RE: contacting Tzadik??

[Seth Rogovoy <rogovoy...>]

Yes, Eliezer, but whether or not there is an "audience" or "market" for
klezmer at Oberlin and the surrounding area may in part depend on whether or
not people there can ever hear the music. And they won't hear it if the
label doesn't distribute it to people who serve as advocates, if you will,
for the music.

Sending one free copy of each of a label's release to DJs who specifically
play your style of music (as opposed to a mass mailing to every radio
station, or even every college station) or to reviewers with a track record
of reviewing your specific genre is a very good and inexpensive investment.
I bet for every ONE person who turns around and as a result buys a CD at
retail cost the label more than covers its expense for sending out every
three or four CDs, maybe even more.

Just  as an example, I wrote about Brave Old World's "Blood Oranges" several
times in the last year in our regional newspaper, The Berkshire Eagle,
including most recently in my year-end Top 10 list (which includes rock,
pop, folk, jazz,everything but classical). Ever since, I get at least one
phone call or Email a week from people asking me where they can find the CD.
Obviously it was a good investment on the part of BOW or Pinorrek or whoever
originally paid for my copy of the CD.

Part of a record label's duty or responsibility to its artists is to
"market" the recordings, by getting them in front of as many potential
buyers as possible. There aren't many DJs and reviewers out there who focus
on the kind of stuff Tzadik and Knitting Factory put out. It doesn't seem
like brain surgery to figure out in whose hands those CDs should wind up
where they will be aired or reviewed as opposed to sold to the nearest used
CD store. (How many radio shows specialize in Jewish music, klezmer or
avant-klezmer, or even all three?) I don't see how a policy of refusing to
send out promos under any circumstances (which as I understand it is the
case with Tzadik) serves the interests of the recording artists.

-----Original Message-----
From:   owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-jewish-music (at) 
shamash(dot)org]
On Behalf Of Eliezer Kaplan
Sent:   Monday, February 01, 1999 9:06 PM
To:     World music from a Jewish slant.
Subject:        Re: contacting Tzadik??

Then the record companies would have to view free promos as an investment-
and it's totally at their discretion to guess whether such an investment
would pay off or not. So they may well assume that there's an audience for
so-called avant-garde music in Oberlin, but the market for Klezmer there is
negligible. That would make it your job to convince them otherwise.
                                EK

At 01:23 PM 2/1/99 -0500, you wrote:
>
>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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