Radio Adjusts To Retail Shifts

Shrinking Indie Sector Is A Concern
This story was prepared by Marc Schiffman, managing editor of Rock Airplay AirPlay AirPlay Monitor, and Dana Hall, reporter for Airplay Monitor.
NEW YORK--The contraction of the retail marketplace is raising caution flags among programmers at triple-A and modern rock radio stations, who have long had a symbiotic musical relationship with the shrinking base of indie stores.
Local Philadelphia legend Third Street Jazz & Rock recently became the latest in a line of indie record stores squeezed out by megastores and mall chains. Those closings are affecting new-music-conscious modern rock and triple-A programmers, they say, but some PDs note that they can work with chains to get new music stocked, and others allow that as their formats become more mainstream there is, in fact, less need for specialty retail.
Jim McGuinn, PD of modern WPLY (Y100) Philadelphia, mourns the loss of Third Street. 'It's a tragedy when you see a great store that has served both the jazz community and rock community go down like that. We would talk to them on a semi-regular basis. All indie stores like that are a great source to find out about the newest and latest trends; they are like the tip of the iceberg.'
But, he adds, 'if you look at the entire industry, from the label side to the radio side and the retail side, the breadth of product has been shrinking over the years, with narrower forms of music. Even our playlist has become narrower. The chain stores are carrying the product that we play, but that is because alternative radio has changed, even since 1991.'
Some independent retailers agree that radio's relationship with smaller specialty stores has changed. Keith Covart, owner of three Electric Fetus music stores in Minnesota, says, 'I don't think (radio) pays attention to the indies like they used to. They probably put a lot more faith in what the big-box stores are doing.'
The story is a little different as you move to the left. In Chicago, triple-A WXRT music director Patty Martin reports, 'There are not as many indie retailers, many have closed over the past few years, and I definitely think that is because people are going to stores that aren't even music stores to buy their music, like Best Buy.
'When a listener calls and tells us they can't find particular product,' adds Martin, 'we ask them where they looked, and most often we find they've looked in a mall store . . . I would like to see the mall stores be a little more progressive in their selection . . . Most chain stores are full of just the top 100 hits-type product, and it's rare to find breaking new music on the shelves of the mall stores.'
Similarly, for triple-A WFUV New York music director Rita Houston, 'A lot of the music that we play falls out of the mainstream.' Listeners can have a hard time finding what they hear on her station, even in the biggest city in the U.S.
'To that end,' she says, 'a lot of mall stores haven't satisfied that, although Tower has been responsive in the market, and I think Borders Books & Music and Barnes & Noble (have, too). Lots of times they're mall stores but more committed to satisfying a wider range of music and not just the top 10.'
Martin also cites her local Tower stores as an exception. 'They are a big chain, but they are more aware of what's going on musically in this particular marketplace.'
Modern KTEG Albuquerque, N.M., PD Skip Isley says that his market has a healthy independent record retail environment and that small retail is a fervent sponsor of his new-music show. As more and more such shops close, though, he notes, 'the sad thing for radio is you can have a much more personal relationship with the ma-and-pa stores. They're more apt to spend their own money. They'll get involved and pay attention to your programming.'
Likewise, Carter Alan, music director of modern WBCN Boston, says, 'We still have those independent stores. We have an advantage in this area with the Newbury Comics chain, which is growing throughout New England. They have a real mom-and-pop sensibility about their stores even though they are a chain and stock a lot of the indie releases, and they actually have staff that knows the music. And we do have a couple of enlightened chains like Tower.'
Modern WKRO Daytona Beach, Fla., tried selling music at its station merchandise store, but PD Taft Moore found that 'it caused a problem, because the labels don't want to do time buys for just one outlet. They want to advertise multiple stores, and because our store undercut the big chains, it was a problem there politically.'
But Moore says there are mom-and-pops in central Florida that stock his music and remain competitive by accommodating special orders.
'What's going to happen now, I believe, is that kind of product will become available on the Internet,' Moore predicts. 'Those are the kind of services and unique music genres that used to be available in the mom-and-pops and will be available through online stores in the future.'
Moore is one of several PDs who note that the modern and triple-A formats have tightened to the point where the dichotomy between what they play and what larger retailers stock has lessened. Even WFUV's Houston sees a convergence of trends as the artists her format has championed for years come into the mainstream. 'A lot of the modern, triple-A artists have gone on to be commercially successful, so you have no problem finding their stuff.'
THE RETAIL RELATIONSHIP
The degree to which stations work in concert with local retailers varies widely. Modern WPLA (the Planet) Jacksonville, Fla., PD J.R. Randall says that in his market, it's the larger stores that have money to do co-promotions, but they steer away from anything too left of center. He also says that 'if we really strike a chord' with a record that reacts instantly on the air, an album 'will be hard to get because it's back-ordered.'
WFUV made the sort of retail impact that most stations dream about when guitarist/composer Ry Cooder appeared to wax ebullient about Cuban music, especially 'Buena Vista Social Club,' a recent project of his. 'A lot of the stores weren't prepared for what happened,' says Houston. 'They were selling out of every copy of the 'Buena Vista Social Club.' I was hearing from all the retailers, 'What's going on? Are you playing Cuban music now?' '
But KTEG's Isley remembers working at WMRQ Hartford, Conn., when Local H first broke and not being able to get its album stocked in quantity in the market. He also worries that label sales reps aren't always aware of what's being played because of internal communications problems at their companies. And, he says, the life of today's busy PD doesn't leave a lot of time to chase down retailers and make sure they're stocking what he's playing.
That's not necessary, though, when radio and independent retail have a close working relationship.
Don VanCleave, owner of Magic Platter, a record store in Birmingham, Ala., says, 'In our market, we don't have a lot of conversations with radio. But I look at their chart every week, and they look at mine. I'm obviously concerned with his adds and what goes up and down in rotation.'
He adds that radio play often determines what he buys and how much he sells. 'We spend a lot of time locking in inventory to make sure we're covered heavily.' After a matchbox 20 track was added by local radio, he increased orders for the album and was selling 120 units a week. He says he checked out larger stores and couldn't find the title.
But other programmers still find themselves having to play intermediary between retail and labels. Y100's McGuinn says, 'We try to develop a plan to help build (a project) overall in the market, and that includes at retail. It's tough because often radio and retail promotions and retail at a record label aren't integrated very well. And we end up being the guys trying to bring them together.'
VanCleave notes another example of how radio, retail, and a label can cooperate on a fast-breaking title. After a Marcy Playground track was added by a local station, he says, Magic Platter began selling its album for the low price of $8.99. That was possible because the label, Capitol, had excepted the title from its minimum-advertised-price policy and sold it at a lower artist-development wholesale price. 'We weren't making much money on it, but we got a lot of traffic,' says the retailer.
Assistance in preparing this story was provided by Don Jeffrey.

(c) BPI Communications, 1998 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED