Kill The Beast

11/4/1994

In the past two years, we have seen sweeping changes in our business. Think back to 1993. Had anyone predicted that R&R would no longer matter to most, that Plays Per Week and BDS would be the standard by which radio airplay would be judged, that Soundscan would reign supreme in rating record sales, that Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker would be leaving Warner Bros., that Bob Krasnow would leave Elektra, that Elektra and EastWest would combine into one label…that person would have been labeled a fool and a forceful intervention would have deposited the culprit into a hole for the critically insane.

Yet it has all happened…and more.

For years, the record business (critical of the stranglehold R&R maintained, yet greatly responsible for its continuation), espoused an honest, accurate gauge of radio airplay. Many supported Network 40’s early stance on Plays Per Week. And reality finally came crashing down with the penetration of BDS.

The beast built on paper adds and manipulated airplay was run over by the bulldozer of reality and lay in the tractor tracks of the wake, its body broken, its eyes red and its mouth agape, gasping for a final few breaths.

Most major record companies shouted with glee and the countryside was filled with joyous festivities. Hands were clasped, backs were patted and feasts were planned. The beast had been conquered and all was well with the world.

Many went to visit the place where the beast had fallen. At first, few came near. Although broken and dying, the brutality of the past kept most at a safe distance from the dangerous tail and the one-venomous bite. But as time passed, the timid became breave. First throwing rocks from afar, then moving closer with long sticks and finally standing adjacent, the crowds abused the former bully, stabbing it with their steely knives…but they just couldn’t kill the beast.

Truth be known, no one really wanted to be totally responsible for the beast’s death…though many took credit for its demise. And after a while, the throngs drifted away until only a few were left to watch the beast die of starvation. News of the beast’s condition, once related by many, was reported indifferently, when it was reported at all. The business continued on its way, thriving on the new, honest high road.

And then a funny thing happened. Some, who were the most critical of the beast during its reign of terror and were the first to cheer when it was broken, began to bring it food. Under the cover of darkness, the beast was again fed the nourishment it needed to survive…paper adds and manipulated airplay.

The beast will never again reign supreme. The beast is broken and beaten and will never rise, but it is surviving because of the few who continue to support deception and dishonesty for their short-term gains.

Network 40 supplies the industry with the most accurate compilation of radio airplay. We do this with the help of our network of reporting stations…stations that are, for the most part, honest and filled with integrity. Network 40 generates our chart based on actual airplay from computer generated airplay reports from our network of stations, which is, by the way, the most comprehensive listing in the industry today.

In the past few weeks, we have noticed a disturbing tendency on the part of a very small minority of radio stations. The airplay reports some stations supply Network 40 do not match those phoned in to R&R. Some stations that are not playing certain records are reporting to R&R that these records are being played. When contacted about these actions, the programmers involved admitted submitting inaccurate information to R&R due to “outside pressures.”

So, if Network 40 has the most accurate and most comprehensive compilation (try and say that fast five times in a row) of airplay available, why do we care? Is it that we want to bash the beast yet again? Although the temptation remains, the simple truth is that we’ve been there…done that.

We at Network 40 are proud of the fact that we were there in the beginning. Wee were first in debuting a chart based on actual airplay. We applauded, lauded and were a pare of the industry’s change from paper adds and manipulation to accuracy. And we want it to continue.

Why some proclaim honesty and integrity in public, then play games and manipulate charts they helped make obsolete, is a mystery.

The point is simple: Radio stations shouldn’t be rewarded for records added that aren’t played. Many radio stations in smaller markets are in a tough position. These stations depend on “promotional support” supplied by independent record promoters and record companies. The temptation is powerful to “add” a marginal record for some kind of compensation, yet, not play it because you aren’t sure whether or not your audience will like it.

No independent record promoter contacted by Network 40 advocates paper adds. No record company wants a paper add. Record companies want radio programmers to believe in their records…if not, then don’t play them.

What is the answer? Simple, if you are a programmer, don’t add a record to your playlist if you aren’t playing it. If you are a record executive, don’t compensate for supposed radio airplay.

The only way a record company can be sure a record is being played is by checking BDS or Network 40’s Plays Per Week Chart. Network 40 accepts faxed computer-generated airplay reports. We don’t use playlists or telephone reports as a part of our normal data base. A record company that does not use Network 40 or BDS as the bass for determining actual airplay runs the risk of false chart manipulation and perpetrates a system all agree was detrimental to our entire business.

At Network 40, we constantly monitor our reporting stations to ensure that the information supplied is accurate. Stations that submit inaccurate or deliberately misleading information are dropped from our list of reporters. But we can’t drop a station that reports accurately to Network 40 and inaccurately to R&R.

To the very small minority of radio programmers who report inaccurate information, we say, “Resist the temptation and deliver us from the evil of paper adds.”