Are You Game?

4/11/1997

The Network 40 Summer Games are the hottest topic of conversation these days.  As record companies line up their teams, the wolf whistles will get even louder.

We’re hearing a lot of, “My team can beat your team” and “My daddy can whip your daddy” already.  There are also those who are asking, “Why?”

Why?

The Network 40 Summer Games were conceived over two years ago at a small gathering consisting of myself, Bruce Tenenbaum and Mark Gorlick.  We were criticizing (of course) a convention that had just concluded.  During our conversation, we gabbed about all conventions in general.  And it wasn’t just three lone voices, crying out in the wilderness.  We were vocalizing the criticisms we shared with every person in the business.

Radio and record conventions are boring.  The panels and discussions are a joke.  And they are boring.  The meetings go on too long.  And they’re boring.  There are 50 record people to every programmer.  Nothing is ever accomplished.  Conventions are a waste of time.  And they are boring.

These criticisms were coupled with the mood of the day…the mood that continues in our business.  It’s ugly out there.  Never before has there been such a chasm between those in the record business and those in radio.

“I hate that person,” is today’s phrase.

There is no doubt that both businesses have changed drastically in the past few years.  Promotion executive often spend more time in meetings inside the company than productive meetings with programmers.  Traveling, once a way of life for any good promotion person, has been curtailed.  More often that not, the only contact promotion people have with programmers is on the phone…and those conversations tend to be about the immediate possibility of an add.

In today’s world, a promotion person’s opinion of a programmer depends on what records were added in a given week.

It’s the same for a PD.  More time is spent in meetings than listening to music.  A PD’s  time is more valuable than anything.  When a PD picks up a phone to talk with someone in the record business, it’s usually, “What can you do for me right now?”

In a business that depends upon…actually, demands…relationships on both sides, we are becoming too busy to establish them.  And we need these relationships to survive.

No PD is going to add every record you work.  As startling as this sounds, not every record worked by a promotion staff is a hit.  A promotion person’s job is to get a PD to consider the record.  Occasionally, one must ask a programmer for a favor… “Would you please listen to my record and to what I have to say about my record?”

You cannot ask a favor without having a relationship.  And you cannot have a relationship without spending time…quality time.

The same is true from the programming side.  You can’t ask a favor of a promotion executive without having a relationship…that is, unless you want to barter and trade.  If you need tickets for a superstar concert and have no relationship with the company’s promotion person, the answer will be, “Yeah, if you’ll play this other record.”  A record that probably doesn’t fit your format.

But if you have a relationship, the promotion person will be more than happy to oblige because both know the other will be there in the future.

This is why we came up with the idea of the Network 40 Summer Games.  It is an opportunity to create relationships.  There will be nothing else like it.

Why aren’t we having speakers?  Because we don’t learn anything from speakers or panels.  Would you rather hear Scott Shannon speak about programming to a large group or would you rather have the opportunity to ask him specific programming questions in a relaxed atmosphere?  Would you rather hear Burt Baumgartner give a speech about promotion or would you rather personally ask him about promotion?

The Network 40 Summer Games gives you the opportunity to talk one-on-one with your peers and counterparts.  The games are small for a reason…so every person who attends will have the opportunity to spend quality time with everyone else there.

You will be able to establish relationships with those you only knew as distant voices.  You’ll be able to make friends.  Hey, you’ll also be able to make enemies.  You’re not going to click with everyone, but after the Network 40 Summer Games, you’ll have a reason to hate specific people!

The vast majority of record people and programmers know the Network 40 Summer Games will provide a unique opportunity to compete and get to know each competitor.  Virtually every record company has committed to being a part of the most unique event in the history of our business.  Most know it will be a very special gathering in a very special place that will be talked about for years to come.  A small minority continue to ask, “Why?”  Why is it so expensive?  (Because it’s small and special.)  Why aren’t there any panels?  (Because panels are stupid and boring.)  Why should I go?  (To spend quality time with others in your business…you might even learn something.)  Why are we playing games?  (Because competition builds relationships.)  Why can’t I wait until next year?  (To attend the 1998 Summer Games in the Bahamas, you have to be in Lake Tahoe this year.)

But if you decide not to attend, all of these questions will be irrelevant.  You’ll only have to answer one question:

Why weren’t you there?