Posts by Brendan Smyth
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I'm going to bed now ...
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What is this mysterious airplay potential recognition thing you and PDs can see considering you haven't even seen the video yet ?
What are some of the other deciding factors re: video and new recording grants? At what stage in the process do you consult radio PD's about new recording artists ?
We ask the music television broadcasters to listen to all the songs that are applying for music video funding and to tell us which songs they are most likely to play on the channel that they are programming. We can't ask them to judge the video because the band is applying for funding in order to make the video. But most music television is programmed by ear rather than eye. Granted ... an amazing video of an ordinary song can sometimes get airplay but more often than not, it's the song that drives the programming decision.
Other factors ...
The strategic value of the video to the radio airplay campaign; timing; the plan around the release; what else is happening with the band ...
We get 200+ applications for new artist funding four times a year and we get radio feedback on the songs when we have shortlisted about 20-30 songs, as a result of which we will identify 10 contenders and then we go to the artists and ask them for more information about themselves, the song, the recording plan, the release plan, etc and we select the five that have the best combination of song and plan.
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... you were specifically talking about radio programmers, here's the full quote in context ...
I'm talking there about funding. We were talking before about how we tracklist the hit discs.
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... not putting any band names on this list ...
Email me off list.
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From Mark Taslov's post ...
... the imitation North American accent ...
Which artists do you mean, Mark ... ?
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... so what's the consulting broadcasters and getting their feedback bit about if its not about consulting and getting feedback?
As I say ... that's with music videos and at one stage in the new artists scheme process where we are funding radio singles ... but not with the hit discs.
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Rob again ...
... want to know what I did with my day? Met with one of the best bands I've seen in 10 years, to help em record an album off their own backs and mine ...
Who's the band, Rob ... ? I would genuinely like to know because, despite our philosophical differences, I am interested in what knowledgeable people in the industry consider to be "one of the best bands (they've) seen in 10 years".
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Simon again ...
We need to be more brutal in forcing radio to play Fat Freddies and the ilk
Let us not forget that Fat Freddy sold 45,000 copies before they allowed a song to be taken to commercial radio (a great achievement and if I had a hat, I would take it off to them) but it went from 45,000 or so to 105,000 or so on the back of the massive (commercial) radio airplay of Wandering Eye. That was a very clever and conscious strategic move on their part and it paid off handsomely for them.
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Back to Simon ...
I may be proved wrong but Opshop and Brooke Fraser are exactly the sort of NZ records that don't stand a shot outside NZ
That remains to be seen. Both Brooke and Opshop are just now launching US and UK campaigns (respectively).
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you get 'feedback' as in you ask them what they like and then act accordingly. that's got to shape the disc don't you think
No ... not with the Kiwi Hit Disc. See my original post -
" ... we took the tracklist job in-house using our own ears and instincts and experience coupled with research coupled with our reading of the radio environment coupled with liaison with the repertoire owner about the timing, etc coupled with our judgement about the strategic value of this or that song to the local content campaign and to our attempts to not just fuel, but to grow, the appetite for New Zealand music at radio ... "
We don't consult or get feedback from radio when we are tracklisting the Kiwi Hit Disc.
We do consult the music television PDs (C4, Juice, MTV) when we are deciding on which music videos we will fund and take their views on the airplay potential of the songs into account - it is one factor but not the only factor - and at one stage in the process, we consult radio PDs when we are deciding which New Recording Artist songs we will fund but again, it's one factor but not the only factor.