Dying Rock Radio Leave Metal Promoters Searching For New Outlets

MercuryNews.com has an article about a [SF]Bay-area radio station switching from hard rock and metal to Spanish-language format and its impact on promoting metal shows in that area. The subject is all too familiar as one of DC's local alternative rock stations, WHFS (well known for the HFS-tival) also switched over to Spanish-language format unexpectedly. While promoters may be scratching their heads about what to do, it should really be no surprise as most radio stations are owned by a few media giants (cush as Clear Channel), who answer only to the almighty dollar.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

KSJO-FM, the Bay Area's only radio station that played the hard rock and heavy-metal music preferred by head bangers, has concert promoters scratching, not banging, their heads.

How do you reach the audience that would buy tickets for a hard-core concert such as Slipknot and Lamb of God (which went on sale Saturday for an April 12 HP Pavilion show), or Ozzfest, or Nickelback, if no station is playing the music?

"It's a challenge,'' says Rick Mueller, who books shows for Bill Graham Presents. "Advertising is all about repetition. When U2 comes to town, even though it will be sold out, stations will be promoting it all the time.

After 35 years as a rock station, KSJO changed to a Spanish-language format last fall. In the past, the station would have promoted this show heavily, giving away tickets and playing BGP's ads.

Now Mueller and his staff are looking for other ways to reach this niche market.

"We can use outlying radio stations in Sacramento, Modesto and Stockton,'' he says. "But that may not be best for a weeknight show. We are focused more on Internet word of mouth. Sites like www.myspace.com and www.blabbermouth.net reach the metal community.

Harlan Fray, who handles marketing for Slipknot's New York-based record label, Roadrunner Records, sees the lack of a hard rock station in the Bay Area as a handicap for this show, but as crippling for some others.

"We've got a date on Sunday as a football team and we've just lost a key offensive lineman,'' he says. "Radio is an important part of an all-encompassing marketing push, but for a band like Slipknot, the street is more important. They never got much radio play, and they'll do well with or without it.''

However, he adds, his label's biggest-selling band, Nickelback, which has sold 10 million albums, compared to about 4 million for Slipknot, probably wouldn't even play the Bay Area without heavy radio support.

Although he is monitoring Slipknot ticket sales, Mueller isn't worried and says shows such as Ozzfest will prosper even with less radio advance. Slipknot has sold from 3,000 to 5,000 on the first day of sales in markets such as Hartford, Detroit and Philadelphia. The band sold fewer than 1,000 tickets opening weekend for the San Jose show.

But Mueller notes that other metal bands, such as Pantera, received little radio support but still sold well, with many of the tickets bought close to the date of the show as word of mouth built.

Still, "in 2004, KSJO would have been the one getting the snowball rolling, building momentum,'' Mueller says. "The question for us now is how do we get the ball rolling?''

Read the full article at Mercury News.