First Things First on your First Track

Hit me with your best shot.

In the beginning…

Who’s on first?

Let’s do a role model exercise.

You’re a radio programmer, a music critic, music blogger, arts writer/reporter, a concert booker, and you get 50 CDs a week from artists hoping for airplay, a review or a feature article.

You are devoted to your listeners, readers, followers and audiences, and want to give them something good to listen to, so you take these CD mailings very seriously.

50 CDs in a week – that’s a lot of listening and auditioning. And by the way that’s just one aspect of your busy week.  And you’re on deadline.

Will you listen to each track on every CD from beginning to end?

No. 

That’s a lot of listening and auditioning. And by the way that’s just one aspect of your busy week.  And you’re on deadline. (Is there an echo in here?)

What I’m about to say applies to composers and performers of all genres – but let’s just say we’re talking to composers.

Some auditioners give each track about 10 - 15 seconds of listening before they decide to keep listening or to move on to the next track. This is especially true with Rock, Pop and Jazz formats.

And heads up: if they’re not interested by track 4 or 5, they will very likely skip tracks 6 -18.

Just as you have about 30 seconds to make an impression with your short bio and your elevator pitch, you have 4 - 5 tracks to move and impress the decision maker make the decision to play your music.

I’ve worked with multiple performers and ensembles to find the best way to order the music on their new CD.  It’s a struggle.

Ultimately, we put the best piece or the best performance first because we knew that the decision maker gets 50 CDs a week, and that’s a lot of listening and auditioning. It’s just one aspect of their busy week.  And they’re on deadline. (There IS an echo in here.)

You want to get your music out there: so on your new CD project, who and what is on first?