Sunday, June 04, 2006
New Sha Na Na CD and radio airplay?
I got the new Sha Na Na CD sent to me by "Jocko". He is one of the original members of the group, and is joined by two other originals, Screamin Scott Simon and Donny York. Those three along with four others, comprise the group today. The CD has 14 songs and two "bonus" tracks. I always thought those bonus tracks were a goofy idea for CD's. One is a duet with an artist from Japan and the other is sung by Pat Boone. Pat Boone? What's he doing on a rock and roll CD? Oh yeah, he owns the label. The promo sheet Has a recommendation from Brian Bierne for "The Cat In The PT Cruiser", "Don't You Remember" and "Blue". He said they are good radio songs.
What is a good radio song? Now there is a statement with way more questions than answers. The first one for me is, What Radio Stations? That's right, who is going to play the CD? Once we get answers to that, then maybe we can decide what really are good radio songs.
Sha Na Na was huge in the 70's and had a hit TV show in the late 70's to the early 80's. At that time they had two records in the top 100. Thirty years later, they are still a recognizable name in the oldies market, but who is going to play that CD? I know, what is an oldies market these days? That would be another blog!
I can play a couple of cuts on Rockitradio.net and my live show on KVMR-FM in California. Both shows are heavily 50's and early 60's oriented hits and misses. "Don't You Remember" is too catchy NOT to play. And it will fit in, likely as a then and now segment. "Blue" and "Sandy" are nice ballads. So is "Love Can Hurt". I could play any of those, and will. Many of the other tracks are rock and roll solos done somewhat in the style of the 50's. Anybody hosting an oldies show could play the tracks I mentioned and tie in the Sha Na Na name and it (You) would sound good.
Who else is going to play it? I think it will have to be the oldies stations, and mainly the non-commercial frequencies at that. There are a ton of oldies shows on public radio, so there is still a substantial audience if everyone played it. I don't see the zillion megawatt stations playing "PT cruiser", though there is nothing wrong with it. It's a cool rock and roll song and could definitly get a party started. It's also a great way to start off the CD as track number one.
Why won't the other stations play it? I just don't know that Sha Na Na will fit into the current iterations of rock and roll radio. We have a local station that plays the 80's up to today. They stick with the proven hits. This CD is not classic rock, and it's not hard rock either. Do I hear "Jack"? Their format is somewhat unpredictable, and it might just work.
Sha Na Na will need to get this played from the bottom up. Heck, that's why they sent it to me! If the small stations and non-commercials get on it, then someone in their barco lounger puffing a cigar and barking orders to their conglomerate affiliates, will need to nod an approval. Corporate radio is a thing of the present, and apparently the future. If it's this much trouble for an established act to get squeezed into a playlist, you can imagine what a new artist goes through.
Will the system ever change? Not in the near future. As corporations continue to buy stations in markets across the country, besides getting bloated, they become very powerful. People like Clear Channel that own a dumpload of stations, can set the rules, play who they want, in search of the almighty dollar. The only real way left to try and break new and established artists is the independent radio stations. Sad but true. Don't forget, there are true success stories from artists that went from the bottom up. It's just a tough market to break into.
I found a Chordcats promo on the Cat label, and it's a 78! First promo I have seen for the label. I have one stock copy on my website that was given to Dr. Jive, where they just slapped a sticker with his name on it and put it on the label. I wonder how many other "real" promos they made? It should be on my site by the end of the week. Still trying to decide on the next artist. if I spent less time arguing with myself, I would get more work done!
What is a good radio song? Now there is a statement with way more questions than answers. The first one for me is, What Radio Stations? That's right, who is going to play the CD? Once we get answers to that, then maybe we can decide what really are good radio songs.
Sha Na Na was huge in the 70's and had a hit TV show in the late 70's to the early 80's. At that time they had two records in the top 100. Thirty years later, they are still a recognizable name in the oldies market, but who is going to play that CD? I know, what is an oldies market these days? That would be another blog!
I can play a couple of cuts on Rockitradio.net and my live show on KVMR-FM in California. Both shows are heavily 50's and early 60's oriented hits and misses. "Don't You Remember" is too catchy NOT to play. And it will fit in, likely as a then and now segment. "Blue" and "Sandy" are nice ballads. So is "Love Can Hurt". I could play any of those, and will. Many of the other tracks are rock and roll solos done somewhat in the style of the 50's. Anybody hosting an oldies show could play the tracks I mentioned and tie in the Sha Na Na name and it (You) would sound good.
Who else is going to play it? I think it will have to be the oldies stations, and mainly the non-commercial frequencies at that. There are a ton of oldies shows on public radio, so there is still a substantial audience if everyone played it. I don't see the zillion megawatt stations playing "PT cruiser", though there is nothing wrong with it. It's a cool rock and roll song and could definitly get a party started. It's also a great way to start off the CD as track number one.
Why won't the other stations play it? I just don't know that Sha Na Na will fit into the current iterations of rock and roll radio. We have a local station that plays the 80's up to today. They stick with the proven hits. This CD is not classic rock, and it's not hard rock either. Do I hear "Jack"? Their format is somewhat unpredictable, and it might just work.
Sha Na Na will need to get this played from the bottom up. Heck, that's why they sent it to me! If the small stations and non-commercials get on it, then someone in their barco lounger puffing a cigar and barking orders to their conglomerate affiliates, will need to nod an approval. Corporate radio is a thing of the present, and apparently the future. If it's this much trouble for an established act to get squeezed into a playlist, you can imagine what a new artist goes through.
Will the system ever change? Not in the near future. As corporations continue to buy stations in markets across the country, besides getting bloated, they become very powerful. People like Clear Channel that own a dumpload of stations, can set the rules, play who they want, in search of the almighty dollar. The only real way left to try and break new and established artists is the independent radio stations. Sad but true. Don't forget, there are true success stories from artists that went from the bottom up. It's just a tough market to break into.
I found a Chordcats promo on the Cat label, and it's a 78! First promo I have seen for the label. I have one stock copy on my website that was given to Dr. Jive, where they just slapped a sticker with his name on it and put it on the label. I wonder how many other "real" promos they made? It should be on my site by the end of the week. Still trying to decide on the next artist. if I spent less time arguing with myself, I would get more work done!
