BS Fans Energized?

[DFrost8547 at AOL.COM]

Well, your sentiments about radio are very nice, but they have little to do
with the current reality of the industry. There is nothing in repeated
rotation on the radio that has not been paid-- and paid very heavily-- for.
Payola is more insidious than it ever was, because it is now disguised as
"promotion." It operates on the college level, too. Oh, you may be able to
get a spin or two here or there. But in order to get a record on the radio
now-- to be played more than once-- which is the only way people will really
remember it-- you must pay enormous amounts for it. The same goes for MTV--
where the promotion takes the form of various ads and giveaways. Of
course,every record label wants their stuff on, so these stations have their
choice of picking what they will go with. A sensational new book by veteran
journalist Bruce Haring (now of USA Today, formerly of Daily Variety and
Billboard) called "Off the Charts," which takes up where "Hit Men" left off,
to be published by Birch Lane Press on March 1, will explain a lot of this to
you. It's pretty horrifying. Then again, given the speial interests that now
control, via lobbying, and bribes to politicians ("donations"-- the
politician's form of "promotional consideration") most aspects of American
life, perhaps it's not such a surprise. In any case, John's suggestions came
about as the result of conversations with me regarding what Brain Surgeons
fans (or the fans of any other music that is not yet recognized in the larger
marketplace) might do. And my suggestions are the result of 25 years in the
biz, discussions with other industry people who have tremendous experience
developing acts on all levels, press, and so forth. This is what can
realistically be done on a grass roots level. The mass audience may very well
develop their musical taste via radio-- they also probably developed a
similar taste for Cheerios via TV ads and product placement in the
supermarket (by the way, everything you see displayed prominently in large
record stores, like large book chains, is also paid for-- whether via co-op
ads or gratuities dispensed to management--as it is in the supermarket and
other wonders of modern retailing. But that is not we are trying to or can
expect to accomplish at this point. And remember, Albert has also been
through this-- and he built his career the hard, old-fashioned way. There's a
lot of talk in the industry right now that many of the current  one-hit
wonders (those you are hearing repeatedly on the radio or seeing on MTV) will
not even have the shelf-life of milk. Some of them (like the kid who
benefited from the Bee Girl dancing through his video) will not even live
long enough to see their royalty checks (which, by the way, arrive months
after the fact, when some other blip is on your screen). John's suggestion is
a very good one, and from an artist standpoint, it's one way people can do
something meaningful and valuable for something they care about-- other than
just consuming it.