Twin Vision is an independent radio promotion service, sometimes referred to as an "indy promoter" in industry parlance. We are hired by artists, managers, labels, publishers, or anyone who wants radio exposure for music they have an interest in. Our specialty is triple-a and college radio, what I consider artist development radio. We have been in this business since 1988.

We developed a specialty working independent artists and independent labels. There are specific approaches to acquiring radio air play for such projects and many promotion companies geared to major labels or established artists do not effectively mold their approach and priorities to the aspiring artist with minimal label clout.

The core of the service is making the radio programmers aware of the release and artist, but we also always provide consultation. While we are working a promotion campaign I am available to answer any industry-related questions or provide resources and contacts which I draw from over thirty years in the business.

I try to help clients not only reach their pre-concieved goals, but inspire new ones. I provide ideas as to how a radio promotion campaign relates to attracting labels, increasing sales and getting gigs. Whatever the goals are for this effort, I want to make sure the results are viable.

In 1970, I graduated from Seton Hall with a degree in Communication Arts and immediately got a job as an A&R staffer and publicity copy writer at London Records where I worked for eight years. I was responsible for the emergence and initial success of ZZ Top, Dave Edmunds and Thin Lizzy. I also worked with the Moody Blues, Savoy Brown, John Mayall, Tom Jones and Al Green. I learned every aspect of the business during this time and professionally associated with some of the music businesses’ most legendary luminaries. Characters with storied pasts from the 30’s, 40’s 50’s and 60’s.

Twin Vision emerged from my experiences running independent labels (including my own, called NEO Records) from 1980 to about 1988. These indy label adventures included working for Genya Raven’s Polish Records, a punk/new wave imprint where I dealt with Ronnie Spector and Cheetah Chrome of the Dead Boys, then on to sundry other labels whose tortured histories included promotion and marketing of reissues, imports, all kinds of dance music, adult contemporary artists, Christian, jazz and blues. I took all my acquired indy label wisdom and bulging database and began to farm out my services as a consultant.

One of my clients had a roots rock band that lead me to stations around the country that played such groups (e. g. Los Lobos, Robert Cray). A year or so after I started working these stations, I suggested to a major radio tipsheet (the Hard Report) that they should classify them differently than all the AOR Rock stations that were playing the likes of Bon Jovi at that time. Hard eventually ran with the idea and created the first triple-a (Adult Album Alternative) chart. Soon all the radio trades were tracking these stations and more sprouted up all over the country; A format was born and Twin Vision was born right along side it as I boiled down my consultancy to just working this radio area, along with college radio which I had always done.

We work with the only radio formats open to developing independent artists, i.e. triple-a, Americana, and college radio. (You can find out more about triple a radio at www.triplearadio.com)

With triple-a, I target about 180 stations nationally that I have found will play such artists. Most are non-commercial (aka public) stations but there are many commercial ones as well. I key off of the major trade publication reporters. That would be FMQB and Radio & Records and CMJ.

The genres I work fall into what they play. Looking at the charts today you will find artists like Moby, Solomon Burke, Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Nanci Griffin, Brazilian Girls, Bright Eyes, Jet (soul, electronic, alternative, trad country, folk, blues, world).. By the way, triple-a is the launchpad for the success of Norah Jones, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, David Gray among others. They all crossed over to mass market exposure only after strong support from triple-a.

Americana stations include many that are also triple a. They have a country orientation and are just as open to new artists. Their core performers are Kasey Chambers, Nanci Griffin, Lucinda Williams, and Steve Earle.

College genres, (which to me is characterized by dissonance and a yearning to display idiosyncrasy in a manner not in typical triple-a artists) punk, post punk, neo-new wave, electronica, exemplified by the White Stripe, Chemical Brothers, Rilo Kiley, Mars Volta, Interpol. We key off of the 300 most important CMJ reporting stations. Triple-a stalwarts who are big with college include Tom Waits and Nellie McKay, proving that dissonance and idiosyncrasy has no age barriers.

Our approach to any of release formats is governed by what we know about what the stations generally play, knowing what the programmers respond to, and our idea on how it fits.

I recommend a minimum of eight weeks for any radio campaign. A college campaign can more or less be covered in that time, and a triple-a campaign, if it is going well, will probably need another two to four weeks. Tour support can exptend any campaign beyond these time frames.

We provide a mailing list to the label who send the CD’s plus a one-sheet/bio (no press kits anymore). We then call all the stations each week. The first few weeks involve describing the project and having the music or program director track down and listen to their copy. We then start to accumulate feedback: The reactions will range from enthusiastic acceptance to dismissal; often these early rejections are based upon cursory attention, and the response is to the sound or style being too far away from the stations approach style. We generally get all those that pass to reconsider at some point later in the campaign.

The stations interested will start to experiment with air play for it. We monitor that play while continuing to get other programmers to consider it in a positive light. We get many of those early rejections to reconsider once they see others playing it. Any project I choose to work with stands a chance to get effective air play. I cannot remember ever being wrong about this.

Every week we provide detailed reports to the clients which include air play status (usually rotations such as Light, Medium, Heavy, ) specific comments from the programmers, tracks being played and short facts about the demeanor of the staff and the impact of the station on it’s market.

Our fees are based on the going rate for these services and are low compared to most companies. To work nationally, put aside at least $2000.00. Regionally or with limited numbers of stations think of $1000.00. The particulars we suggest in specific proposals that we put together for each project will include additional costs based on the numbers and types of stations and length of the projected campaign. I will provide for anyone who needs it a full consultation on the whole process and how it should fit into an artists career plan.

Many bands and artists who make great CD’s spend no money exposing it. They will move on after about a year to the next release, spending to record and package it what it would cost to do a good promotion. Now they have two great CDs that virtually no one hears. If they had put the money for the next release into promotion for the last one, they could be heard by a few hundred thousand people. A percentage of those people will be moved to manifest their attraction to it, either through sales or through response to the radio stations. This can lead to attention from labels and distributors world-wide (remember most of these stations are streaming and have international audiences) and open gigging opportunities. If you make music, why would you not want as many people as is possible within your power, to hear it.

Also artists spend there budgets on publicity before promotion; big mistake. Ask yourself, what creates a more profound impression for new music by an unknown artist: hearing it or reading about it? Press creates ephemeral interest, radio play creates fans. Press is like advertising, to be effective it needs to accompany the music’s exposure. Many artists and managers who express satisfaction with a publicist are usually responding to the non-publicist services some provide like acting as booking agent or as a industry consultant. They are also overly enthralled with seeing their name in print, no matter the significance to the scheme of things.

One needs only a CD and a one sheet/bio. I advise on the look and content of the latter. The CD and all materials should look as good as anything on a major label. Presentation is a first and lasting impression. It is also good that the packaging is compatible with the music. A good website replaces the press kit. It also is the point at which consumers will purchase the release, so make that process easily accessible.

There are a few Internet outlets that we go to that have been targeted by some of the trade mags as effective. Many Internet stations are the equivalent of Fanzines, an exersize in self- stimulation. Remember when people were saying "Fanzines will change everything". Unfor tunaetly most Internet listeners are also the most likely to be those illegally downloading. They have lots of love for the music but no respect for the artist.

Remember that most of the triple-a and many major college stations are streaming so they are also Internet stations.

Cable outlets like Music Choice and DMX1 have been on my radar for ten years or so. They tend to follow major label product like sheep.

I get my projects on the main progressive channels on XM and Sirius (the satellite companies) all the time. They are truely adventurous and a boon to new artists since their audiences are pro-active music consumers with cash to spend. And their numbers are large.

The best thing about all these outlets is they display on the screen the name of the artist and the song title. The listener can go right to the artist’s website for more info or to purchase the music.

I have no association with any other part of the radio landscape than the one I work, because the others are all part of a system controlled by the major labels and all have their hand out in one way or another. The stations we work with are very committed to the purity of their mixes and their goals are to surprise and delight their audiences. They will play releases based on the music presented to them. You cant beat that.

Nell Bryden, an New York singer-songwriter you may know, had a self-released EP that I worked to triple-a recently. I know a R&R reporting commercial station in Sante Fe and the program director there for ten years; I had him listen to a certain Nell track. He liked it very much, Added and reported it. The phones lit up with listener responses. The station moved the song up their charts. It is a Clear Channel station. This programmer always has been successful in the market and they are smart enough not to mess with his methods. In the meantime, this air play has helped Nell’s manager open the door to major label interest.

I am having wonderful response to Brooklyn’s own Alexis P.Suter on Hipbone Records. She’s being compared to Macy Gray by many stations, she went to #1 on the charts of two important triple-a’s and is charting on 30 more.

How did we get this for her? We asked them to listen.