SOLITAIRE? THE WAY? WILL SOMEONE HAND ME A GUN?

[Pamela]

GOOD GRIEF!

I'm receiving PMs and emails, I'm seeing frustration in many posts, and I think I even heard someone screaming all the way from PA!   :
Yes I know it hurts, yes I know you're scared, walking down the road that leads to WHO KNOWS WHERE?  :mrgreen:
I'm going to tell you what I know, what I've heard, what I wish and make up the rest, OK?   :
Hold on, here we go.

The Way was released to CHR/Pop radio several weeks ago.  It tanked.
So don't waste your time requesting The Way at your local pop stations.
The single was released commercially on March 16.  On March 17, Clay sang Solitaire on AI.  It was a triumphant performance, spectacular in every way.  It resulted in many, many paid Internet downloads, which resulted in it's debut at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The Way was released to AC radio for adds on March 22.  Only four days later, on March 26, BILLBOARD printed an article that stated

“"Solitaire" sold more paid digital downloads than "The Way," enough to debut on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart at No. 19, while "The Way" did not make the chart. Finally, RCA stopped promoting "The Way" to radio, deciding to push "Solitaire" instead."

According to correspondence with one AC music director, and I quote

“up til about 2 weeks ago, "The Way" was going to be the next single. And, we were considering it. But, at the last minute, the record company pulled it.  I don't have an explanation why, other than maybe it wasn't doing anything on Top 40 radio.”

(I don’t know what 'the record company pulled it’ means.)  

Solitaire is going for AC radio adds on April 12.  In an article posted today in the ANN Clay is quoted as saying in regards to this subject:

“You know, I don't really know. That's become really interesting
to me, too. (Repeats question to his publicist.) I think that it's
actually "Solitaire" that we're working on now - on adult
contemporary radio, anyway. I don't think that any Top 40 radio
stations are gonna play that.
OCR: But the video is for "The Way," and that's what's charting high
on "TRL."

Clay: Right, but two times now "Solitaire" has just gotten such a big
response. The first time we recorded it was to put it on the album,
but that recording came out so good that we decided to put it out on
the (single), just because of fan support. And then we got so much
fan support for it this time, we decided that maybe we should just
scrap "The Way" and push "Solitaire."

Now, a little bit about radio.  What is the difference in the formats?  Perhaps we can tell by the artists they play.
The top five artists on the R&R pop chart are:  Britney, Usher, Evanescence, Maroon 5 and Jessica Simpson.  
The top five artists on the R&R HOT AC chart are:  Evanescence, Maroon 5, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down and No Doubt.
The top five artists on the R&R mainstream AC chart are:   Josh Groban, Sheryl Crow, Dido, Five for Fighting and Shania Twain.  

OK, maybe not.
For comparison purposes, Invisible did moderately well on Pop radio, but it’s been off the pop charts for quite a while now.  It’s not on the R&R AC chart either, but it is #40 on the R&R HOT AC chart and #16 on the Billboard AC chart after 24 weeks.  Is anyone still requesting Invisible?  

Chart overload, I know, but it seems to be the only way to define success for a song.  Chart placement and units sold.

My first instinct is to say to request Solitaire on AC because that’s where it’s going for adds.  It must get added to the playlist before it will ever get enough spins to chart.  Which brings us to requesting.  Here’s some more correspondence I’ve received lately.  This is from a  pop station DJ in response to someone who wrote him because the station would not play Clay, but they do feature the video for The Way on their website.  

“Hey B___!

Booo! That sucks that you are upset we aren’t really playing Clay. We have him on our website because our listeners like him. We have a lot of stuff on our website that isn’t on the air. If you want to hear more Clay Aiken then you have to request him. Our station’s music is based on requests. So you gotta email Albie, or call the request line. Also, you can join our Rate The Music program and actually tell us how much you love or hate our station and that goes directly into the music request database.

You can join here!
www.hot995.com/magazine/_...emusic.php
Thanks for listening!
And request Clay!

And then someone else sent me this bit of correspondence from a music director at an AC station, in response to ‘are you going to play The Way?’”

At the moment, no, because we haven't added it.  I'm going to check around to see what other stations are doing.  I'd much prefer to play that one than "Solitaire". In the meantime, could you tell the Clay people to chill on the e-mails. That does NOT create more spins for the song, contrary to popular belief.  At least on Adult Contemporary radio.    Maybe that works on Top 40 radio. I just delete them, because no ONE song or artist generates that much attention in our format.

So this apparently means that pop radio wants requests, but AC radio does not.  Isnt' this fun?   :

If you are still with me, I hereby award you a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
Eat it, you'll need the sugar to stay awake for the next part.

Now, I'm no expert and all this info is making my eyes bleed.  The best I can do is tell you what I think.  Hopefully, with all this information, we can have a discussion and each of us decide what we are comfortable with and what works best for us personally.

I think many radio people are sick of us, so we must respect their positions (even though they may not respect us.)  Take the high road!  

I think we should request whatever we want, whether it be Solitaire, The Way or even Invisible.  (Someone still is!) I think we need to stay the course with requesting, but be a little more moderate in our methods.  I think we should only request at stations we actually listen to. I think we should learn which of our local stations are considered pop or adult contemporary.  I think we should sign up for the Rate the Music links at our local station's websites, or join whatever 'member' clubs they advertise on their sites.  I think we should emphasize our support for stations that do play Clay; patronize their advertisers and let them know why.  I think we should request no more than once a day on the appropriate stations.  I think we should thank them when we do hear them play a Claysong, whether it be Solitaire, The Way or even Invisible.  I think we should present ourselves as responsible adults, not swooning fangirls. Or guys.  :

The bottom line is, we can't make them do anything, but we can never let them forget we are out here.  

OK ready, DISCUSS!

[lorraine]

O.K. PAM I GUESS I MUST BE THE FIRST TO DISCUSS THIS.  AFTER READING ALL OF THE ARTICLE I FIRST WAS UPSET THAT "THE WAY" DID NOT DO WELL ON THE RADIO STATIONS.  FROM ALL PREVIOUS REPORTS THAT I READ WHEN "THE WAY" WAS COMING OUT THAT IT WOULD DO FANTASTIC.  I PERSONALLY LOVE THAT SONG.  BOTTOM LINE IS LIKE YOU SAID WE CANNOT LET THEM FORGET THAT WE ARE OUT HERE.  I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF RADIO STATIONS THAT I CAN MAKE REQUESTS BUT THEY WILL ONLY DO IT AFTER 9:00 P.M. AT NIGHT.  I LOVE CLAYS MUSIC AND IT BOTHERS ME THAT RADIO STATIONS REFUSE TO PLAY HIS MUSIC AND YET SALES ARE UNBELIEVABLE AND HIS CONCERTS SOLD OUT.  IT JUST SEEMS THAT RADIO STATIONS CAN CONTROL WHETHER AN ARTIST MAKES IT OR NOT.  AS ALWAYS YOU KEEP OUR FEET ON THE GROUND AND HELP US SORT THIS OUT.  WE WILL FOLLOW YOUR DIRECTION.........


LORRAINE

[reeree]

hey there pamela,  as a matter of fact i called today my local ACstation  the one i faithfully listen to at work and the dj in the 9 to 2 slot told me that they are not releasing it as a single... i said what I have 4 of them and i know it went for airplay a couple of weeks ago, and she told me the program director has been told of the many requests they have had...although in their defense they have played invisiable everyday, and I thanked her for her time and maybe soon I will hear solitaire, i figure if we get to know each other on a first name basis, she'll remember me if clay ever comes to town : as the greatest fan in chattanooga...their are several radio station managers that come in the credit union where i work and know what a big(crazy) fan i am, and say if clay ever comes to chattanooga their gonna hook me up.... i'll do what i can for clay's music to be heard, go figure on the rest of the confusion , it sounds as if clay is somewhat confused tooo...  :?  thanks for all your hard work....wheew grab a glass of tea and relax..... maria

[ACcountryFan]

:arrow: "Invisible" being at #16 on Billboard's AC chart is strictly based on radio programmers at Billboard-monitored AC stations having the song in medium rotation and each airplay turns up as an "impression" in their database. actually, the single should be viewed as a "re-current" and not still be on the chart anymore because the single is half a year old...26 weeks out of 52 weeks in a year the single has been on the AC chart. a recurrent, in case those don't know, is a single that's not a current single but is still popular for whatever reason. Top-40 radio rarely ever plays re-currents. they play only the new singles in the Top-40...once they're out of the Top-40 or they stop playing the song without explanation, that's that, that's why there's so many one-hit wonders in pop music to be honest with you. it has nothing to do with sales or lack of requests. it has to do with what act the radio station wants to support at that moment.

the comment from that guy who stated that "at the last minute the record company pulled it" means that RCA stopped promoting "The Way" as the a-side and changed their mind and is now promoting "Solitaire".

pulled it is their jargon for RCA not promoting or advertising something already on the market. example: "RCA pulled the single off radio and replaced it with Solitaire" should have been how that guy said what he was trying to say. so, what are we suppose to do? not request his songs? wait until AC radio plays "Solitaire" on their own?

i feel like we're just at the beginning of a long cat and mouse game and here's why: if we DON'T request the song they can always say they aren't playing it because we didn't call for it...or if we DO request the song they can always say that we're being over-zealous, rude, or obnoxious and ultimately ignore us...so what to do?

how long can AC radio or Top-40 radio go without playing the #1 selling singles artist and NOT suffer because of it? there's room for everybody...but i did get a little upset that on today's TRL show the #2 video was yet another display of sleaze and sure enough Top-40 radio is eating it up.

[ChrisieD]

Oh Pamela, you poor thing. You are a trooper and we love all that you do for us and Clay !! Thank you  :D

[maddiegirl]

Good Lord will the radio stations and media ever get it????  CLAY IS A STAR AND WILL BE FOR A LONG, LONG TIME!!

[cjrmax]

I think I am dizzy!!!  :P  Was that me you heard screaming from PA?  Heaven knows it could have been! Thanks Pamela for your explanation - at least as much as could be explained!

I had a feeling when he chose The Way that it would have a hard time on the radio.  Its too schmaltzy for today, I think.  I could never have seen a so-called Pop station playing it, but AC plays a lot of schmaltz.  I think Solitaire has little chance of solid radio play unless they release a shortened version to the radio stations.  What radio stations play 5 minute plus songs?  I think back in the day (I know I am dating myself), some of the FM "underground" stations played the 7 minute version of "Light My Fire" and the very, very long verson of Inagadadivida" or whatever that song by Iron Butterfly was.  But on "regular radio" they played the shortened version of both.  I wonder if in RCA "promoting" Solitaire they are also releasing a shortened version of the song specifically for radio?  What also bothers me if that the lack of supoort for The Way may effect how the video does on TRL.  If it doesn't start to do better it could fall out of the top 10 and then The Way could be seen as Clay's first failure in this business.  Trouble is, I don't see Solitaire doing much better. There is no video for it, and I doubt there will be one.  Its a long song.  Its not the type of song you hear on the radio today.  

The thing is, while Invisible did pretty well, if both The Way and Solitaire tank on the radio, I think it will make it harder for any future singles from Clay to be accepted by the radio Powers That Be.  He's having an uphill battle as it is.

The station I listen to I began listening to because I found out they played Clay at least twice a day during the work day.  They played Invisible and TITN faithfully every single day, and often repeated one of them on the way home.  They even had a ticket give-away contest for the Philly contest the weekend before the concert (which was March 2nd).  But ever since then, not once have I heard Clay - or Kelly for that matter.  Every day they also played A Moment Like This faithfully.  But since the concert give away, neither Clay nor Kelly have been played.  A friend recently called to request The Way and the DJ said she had good news and bad news.  The good news was The Way had arrived at the station.  The bad news was they were not allowed to play it.  Not allowed?  So my friend asked if they could play Invisible.  The DJ said she would try, but never did.  This is an AC station.

Now, I was told recently that someone had read some article about there being some conflict between the company sponsoring the Independent Tour and a group of radio stations.  In retaliation to whatever the problem is, the radio stations decided to not play either Clay or Kelly at least until the concert tour was over.  I don't know if this is true, but a friend of mine says her daughter always listens to a station that played a lot of Kelly but isn't playing her at all anymore.  So maybe that battle between radio stations and the company behind the tour is true.  If so, that would have contributed to The Way's early demise.  

I have always believed that one reason Clay is struggling so much to get radio play is he doesn't neatly fit into any one category - although the categories seem pretty fuzzy to me! Pop stations say he's not pop.  Hot AC stations say he's not hot (which we all know is absurd!), and AC stations don't seem to know much!  Its a frustrating situation for Clay and his fans - and I am sure RCA.  Here they have a guy who is soooooooooooo popular, sells tons of albums (although when you look at what Usher sold in his first week, it pales in comparison!) and yet they can't get radio to play him!  Maybe in time, the radio execs will just say "Fine! We'll play him!".  But until then, a polite e-mail or fax once a day I guess can't hurt.  After all, what are they going to do - not play him?  They're already doing that!

Grrrrr!  :evil:

[fhmmany2]

I think a lot of the problems with radio are caused by the fact that RCA did not know which side of the CD to promote. Even the BillBoard Hot 100 Chart shows Solitaire - not The Way. I sent Pamela an E-Mail about BillBoard the first week Solitaire was on BillBoard (at #4) and even she could not answer my question. I do not subscribe to BillBoard, therefore I can only see the Top 50 singles or Albums. The week it premiered, Solitaire was #4 with "Hot Shot Debut" above the title. Beneath the title was (and this is exactly as it was written) RCA/60199/RMG. I asked Pamela if the numbers represented the sales that BillBoard recognized - far fewer than the 100,500 actually sold the first week. Today BillBoard shows Solitaire at #27 with exactly the same number underneath - 60199. It's as though the chart doesn't recognize that any additional copies were sold this week. Pamela says that she doesn't see any numbers when she dials in. As I said, I am not a subsciber to BillBoard, and I do not get the entire charts. I don't know why different people see different things when they dial in. It's very confusing, and there is no complete explnation of the different charts. I know SoundScan is supposed to give accurate sales counts, and I would think that sales would have some influence on radio, but oviously not. I really worry about Clay's management sometimes. I just don't want him to disappear (if you think it can't happen, look at Justin). I just hope that RCA is fully behind him. I don't want all of us to get the reputation of being pests, but I also feel that we have to let our opinions be known in a good way.

[ACcountryFan]

:arrow: Clay is the first "pop" artist, really, to face the kind of discrimination that a lot of country singers feel. over in that format, despite a good CD and some sales, if you're over 50 country radio simply won't play you {George Strait is extremely lucky!}. here, in Clay's situation, you have a young hot-selling artist that can't even get on the radio! Clear Channel should lift their ban on his songs after the tour...they are the ones who caused the demise of "The Way" as far as airplay goes. it'll always be a #1 Sales hit and that can't be taken away from him nor can the #4 peak of "Solitaire" on the Hot 100. NOBODY with sales like that has ever been so ignored and tossed aside. When this tour is over, RCA should do everything in it's power to get back on good terms with Clear Channel! He has sales, but he NEEDS airplay.

i don't want to cause anyone to throw up but if only a handful of Top-40 stations played "The Way" enough to get it on the Airplay chart, combined with the sales, Clay would've had his second #1 pop hit instead of the single splitting of into two different charts the way it did. but brace yourself for a shocker: since RCA/Clear Channel caused this mess, RCA must give in because Clear Channel is simply too powerful to move around and they're harming Clay's radio impact. since we're all in this together, this roadblock should only strengthen our support and loyalty until the roadblock is removed.

[clayMaine-iac]

Ok, my thoughts: (aren't you sorry you asked!1 :roll:  :roll: )

I do think that Solitaire could be a good fit for AC radio, but not at 5+ minutes long.  I would like the solution to be---
RCA release a shorter version to the AC stations.  I know this would detract from the "whole" story that the song tells, but I still think this would be a good compromise.

[fhmmany2]

ACountryFan answered my question (through e-mail) last night about the numbers shown on the BillBoard Hot 100 Chart - the number is a code number used to track sales, not the sales numbers. Thanks for the help, ACountryFan!

[claymore]

this radio thing is overwhelming. my tiny brain just can comprehend its politics. it is so frustating.
thank you so much pamela for trying to enlighten us.

[grammaof6]

HOLY BUCKETS! I'm confused, frustrated and getting very irritated with the whole radio industry thing. I hate to bring up that ugly C word, but sometimes it sure seems like there is a MAJOR conspiracy going on against OBC. What the heck is the answer? We are slammed if we request and slammed if we don't. ???? The guy sells triple platinum, has a sold out concert tour, a best selling single in 2003 and probably will repeat in 2004 and they can't play him on the radio? Geeesh

To this tired old mind, 'something's fishy in Denmark'. Either RCA is not doing it's job of promoting and supporting Clay, or there are other powers pulling the strings here.

Thanks PAMELA for trying to clear it up for us.

[Ms. Hip Shake]

Slammed if you do....slammed if you don't!  Sounds about right to me.

I am sooooo "confuzzed" over this whole political radio play B.S.  I have not seen the likes of this in all of my music listening years.  Unfortunatly, I  (too) feel that the "C" word has logistic bearing here, and it is a wicked shame.  I have noticed that "The Way" has been missing from our radio play lately, and I wondered why.  Maybe, I have my answer.

I really thought that "The Way" would do well.  It is smaltzy, but it is still a beautiful song.  Considering everything that Clay has done and achieved thus far, it is hard to put his name and the word "tanked" in one sentence.  It just seems somewhat surreal.  Maybe, there is a lesson to be learned in all of this for Clay and RCA.  He is not going to succeed in everything that he tries.  Some things in life are based on trial and error.  Hopefully, Clay and his record company can interpret the messages (as required), and simply do what needs to done in Clay's best interest.  It is a shame that Clay seems to have to work 10 times harder than those with much less talent....to reap genuine recognition from peers and radio people.  I have the distinct feeling that Clay Aiken will never drive down "easy street", and that might be part of the lesson that he was put on this earth to learn.  Who knows!

I, for one, am in it for the Clay-long-run..... :)

[ACcountryFan]

i don't think Clay's single "tanked" in the traditional sense. it's still sitting pretty on the sales charts, opening at #1 here and in Canada. we can't control airplay. if Clay "fails" or "tanks" as far as airplay is concerned, we all know it's radio station's fault since we're doing our job of buying and requesting.

[Pamela]

I am sensing a theme.  Y'all are some smart peoples!  :mrgreen:

the comment from that guy who stated that "at the last minute the record company pulled it" means that RCA stopped promoting "The Way" as the a-side and changed their mind and is now promoting "Solitaire"

The good news was The Way had arrived at the station. The bad news was they were not allowed to play it.

I think a lot of the problems with radio are caused by the fact that RCA did not know which side of the CD to promote.

When this tour is over, RCA should do everything in it's power to get back on good terms with Clear Channel! He has sales, but he NEEDS airplay.

but brace yourself for a shocker: since RCA/Clear Channel caused this mess, RCA must give in because Clear Channel is simply too powerful to move around and they're harming Clay's radio impact.

I do think that Solitaire could be a good fit for AC radio, but not at 5+ minutes long. I would like the solution to be---
RCA release a shorter version to the AC stations.

Either RCA is not doing it's job of promoting and supporting Clay, or there are other powers pulling the strings here.

Hopefully, Clay and his record company can interpret the messages (as required), and simply do what needs to done in Clay's best interest.

The theme is -- what is RCA's role in all this, what are they doing about it, and are they to blame?  I can only assume they are doing something about it, and that everything will be rosy very soon.  RCA is a humongo corporate entity and surely yields much power and influence in the recording industry.  But releasing The Way, by all accounts a ballady love song, to pop radio to fight it out with the likes of Chingy, and then not promoting it, then releasing The Way to AC radio and then pulling it, then finally releasing Solitaire to AC radio nearly a month after it's release seems kind of . . . unproductive.  A lot of wheel spinning, back pedaling and rewinding.  None of which helps Clay, makes RCA look good or gives the fans what they want.

Crap.  And to think I gave up listening to NPR for this.   :  :roll:  :

[quynn]

ACcountryFan  

i don't think Clay's single "tanked" in the traditional sense. it's still sitting pretty on the sales charts, opening at #1 here and in Canada. we can't control airplay. if Clay "fails" or "tanks" as far as airplay is concerned, we all know it's radio station's fault since we're doing our job of buying and requesting.

Excellent Point!  

I've been feeling like a hamster in a habitrail running down so many different corridors to only end up back where I started...on that damn wheel.  Started to question my nonexistent success rate in getting radio airplay for Clay, but now I refuse to take the blame and I'll gladly hand that honor over to the radio riff-raff.

[Pamela]

i don't think Clay's single "tanked" in the traditional sense. it's still sitting pretty on the sales charts, opening at #1 here and in Canada. we can't control airplay. if Clay "fails" or "tanks" as far as airplay is concerned, we all know it's radio station's fault since we're doing our job of buying and requesting.

I didn't mean to press a hot button by using the term 'tanked.'   :
Let me clarify my point by quoting myself  :

The Way was released to CHR/Pop radio several weeks ago. It tanked.
So don't waste your time requesting The Way at your local pop stations.

I wasn't referring to the single itself that tanked, but the song 'The Way' and it's success or lack thereof on CHR/Pop radio.

I used that term because that's the exact wording used by the Program Director who wrote about the lack of airplay for the song on a private mailing list I belong to.

Just wanted to clear that up, tank you very much.   8)

[Pamela]

Ooh!  Look at this.  This is from Billboard's Chartbeat Chat, written by Fred Bronson, who is a very smart man.

Dear Fred,

I'm beginning to think that "American Idol" contestants who have recording careers and debuting at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100 don't mix, like oil and water. Last year, the American Idol Finalists' "God Bless the U.S.A." debuted at No. 4 but fell to No. 19 the next week. Last week, "American Idol" finalist Clay Aiken's "Solitaire" debuted at No. 4 but fell to No. 27 this week. What's that all about?


Dear David,

This unusual pattern of debuting high and plunging the second week is due to the sales and airplay ratio of these particular singles.

Most of the songs on the Hot 100 are charting because of their airplay strength. Airplay tends to build gradually, even for major artists, so songs come on the chart as soon as they have enough airplay to chart and then they continue to climb.

Singles like "Solitaire" and "God Bless the U.S.A." had little or no airplay, and so hadn't entered the chart when they went on sale as commercial singles. Both singles had big first-week sales, which allowed them to coincidentally debut at No. 4.

"Solitaire" still sold an impressive number of singles in its second week, even with a 55% drop from the first week. Since the chart is compiled by combining sales and airplay data, and "Solitaire" still had no airplay and suffered a 55% drop in sales, it took a 4-27 drop.

"Solitaire" can continue to drop in sales each week and still remain No. 1 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, but without airplay it will continue to experience big falls on the main Hot 100. RCA is promoting "Solitaire" to radio, so if they are successful, that could cushion the drops and even cause the single to rebound.

The main issue here is the disconnect between what consumers want to buy and what radio wants to play, and that's a problem we won't be able to resolve in the confines of "Chart Beat Chat."

BILLBOARD

[Anonymous]

Is Clay's single "The Way/ Solitaire" still number 1 in sales in it's 2nd wk?
I just do not understand why it didn't have as much sales as the first single, it would have made it to #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 even w/out airplay if it only sold over 200,000.(I think) Target didn't have that many cd of the single when it came out the 1st wk and the 2nd wk, they didn't have the cd at all. Did they release enough cd of the single or was it limited because it seems like not enough was released.