The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 56

THE BOSTON GLOBE FRIDAY, MAY 30, 1997 A Mongolian Fierce competition creates static on rock radio HIM IT XII Ml fJ-iW COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE 617-734-2500 COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE Brookline 617-734-2500 4-6 810 2:00 wknd mots 'iz ibv Steven Soderbergh RADIO Continued from Page Dl WFNX a 1.7. Each station also has target audiences: WBCN scored an 11.6 for its target of men 18-34, WAAF scored a 7.9 for the same group, and WFNX notched a 4.3 for its target of men and women 18-34. (The numbers represent the percentage of people listening to a station at any given time.) "I know it for a fact," says Min-dich, of threats by Oedipus, "but no one I know" from a record company or band management "is going to admit it, for better or worse. I have relationships that go back 30 years with them. But are they going to go on the record? Absolutely not." As Mindich predicted, none of the record-label people contacted for this article would allow their names to be used.

In the world of radio, size counts. With size comes clout. The six major record-label groups all want radio stations to play their songs and ex- ms NEW LINE CINEMAi Revere. I said. "We thought this was an "active rock" band, but I'll give it a shot' What happens? We hit the third song and the album starts to sell." Bill Glasser, program director of WFNX, says Oedipus's reach and clout go well beyond his job at WBCN.

Because WBCN is part of the WestinghouseCBS chain -which owns other similarly styled stations in New York, Los Angeles, and other cities "he can play a power game using the whole chain." "This is paranoia," says Oedipus, of the charges made by WAAF and WFNX. "One is from a suburban heavy-metal station a reference to WAAF and the other's an 'anarchy' format a reference to a WFNX slogan. Clearly, both these stations have shows. It's definitely sour grapes. We sell more records than both those stations combined.

The progression of a band: It stalls on a small level, the usual progress is college radio, to commercial-alternative, then because of 'BCN's stature they move to us. What's after us? KISS-108" WXKS-FM (107.9), which has its own radio event tomorrow at Great Woods "if you wanna break at Top 40. Because you start a band doesn't mean you own it." WAAF's Douglas, though, feels he's been dissed by bands that move on. His solution is what he says is an industry first: getting a written commitment from the band and label to a certain degree of cooperation with WAAF. No signing, no play.

Douglas calls it "a prenuptial agreement." "Here's the way I'm approaching it," he says. "This isn't about WBCN. It's about record companies and band managers and how they react in situations like this. This is not unique, it's going on all over the country." The first band to sign this agreement, he says, was Maverick Warner Summercamp. "I've heard nothing but 100 percent support," adds Douglas of response from radio peers.

"From the labels, it's a mixed reaction." 'Win-win situations' The radio-sponsored show business according to Oedipus: "It comes down to Business 101. The business of labels is to sell records. We create win-win situations. Bands enjoy that experience and the radio station pose their artists to the listening and purchasing public. Besides ratings, stations are also looking to maximize their leverage in this relationship with exclusive promotional events featuring desirable artists.

WBCN has 50,000 watts of power (WFNX has 3,000, WAAF 50,000) and has long been regarded as an industry leader, nationally and locally, both when it was a more mainstream album-oriented rock station and in its more recent incarnation as what's called a modern rock station. The first blast Word of the strife surfaced earlier this month in the industry trade publication Radio Records. WAAF's Douglas posted a letter (later published in Billboard as well), writing that "a popular, national recording artist" agreed to perform at a festival for his competition after benefiting "significantly" from WAAF's airplay in the past. Douglas wrote that WAAF had played the band more than any other area station. Douglas saw this identification with a competitor as an insult.

(Although he didn't use the station's or the band's name in the letter, he confirms he was referring to WBCN and the band Primus.) Another situation occurred, wrote Douglas, in which an act that was a WAAF favorite played a club gig not sponsored by any station. (Again, Douglas didn't name the band in the letter, Dut says it was Tonic.) Douglas claims his station's "alternative competitor" "alternative" being one industry synonym for "modern rock" demanded the band play on the air for it, and insisted it not play WAAF events or the competing station would drop the record. In his letter, Douglas claims that the label's head of rock promotion told Douglas his hands were tied, and that the label's head of promotion and the band's manager agreed to the terms. "What he fails to mention about Tonic," says Oedipus, "is they'd already done a free show for 'AAF. Tonic had a record that didn't happen at the 'active rock' format WAAF for the first two songs.

With the third song, 'If You Could Only the president of the label called us up and said, 'We want to take this to 'That's sur- mm uvJym $ftV)'i 1 I "-'llil IT Austin Powers InternotiOBiaJ' Man of Mystery Be good. Be bad; Just be, baby! Roberl Wagner S.Qntoi Jifygfai Stenapd BifeiitaNeiHisb 'SOnlk SWaftaAj SbsMdtotl Ratrs Rudnickftjlslsin "AioeMPsifae 'This is paranoia. It's definitely sour grapes. We sell more records than both those stations combined. Because you start a band doesn't mean you own OEDIPUS WBCN program director benefits, too.

The record companies would prevent these shows from happening if they felt it was negative." Instead, the shows go on. WFNX hosted its multi-band Best Music Poll concert on Lansdowne Street a week ago Monday; WAAF hosted three sold-out gigs at Mama Kin Music Hall earlier this week; WBCN holds a two-day, multi-act River Rave at Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts June 7-8. Five years ago, the question of what bands play which gigs wouldn't have been an issue. But the trend bands playing station-sponsored shows in a tacit exchange for airplay has proliferated in recent years. That leads to stories like this which surfaced recently: WFNX had been playing the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for five years and helped, break the band.

The Bosstones had played five concerts for the station before, and won four categories in Continued on next page tlaniiy GLOVER MM fflellfeis IMbMjn Jayfali tonight at Circle. Dedham. Woburn SONY THEATRES 1 I SHOWCASE CINEMAS 1 I SONY THEATRES 1 I SHOWCASE CINEMAS 1 I GENERAL CINEMA II SONY THEATRES 1 COPLEY PLACE CIRCLE JANUS REVERE BURLINGTON 10 SOMERYILLE IOC HUNTINGfON AVE. I0ST0N CLEVELAND CIRCLE 57 JFK CAMBRIDGE ITE. CI A SQUIRE D.

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