Re: contacting Tzadik??

[parentheses <Sara.Marcus...>]

Eliezer asks: Why should Tzadik and Knitting Factory records, given their
limited audience, give promo copies of CDs to eager DJs in return for
guaranteed airplay?

I answer: The limited audience is precisely the best reason!  Airplay is a
major way to build audience and enthusiasm for an artist or CD series. The
freeform department at our radio station has a lot of the more "out-there"
CDs on the Radical Jewish culture series, including Anthony Coleman
revamping Sephardic ballads on "I Could've Been a Drum," John Schott's
exhilarating Messianic song cycle "In These Great Times," and the Mystic
Fugu Orchestra's creepy-ancient "Zohar."
        I would not have heard of any of these CDs if they were not
already at the station.  As it is, I have played material from at least
one of them every week since I started my show, and as a result new people
have been exposed to their stuff.
        Since I started doing my radio show, I have received a gratifying
number of beautiful, free CDs from independent and shoestring musicians
who certainly need to make a buck just as much as if not more than any of
the Tzadik artists - but they also
        a) realize that airplay will build their listenership and gain
them needed publicity, and
        b) think it's important and worthwhile to belong to something like
a community around Jewish music - the people who make it, promote it, and
listen to it.

SM

On Sun, 31 Jan 1999, Eliezer Kaplan wrote:

> And why should they? They're not major labels and they need to make a buck
> too- especially considering the rather limited audience for their releases-
> especially of some of their more obscure artists. Also, why should Zorn or
> whomever have to walk into a used CD store and see promo copies of their
> CDs at a discount price, royalty and profit free?
>               EK
> 
> At 01:30 PM 1/31/99 -0800, you wrote:
> >
> >Unfortunately, both tzaddik and knitting factory are quite unwilling
> >to even entertain the idea --although I have succeeded in contacting
> >them on other matters, my experience is tht they don't even return
> >emails/phone calls, etc on the matter of promotional materials - or
> >perhaps that's only regarding small stations, but in any case, I
> >rather think you aren't likely to have a lot of luck. B'hatzlecha.
> >
> >Alana

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