Digital Dissonance

Radio stations are expressing concern that Sony Music Nashville's recent announcement that it will switch exclusively to digital delivery of singles may ultimately hurt artists.

While some programmers tell Billboard they like the idea of no longer receiving hard copies of singles, others say Sony's decision to switch to digital-only at the beginning of next year might mean the label's singles could see reduced spins.

That's because programmers may not take the time to download them immediately and opt to add a track from another label that's readily available on CD.

"I can see where it would be time- and cost-effective for the labels, but here in [the] everyday world at the radio station it's going to be a nightmare," WSLC Roanoke, Va., music director Robynn Jaymes says. "Hypothetically, if I have five minutes to download the new Tim McGraw single or, say, a new artist, you can see where my priority is going to lie."

But a Sony executive says the move is intended to make life easier for programmers because it will streamline music delivery.

It will also save a considerable amount of money. While Sony declined to give figures, the VP of promotion at another Nashville label tells Billboard it costs him $4,500 to $5,000 per single to manufacture and ship to radio. The head of promotion for another label group puts the annual cost in the $100,000 range.

Larry Pareigis, senior VP of promotion at Sony Music Nashville, says the real cost savings will come from not having to rush-manufacture when the label shifts gears on a single choice or when an artist delivers the music too close to the single's add date.

For years labels have been sending "event" singles to radio via digital download, always followed up by a mailed CD. Sony is the first to convert to digital for all singles.

It's likely other labels inside and outside of Nashville will carefully monitor radio's reaction.

Sony's other divisions have not announced plans to follow suit.

But Universal Music Group recently inked a sweeping deal with Orlando, Fla.-based music promotion firm Promo Only for digital singles delivery for all of its labels in every genre. However, UMG hasn't announced any plans to eliminate mailed CD singles at this point.

Still, it is Sony, which is pioneering digital delivery, that is taking the brunt of radio criticism.

As Jaymes suggests, the digital delivery may just add a layer to PDs' already busy day.

The programmers' primary concerns center on inconvenience and time involved in having to download every single. If they want a CD copy to play in music meetings or to listen to in their cars rather than on their office computer speakers, there is an additional step of having to burn one themselves.

"While most programmers will faithfully download and burn new singles from superstars, I fear singles from new artists will sit on a server for weeks before someone at the station does something with it," KSON San Diego assistant PD/music director Greg Frey says. "That's a lot of lost listens that labels need for their new acts."

KPLX (the Wolf) Dallas assistant PD Smokey Rivers is concerned about efficient use of time. "If Nashville's major complaint about radio is the fact that radio doesn't have time to listen to music, then why add another obstacle to getting your music heard?"

KRTY San Jose, Calif., assistant PD Nate Deaton calls digital distribution "more of a pain than a help . . . with the level of competition right now, any extra steps necessary just make songs easier to overlook."

In making music decisions, Deaton says, "I play what is on my desk. If it is not there, it is certainly possible I won't get up to look for it."

Addressing concerns that his music might go unheard, Pareigis says it will be the job of his regional team to ensure that doesn't happen.

"I'm not taking human beings out of this process at all," he says. "Our plan is to make everybody's life easier, not harder."

Still, many programmers are concerned about the potential inconvenience of downloading.

WCTK Providence, R.I., music director Sam Stevens says, "I'm much more likely to pop a CD in the player at my desk to listen to it than to log on, put in a password, wait for it to buffer and finally play. Plus, when we're going for adds, I always look at the CDs in the stack. If a song is somewhere on my hard drive where it's not physically visible, I'm apt to forget it's there."

HOW IT WORKS

Pareigis admits the idea to switch to digital delivery initially came from a meeting about "budget line items." But he insists the move is not only about cost savings.

"We're living in an era where doing business is not getting any less expensive," he says. "I just want to make sure we remain competitive. I want to take the money [saved] and apply it elsewhere."

To access new singles, programmers will receive an e-card directing them to a Web site where a broadcast-quality version of the song can be downloaded.

"I would never in a million years think of spending thousands and thousands of dollars to create music and then send it out to radio and our consumers on little dinky files," Pareigis says of the audio quality radio can expect.

Clear Channel and other broadcast groups that already have company-wide digital music delivery protocols will receive the music on those systems as well. And programmers will also be e-mailed a lower-quality MP3 version of the song to use as a reference copy.

Pareigis insists that with six months of lead time, his staff will make every effort to help radio understand the process and work with it to help build the necessary infrastructure. "We're not going to leave anybody hanging," he says, hinting that Sony will be providing reporting stations with some equipment.

He cites findings from radio research company Tunecom that more than 94% of reporting stations are already on broadband. For the remaining 6%, and for non-reporters, Pareigis notes that Sony's music will continue to appear on the CDX and Promo Only CD compilations those stations receive.

Some music directors are pleased by Sony's move.

"I welcome digital distribution," WKLB Boston assistant PD/music director Ginny Rogers says. "It's simply an adjustment in our routine . . . We barely have any CDs in the studio, and the air personalities are able to work more efficiently without having to cue up or organize CDs.

"The negative [aspect] is when the network is down all day due to a virus and I can't access anything via the Internet or e-mail," Rogers adds. "It doesn't happen that often, but Murphy's Law says it'll happen when a big single is due in."

KZLA Los Angeles assistant PD/ music director Tonya Campos is another supporter. "We are taking the necessary steps to be set up to adjust to this change, and in a lot of ways it will be beneficial," she says.

Gwen Foster, music director of KNIX Phoenix and sister KUSS San Diego, was expecting this move. "KNIX is set up for digital delivery, and it will be an easy process for us," she says. "For music meetings, we can listen to singles off the hard drive just as [easily] as on a CD single."

Campos and Rogers cite as a plus the potential time saved by not having to wait at the mail room for an overnight package containing the latest superstar single and not having to track down those packages if they are misdirected.

Foster has one suggestion for Sony. "I often listen to CDs in my car and at home," she says. "After the initial digital delivery, labels should think about accommodating programmers who like to do this. It often works to their benefit.

"I'm also one of those folks who likes to know who wrote and produced a song," she adds, "so I would like to get that information from the labels."

Some programmers are philosophical about the switch.

"We survived the end of 45s in 1989, so I think we'll survive the end of CD singles by 2005," says WWYZ Hartford, Conn., music director Jay Thomas.

"Digital distribution is kind of like e-mail was in the early '90s," Rogers says. "Some people had it, some didn't, but eventually it became the norm once we were comfortable with the process."

A MIXED REACTION

Most programmers, however, haven't yet achieved that comfort level with Sony's plan.

KMPS Seattle music director Tony Thomas asks, "Is anyone in radio asking for a switch to digital downloads? Other than wanting access to a big release as soon as possible, I haven't heard anyone on the radio side saying they would prefer downloads.

"Should radio be offered more digital downloads? I'd be excited to see that," Thomas adds. "But I think it would be best in concert with CD service until we all see how this shakes out."

WOKO Burlington, Vt., music director Margot St. John also sees both sides of the issue. "On the one hand, I'm all about being friendly to the environment, so the obvious upside is less plastic, less transportation, less packaging and [less] waste," she says. "On the other hand, I love the portability of the CD. I like seeing the cover art, and I always look at the writers and producers for familiar names and sometimes peruse the lyrics."

WSLC's Jaymes also has practical concerns. "I already have to stand in line to get a production studio, and that's just to crank out a promo," she says. "I can just see me going to the production director, who is on a deadline to get a spot done, and me saying, 'Dude, I want to copy a song to CD so I can listen to it in my car!' "

But, as KSCS Dallas assistant PD/ music director Chris Huff says, you can't stop progress.

"It is going to take some getting used to," he says. "The problems, however, are all relatively minor, and I am all for the shift to digital delivery. It's where everything is heading. I know my home CD player has been gathering dust. Our audience is shifting to it—so should we."