“Codes and Keys” is the latest album from Atlantic recording act Death Cab for Cutie, and the band is already out on the road promoting it and no doubt earning box office receipts and merchandising income while they’re at it. They can’t help but note the assistance they are getting from radio airplay.
Death Cab started 8/1/11 in Boston. It’ll take a break from the road throughout most of September and then get back out there, eventually making its way to Seattle WA10/22/11 with many stops in between.
The band is pulling out a lot of marketing stops, offering ticket deals to fan club members and hitching up with numerous special guests at many of their tour stops.
Is radio a part of the mix? So it would seem. A song called “Stay Young” is being promoted as the next single off of their new album. And according to Atlantic, “Meanwhile, “You Are A Tourist,” the album’s first single, has proven a multi-format radio smash, reaching #1 at both Triple A and Modern Rock outlets nationwide — DCFC’s first-ever #1 at the latter format.”
RBR-TVBR observation: This is the way it should be – radio and recording artists working together for the mutual benefit of all. In fact, this is the way it always has been, without so much of the current bad blood. Both radio and recording are facing challenging economic times – and the two should be working together to move toward a new era of profitability.
Radio gets it – but in the current situation, radio would. It is the music industry that is attacking its natural business partner in an effort to fix unrelated revenue problems that stem purely from its failure to adapt swiftly and effectively to the internet revolution.
Clearly recording companies still place a high value on airplay. It would be great if they would go back to accepting that as an excellent quid pro quo for providing program material for radio stations.
Or maybe the future paradigm will be that radio stations consider the spin of a single as a three-minute advertisement and charge accordingly. We don’t think that’s where the recording industry wants to go.
