Reciprocity

2/23/1996

I witnessed the most extraordinary event last week at the Gavin convention in Atlanta.  (No, I’m not talking about the dancing ballerinas…although I must admit, they were extraordinary.) I’m talking about a casual conversation that took place in the lobby between a program director and a promotion executive.  The conversation crystallized the ongoing problems that occur in our business on an almost daily basis.

I was standing with the programmer of a major-market radio station when a promotion executive joined us.  We were waiting for an elevator.  Since the two had never met, I made the introductions.

After a handshake, the promotion executive smiled and said, “You know, you should be playing (artist’s name) on your station.”

The elevator doors opened, everyone said their “nice to see ya’s,” and the promotion executive disappeared into the sea of people going down.  (It’s a figure of speech…as in the elevator was going down…not the people in it.)

After the doors closed, the programmer turned to me and said, “Can you believe that?”

I looked around, positive that I had missed something.  “What?”

“I can’t believe I just got pimped on a record in the lobby.”

I stared at him for a long moment.  “Are you on crack?” I asked.

He assured me that he wasn’t…although the chances of him being under some sort of mind altering drug seemed evident after making that statement.

Really, can you imagine a record promotion person actually promoting a programmer on a record?  What a concept.  It could revolutionize our business!

Ladies and gentlemen…boys and girls…let me share a secret with you.  Record promotion people are paid rather large sums of money to accomplish one aim:  Promote records.

Surprised?

Welcome to the jungle.

I’ve written countless words about the relationships between programmers and promoters.  The message seems to have missed many in our business.

Programmers must understand one important point: Reciprocity.

If you ask for favors from record companies, you must expect a payback.  If you’ve never asked a promotion person for any type of favor…you may stop reading this Editorial.

It’s all well and good to joke and kid about the different kinds of relationships we have with our colleagues, but at the end of the day, it’s a business.  And you’re kidding yourself if you believe anything different.

Why shouldn’t a promotion person mention a record to a programmer?  It is their job…just as it is a programmer’s job to say “no” if the record isn’t right.  Many programmers are quick to pontificate about their radio station’s promotions, research or latest ratings.  Is it too much of a stretch to imagine a promotion person doing the same thing?

Many programmers succumb to the dreaded Ali disease.  You know, “I am the greatest.”  And who can really blame them?  Outside of members of Congress, is there any group that gets their asses kissed more than programmers?  And most deserve the love.  Most programmers serve in relative obscurity, work for slave wages and live with the fear of knowing they can be canned at the drop of a hat…or a rating point.  All this while promoters and artists make money and fame from the efforts of programmers…or at least from the effects of the effort.

So there is some measure of justification.  Record promotion people can wine and dine programmers…tell them they’re great…generally suck up to get on their good side so they can talk about records.  But programmers must understand that the hammer will fall.  Sooner or later, you will be asked about records.  Trust me.  As strange as that sounds, it will happen.

And it should happen.  That’s a promoter’s job.  If a promoter isn’t asking about a record, the promoter is in jeopardy of losing a job.

I’m not writing this Editorial to try and convince every programmer to talk to every promoter about every record.  In the exchange of style and substance, some people are going to connect where others don’t.  But the level of professionalism…or maybe the term is “oblivion”…has gotten a bit blurry.

All of us…those on the record side and those in radio…should strive to understand the jobs of the others. And that understanding should go to the wants and needs behind the job.  A programmer should never get angry at a promotion person for promoting a record.  It’s the nature of the beast.  Anything short of stalking is acceptable behavior in today’s pressure-packed promotion arena.

Programmers should react to the promotion in kind.  They should also understand that it is the job that is important…not the individual.  So you’re getting your ass kissed on a regular basis and you think you’re a king…you start believing you’re a genius.  Get a grip!  How did those rosy cheeks feel a couple of years ago when you were the night jock in Nowhere Land?  Or, more important, how much will your posterior miss those kisses when your current job ends?

Accept the good, the bad and all that goes with it.  If you ask others to accept the job you have to do and understand the pressures you must contend with, also show a little of the same understanding.

There was a time when I was Ali.  (Several times, as a matter of fact.)  And more times when I wasn’t!  When I was programming KFRC, the local Columbia person was Burt Baumgartner.  I remember one conversation rather clearly.

“Baumgartner,” I said, “I need 25 pairs of tickets to the Journey concert, backstage passes and two seats on the stage to give away.”

“Gerry,” Burt answered, “if I do this for you, what can I expect in return?”

“Bud, let me explain this in a way you’ll understand.  When I ask for something, you say yes.  When you ask for something, I say no.”

Times have changed.  But remember one phrase that has withstood the changing times and still works if you’re cornered in a lobby.

“It looks good for next week!”