Subject: Level 42 Digest, #418 ===================== * LEVEL 42 DIGEST * ===================== Digest 418 Sunday, 06/11/95 163 subscribers Today's messages: Re: Level 42 Digest, #416 Re: RCA PERSISTANCE PAYS! Is anyone out there reading??? ------------------------------ From: akb02 @ rs1.rrz.uni-koeln.de (Dirk Pilat) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 15:51:44 -0500 Subject: Re: Level 42 Digest, #416 Hi Levelheads! Chris recently wrote: > Married with an 8 month old girl. That sounds awfully illegal to me, even in England... Dirk :-) Dirk Pilat . It's that moment of dawning Medical Student . comprehension I live for! University of Cologne, FRG . Fax: +++49 221 2408310 . Hobbes, 1. Tiger and President ------------------------------ From: Crazylips @ aol.com Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 15:33:09 -0400 Subject: Re: RCA Pat Flanagan--- regarding your attempt to contact RCA about a US fan club, most fan clubs are run solely via the band itself and its management. The record companies never get into it, or if they do, it's very rare. They will cooperate and communicate with a fan club, but that's it. Crockford is a better person to reach about that stuff, if he still has jurisdiction.... ---Jeff ------------------------------ From: "Zaron Michael Frumin" Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 21:23:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: PERSISTANCE PAYS! Hello All, In the last post, Pat and Lazlo warned us that any efforts we undertake to pressure (actually, I prefer the term, "enlighten") RCA on the release of _FN_ may likely prove futile. Thanks for your admonition, guys, but let's all keep in mind that WE DO HAVE SOME POWER IN NUMBERS HERE!! 161 strong and growing everyday!!! SO LET'S NOT GIVE UP ON THE IDEA SO EASILY, OK? I was very encouraged by Everett Donor's suggestion--that one possible plan of action would be to contact the companies that provide music via satellite to retail stores, restaurants, shopping malls and the like. THIS IS PRECISELY THE KIND OF BRAINSTORMING I HOPE WE WILL ALL ENTERTAIN HERE IN THE COMING POSTS (Nice one, Everett!!!). I have some ideas of my own, which I will eventually share with all of you as well. REMEMBER: Don't under-estimate the influence we can all have together on our noble cause! I'm sure Level 42 were told, at least once, that they would never amount to anything as a music group. Aren't you glad they believed in persistance? Thanks for your attention! -Zaron ------------------------------ From: John Edward Martin Shuford Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 20:44:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Is anyone out there reading??? I applaud all of the enthusiasm and devotion shown by all of the loyal levelheads. However, having LIVED the experience of trying to get Level 42 promoted in the states for three years, you are merely sending yourselves down a road of extreme frustration and wasted energy. I know I have related these experiences to all of you via the digest before, but apparently my experiences are not fresh in your minds. Actually, if they were just my experiences I would say "hey, go for it." But these were the collective experiences of many fans I worked with, and the promises and assurances of RCA came to naught. Three years ago, I finally made my first successful with Crockford Management and complained to the stars of how pitiful their promotion efforts in the states were. They told me that the problem was with RCA, and gave me the appropriate names to contact. And so I did, along with many other people (some of whom are on this digest). There was a group of about 50 of us, 25 of which I would say wrote nasty letters. We received quite a response. The VP of Marketing at RCA NY (Randy Goodman) responded to quite a few of us. I received phone calls from him, multiple letters telling me what good ideas I had and how they wanted to form a L42 US fan database for the next release (Forever Now), wanted me in charge of organizing these people, etc. etc. He even sent me a couple of complementary copies of the two My Father's Shoes CD Singles for my efforts (which I now look back on as nice but also not nearly enough). The point is that Randy seemed to get the message loud and clear, and he basically asked Crockford to call off the dogs and gave his assurrances to Crock and myself that the new album would be released and promoted in the US (he claimed he had no idea L42 had such a loyal and vocal following). So what happened? Well, you all know the story as well as I do. It was a smoke screen. He claims that the decision doesn't rest with him, but that RCA London has to decide it. That's a load of crap. I spent the better part of two years getting the runaround from all parties involved, and no one seemed to know who was really responsible. Other people on this list can vouch for this (BobC also had warm response from Randy, then suddenly he wouldn't return any calls). It was extremely frustrating and a waste of time. And yet, people like Zaron and Lolita are right. I have actually gone to the effort to shop the album around to stations in my neck of the woods (Portland, Seattle, Tacoma), and received airplay for my efforts. A new album preview, placement of Tired of Waiting & Romance into rotations. There was some success. But not what you could call enough to concern RCA. Basically what you would have to do is get about 50 major market stations all playing THE SAME SONG, then make a convincing case to RCA to release and promote an album from a band that split up a year ago and hasn't had a name in the US in seven years. Simply put, THIS WILL NOT WORK. Believe me, I am not given to such pessimism. I am more convinced than anyone else on this digest that L42's problem is that they are too talented and too able in too many genres to fit the pop scene, but that if given the chance they would really turn some musical heads over here. But that chance, if it was ever going to come, has already passed. You can expend your energy, time and money trying to garner recognition for a band who really deserves its due but will never receive it, but why? It ultimately doesn't matter anymore. We've done all that we can (or at least I can say that of the people who stayed in contact with Crock and RCA for the last three years and blew lots of their own time and money, we gave it all that we could), and that this is just one of those things. Try to enjoy L42 for all of the great music they have given us over the years, try to share it with your friends, and hope for a reunion. If there is such a thing, then we should all get all over their new label (it won't be RCA) to promote them, but until then none of this does a damn bit of good. If I sound bitter, perhaps I am. We tried really hard. We fought and fought and fought. But RCA played the game really well. It ignored the letters and positive articles in magazines like Bass Player, Modern Drummer, and Keyboard. It managed to get us fans to buy Guaranteed and Forever Now and do their own dirty work of promoting the band and getting Americans to buy it (via import) without ever having to release Forever Now here. Out of this experience I have lost all faith in the promises of record labels, because they can't see any higher than the bottom line. If my relating of this experience helps anyone, then my experience was worthwhile. Hell, I made lots of new friends and got more involved with my favorite band than I ever thought was possible. But my final message is: pick and choose your battles for those you realistically think you can win. John