jacobsmedia.com - Open Letter To The Record Industry

This memo was initially sent to Jacobs Media clients as an advisory on the George Harrison premiere via AOL. However, we determined that the issue was much larger than simply a "song" and felt that in addition to providing the note to clients, we'd also provide it to the industry. This was printed in R&R.

TO:

FROM:

DATE:

RE:

All Classic Rock/Mainstream Clients

Fred Jacobs

October 28, 2002

GEORGE HARRISON’S NEW SINGLE – "STUCK INSIDE A CLOUD"

Some of you may know that Capitol Records has cut one of those AOL First Listen deals for George Harrison’s new single "Stuck Inside A Cloud." This means that approximately 35 million AOL subscribers now have access to this song – and you technically do not. Apparently, Capitol is planning on servicing radio on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.

This may not bother you in the least. And you may hear the song and decide that it’s not to your liking anyway. However, if this particular song isn’t a big issue, the next one very well could be. We think there are many different options for you to take here, and we recommend you consider choosing one of these (or maybe more):

We do not feel we can or should (legally) send you the Mp3 of the song. Tim has pulled it down, and as you know, it’s a tricky procedure, but your IT person can probably pull off. Please also realize that AOL has inserted "AOL Music, First Listen" voiceovers at two points during the song. Obviously, this makes it more challenging for radio. At any rate, download, burn, and play at your own risk.
Let Capitol (and other labels) know how you feel about this maneuver. While it’s true that a million or more AOL subscribers will hear the song in the next day or so, only radio will (in theory) play it for weeks and weeks. If Capitol (and other labels) don’t place a value on your airplay, that should tell you something about where things are headed.
Drop other Capitol product. We’ve never liked this option because listeners get screwed and it creates divisive relationships with the label. We don’t recommend you do this, but it is leverage nonetheless.
Don’t play the song when it’s officially serviced to your station. Of course, that’s always an option you have.
Do nothing. You may not feel this is a significant issue.

This isn’t a good trend. Obviously, labels are looking for other options for breaking new music, beyond the traditional (read "radio") outlets. Reminding them of the power of your audience and our medium right now strikes us as a wise play.