ importance. Don’t just take our word for it. Ask your local promo reps.
If BDS monitors your market, your PPWs make it possible for you to point out any inconsistencies that might appear. If BDS doesn’t ‘monitor your market, PPWs are the only indicators that establish the integrity of your list.
Trust me on this: If you aren’t reporting PPWs and BDS doesn’t monitor your market, you are running a huge risk of being ignored by record companies and, in turn, being shut out of the many promotional tools they provide. In the very near future, record companies will no longer be paying attention (or paying promotional dollars) to radio stations because of the parallel status. Many of them don’t already. It is time for those of you who don’t report PPWs to join the majority and begin. Don’t get shut out.
Although The Network Forty is the only trade magazine that currently charts Plays Per Wek, we’re not asking for your exclusivity. It has been our standard. We’ve made it available to the industry as the standard. All trades should accept PPWs. We’ve even made the term available to every other trade because it is the best information source for our industry.
If you’re a record company that continues to pay promotional and independent dollars based on playlists segregated by a parallel system, you need to stop. By supporting a system most of you privately abhor, you perpetrate the manipulation that strangles our industry…and eventually distorts the true impact of your efforts. If you rely on BDS and PPWs, you will be supporting honesty and reality.
Isn’t that what all of us want?
BDS and PPWs are the only honest standards of actual airplay in the industry today. R&R’s promised vaporware and monitoring system is just that…a promise…an empty promise.
How many times will your boss fail to act on his promise of a raise before you stop believing him and look for a new job? How many times can your love interest promise you future commitment before you find someone else? How many times can R&R cry “wolf†before we stop believing them?
Most of us are done believing.
I’m tired of writing about it. Are you tired of reading about it? Hey, R&R, here’s an offer you can’t refuse. Deliver on your promises and reflect reality and I’ll ease up. When can we expect that to happen? Next month? Christmas? 1999?
Besides, I’d much rather bash Hitmakers…it’s a personal thing.