11/02/03 DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?

[Marilyn]

Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« on: November 02, 2003, 11:04:37 PM »   

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Dear Mr. DJ: Will You Play Clay for Us?
by Sheri Liles (2003/10/30) 

The eagerly awaited first CD "Measure of a Man" by American Idol star Clay Aiken debuted last week as # 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, after having sold a phenomenal 613,000 copies. According to Billboard Magazine, it was the second best selling CD for first week sales for a new artist in Soundscan history. It was also the third highest selling CD for first week sales of any artist this year. Based on outstanding first day sales, RCA, Aiken’s record label, shipped two million copies, assuring double platinum status which is based on shipments rather than sales. 

Aiken’s first single "This is the Night" sold over 900,000 copies and was the second highest selling single in history. It debuted at #1 on the Top 100 Single Chart, spending two weeks at that position, and spending 16 weeks at # 1 on the Sales Charts. It was certified platinum after only 37 days on the charts. Aiken’s second single, "Invisible", though not released as a single for sale, has been released for radio play. As of this writing, it has not charted.So how does a single selling as many copies as "This is the Night" only spend two weeks at the top of the charts while being the best selling single for 16 weeks? How does a single such as "Invisible", from one of the best selling albums of the year, fail to chart?

It has to do with radio play. Or, in this case, lack of radio play. Billboard chart positions are determined by a combination of sales and radio play. There is no question that Aiken has the sales. However, disc jockeys and radio program managers have been resistant to playing Aiken’s songs on radio effectively limiting his charting opportunities. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons that have been offered for this.

The songs do not fit our format. It is understandable that if your radio station plays only hip hop, rap, oldies, or country Aiken’s songs would not be a good fit. However, this excuse has been rendered by stations that play Celine Dion, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Daniel Beddingfield, and others of the same ilk. It is inconceivable that Aiken’s music would not fit here.

We have had no requests for him. I find that doubtful. Aiken has a wide range of fans of all ages and walks of life and they are requesting. They are calling and e-mailing every day and they are becoming frustrated at the lack of response from the radio stations. They are voting on your countdowns and they are almost begging you to play Clay. We are tired of fans e-mailing and calling requesting Clay. Make up your minds. What better way to know who is listening than through calls and e-mails. Don’t you want to play what your listeners want to hear? Don’t you want to increase your listener base?

He has a questionable personal persona. Okay, I’m trying to be nicer than some of you have been. He’s not macho. He has also said he is not what some of you have accused him of being. My question is how is that relevant to his music?We are waiting for the large markets to play him, or, once he is on the chart, we will put him on our playlist. Oh, come on, live a little. Be a trendsetter. He is not a legitimate artist because he came from American Idol and he didn’t even win. Three words: Mickey Mouse Club. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera are alumni of the Mickey Mouse Club with Britney and Justin also spending some time on Star Search along with Leann Rimes where they didn’t win either. All of them are considered legitimate artists and enjoy extensive air play.

He is not a legitimate artist because he did not pay his dues. Aiken answered this on a recent AOL Sessions interview where he said that anybody out there today would have taken a shortcut two years ago if the opportunity had been presented to them. He did pay dues by subjecting himself to public humiliation week after week on American Idol. He sang beautifully each week, took criticism as a man (in the words of Simon), and learned and improved from it, all while other contestants received "pass-throughs" while exhibiting lesser talent.

He is not a legitimate artist because he doesn’t play an instrument. Oh, yes he does: his voice. As Aiken said to Jay Leno, "I just sang. Isn’t that enough?"He is not a legitimate artist because he doesn’t write songs. Do most actors write screenplays? Do directors act? Do all songwriters sing?

"Invisible" is a stalker song. A stalker song? "Every Little Breath You Take" by the Police is a stalker song. "Invisible" is about unrequited love. This excuse is laughable considering the lyrics of the songs that do enjoy extensive airplay. Have you ever listened to P.I.M.P or Get Low? Thank goodness, the vocals are so bad that the lyrics are not easily understood. There are some disc jockeys who understand the phenomenon of Clay.

JoJo Wright of KIIS FM in Los Angeles has embraced Clay Aiken fans, and they have embraced him. The Bolt Babes of the Bolt Clay Aiken message board have even named JoJo as a honorary Bolt Babe. JoJo loves to play Clay’s songs and recently had Clay in the studio for an interview. JoJo further endeared himself to fans by telling Clay that he was truly a genuine person who he didn’t see changing in the future. As a result, Clay Aiken fans tune in to listen to JoJo every night through internet streaming, increasing his listening audience by the thousands.

It is apparent that fans want to hear Clay Aiken on the radio. It is also apparent that radio does not want to play him. Clay’s music is different from the status quo on the radio and seemingly poses a threat. His songs feature melodies with understandable lyrics. He sings of love rather than sex. He sings of morals rather than depravity. He sings of romance rather than violence. His music reaches the hearts of his fans and they want to hear him on the radio. Fans want to see his songs on the chart because they deserve to be there.

There are hundreds of thousands of fans who buy his CDs, who buy the magazines that feature him, who flock to his concerts, who will watch any obscure TV show just to see him, and who will tune into your radio stations to hear him - if you would just play Clay. And if you won’t play Clay, the next thing you hear will be the sound of thousands of fans turning the radio dial to stations that do play Clay - or turning on their CD players.

LINK
 
 

[Marilyn]

songbird457
Guest
  DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2003, 12:41:45 AM »   

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Interesting....
Hmm, I am not quite sure what to say. Did this similar debate come up when Kelly won the AMerican Idol title last year? Did they play Justin (as the runner up) on radio? How come we don't hear Ruben? - These are all questions that entered my head as I read that article.
I guess I am confused by what the author said. She states there are no requests made for Clay, yet they are tired of the emails and phone calls? Maybe America is looking for something out of the ordinary in today's music. I am in full support of Clay and the music he is producing. I don't connect as well with today's music as I used to and I am 26 years old.
I turn on the stations now that do play Clay's songs - which happen to be stations with a wide variety of todays hits and yesterdays classics so to speak. Maybe this makes me old. I don't know. All I know is that with the huge fan base that Clay has acquired, I think he has just as much of a chance at stardom as Britney and Justin Timberlake, etc.
Has not paid his dues? Um hello. Double platinum! And yes he wasn't the AMerican Idol, but the winner of the title for Season 2 has not released his own album yet. I hope for Ruben's sucess to be as big as Clay's because he deserves it too.
Maybe I've missed the boat here, but I think Clay deserves all the credit he can get. Being a singer myself, he has inspired me to put my all into everything I do - especially my music. And whatever becomes of Clay Aiken is in God's hands. He has said so himself. But for now, I hope we can continue to let Clay shine in the music industry and maybe even if it is just for a short time, he can continue his mission of remaining true to himself, his friends, family and his fans.

[Marilyn]

sharon
Guest
  DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2003, 02:00:46 PM »   

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What a pathetic list of excuses!
Unfortunately, this just demonstrates further how our country has gotten so off track on values and what is really important.  That a moral man of Clay's integrity and incredible principles and a God given talent to reach the world can be put on a back burner with radio stations is sad.  It has been a long time since young people or any of us have had a role model  that is truly deserving of our love and support....so I say that we all get together somehow - a petition maybe - and make our voices heard all over this country!  Sharon
 
 

[Marilyn]

thanku_clay
Guest
  DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2003, 03:17:15 PM »   

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Pamela.
I just copied and pasted the post  " Dear Mr DJ Will You Play Clay For Us!" and emailed it to a radio station in Wichita,Ks. (I'm from Ks.). I rarely hear them play it...but ,maybe this will help!!!
I will let you know!!  :

[Marilyn]

claylady
Guest
  DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2003, 04:27:11 PM »   

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Over the weekend, I e-mailed my local radio station WDOK in Cleveland about them not playing OCB.  It just seems like a coincidence to me but on my way home from work today I heard TITN on my station.  I'm sure I didn't have anything to do with it but it was funny since I haven't heard Clay on the radio in months.  I think we shoud all keep e-mailing the radio stations until they are so sick of hearing from us that they'll have to listen to make us stop.
 

[Marilyn]

Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
Enthusiastic

Posts: 17,530



      DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2003, 05:22:24 PM »   

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There's a fine line between being assertive and getting your voice heard, and irritating the DJs.  First of all, you need to understand that the DJs themselves do not decide what songs are played on their station.

The Program Directors and the record companies work together to get air play for songs.  However, we still need to request because without a demand, there will be no supply.

It's a good habit to call or email your local AC and CHR/Pop stations once a day to request Invisible.  If you hear them play it, call and thank them for playing it.

Sometimes humor works well!  Here is an excerpt from a story found on another message board:

Quick history - after Romeo (Z100 - NY) let TITN be #1 on his countdown for 2 weeks last summer, he kicked us off and held a funeral for TITN. Not very nice. Since we were all new to this fandom thing at that point - ALOT - like hundreds - of people sent him angry emails and he got a bit annoyed.  This time, INVISIBLE never even made it to #1 and then suddenly one day it was off his countdown.

But we'd leaned our lesson. So, instead of an angry email I sent a funny one. You have to know the song Stacy's Mom and understand that Romeo has had that as #1 for about 2and 1/2 months. When people call in he asks them if they're a mom? Do they have a daughter named Stacy, etc.

So, I sent him an email:

Dear Romeo,

We have a problem. Stacy's mom keeps throwing all her red thongs at Clay. If we can get her to send them to you instead, can we have INVISIBLE back on the countdown? Thanks.

He emailed me right back. Said "HAHAHAHAHAH. I Love it. Keep voting!

And an idea was born ...So over the last week, we collected 63 red thongs and panties - had people send them to Shar (Romeo's assistant). We included a copy of MoaM with a note: (note: nippy is one of Romeo's favorite words ) Shar spritzed the whole thing with SpaceNK (Clay's cologne) and sealed it with a kiss.

Dear Romeo,

Summer's quickly fading into a hot memory, the autumn air is getting nippy, and it's time for a change. Every night the sinner and the saint battle within me as I listen to Romeo on the Radio.

I hear you looking for me each time you take a call. Well, Romeo, it's time for me to become INVISIBLE.

I'm sending you these as a parting gift. Please show me the true measure of a man tonight.

I've been on top long enough. This is the Night to let Clay take over as the #1 Most requested Song in NYC. You know he's the one who really has it going on.

With love,
Stacy's Mom

Well, Romeo got his present today and I got an email from him this afternoon. He said:

Yes baby!!! Are they used? Hehehehehe Look for video on
www.romeoontheradio.com soon!!
Thanks so much, you guys are a trip!
Romeo

Tonight, when he announced Invisible at #6 on the countdown
he said thank you ladies for the panties.  And what comes of it all is some goodwill, a few laughs, and hopeful more airplay for Invisible!

[Marilyn]

Anita
DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2003, 06:12:40 PM »   

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I had read this article Sunday Nov 1, on another site, and it really bothered me, so I decided to really pay attention to my radio station today.  My station is WMGC (magic) out of Detroit , MI. and it is a today's hits and yesterdays classics format. The morning show with lots of talk, did not play Clay at all, the 10:30 -3pm played TITN once, and the 3-7 ( I only listened till 5) played Invisible once. So starting tomorrow I will call each program and request Clay to see if that gets him more air time.  I wish I was as witty as the lady with the red thongs but I will be upbeat and positive when I make my request.

[Marilyn]

Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
Enthusiastic

Posts: 17,530



      DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #7 on: November 03, 2003, 09:58:42 PM »   

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Anita that's interesting.  If you go to Radio & Records and plug in your station WMGC, it shows that Invisible was added to their playlist on 10/19, and, that they played it 17 times during the week ending 10/25!

For anyone who is interested:  that website linked above might help you be more aware of what your local stations are playing.  Obviously we can't listen to the radio 24 hrs a day, so some stations may be playing Invisible and we're just not hearing it!

So check it out.  Click on the link and then enter your local station call letters in the 'Jump to station' box.  Click 'Go' and your station will appear as a clickable link.  If you click on that link, it will show you the playlist and the number of times each song was played during the reported week.

Isn't this waaay more information than you ever wanted to know about radio?   : 

But, as part of Clay's 'Street Team' I guess knowledge = power!
 
 
 

[Marilyn]

 Fiona Frith
Guest
  DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #8 on: November 04, 2003, 04:54:35 PM »   

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I live in Canada, so I count on the internet to get my information about Clay. I wish they would also play him on the radio. I think Clay was given a raw deal, regarding American Idol HE SHOULD HAVE WON. He has a voice so beautiful, I cannot get enough of him. I would like to have his music videos but I do not know if he has them out yet or where to get them.  I would like to see Clay on TV more.  Does anybody know if we can get a video of the Tour he was on in the summer.
I think Clay is hot!!! in looks and in voice. Keep going Clay this is one Canadian fan who is behind you all the way. Someday I would like to meet him.
 

 
 

[Marilyn]

Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
 DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #9 on: November 04, 2003, 06:08:13 PM »   

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Fiona, if you would like to see Clay's video for 'Invisible' just click HERE then click on 'Invisible video.'

You don't have to download it; just click and enjoy

[Marilyn]

Anita
DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #10 on: November 04, 2003, 09:34:26 PM »   

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Pam-thanks for the info on the Radio play list. I am surprised but very pleased that my local station is playing Clay more often than I thought.
But I will still continue to request him, because I can't get enough.

[Marilyn]

Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #11 on: November 05, 2003, 10:43:44 AM »   

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Is anyone in or near Olympia, WA? 

MIXX96 has Clay listed as #1 on their Top 20 chart

[Marilyn]

cjrmax
Guest
  DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #12 on: November 06, 2003, 10:59:06 AM »   

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Pamela - What do all the columns mean for the radio play lists?  I put in the one station I have heard "Invisible" on (WMWX) and under "LW" on the left hand side it said 3.  Under "TW" on the left hand side it said 15.  Then on the right hand side under "TA" it said 1312 and under "Add Date" there was nothing!  I know I have heard it more than 3 or 15 times but I would doubt its been played 1312 times!  And, apparently, it has yet to be added to their playlist!  This was all for the period ending 11/1/03.  I would appreciate your help in interpreting all this!
 

 

[Marilyn]

Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
DEAR MR DJ: WILL YOU PLAY CLAY FOR US?
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2003, 11:32:11 AM »   

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cjrmax

TW - this week
LW - last week

I'm not sure what the TA signifies.  I looked at your station and noticed they played Invisible 3 times last week and 15 times this week!  That's great!  I also notice they haven't 'officially' added it to their playlist yet.

That's the goal - to get Clay added to the playlist of our local stations.  It's truly a song that would fit into the format of both adult contemporary as well as pop. 

So keep calling in those requests!  And if you can find an email addy on your local station website, send an email request to the program director.  We can't let Invisible lose momentum, because once it's lost I think it's probably difficult to get it back.  Having the video on MTV and VH1 rotation will help as well.