in the Northeast include Sears’ and
Penney’s stores. “You really have to
know your market area. A group like
the Amazing Rhythm Aces may sell big
in Tennessee because they’re ‘home
town boys,’ while a group like Aerosmith
sells better in the Northeast because
they’re from New England. We sold a
lot of Saturday Night Fever albums in
the New York City area because the
hero of the movie was from there and a
lot of people identified with it.’’
Q. How do record companies go about
promoting a record? Is it possible to
“buy” a hit?
Promotion personnel are told to con
centrate on a few; records each month,
handpicked by company brass. The
company buys advertising in con
sumer and trade magazines, arranges
radio commercials and guest appear
ances for the artist, and often holds
press parties for influential writers and
broadcasters.
“Promo is the heart of the record
company,” says one record publicity
director. “Promo men are tied to the
songs they’re told to push each month
whether they like them or not, and
they’ve got to do all they can to ‘bring
them home’ (make them hits). If they
don’t, their jobs are on the line.”
It’s hard to tell exactly how' much is
spent to promote a record, since record
companies want to perpetuate what
industry insiders call the “mystique of
the hit”: they prefer for people to think
that the record climbed the charts on its
own.
One of the most costly promotions
ventures is “crossing over”—moving
from one area of popular music to
another. Take Dolly Parton’s much
publicized move from country music to
the more lucrative world of pop. “This
kind of thing just doesn’t happen on its
own,” says Michael Bane, editor of
Country Music magazine. “You figure
production of her Here You Come
Again album, a deal with a prestige
public relations firm, promotion of the
album, a management contract, and a
press party at New York’s World Trade
Center for 1,500 people—that cost
RCA more than a million dollars right
there, maybe as much as $3 million. All
this was essentially to buy a chart
position forhersingleandalbum. RCA
may not get back all they spent right
away, but they will have established her
as a pop star and set the stage for a
blockbuster hit.”
A heavy promotional effort can
boost sales, but promotion personnel
and distributors agree that it can’t sell a
record that’s a dud. “A record has to
have something going for it,” says one
publicity director.
Q. It seems that every year.moreofthe
records I buy are defective and I end up
having to go through the hassle of
taking them back. Why is this?
Record sales have increased 43 percent
in the last couple of years, and some
manufacturers have been running 24
hour-a-day shifts seven days a week to
keep up with the demand. Even though
most manufacturing plants attempt to
maintain a high level of quality control
through record inspectors (Columbia
Records has 150 at its Terre Haute,
Indiana, plant), record store owners
and distributors report daily complaints
about defective records and tapes.
“We mainly get complaints about
bubbles on records, records that were
warped in pressing or shipment, and
tapes with defective moving parts in the
cartridge,” says Jay Jacobs of Knox
Record Rack Company. “But we’ve
also found that maybe 30 percent ofthe
claims are not valid—a person is tired
of a record, for instance, or hasn’t
cleaned the head of his tape player."
Any truly defective record or tape can
be exchanged without charge, and the
record manufacturer takes it back.
“In general, the quality of the average
record is far superior to what it once
was because the sound and recording
equipment is so fantastic. Take an
album recorded in 1958, then listen to
one recorded this year, and you’ll be
shocked at the difference.”
Q. How do songwriters get paid?
A songwriter generally contracts
with a publisher w ho releases the song,
registers it for copyright and represents
the writer in issuing recording rights.
Publishers also share in the royalties.
Under U.S. copyright law, anyonewho
wants to record, publish or perform a
song in public must get the copyright
owner’s permission and arrange for
payment. Since it is impossible for an
indiv idual to monitor the thousands of
places his work may be performed,
most writers and publishers affiliate
with a performance rights licensing
organization which will do the collect
ing for them. The organizations—
ASCAP (The American Society of
Composers. Authors and Publishers),
BM1 (Broadcast Music Incorporated)
and SESAC (Society of European
Stage Authors and Composers)—col
lect royalties for their affiliates from
TV and radio stations, airlines, restau
rants. concert halls, discosandjukebox
operators. The licensing organizations
have recently negotiated with colleges
and universities to collect royalties for
performance of copyrighted music on
campus. It would be impossible to
determine every piece of music played,
so they work out fees based on criteria
like a percentage of total revenue,
number of seats, w hether admission is
charged or the number of days and
nights that music is played.
More than 59,000 songwriters and
over 23,000 publishers are affiliated
with the three licensing organizations.
“All of ASCAP’s income is distributed
to the members after deducting thecost
of doing business,” says Paul Marks,
ASCAP managingdirector.“Howmuch
each songwriter or publisher gets is
determined by the number of perform
ances of their songs as indicated by a
scientific survey which includes a ran
dom sample of TV and radio stations,
background music licensees and a
census of live performances. ASCAP
collected $102.4 million last year for its
members.
SESAC gives its writers and publish
ers extra cash for songs which make the
national charts, cross over from one
chart to another, or remain there 15
weeks or longer. Even with a royalty of
only a few cents per performance, a
songwriter who has a song that be
comes a standard can expect to cash in
year after year. Jim Webb’s “By the
Time I Get to Phoenix,” released in
1967, has logged well over a million
performances and still brings in royal
ties as do Lennon-McCartney’s “Elea
nor Rigby,” released in 1966, and
hundreds of other songs.
Q. Do artists get royalties for each
album they sell? Or do they just make a
record for a flat fee?
For an artist, a royalty istheamount he
gets for each album sold. The amount
varies from a few cents to more than a
dollar, depending on the stature of the
artists and the shrewdness of their
lawyers and managers. Stars like Paul
McCartney and the Bee Gees can
command a dollar or more per album,
with the royalty amount automatically
increasing when sales reach the 700,000
mark. Artists may also get what is
known as a “guarantee,” which is a
lump sum paid when they deliver tne
finished tracks for the album. Un
knowns may be given an “advance” to
cover expenses while recording and
before their record begins to sell. Rec
ord companies recoup the advance
by withholding royalties until the a
mount is made up. “Of course a group
like the Bee Gees can command a much
higher royalty and guarantee than an
unknown group.” says Bob Edson,
vice-president of RSO Records. The
group’s Saturday Night Fever album
sold seven million copies in three
months and is a contender for best
selling album of all time. “An artist
may make $35,000 off a good-selling
country album, $350,000 off a hit pop
album, or millions off albums like
Rumours and Saturday Night Fever.
says ABC Records’ Jerry Bailey. 0
Staff writer Kitty Yancey has worked
as a reporter in Nashville, the country
music mecca.