Atlantic Hopes To Get Tori Amos On Air By Grounding Promo In Personal Stints
by Eric Boehlert, Promotions and Marketing
NEW YORK -- "Bottom line: 1992, it's tougher than ever to get records on the radio," says Danny Buch, Atlantic Records VP of promotion. "That's why you have to go to stations with intelligent (promotional) packages in order to get them interested."
Buch and Atlantic have begun offering just such a package to radio stations in the form of Tori Amos as she tours the country through September. Rather than shuttle Amos off to station studios for interviews, however, the label is offering to set up in-home and in-office performances for contest winners.
In Minneapolis, where KDWB PD Mark Bolke is going after in-office listening, Amos agreed to play the workplace of the station's contest winner -- the Northwest Airlines cafeteria.
In Indianapolis, where WZPL has not yet added Amos' "Crucify" single, the station is sponsoring an outdoor, lunchtime show downtown at City Market. Buch hopes to set up other radio shows in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Grand Rapids, Mich., among other markets, as the tour progresses.
John Dimick, PD at KISN Salt Lake City, is mulling over an Amos promotion when she comes to town in late August. The go-ahead will depend on how well the single performs.
Although Dimich says he added the record on the basis of strong sales, he is wary of going over his listeners' heads by packaging a promotion around a relatively unfamiliar artist. But if call-out research proves successful, Dimick says he will welcome Amos and any other innovative artist promotions.
"The record industry is always thinking about what's best for the single, not what's best for radio stations," he says. Dimick enjoys studio visits by touring artists, but would prefer to "let me listeners touch them."
Is the radio-friendly approach working for Atlantic? "The record is still alive," says Buch.
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video from Tori's performance in the NW Airlines cafeteria in Minneapolis
Crucify
Happy Phantom
Silent All These Years
t o r i p h o r i a tori amos digital archive yessaid.com
