Radio is not in the music business. It's up to record labels to look for unsigned artists, sign them, and promote them to radio.
Also legally radio can't play unlicensed music. That's why they need record labels.
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Song as gold that was originally ignored by station?
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
Radio is not in the music business. It's up to record labels to look for unsigned artists, sign them, and promote them to radio.
Also legally radio can't play unlicensed music. That's why they need record labels.
Unsigned is not the same thing as unlicensed. Lisa Loeb was unsigned when she had a #1 hit with "Stay (I Missed You)":
Stay (I Missed You) - Wikipedia
D
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The one that sticks in my mind is George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" from 1987. There were quite a few small town stations down here that wouldn't spin it. Went so far as to edit the song out of the AT40 weekend countdown, replacing it with something in-house, until the countdown had moved forward to the next charted hit. It took until the early 2000s for some stations to play it, some twenty years after it charted. Seems like Casey Kasem even felt uncomfortable with it, as I can't think of one instance where he would mention the title of the song. It always went something like "Here's George Michael with his latest hit, creeping up the countdown to #17."
The song was released on RCA. It's right there in the first paragraph of the Wikipedia article you posted. She was signed, unless Wikipedia is (gasp) inaccurate.Unsigned is not the same thing as unlicensed. Lisa Loeb was unsigned when she had a #1 hit with "Stay (I Missed You)":
Stay (I Missed You) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
So, this one's interesting. Kevtronics is right that Lisa was without a label when "Stay (I Missed You)" was a hit. It was part of the "Reality Bites" soundtrack, which was on RCA, who released it as a single. Her success with it got her a deal with Geffen.
Thanks for the clarification.
I guess the momentary phenomenon of Oliver Anthony and "Rich Men North of Richmond" on country music radio is another example, although the song never got widespread airplay and the artist, AFAIK, remains unsigned. A friend of mine tells me that he and his wife are planning to see O.A. at the Ryman in Nashville in the near future, so the interest is still there even though radio has moved on.
She may have been unsigned as an artist, but the song specifically was part of a major movie soundtrack. The reason it went #1 was because it was promoted by RCA Records, the company that released the soundtrack. Prior to that, she received no airplay. After the success of that song, she was signed to Geffen Records, and released her first album. In 1992, she signed a publishing deal, so her songs were published and licensed. Very different situation from seeking out unsigned artists and playing their music on the radio.
The ONLY reason that happened was she was friends with the star of the movie, Ethan Hawke, and he brought that song to the producers of the movie, who got it on the soundtrack. Radio didn't discover and play Lisa Loeb as an unsigned artist off the street. The song they played was brought to them by RCA.
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His music is licensed by BMI. Otherwise it could not get airplay. I assume he has registered with SoundExchange for digital royalties. He has avoided record labels. Even the indie label owned by John Rich. His song peaked at #40 in airplay and was never distributed to radio via the established music delivery services. I just checked two of them, and this song is still not available. Radio stations played it because of listener demand.
These days, anyone "off the street" can sign up with a service like CD Baby, which will get your music licensed, copyrighted, distributed via online streaming platforms, and eligible for radio station airplay. Signing up with a record label is unnecessary.
Unless you want to have a hit. Someone has to take the side of the artist and the music. Usually that's the record label.
Lots of artists are quite happy and satisfied to just make music, and have no aspirations to having hits and becoming a star.
Unsigned artist airplay brings with it all kinds of legal issues. While a non-commercial station might allow such a song in a live concert or a station fundraising event, playing a song without registered rights holders and other "paperwork" is risky.
Beyond that, it is not radio's job to find new artists: that is the label and music industry function. Radio tries to play "stuff people want to hear" and that means big songs by big artists will dominate playlists. To expect or even to want otherwise is disingenuous.
But look at how stations operate:
We don't get promo "copies" on CD anymore. So there is no hard copy sitting in the "record library" (which stations don't have any more anyway!).
We get the songs digitally. If we don't like the song or don't see other stations adding it, we delete it. And if we deleted it too soon and it does become a hit, we ask for a re-service from the label or find it on a label's station-only download service.
Otherwise, this is like a birthday piñata where we are blindfolded and set out to see if a release from years ago might work today.
Stations don't have fulltime music directors, don't have a music library and don't keep old promo releases in any format sitting or stored at the station.
In addition, the radio distribution sites (one of which is AllAccess.com) get the music from record labels. That is part of the licensing process required by SoundExchange. Radio stations must file paperwork with SoundExchange listing all song metadata, including who owns the copyright for royalty distribution. Under the DMCA, record labels are entitled to digital royalties, and the metadata is how they get paid. In the case of the Oliver Anthony song, it has never been distributed to radio, and the metadata is incomplete.
And you added a valuable additional piece of information: the digital, realm. Stations that stream have to be in compliance even if the analog OTA outlets are not subjected to those considerations.
The real question: "why would I want to play a song nobody else is playing and which has no SoundExchage registration, copyright data or even contracts between the performers and band members?"
Anyone have information on who/what will take the place of AllAccess for distribution? Lots of smaller market stations depended on that if they did not get releases directly sent from the labels.
Mediabase now owns that site. Mediabase also distributes music to radio stations through its own site.
Mediabase Acquires AllAccess.com And Download Service
iHeartMedia's RCS software subsidiary has announced that its Mediabase division has acquired AllAccess.com and its song download and distribution service
radioinsight.com
Thanks. I did not know that MediaBase was going to continue the music distribution function. Of course, we've always been able to download lots of songs from their listings if we are authorize users so this is not a big change.Mediabase now owns that site. Mediabase also distributes music to radio stations through its own site.
Mediabase Acquires AllAccess.com And Download Service
iHeartMedia's RCS software subsidiary has announced that its Mediabase division has acquired AllAccess.com and its song download and distribution service
I definitely remember Z100 New York playing some songs as golds that they didn't play as currents. Some of them were pop or AC-leaning songs from around 1994-95 that were ignored during their Alternative-leaning era, then get played as recurrents or golds after they went back to full-blown CHR in late 1996. Others were Urban songs that weren't added as currents in the late '90s, but got played as golds in the 2000s.
I don't think the OP meant that the station deliberately chose to give songs they ignored a second chance, just that there happened to be songs that only resonated with their target audience at a later date.
I don't think the OP meant that the station deliberately chose to give songs they ignored a second chance, just that there happened to be songs that only resonated with their target audience at a later date.
Mau
Let's hope these PDs play those ignored Pop Hot A/C artists from the mid 2000s like Mat Kearny and Anna Nalick.
Oh they were well played back then. And subsequent testing has shown that they, for the lack of a better term, suck. You likely won’t be hearing them on terrestrial radio again except for (possibly) AAA or some stream.
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