IDM Mailing Archive

On Thu, 13 Jan 1994, Andrew J. Ford wrote:

quoted 22 lines On Tue, 11 Jan 1994, Michael J Minnich wrote:

> On Tue, 11 Jan 1994, Michael J Minnich wrote: > > > > > Okay, now that everyone is back from break, I have a question for the > > more experienced DJs out there. > > > > What is the best plan of attack to get various record companies to send > > you free promos? > This may not be the advice that you're looking for but here goes: > I don't *want* any promos! > *SOMETIMES* companies use promos to subtly coerce djs into charting > material that would otherwise languish in the trash heap in which it > belongs. And on the flipside, some djs only play what is sent to them, > which leaves the tiny labels who can't afford to promo their stuff > out in the cold. > The bottom line for me is, if it ain't worth buying, it ain't worth > playing. > > Although any and all comments on this thought5 are welcome, > please don't take offense. > I really believe that a promo-less dj world would lead to > better music getting out in the free air.

Ok, i guess i'd have to agree that *just* playing promo records sent to you by major labels is unfair to diy artists are those on small labels. However, having worked in a campus music station (though this is canada) for 6 years i can honestly say that i never play new release promos based on the company they come from and judge music strictly by the strength of what's present. I can't speak for the situation in the states, but most stations i know of in canada get most of their music from fairly small labels. In fact, the volume of cassettes coming in to the station is sometimes overwhelming. Most cassette releases are diy or very small labels. Of course, not everything that comes in is to my (or other dj's) taste but then again, i buy about 50-75% of what i play. Perhaps we've been lucky to have good music directors who have lots of contacts and can get small labels to send stuff, but then again, that's what they're for! Sure, some of the majors send goofy stuff sometimes, like when this heavy metal band sent in a pair of woman's underwear with their name on the crotch, but believe me, these tactics do not work well! (IMHO) It's also good to have contact at small labels to do phone interviews etc etc with artists even if they can't afford to send stuff along. In short then, i've found that most small labels (or relatively small) have been very responsive and have usually been glad to send free copies of albums. My only beef is that most of these labels that do this are non-techno orientated and that it is near impossible to get stuff from overseas(rising high is good but they're distributed here by cargo canada who send in tons of material). +8, novamute, and astralwerks are excepted! I hope this might help any college dj's who are looking in to getting promo material. It's not impossible to get good promo records, it just takes a bit of persistance. carl