G.T. Taylor
DO YOU remember that song that seemed all-pervasive? It appeared that it was being played everywhere. It blared from the loudspeakers of the vehicles in the streets, every radio station seemed to be playing it at the same time and the young and 'hip' knew the words by heart.
You wanted needed to get your own copy.
Good marketing and some serious promotion is responsible for such resounding success for a song. In addition, it is the radio disc jockeys who recognise the merit of a song and play it non-stop until the listening public catches on.
However, if a potential hit song is ignored by radio disc jockeys, then how will it fare?
Collin 'The Captain' Hines of FAME FM curtly told The Sunday Gleaner that "usually the song suffers; usually it goes nowhere. A song that is being used by the disc jockey goes somewhere."
However, disc jockeys do not have psychic powers and a song must have certain attributes for it to receive airplay.
At the risk at sounding arrogant and as though the disc jockey is the judge and jury of a song, Collin Hines said: "As DJs we tend to have an instinct of what is going to work or make good listening, or make it on the party scene."
He added that the lyrical merit of a song or whether it encourages people to party and have a good time are prime considerations when deciding if a song is to be 'pumped' or dumped.
Ace disc jockey Ainsworth 'Big A' Higgins of IRIE FM recognises his role and that of the other disc jockeys on radio in Jamaica in the creation of a 'hit' song.
According to Big A, there is not much hope for a song after it has been largely ignored by the various disc jockeys.
He made the distinction that there are radio, club and dancehall DJs, in addition to those abroad, who help decide the fate of a song.
He added that if after receiving a particular record every disc jockey chooses to ignore it, then something is wrong with the song.
When asked what it is that makes a disc jockey want to play a song, he said: "A song is not something that you can put down specific sets of criteria for, because a song can come along and defy all these and still be a hit."
He added that producers hoping to 'bus' a song or an artiste should ensure that they use other media, such as the newspaper articles, stage shows and advertisements. Failing that, they should employ good marketing people to try and sell their artiste. However, the bottom line, he said, is that it is still very difficult for a song to become a hit if it does not get the support of radio disc jockeys.
According to Big 'A', making a song a hit requires systematic planning. If the song is not being supported by disc jockeys, there are other things that public relation personnel can do. One of these is attempt to get the disc jockeys to revisit a song, whether on the radio or at parties and stage shows.
He noted that it is almost like a rite of passage for many disc jockeys, to be wrong about a song and neglect it at least once in their lives. However, after other DJs start playing the song a 'bandwagonist' response sets in and they start giving it rotation.
George 'GT' Taylor, also of IRIE FM but who also operates the GT Aggregation Sound System, does not believe that the successes of a song is dependent solely on the radio disc jockey. He pointed out that there are songs which have been banned by radio stations but still manage to make their way into the dancehall and become hits. He agreed, though, that it might take these songs a longer time to become a success.
It would appear, however, that for a song to become a hit, its lyrical content and musical accompaniment have to be excellent. GT Taylor says he receives an average of thirty CDs every week. This, he says, makes it extremely difficult for him to play every song.
As for those which are not played? "If after I listen to a song and it has the potential to be a hit, I am going to play it more than once. I don't care which artiste and producer, I am going to play it. Good music is good music," he said. GT said that if a radio DJ gets a quality song and does not play it, then that person does not deserve their job as they would be stifling Jamaican talent and music.
Legendary producer Maurice 'Jack Scorpio' Johnson told The Sunday Gleaner that once a song is not getting any airplay by disc jockeys, it faces imminent death.
"When a good song don't get nuh play, that is a downfall for the artiste, producer and the song," said Jack Scorpio. He added that the radio disc jockey is especially important, since airplay is what determines whether or not a song makes the charts or garners awards or nominations.
He also said that getting the desired airplay is competitive and involves a lot of politics. This he said can be disheartening. He mentioned that there have been good quality songs which have garnered more airplay abroad than in Jamaica.
